The Elburn Police Department will spend most of a $16,200 state grant on railroad-crossing safety, Police Chief James Linane recently announced.
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Nearly $6,500 of the grant, provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Commerce Commission, will pay for extra officers to patrol Elburn’s two railroad crossings, on the United Pacific tracks at Illinois Highway 47 and at 1st Street.
The department will spend about $5,250 on promotional materials for Operation Lifesaver, a statewide train-crossing safety campaign, and about $4,450 for officers to give crossing-safety talks at local schools and to bring elementary school students to the health and safety museum in Barrington for its train-crossing safety program.
The rest will fund informational brochures on other police programs, Linane said.
Police this year are focusing more on railroad safety since Metra extended commuter train service to Elburn in January, Linane said.
Though Metra trains do not cross Illinois 47 or 1st Street, many pedestrians cross the tracks there on their way to the east side train station.
“I’m thinking of giving out Operation Lifesaver mugs to commuters on the platform, then offering free coffee, maybe doughnuts, to get their attention so they’ll think about how to get across the tracks safely,” he said.