MOKENA
Trees to buffer CN railroad tracks
By next fall, Mokena residents who live near the CN railroad tracks can expect to see trees instead of trains.
The Village Board recently approved an agreement with Design Perspectives of Naperville, the consulting firm hired last year to study ways to soften the impact of increased freight-train traffic passing through residential neighborhoods.
The study process, which included meetings with affected residents, placed its “focus on visual aspects,” Assistant Village Administrator Kirk Zoellner said.
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Under the terms of the new agreement, Design Perspectives will be paid a fee not to exceed $44,000 to oversee the work and “take the project to final installation in the spring or fall of 2010,” Zoellner said.
The project is being paid with funds provided by CN as part of an agreement to ease the effects of rail traffic, he said. “Getting to the point where we know what we want to do is a huge, monumental step,” Mayor Joe Werner said.
— Pat Harper
HOMER GLEN
Farmers market is in the works
The Village Board has voted to enter into a $2,500 contract with Merrill Marxman, who currently helps manage markets in Frankfort, New Lenox, Manteno, Olympia Fields and Peotone.
A farmers market in Homer Glen has been on the Community and Economic Development Committee’s agenda for years, said Village Manager Paula Wallrich. The market will be held outside the parking lot of Sears Essential at 159th Street and Bell Road.
Farmers markets “help bring a real sense of community to the village,” Wallrich said, adding that locally grown produce will be a priority at the market.
Trustees last week also discussed a motion that would require the village to schedule a public forum before any bond purchase. Even though the village is under home rule and is not required to schedule public forums regarding bonds, trustees and Mayor Jim Daley argued that the forums help with transparency.
Trustees are scheduled to vote on an ordinance requiring public hearings at Tuesday’s board meeting.
— Sheila Burt
WILL COUNTY
Speed limits rise on Laraway Road
Faced with a surge in tailgating and speeding on Laraway Road between New Lenox and Homer Glen in the last seven months, Will County officials recently nudged its speed limits upward.
The new limits, effective immediately, set 45 mph for two commercially developed sections and 50 mph for two rural-suburban sections.
The County Board’s Public Works Chairman Jim Bilotta recommended the increases after traffic studies showed 97 percent of the motorists on that 12-mile portion of Laraway were exceeding the 40-mph limit.
County Board Chairman Jim Moustis said Laraway’s lower speed limit also created a traffic hazard on a nearby township road, which was being used as a high-speed alternative by motorists.
Before the vote, New Lenox resident Joe Zalecki asked members to retain the 40-mph limit on Laraway, arguing the lowered limit had benefited motorists entering and exiting adjoining subdivisions.
In April, the board lowered the limit to 40 mph in an attempt to bring order to a patchwork of speed limits.
— Dennis Sullivan