Munster officials prefer a simple platform type of South Shore train station at Ridge Road and Manor Avenue rather than one of the brick-and-mortar variety.
Their idea to minimize the station’s impact to the surrounding neighborhood came during a Town Council work-study session Wednesday night. Now, they hope Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) will accept a number of recommendations in the form of a resolution to be adopted next month.
Munster residents continue to have a number of concerns about the station, if not outright opposition to it. They had their say prior to the council discussing their ideas for the station’s design.
Julie O’Connor, who originated a citizen-backed resolution, said she appreciated council members taking their concerns to heart, but was reserving judgment until the resolution comes before the council for a vote.
She favors the purchase of 18 homes around the station to provide an adequate buffer zone to the surrounding neighborhood, while the council members say they favor the purchase of only four homes under an eminent domain action by NICTD.
“Nobody wants this in their back yard, but there needs to be a fence and barriers,” O’Connor said.
Town officials have not yet worked out details about the type and height of fencing around the development, along with various soundproofing and directional lighting considerations.
“Any type of sound or visual barriers should be durable aesthetically pleasing, not something you can cut, throw or climb over, like a chain link fence,” said Councilwoman Lee Ann Mellon, R-2nd. “I think an expressway type of sound barrier may be too expensive.”
Munster resident Paul Rotatori urged the council to make accommodations for pedestrian and bike traffic, as a portion of a bike trail adjacent to the site will be lost. Amanda Sanow was concerned with the speed of the trains moving through Munster, while other residents want resident-only parking restrictions in the surrounding neighborhood and a single point of entry and exit to the station’s parking lot.
O’Connor was also pushing for financial compensation for homeowners within a quarter-mile of the station should their property values drop, but council members say it’s unlikely NICTD would agree to such a concession.
Town officials reminded the residents they could only make suggestions to NICTD, but believed they would be amenable to most of them. The hope is they have bought such a sphere of influence by virtue of Munster allocating 34 percent of its annual revenues derived from the Lake County Option Income Tax as part of the local match to the federally funded West Lake Corridor Project.
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Legally, NICTD can move ahead with the project without much of the town’s say-so, according to Town Attorney Dave Westland
“I think we have traction,” said Councilman John Reed, R-1st. “I think they (NICTD) want to be a good partner.”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.