Chesterton will soon install signs to alert pedestrians about the railroad crossing on Calumet Road with the town’s opening of a parking lot nearby on Grant Avenue.
The sign is a temporary first step toward making more extensive pedestrian safety improvements at the downtown Chesterton crossing.
Town officials have been talking with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials about making pedestrian safety upgrades.
Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek said the town is hoping the safety upgrades can be installed at the crossing within the next 6 to 18 months. The cost will depend on the option that the Town Council chooses.
Chesterton has been looking at improving the safety of the crossing ever since a bicyclist, Frank Remm, 70, was killed at the crossing on Feb. 28. It was the third pedestrian killed — the others occurred at 8th and 15th streets — at a Chesterton railroad crossing since May 2023.
Meanwhile, the lots on Grant Avenue and East Indiana Avenue are now open for parking during daylight hours from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will eventually be available after nightfall when the lights are installed in the upcoming weeks.
A formal dedication will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, June 13 at the Grant Avenue parking lot.
Town officials decided in February 2023 to pursue developing the additional parking spaces after downtown businesses had stated the lack of parking hampered business.
Additional parking spaces were particularly needed for the Saturdays between May and October when the European Market is held in downtown Chesterton. This Saturday will be the first time the lots will be available to the public for the European Market.
The Grant Avenue parking lot will add 60 parking spaces while the Indiana Avenue site creates 28 new parking spaces. There is fencing around the Grant Avenue site as a safeguard for pedestrians from wandering onto the tracks.
The project cost the town $1,420,000. One issue that the town ran into during construction was the discovery of unstable soils at both parking lots, which cost an additional $153,313.42.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
