The Madison City Commission decided Monday to pursue an agreement with the BNSF railroad to permanently close two street crossings over tracks in Madison.
The agreement, proposed by the railroad, includes a $10,000 payment to the city and construction of 16 feet of additional crossing surface for pedestrians at So. Washington Ave. in exchange for the closings at Lee and Garfield avenues.
We think the agreement is fine and no big deal to residents or others who travel on city streets.
Railroad crossings are a challenge to maintain for both the railroad and the city. No one expects to have a railroad crossing at every single street. In this case, the two crossings are within a block of another crossing, which would minimize any hassle for those who would cross there.
The closings would still leave eight crossings within the Madison city limits. In addition to the upgrade at Washington Ave., the city intends to hardsurface Division Ave. before the end of the decade. The Division Ave. railroad crossing is the farthest east crossing within the city limits.
In the case of the Lee crossing, the closing of the rail crossing could actually spur development in that area, as there are several smaller lots that could be combined into a larger lot for a commercial facility.
The city will post public notices about the changes and schedule hearings for citizen input, but we believe the change is reasonable.
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