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News
Lyon property eyed for possible Metra station : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisLyon property eyed for possible Metra station
| Lyon property eyed for possible Metra station
| by John Etheredge
| 12/27/2012
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If a Metra commuter rail station one day opens in Montgomery, village board members would like to have it open on the current site of the Lyon Workspace Products office and factory on North Main Street.
Board members, however, are not ruling out a vacant 44 acre parcel that once served as the site of a massive Western Electric plant just south of U.S. Route 30 and east of Ill. Route 31 as another station site possibility.
Both properties adjoin the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway mainline tracks that extend south from downtown Aurora through the village.
Mike Pubentz, the village's director of public works, told the village board last week that Metra officials would like the village to identify a preferred site for a station.
By selecting the Lyon site, Pubentz said the board "is not ruling out another location, but it does give them (Metra) an indication of the direction we would like to move."
Pubentz said an engineering firm is now preparing preliminary designs and an environmental assessment for the proposed extension of Metra service from its current terminus at the downtown Aurora Transportation Center (ATC) through Montgomery to another proposed station site at Orchard and Mill roads in Oswego.
A Montgomery station would be located roughly half-way between Oswego and the ATC.
While Metra is having the study completed, it has yet to budget funds to pay the service extension, including the necessary track improvements, other infrastructure work and additional passenger trains and locomotives.
Pubentz noted that a downtown transportation planning study completed and adopted by the village board in 2009 also identified the Lyon property as a preferred site for a Metra station.
Lyon halted production at its Montgomery facility several years ago, but an office building on the site continues to serve as the firm's corporate headquarters. In addition, Lyon leases portions of its former plant to other users.
Jamie Ludovic, assistant to the village administrator, told the village board she notified Lyon's vice president of human resources and vice president of operations prior to last week's meeting that their property would be discussed as a potential Metra station site.
Ludovic said the Lyon officials are aware of the village's interest in their property.
Referring to Lyon officials, Ludovic said, "They are amenable that at some point in the future someone might purchase their land for this (commuter rail station) purpose. They don't have any opposition to the concept-at least in theory-that they would be relocated."
Pubentz noted the village's 2009 planning study recommended the Lyon property because it has several "desirable features" a station would require, including easy access for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.
He said the study also found the site is easily visible from Route 31, would have a positive economic benefit on the village's adjoining downtown business district while having a relatively minor impact on homes in the area.
The study also noted the Lyon property is situated in the Kane County portion of the village which is within the RTA's (Regional Transportation Authority) six-county service region. The RTA oversees Metra operations.
Referring to the Lyon property, Pubentz emphasized, "Again, this is an opportunity (for the village) that is not cast in stone nor has to happen."
Pubenz noted the 2009 study also identified the former Western Electric plant site, now owned by Avaya, Inc., as a potential station site.
However, he said the study found more potential challenges to developing a station on the Avaya property, including traffic access and potential environmental issues.
To reach a commuter station on the site, some motorists might drive through the residential neighborhood just north of the property, Pubentz noted.
A station on the Avaya property would also have a limited positive impact on businesses in the village's downtown area since the downtown is located several blocks away, Pubentz said.
Another potential drawback to the Avaya property is its location in Kendall County, outside the RTA service region, according to Pubentz.
Board member Matt Brolley agreed that the Avaya property's Kendall County location is a potential negative.
"That's a snag Oswego is having (with their station effort) because they are located in Kendall (County)," Brolley said.
Village President Marilyn Michelini voiced support for the Lyon property as the village's preferred station site.
Board member Stan Bond told his board colleagues he recently attended a Kane County meeting during which a Metra representative mentioned Montgomery as a potential station site.
"This is exciting," Bond said.
When questioned by board member Bill Keck, Pubentz said he expects at some point in the design process, Metra officials will want the village to rule out either the Avaya or Lyon properties as a potential station site.
Pubentz told the board he would provide them with more information on Metra and their study when it becomes available.
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