Monday, April 30, 2012
Two grants will help pay for the construction of the more than $3 million station at 159th Street and Cicero Avenue in Oak Forest.
Oak Forest residents can expect to see shovels in the ground for the new $3.4 million Metra station this July. The City of Oak Forest made the announcement in a news release earlier this month. The new Metra station, planned for 159th Street and Cicero Avenue, will have several amenities, including a warming shelter, restrooms, indoor and outdoor seated waiting areas and a geothermal heating system. Two grants will help pay for the project. Oak Forest received $1 million from the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and $1.3 million from the Illinois Department of Transportation in the fall, according to officials. "We're just tying up the loose ends at this point," said Community Development Director Adam Dotson in a news …
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159th St & Cicero Ave, Oak Forest, IL
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Monday, March 5, 2012
A Metra train stuck and killed a man Sunday night, within 1 mile of the Oak Forest station; the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has determined it a suicide.
The death of a man hit by a Metra train Sunday night in Oak Forest has been declared a suicide. The man's name is still being withheld pending family identification, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Monday. The Chicago-bound train struck the man shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday—a minute before it was due to roll into the Oak Forest station. Passengers recounted "a loud noise, and then the train started shakin'." The conductor warned passengers to return to their seats, as he feared they had struck a person. The incident, which occurred near 161st and Laramie Avenue, halted service on Metra's Rock Island line for almost two hours, with investigators and clean-up crews on the scene past 10 p.m. Check back with Patch for more news …
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Updated at 10:30 p.m. Oak Forest Police are on the scene of a commuter train fatality near 167th Street.
A male pedestrian was pronounced dead Sunday night on Metra's Rock Island Line, less than 1 mile from the Oak Forest Train station. Officials declined to release the name of the victim, pending "next of kin notification," Metra Spokesman Tom Miller said around 9:45 p.m. The man was struck by a Chicago-bound train that was due to make a stop at the Oak Forest station at 6:56 p.m. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office declared the death a suicide Monday. Cleanup crews were still stationed around 10 p.m. near the intersection of Laramie Avenue and 161st Street. Seven people were waiting at that station for the hour and 24 minutes it took to get train No. 226 moving again. Outbound trains were similarly delayed—81 minutes, Miller said. …
Thursday, February 2, 2012
If you ride the Metra on weekday mornings, you've most likely met Randy Nicklaus. And he's probably had your coffee ready and waiting. Patch caught up with the guy most Oak Forest residents say makes the best cup of coffee in town.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Lauren Traut
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Thursday, February 2, 2012
Randy Nicklaus has a remarkable memory. Give him a week of making your coffee, and on the eighth time, he'll hand you what want, no order necessary. Customers say it's what makes him the best around, and what keeps people coming back to his truck parked outside the Metra station at 159th and Cicero. "He knows his customers, many of them by name," said customer of 20 years Angelo Luciano, an Oak Forest resident who commutes to the city for work. "I complain to him all the time that he's underpaid." A cup of Nicklaus's creation goes for $1. A breakfast sandwich might cost $2 or $2.50. Starting the day off on the right foot is worth it to commuters. "We can depend on Randy better than the trains," said Bev Smith, Tinley Park resident. After …
Monday, October 17, 2011
Metra put out a special issue of its commuter newsletter to sell its price hike plan to riders. The Fact Check sees if "On the Bi-Level" is on the level.
To sell a proposed fare hike to commuters, Metra recently put out a special edition of its commuter newsletter On The Bi-Level. Here's a look at the part relating to consumer cost. Note: Metra is still fiddling with the fare plan before the Nov. 11 vote, so the numbers here are just the proposal as reflected in the commuter newsletter. You can see a more complete presentation of these numbers at www.metrarail.com. The Claim: A commuter from Zone F (which includes Mokena) will pay $607.98 a month to drive to downtown Chicago compared to $162.25 for a monthly pass under the proposed fare hike. ... Problem 1: Metra compared its monthly rate to Loop parking garages' daily rates. Metra figured the cost of driving for someone who pays $18 a day…
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Congressman Dan Lipinski and 22 elected officials send letter to Metra opposing cuts in weekday and weekend trains to southwest suburbs.
Commuters who get off work at 5 p.m. may have to wait up to two hours to catch a Metra train home out of downtown Chicago if a plan to cut weekday and weekend service to the southwest suburbs goes through. Some weekday trains on the Southwest Service Line are on the chopping block and weekend service may be eliminated altogether if a proposed plan by Metra to plug a $100 million budget hole goes through. Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) and 22 elected officials along the Southwest Service line sent a pointed letter to Metra expressing their opposition to reduce service, saying that such service cuts would “disenfranchise” commuters in the southwest suburbs. READ the letter from elected officials. Elected officials, including suburban mayors…
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tinley residents Donna Grace and Gail Crabtree dropped off their friend in Oak Forest just 15 minutes before crashing into a Metra train.
When Jeanette Slager got out of her friend, Donna Grace's car in Oak Forest around 3:45 p.m. Thursday she told her, "Now, you go straight home, you hear?" The 84-year-old had no idea that Grace, 81, and her passenger, Gail Crabtree, 97, would never make it home — at least not to Tinley Park. "They're smiling down," Slager, 84, said Saturday. "They made it to God's home. That's where they are." The two women died around 4 p.m. Thursday when Metra officials said Grace drove her blue Saturn at the front of a passenger train near 167th and Central Avenue in Oak Forest. Video footage from a camera inside the train shows all equipment at the crossing was "working as intended," Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said Friday. Slager has spent the last …
Friday, July 22, 2011
Two elderly women from Tinley Park were inside a car struck by a Metra train Thursday in Oak Forest.
The two women killed in a Metra train crash Thursday have been identified, Metra confirmed. Ninety-seven-year-old Gail Crabtree, of the 16800 block of South New England Avenue, and Donna Grace, 81, of 17000 block of Odell Avenue, both of Tinley Park died Thursday when a Metra train heading from Joliet to Chicago struck their car near the crossing at 167th and Central Avenue. The seven-car inbound train on Metra’s Rock Island line left Joliet at 3:25 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive downtown at 4:33 p.m. All passengers on board were evacuated while emergency crews attended to the scene. Metra and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the crash.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Trains are running again on the Metra Rock Island Line after two people were killed when a commuter train collided with a car near 167th Street and Central Avenue in Oak Forest.
8:30 p.m. Tracks Open Again; Victims Reported to be Women One lane of the Metra Rock Island Line between Joliet and Chicago has reopened and trains are moving again more than four hours after two people were killed when their car collided with a commuter train. The damaged train is still at the scene and is expected to remain there for several hours as transportation officials investigate the scene. The SouthtownStar is reporting that sources with the Medical Examiner's Office have said the two people killed in the collision were women. Metra said that seven passengers on the train were taken to nearby hospitals with minor injuries. Metra is not sure how Friday morning's commute will be affected by the accident. Commuters are urged to …
Friday, June 3, 2011
Two Metra and Amtrak trains collided Friday morning, and commuters should expect delays through the evening.
After two Amtrak and Metra trains collided early Friday morning at Union Station in downtown Chicago, Metra officials say riders should expect delays throughout the evening. Authorities are still investigating what lead the two trains to crash and injure 12 people, according to a Chicago Breaking News report. Meanwhile, Metra officials are reminding commuters to double-check schedules and listen to announcements.
Ruth Ensing
9:49 am on Friday, July 27, 2012
Nick - Have you heard anymore on the train station ground breaking? It was supposed to take place in July. more ›