Primera is providing public involvement services for a corridor study along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway between Ridgeland Avenue and Delaplaine Road, focused on improving safety, travel‑time reliability, community connectivity, and multimodal access. The study area includes Harlem Avenue, one of the region’s most delay‑prone at‑grade crossings. Part I of the study, completed in 2023, established the need for improvements through technical analysis and robust public input. Part II builds on this work by identifying and evaluating a full range of alternatives, including grade separations, pedestrian and bicycle connections, operational improvements, and transit‑related enhancements. Alternatives are shaped by the project’s Purpose and Need, which addresses emergency response access, pedestrian and cyclist safety, business activity, and connections to nearby transit stations.
Public engagement includes in‑person meetings and events with bilingual materials to support the large Spanish‑speaking population in the community, along with direct mail outreach to approximately 5,000 households. This effort generated roughly 1,800 website visits and 500 survey responses, with community feedback informing alternative screening and the identification of concepts suitable for Phase I engineering.
