Railroad gates down?

If you see railroad gates down at Wolf and Camp McDonald roads in Prospect Heights but there's no train, call police and sit tight, city officials said.

This year, crossing gates have malfunctioned four at the two crossings.

"People must never go around them," city Administrator Pam Arrigoni said.

The incidents cost the city 52 minutes in personnel hours for each of three police officers to direct traffic at the scene each time it happened, Police Chief Bruce Morris said. All the calls involved the gates being down when no train was present.

The city council recently looked into fining the railroad company for the malfunctions but was told other municipalities have tried that and failed, Arrigoni said.

Gate malfunctions occur every year at those two crossings, she said. This year, the frequency is about on track for what has happened there before, she said.