City accepts $168,000 for quiet zone

 

June 10, 2009

by Jeff Saunders

News-Leader Reporter

 

Macedonia -- Residents living around the Twinsburg Road railroad crossing had reason to applaud June 4 when City Council agreed to accept $168,000 in federal stimulus money to convert the crossing into a quiet zone.

 

That is what roughly 50 of them in the audience did when Council approved the measure at a special meeting by a vote of 5 to 0. Council President Dave Engle was absent.

 

Hudson resident Greg McNeil, who has served as chairman of a residents' committee exploring the formation of a quiet zone for the last 18 months, said the project is being administered by the Ohio Rail Development Commission. He said it is uncertain when the work will be done.

 

Full story at:

http://www.the-news-leader.com/news/article/4604125

Ohio gains first quiet zone

 

On Monday, the state of Ohio’s first quiet zone was established in Springfield. Norfolk Southern Railway trains stopped sounding their horns at grade crossing through downtown.

 

Tomorrow, state, local and NS officials will dedicate the quiet zone during ceremonies to be held in downtown Springfield.

 

In 2004, a city task force and community leaders began discussing ways to boost grade crossing safety because of increasing rail traffic through downtown. To institute the quiet zone, the city and railroad worked together to close redundant crossings, and install four-quadrant gates and lights or wayside horns at other crossings.

 

“We know of several more Ohio communities interested in establishing safer and quieter rail corridors,” said Ohio Rail Development Commission Executive Director Matt Dietrich in a prepared statement. “Having a major, operating quiet zone like this one in Springfield gives the rest of the state a good model to emulate.”

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=21040

 

NOTE:To illustrate the point of this thread....the total project cost is approximately $6.5-million dollars (mostly Federal and local) and involved:

 

...closing five croissings

...four-quadrant lights & gates at four crossings

...wayside horns and upgraded signla trechnology at the remaining crossings.

 

A total of 23 crossings were involved.

I thought CSX through Middleburg was already given a Quiet Zone (thanks in no small part to my "good friend" Sen. Tom Patton)? And wasn't Vermilion also already awarded a Quiet Zone?

No.  This is the only one made official by the FRA in Ohio so far..  The FRA will not declare a quiet zone until all of the work is complete and the system goes "live".

Hmmm. I wonder what's holding up the FRA as the crossing improvements have been in place in Middleburg Heights and Brook Park for more than a year. Here's a picture I shot in the summer of 2008 of one of the improved crossings, at Holland Road in Brook Park:

 

 

It's pretty, but is it functional?

Is it possible that the city has not formally applied for the quiet zone designation? Perhaps they have and have not yet heard from the FRA? 

 

Also a single "quieted" crossing doesn't necessarily qualify as a "zone".  A zone means multiple crossings... such as Springfield... or the ones being planned for Vermilion.

Hmmm. I wonder what's holding up the FRA as the crossing improvements have been in place in Middleburg Heights and Brook Park for more than a year. Here's a picture I shot in the summer of 2008 of one of the improved crossings, at Holland Road in Brook Park:

 

 

It's pretty, but is it functional?

 

Yeah, but they'll wear and become dull like the pylon thingies in front of my house.  I do like that they are raised unlike the barriers by me.

Yeah, but they'll wear and become dull like the pylon thingies in front of my house ...

 

Then get out there and paint them! I'm sure you can come up with a more pleasing color scheme than the garish oranges and traffic-yellows typically used on such things! Show those traffic engineers that safety can be pretty! :-)

 

Yeah, but they'll wear and become dull like the pylon thingies in front of my house ...

 

Then get out there and paint them! I'm sure you can come up with a more pleasing color scheme than the garish oranges and traffic-yellows typically used on such things! Show those traffic engineers that safety can be pretty! :-)

 

 

Honey they would have to pay me.  I'm still trying to figure out why they painted the tracks.  :?

Is it possible that the city has not formally applied for the quiet zone designation? Perhaps they have and have not yet heard from the FRA?

 

It's very possible. That's why I was asking.

 

Also a single "quieted" crossing doesn't necessarily qualify as a "zone". A zone means multiple crossings... such as Springfield... or the ones being planned for Vermilion.

 

A zone could mean one crossing or multiple crossings. But in this case it was multiple crossings. That's why I mentioned Senator Patton as he got funding for the improvements necessary to qualify for Quiet Zones on CSXT lines in his district. I know you remember because you told me before that you were aware of it. The improvements were made and my photo was one example (I would have posted photos of multiple crossings but people here probably don't care THAT much about it -- I bet they haven't even made it this far into my message). But I asked because there were multiple crossings improved. Th-th-that's all folks!

KJP, any idea how much the crossing you showed cost? That can't be as expensive as some of the ideas mentioned throughout this thread; its just some pylons, extra signs, a little bit wider road, and a curb in the middle. If it works as a quiet crossing according to the FRA, I'd imagine a lot of communities would be interested. That couldn't have cost too much, and I would think the increased property taxes on the increase in property values of the homes near the tracks would make up for the cost within a few years.

I could only guess. Just putting two median barriers in there, pylons and signs, I've heard that something like that can cost about $50,000 to add. Since they completely re-paved the entire crossing (with concrete no less), that probably added to the cost.

 

But this crossing probably did not need more elaborate measures, include four-quad gates, cameras, sensors, radio alerts, etc. because it is not a heavily traveled road (although the railroad is busy -- about 50-60 trains a day) it's not a sharply-angled crossing and the sightlines are good.

I could only guess. Just putting two median barriers in there, pylons and signs, I've heard that something like that can cost about $50,000 to add. Since they completely re-paved the entire crossing (with concrete no less), that probably added to the cost.

 

$50k??  Wow.  Now I know why RTA just paints in front of my crib!  $50K?

Probably half of that cost is just for the railroad flagmen! :-P

 

A fully-protected crossing in a Quiet Zone can cost $500,000.

I can see where the $50K came from since they repaved the entire crossing, but I'd think if the crossing that's already there isn't too bad, but is wide enough (or close to wide enough), you could get by with spending a whole lot less.

Train noise silenced, crossings safer

By Samantha Sommer, Staff Writer

Updated 9:06 AM Friday, July 24, 2009

 

SPRINGFIELD — A $5.7 million, five-year project to improve rail crossings should make the railway safer and quieter.

 

 

Find this article at:

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/train-noise-silenced-cr-218605.html

 

What I wouldnt give for a train silencer, come late October.

What I wouldnt give for a train silencer, come late October.

What's happening in October?

What I wouldnt give for a train silencer, come late October.

What's happening in October?

 

As you can see, Shaker Blvd, is a canyon.  When there is no foliage (Late October to Mid March) on the trees, the car horns, the train horns and bells, just bounce right off of the buildings.  The flash/beep at Shaker/Coventry, Van Aken/Shaker, Drexmore/Van Aken and Shaker/Shaker Sq.  All that noise interupts my beauty sleep! 

  :whip:

 

If I have music on I can't hear it, but early in the morning or late at night, I can.

 

Quiet railroad crossings cheered

By Jenna Staul, Staff Writer

Updated 7:16 PM Friday, July 24, 2009

 

SPRINGFIELD — City and business officials came together Friday, July 24, to officially mark Springfield’s newly instated railroad “quiet zone.”

 

Trains stopped sounding their horns in the city earlier this week, making the Springfield the first in Ohio to substitute safety upgrades at rail crossings for the blaring of a train’s horn.

 

 

Find this article at:

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/quiet-railroad-crossings-cheered-220387.html

 

NEWS

OHIO RAIL

DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43223

(614) 644-0306 telephone or fax (614) 728-4520

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Rail/

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             

Date:  August 6, 2009

CONTACT: Stu Nicholson

[email protected]

614-644-0513

 

Safer & Quieter Times Ahead for Vermilion

ORDC Signs Agreement on Railroad Safety Corridor

 

(Columbus) --    Residents of Vermilion can look forward to less noise along the busy Norfolk Southern rail line that runs through the heart of the community.  The City of Vermilion and the Ohio Rail Development Commission have reached agreement on a multi-million dollar project that will greatly improve railroad safety in the community as well as create railroad “quiet zone”.  Once all of the grade crossing safety changes must be complete, the city would be able to formally apply to the Federal Railroad Administration for “quiet zone” designation.

 

The project will involve the following grade crossings:

 

• Closure of the Perry Street grade crossing

• Installation of four-quadrant lights and gates at Grand Street, Adams Road and Main Street/Division Street (SR-60) grade crossings

 

The project will be funded through a combination of local, state, federal and railroad funds, including a Congressional set-aside of $935,000 that the City of Vermilion received through U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (9th District OH).

 

Completion of the safety improvements will take approximately 18 months.

 

(The Ohio Rail Development Commission is an independent agency operating within the Ohio Department of Transportation.  ORDC is responsible for economic development through the improvement and expansion of passenger and freight rail services and railroad grade crossing safety. For more information about what ORDC does for Ohio, visit our website at

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Rail )

 

Yay!!

Vermilion secures $1.67 million to install safety gates at three rail crossings

Posted by Karen Farkas/Plain Dealer Reporter August 07, 2009 23:02PM

 

VERMILION, Ohio -- The wail of trains in this Lorain County community will soon be silenced, now that $1.67 million has been secured to install new safety gates at three rail crossings.

 

"We are all very excited and anxious and are waiting for the moment when we won't have the train whistles blaring," said Mayor Jean Anderson.

 

Click on link for article.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/vermilion_secures_167_million.html

Petition in Dublin

Counties, cities may seek quiet rail zone

6-mile ban on horns requires costly safety upgrades at crossings

Monday,  November 2, 2009 3:12 AM

By Holly Zachariah

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

What began as a discussion about whether trains could be made to stop blowing their horns at two railroad crossings in one Dublin neighborhood might turn into a project that could quiet 6 miles of rail traffic.

 

Three hundred residents of the Ballantrae subdivision signed a petition asking the Dublin City Council in September to pursue a federal "quiet zone" designation at CSX crossings at Rings and Cosgray roads, along the back of the subdivision. Such a designation requires safety upgrades at crossings so that trains aren't required to blow their horns.

 

The council asked city administrators to research the issue. Tonight, the council is expected to discuss a report prepared by City Manager Terry Foegler and City Engineer Paul Hammersmith.

 

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/02/QUIETTRK.ART_ART_11-02-09_B1_MQFHVG8.html?sid=101

Railroad quiet zone

Accident hasn't changed city's stance

Tuesday,  December 15, 2009 5:50 PM

By GARY BUDZAK

ThisWeek Contributor

 

Despite a recent tragedy on the tracks, Hilliard city officials are still considering establishing a quiet zone at the Davidson Road and Leap Road railroad crossings.

 

Quiet zones are sections of railroad track where trains are not required to sound their horns, with signs saying "No Train Horn" posted.

 

Arthur Lane, 16, died Dec. 4 when he was struck by a train while walking on the tracks south of Davidson Road. Police say Lane was wearing headphones and did not hear the train's horn or the braking taking place behind him.

 

Full story at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/hilliard/stories/2009/12/09/Railroad-quiet-zone.html?sid=104

High cost derails railroad quiet zone talk in Medina

By Jake Poole

February 25, 2010, 7:25AM

 

Medina City will not be a railroad quiet zone, at least not any time soon.

 

On Monday night, Medina City Council chose not to pursue a quiet zone in city limits as part of the city’s planned railroad improvements. A quiet zone would eliminate the use of train horns while traveling through the city.

 

Medina will upgrade railroad surfaces at five locations in the southern quadrant of town, an estimated $340,000 in total cost, and also add gates, flashers, and railroad circuitry to several other locations, an additional cost of $1.74 million.

 

Full story at: http://blog.cleveland.com/medinasun/2010/02/high_cost_derails_railroad_qui.html

It will be a little less noisy in Fostoria as the second of three planned highway/railroad grade separation gets under way....

 

Apr 28, 2010

City hits jackpot on bid

By ANDREA SLIVKA

STAFF WRITER

 

With construction bids coming in lower than anticipated, the city could save money on the Jones Road overpass project.

 

But the city won’t know for sure until after the project is completed.

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation signed a contract with the lowest bidder earlier this month and publicized the contract Tuesday.

 

Out of eight bids, Millers Brother Construction, Inc. made the lowest bid at almost 17 percent less than the state estimate, according to Theresa Pollick, ODOT representative. The construction cost was estimated at $7.39 million and the bid was $6.14 million.

 

Full story at: http://www.reviewtimes.com/Issues/2010/Apr/28/ar_news_042810_story1.asp?d=042810_story1,2010,Apr,28&c=n

 

City getting quiet zones at train crossings

Filed by Steve Fogarty June 13th, 2010

 

NORTH RIDGEVILLE - The city plans to begin construction this year on four “quiet zones” at each of four major railroad crossings, where 70 to 80 trains a day blow their whistles as they rumble through town.

 

Expected to cost just under $2.5 million, the project is being paid for through multiple sources, with $800,000 in federal stimulus dollars announced in May 2009, and another $800,000 announced through the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon.

 

Those funds will be supplemented by $500,000 from the Ohio Rail Development Commission, $200,000 in local money and $173,500 from Norfolk-Southern Railway Co., which owns the tracks and the crossings at Chestnut Ridge, Maddock, Race and Root roads.

 

Full story at: http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2010/06/13/city-getting-quiet-zones-at-train-crossings/

Assuming a crossing has no signaling equipment, what's the cost difference between regular signaling equipment and the stuff required for a quiet zone?

Assuming a crossing has no signaling equipment, what's the cost difference between regular signaling equipment and the stuff required for a quiet zone?

It depends on the size of the road (number of lanes, width of lanes), the type of signaling equipment, and whether there's room to build a physical barrier between the different directions of the road.

Even if median barriers are used, the crossing must still have modern, active lights and gates in order to qualify as a quiet zone under Federal Railroad Administration rules.  Media barriers at a so-called "passive" crossing (crossbucks only) aren't going to cut it.

 

To my understanding, these are what must be done in order to create a quiet zone:

 

1.  4-quadrant lights & gates or,

2.  Standard lights and gates with a median barrier

3.  Standard lights & gates with a wayside horn (directional horn aimed at the motor vehicles)

4.  Close the crossing permanently.

 

All four of these were employed in creating a quiet zone in Springfield, Ohio last year.  here's an example of 4-quad gates:

 

http://www.puco.ohio.gov/PUCO/MediaRoom/MediaRelease.cfm?id=10174

 

News Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Shana Eiselstein

614 | 466 7750

 

PUCO approves quiet zone corridor in Lorain County

 

COLUMBUS, OHIO (Oct. 4, 2010) – The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) today approved construction authorization from the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) for  a quiet zone corridor project in North Ridgeville, Lorain County.

 

The corridor project involves the installation of four quadrant flashing lights and gates at the Chestnut Ridge (523-844G), Root Road (523-845N), and Race Road (523-848J) grade crossings, and a circuitry upgrade with median barriers at the Maddock Road (523-847C) grade crossing.

 

Norfolk Southern must submit site plans and cost estimates for the project to the PUCO by Jan. 2, 2011. Funding for this upgrade will be shared between the Congressional Set-Aside Ohio 279 Funds, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Norfolk Southern, and ORDC. Norfolk Southern will be responsible for completing construction of the upgrade by Jan. 4, 2012.

 

To increase public safety during the construction of the project, the PUCO will assist the local government with the cost of improvements such as rumble strips, illumination, improved signage, or other safety enhancements at the project location. Funding for the improvement will come from the State Grade Crossing Safety Fund, and will not exceed $5,000.

 

The PUCO is responsible for evaluating Ohio’s public grade crossings to determine the need for installing active warning devices. In 2009, the PUCO played a part in the installation of lights and gates at 68 grade crossings throughout the state. Over the past two decades, the annual number of train-motor vehicle crashes in Ohio has decreased significantly, from 412 in 1988 to 55 in 2009.

 

The Ohio Rail Hotline, at (866) 814-RAIL (7245), provides Ohioans with a toll-free resource for all railroad crossing questions. For more information regarding these crossings, access the Ohio railroad information system<http://gradecrossings.puco.ohio.gov/> Web site at http://gradecrossings.puco.ohio.gov/.

 

-30-

Hilliard eyes quiet zones at 2 rail crossings

Saturday, May 14, 2011  03:07 AM

By Dean Narciso

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Some people consider the distant drone of train whistles nostalgic, even soothing. For others, it’s a pain in the caboose.

 

For the past two years, Hilliard has been trying to create Franklin County’s first quiet zone at its crossings, a process fraught with delays, regulatory requirements and politics.

 

At a meeting of Hilliard’s safety committee this month, the issue was tabled when committee chairman Jim Ashenhurst was told he might have a conflict of interest.

 

Read more at:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/05/14/hilliard-eyes-quiet-zones-at-2-rail-crossings.html?sid=101

Question, what are the flashing X's for in Sringfield?

Question, what are the flashing X's for in Sringfield?

 

I beleive that may be at crossing where there are wayside horns to wanr oncoming drivers and pedestrians.

Hilliard eyes quiet zones at 2 rail crossings

Saturday, May 14, 2011  03:07 AM

By Dean Narciso

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Some people consider the distant drone of train whistles nostalgic, even soothing. For others, it’s a pain in the caboose ...

 

Read more at:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/05/14/hilliard-eyes-quiet-zones-at-2-rail-crossings.html?sid=101

 

It's not always a "distant drone." In my neighborhood, two or three blocks of potentially valuable historic residential properties have a clear line of sight across block-wide parking lots to a busy NS crossing. The frequent ear-shattering blasts of locomotive horns, around the clock, amplified by echoing off nearby brick and concrete buildings, suppress the value of those properties, resulting in their remaining as low-quality rentals. That's the only grade crossing in the immediate area; to the west there's undeveloped former railyard land for almost a mile, and to the east the line is grade separated as it passes through downtown and adjacent residential neighborhoods beyond for at least a mile, possibly two. The line is the NS former Nickel Plate main line through Fort Wayne, and traffic only promises to grow there.

Question, what are the flashing X's for in Sringfield?

Before trains get to each crossing, there is usually a post with a W on it to whistle four times for a crossing, or Wx which means whistle many times if a train is in an area where it can't do four whistles before the next crossing and so it should just whistle many times as it's going through that area. The X is pointed somewhat towards the train so that they know to not whistle.

Springfield has a quiet zone, with 20 crossings in four miles. It's very similar to Lakewood-Cleveland which has 27 crossings in 5 miles.