5.2. SR 12-20-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM FROM: Mayor and City Council Downtown Project Team {J// Michele MCPherso.},~irector of Planning TO: DATE: September 20, 2004 SUBJECT: Railroad Quiet Zones On Friday, September 17''', Terry Maurer and I met with Spencer Arndt of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) to discuss the Federal rules regarding railroad quiet zones. Spencer provided the attached guidelines and methods to implement quiet zones to us and I am forwarding them to you. Occasionally, staff will receive requests regarding the use of train horns within the City froin residents and we also received a letter from MetroPlains requesting that the City implement quiet zones within downtown (letter attached). There are five options for establishing a quiet zone within the City. They include closing a crossing, creating a one-way street, installing medians, using four quad gates or installing an automated horn (an automated horn sounds parallel to the roadway versus the train horn which sounds parallel to the railroad tracks). The Council may recall that in 2003, the crossing at the Troy Street alignment was closed. The Council needs to be aware that there is no fundinf available either from the Federal government or from BNSF for implementation of a quiet zone. All costs including diagnostic analysis of the crossings, installation of equipment, and ongoing maintenance will be the City's responsibility, should the Council chose to pursue a quiet zone at any of the seven crossings in the City. Prelinainary estimates anticipate that depending upon the option pursued, installation of the various safety measures could be anywhere from $75,000 - $300,000 per crossing. Spencer anticipated the horn option to cost $60,000 - $80,000 each. Ongoing maintenance is anticipated to be approximately $5,000 per year. Again, these would be the City's ongoing costs.