I pulled this article out from this morning's online newspaper from Norman Oklahoma... Silencing Norman's trains Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2015 9:44 pm By Joy Hampton Senior Staff Writer • Posted on Sep 24, 2015 by Joy Hampton The familiar pattern of train horns sounding two long, one short and one long blast at a level between 96 and 110 decibels is so common some Norman residents don't even think about it anymore. And yet those long, seemingly mournful calls during the night can be a disruption for homeowners. During business hours, they can interrupt conversations and community events. It's no wonder cities like Norman prefer silence. Collisions between trains and vehicles are rare in Norman, and the city has taken steps to make crossings safe. Those safety features qualify Norman to apply for a quiet zone, city officials said Thursday during a Community Planning and Transportation committee meeting. Norman has 17 at-grade crossings. About 15 years ago, the city invested $2 million to modernize crossing controls and surfaces, providing gated protection and active devices at every crossing. The upgrades include new constant warning circuitry. “We have to have that (constant warning circuitry) to even consider quiet zones,” city engineer Angelo Lombardo said. Under the Train Horn Rule, locomotive engineers must begin to sound train horns at least 15 seconds, and no more than 20 seconds, in advance of all public grade crossings, according to the Federal Railway Association. But the FRA also administers rules nationwide that allow cities and towns to “mitigate the effects of train horn noise” by establishing quiet zones. In a quiet zone, the train horns are silenced at crossings unless there is an emergency or safety concern. “Anytime an engineer sees anyone on the tracks, he's going to blow the horn,” said Jack Webb, of J Webb and Associates LLC. The city hired Webb's team to consult on getting a quiet zone designation for Norman. To establish a quiet zone, cities must mitigate the increased risk caused by the absence of a horn, according to FRA rules. Safety measures used for mitigation include four-quadrant gate systems, one way streets with gates, gates with medians, wayside horns or permanent closures of dangerous crossings. “It's a pretty complex process,” Public Works Director Shawn O'Leary said. “We've got a challenge facing us. If we do the quiet zone, how is that going to affect the two-way of Main and Gray?” The answer to that is achieve quiet zone status before Main Street and Gray Street are converted back to two-way streets. The timing of which is crucial to save money. Should the quiet zone come after Main and Gray are changed back to two-way streets, getting a quiet zone would require seven locations with expensive four-quadrant gates. Those gates can cost up to $1 million per crossing. The city has been saving money in the Capital Improvement Budget, but that level of expense would exceed the available funding. As long as Main and Gray are one way, the city has more than enough money to move forward. “We're ready to pull the trigger on this project,” Lombardo said. A diagnostic team with the BNSF Railway Company and the FRA did a field review of Norman's crossings last month. Risk is normalized to the national average of “predicted probability of incident occurrences,” Lombarado said. Those “incidents” are vehicle-train collisions at crossings and do not include pedestrians who are killed while walking on the tracks or due to suicide. At least two have already died on the tracks in 2015 and some years have even higher numbers. Norman's railway corridor qualifies for a quiet zone with no more special safety features because of recent improvements at Duffy Street and Cedar Lane Road and because Main and Gray are one way which means a higher safety rating, but the city wants to exceed the safety requirements. “The diagnostic team felt like we should put in some safety measures,” Lombardo said. “We are suggesting the use of medians.” The medians prevent cars from circumventing gates at crossings. The city also wants to put up decorative fencing in areas where Legacy Trail runs close to the tracks to increase pedestrian safety and prevent people trying to cross the tracks where there is no crossing. The city also wants to extend the quiet zone corridor further north. “Originally, the target of the quiet zone area was from Robinson south,” Lombardo said.” We heard a couple of months ago, the mayor wanted us to look at extending the quiet zone north of Robinson Street.” Research indicates the FRA suggests including the full length of the corridor now as the easiest method. Webb said the team will get a list of suggested improvements from the BNSF Railway Co. That list could have a high price tag attached, but since the city already qualifies, those suggestions will be suggestions only. “It's a good bargaining position to be in when we can ask for a quiet zone without doing anything,” Lombardo said. Some suggestions will be followed for the benefit and safety of residents. “It is in our best interest to put in as many safety features as we can,” Webb said. Committee members said silencing the trains shows a cultural shift toward urbanization of the nation. “Railroads are the rivers of the American west,” council member Clint Wiliams said. “That's where the cities were founded.” Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2015 9:44 pm By Joy Hampton Senior Staff Writer Joy Hampton 366-3544 jhampton@normantranscript.com Follow me @joyinvestigates
It's sad the railroad is an irritation. But if they want food on their tables and clothes on their backs.... If the cities want to assume ALL liability, install and maintain ALL necessary devices, then go ahead.
Having lived in Norman for a few years there is one thing that is not mentioned in the article. That is the fact that the referenced RR crossings at Main St and Gray St are less than a block away from the courthouse and several affluent attorneys offices as well as this newspaper. The article mentions "conversations have to be stopped" therefor this could very well be the source for this change. No proof… just merely a logistical observation!?
