HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment regarding Railroad Crossings from Reno Walsh 3-19-14From:Reno Walsh
To:Agenda
Subject:Quiet Zones on the City Agenda
Date:Tuesday, March 18, 2014 5:00:17 PM
Hello,
My name is Reno Walsh. I live at 7254 N. Bozerman. My home is about six blocks
from the N. Rouse Train Intersection. Reports suggest 40 additional trains to top the
15 we averaged in 2011 will pass through Bozeman, Montana in the near future. At a
ten minutes for each, that’s 9 hours of day and night Noise Pollution, Traffic Issues,
Air Pollution and Safety Concerns. I believe Bozeman needs to implement Quiet
Zones at two of its three train intersections starting with the N. Rouse intersection this
summer.
Can we add the prospect of implementing Quiet Zones to the City Agenda?
Federal law requires trains to blow their whistles at each intersection. This law can be
overridden by making a “Quiet Zone”.
The basics are this; the local road authority (not the RR) must install and pay for a
positive separation from the tracks – there can be no way for a driver to drive around
the gates. This may be more gates or raised median barrier, etc.
Billings, Montana has already created Quiet Zones. In Bismarck, ND Quiet Zone
improvements are projected to reduce train accident risk by half. Missoula and
Helena are also considering Quiet Zones.
The City of Bozeman should consider implementing a Quiet Zone at the L Street and
N. Rouse intersections. It seems to me that if the N. Rouse restoration project is set
to take place this summer then the city should attempt to move forward quickly to
implement the Quiet Zone on N. Rouse at the same time in an effort to avoid having
to go back and change things in the future. And it might make sense to go ahead and
make the updates needed on L Street to make that a Quiet Zone at the same time to
make the Quiet Zone implementation one project.
The third intersection is on Griffin. This roadway is managed by MDT. MDT has
suggested they have the ability to create an underpass on Griffin when and if funding
becomes available. They are not able to do so on Rouse due to structural concerns. L
Street is not their responsibility.
Quiet Zones in Bismarck are projected to cost about 1.2 million per intersection. In
Helena and Missoula I have seen cost estimates closer to 500,000 to 700,000 per
intersection.
In addition to Noise Pollution, I understand there are other concerns related to the
railway through Bozeman including Coal Dust Pollution, the Safety of the Community
and traffic considerations. While the air pollution, traffic and safety concerns need to
be dealt with, they are more complicated issues. The noise pollution is something we
can manage and we can start this summer with the N. Rouse intersection. If we don’t
I fear the quality if living on the North Side of Bozeman will only decrease along with
our property values.
What can I do to help Bozeman, Montana implement Quiet Zones sooner rather than
later?
Thanks,
--
reno walsh
406-580-5919