Cohoes, N.Y., wants to re-establish Quiet Zone

Written by jrood

While some feel the trains need to blow their horns for safety purposes when traveling through a populated area, others have grown tiresome of hearing the whistle at all times of the day and night and have called upon the city to apply for Quiet Zone status, The Troy Record reports.

This issue was discussed at
a public meeting where the city explained its proposal for re-establishing a
Quiet Zone in the city, which means trains would not have to blow their horn at
each of the nine crossways within 9/10 of a mile from each other, said Mayor
John McDonald.

The city was notified in
2005 that, unless certain safety precautions and changes were met, the trains
would start using their horns. From 2005 until 2008, the city researched the
subject and considered a $1-million quote from a consultant on what would be
needed to prevent this from happening. Officials felt that the construction
proposed by the consultant and the price tag were too much for the city and for
its taxpayers, said McDonald.

When a feasible plan was
not found, the train whistles started in 2008. But, now, the city has a new
plan, which they are proposing and putting before residents to gain input.

At a cost of $20,000 to
city taxpayers, some traffic and street changes would be made around the
railway crossings, including medians on New Courtland Street, railway crossing
closings at Pine and Newark streets and making Spring and Bridge streets one
way. Spring would go from west to east and Bridge from east to west.

Additionally, the
Department of Transportation is investing $1.5 million in improving the city’s
crossings that have not been updated in about 25 years.

On the current timeline,
the city, working with the Canadian Pacific Railway, would apply with the
Federal Railroad Administration for the Quiet Zone status by the spring of
2012, said McDonald who anticipated that construction would be done during the
application process.

"I get complaints
regularly. Some residents say the trains shake them out of bed at night," said
McDonald.

Still, others say the horns
are the only things that keep people off the tracks when they’re in a rush to
beat the train and get to the other side before the long line of train cars.

To this, both city
officials and railroad employees stress that drivers take their time, not stop
their car on the tracks and not try to beat the train.

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