San Diego sets $20.9-million quiet zone project

Written by jrood

The San Diego City Council has approved what will be among the nation's largest quiet zones, entailing $20.9 million in spending to improve downtown railroad crossings and prevent freight trains from blaring their horns at all hours, local media report. Downtown residents, developers and business operators have decried late-night train noise for the past decade, saying it lowers the quality of life, hurts property values and detracts from downtown enhancement efforts.

Managers of downtown
hotels told the council that they receive frequent complaints about late-night
and early-morning train noise, causing them to lose repeat business and costing
them thousands of dollars in customer refunds every year.

The City Council’s 6-2
vote June 22 allows the city to move ahead with what proponents say will be
among the largest of more than 400 such quiet zones being developed throughout
the nation. San Diego’s program will impact all 13 of downtown’s public rail
crossings between Park Boulevard and Laurel Street.

Funding from the Centre
City Development Corp., the city’s downtown redevelopment agency, will cover
the estimated $20,940,000 cost to improve rail crossings. Officials said those
would include extending crossing arms, adding signs, putting up road barrier,
and rerouting streets to prevent vehicles from crossing spots with high train
traffic. Officials said the moves are particularly aimed at preventing trains
from sounding horns between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Work on the crossing upgrades is
expected to begin in August and conclude by November 2011.

Federal law has long
required train operators to sound their horns at all crossings passing through
developed areas, but those are being relaxed in places where communities have established
official quiet zones through safety improvements.

Initial costs approved by
the San Diego City Council include awarding a construction contract to West
Coast General Corp. for $8.3 million; a contract with RailPros Inc. for $1.2
million for construction-related services; $748,275 to the North County Transit
District, also for construction-related services; and $542,259 to MTS, aka the
Metropolitan Transit System, for signaling systems.

Once the zone is set up,
freight train operators who blow horns at crossings without good reason would
be subject to penalties to be enforced by the city based on complaints from
residents, though exact penalty levels have not been finalized. If the city in
the future decides it no longer wants to pay for ongoing maintenance, or if the
potential liability to the city associated with the quiet zone is deemed an
unacceptable risk, the city may terminate the zone by notifying the railroads
and paying to mothball or remove zone equipment.

CCDC Chairman Fred Maas
says an escalation of city liability – in the case of train accidents involving
vehicles and pedestrians – is possible but not likely, since all downtown
crossings will be made safer than they are now, and they already have a good
safety record.

Dozens of downtown
residents, merchants and business organization leaders packed the council
chambers to speak in favor of the quiet zone.

The City Council also
approved required construction and maintenance agreements, setting out rights
and obligations of the city and the primary users of local rails, including the
Metropolitan Transit System, North County Transit District and freight-rail
operator BNSF. The city will be required to pay for all safety improvements
related to the zone, and to reimburse railroads annually for the actual cost of
inspecting and maintaining zone-related equipment, currently estimated at
$60,000 annually. City funds will need to be appropriated yearly.

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