Train whistles to be silenced with upgrade in Ohio
Written by jrood
The Twinsburg Road railroad crossing in Macedonia, Ohio, will be a little less noisy in the future, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Macedonia City Council signed off on a deal that will create a federally sanctioned ''quiet zone'' at the tracks, located in a residential area where Macedonia, Hudson, Northfield Center Township and Boston Heights meet.
The maintenance agreement
with Norfolk Southern was the final hurdle to overcome for the long-discussed
project, which involves improving safety at the crossing in exchange for
silencing train whistles there. A standing-room only crowd applauded when the
council unanimously approved it.
”It’s something that’s
going to be great for years and years to come,” said Greg McNeil, a Hudson
resident who led the quiet zone effort.
Macedonia officials
initially balked at the deal because it
involved an annual maintenance
fee-$1,200 the first year. But local homeowners associations and developers
have agreed to pay the fee for at least the next 16 years. There is no
financial obligation for Macedonia. Residents delivered more than $1,200 at the
meeting toward the fee.
”It’s amazing that you
guys are stepping up to do this,” Councilman Shane Barker said.
McNeil already has
secured $168,323 in federal stimulus money for the safety improvements.
The crossing has
electronic gates now, but the project will include upgrading warning devices
and medians to make it more difficult for someone to cross the tracks when the
gates are down.
McNeil hopes the quiet
zone will be in place in about six months. He and his neighbors want the quiet
zone because the number of trains using the tracks has tripled over the past
several years to more than 70 a day. They say they enjoy the trains, just not
the constant whistles.
Train engineers must blow
their horns to alert motorists and pedestrians as the trains approach public
crossings. But a 2005 law allows communities to petition the Federal Railroad
Administration for quiet zones. If a community proves it can upgrade safety at
the crossing, then the horns can be silenced.
There are more than 380
quiet zones in the United States.
