Article Contributed on: 8/19/2009 10:06:44 AM
Council considers making downtown free of railroad horns
Hearing the blast of a train horn about 30 times a day is part of being in downtown Castle Rock. However, town council is studying the possibility of making downtown a horn-free zone.
By law, the horn must be sounded at each Union Pacific Railroad crossing, but the Federal Railroad Administration has issued a rule that a quiet zone may be established if certain guidelines are met, said Bob Watts, transportation planning manager, at the town council meeting Aug. 11.
"Although most railroads don't approve of them or like them, there is a rule that allows us to do them," Watts said of quiet zones.
Castle Rock's quiet zone would be from Second through Fifth streets. Once the town has met the requirements, signs would be posted to inform the train engineer that he or she is not required to sound the horn.
The Union Pacific does not support establishing quiet zones because of the belief that it reduces safety. One of the provisions of the quiet zone is that engineers can still sound the horn if they believe a safety hazard exists, Watts said.
In order to meet quiet zone requirements, the town would have to construct additional safety measures at each of the crossings within the quiet zone: Second and Front, Third and Front and Fifth and Perry streets.
According to the town, the railroad views the best crossing as a closed crossing. Options for meeting quiet zone requirements include closing the crossings at either Second or Third streets, making these streets into a one-way pair or installing four-quadrant gates at the Second and Third street crossings.
Another option is not implementing a quiet zone, but instead installing wayward horns near the tracks that, while still effective in the immediate crossing area, reduce the number of properties affected by horn noise.
In a memo to the town from Castle Rock Fire Department Chief Art Morales, he said closing the Third Street crossing would be unacceptable because the department uses the crossing for 23 percent of their total responses. Both the police and fire department agreed closing the Second Street crossing would have the least impact on their services.
Response from council members was mixed. Mayor Randy Reed and council member Paul Donahue said that while they agreed on the merits of the project, they want to see it done right and questioned if now was the right time. Town Manager Mark Stevens pointed out that the North Meadows Extension, which would provide another access to The Meadows from Interstate 25, is looming on the horizon - and the town is $25 million short for that project.
The most expensive option, which also would have the least impact on street function, would be to install gates at both crossings. The estimated cost is $1.4 million. The other options range from $350,000 to $650,000.
Council member Chip Wilson, whose house is close to the tracks, said the horns have been getting louder and more frequent.
"As someone who lives down by the tracks, and the businesses that we are trying to promote and engage and continue to build on the downtown corridor, I would like to see the benefit of a quiet zone there," he said.
Local shopkeeper Sandy Batchelor, who works at The Shoppes at 200 Perry, said she doesn't notice the train horns during work. At the farmers' market on Saturdays at nearby Festival Park, however, the train noise brings everything to a standstill, she said.
"Everything just stops (as the train goes by)," Batchelor said. "You can't hear the person talking next to you."
Town council voted to enter an agreement with Union Pacific to do a preliminary analysis of the project at a cost of $30,000.
Erin Feese: 303-954-2953 or feesee@yourhub.com