News Release
June 30, 2004
News
Release
June 30, 2004
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STATE'S ONLY "RAILROAD QUIET ZONE"
Placentia, CA. - CEO Chris Becker of Chris Becker & Associates, Inc (CBA) announced today (Wednesday) he has posted photos, collateral and materials at www.ChrisBecker.com that outline the state's only "Railroad Quiet Zone," which has become a model for cities throughout the country. The website also includes a wealth of information regarding the new federal whistle rule. "We're getting so many inquiries from public works managers and city managers from across the country we concluded that it would be helpful to post the information on our website (www.ChrisBecker.com)," said Becker. "Once these improvements are installed, the use of locomotive air whistles at the railroad crossings will no longer be required, bringing much needed noise mitigation to the thousands of families across the country who reside adjacent to rail corridors as well as greatly enhanced safety for motorists and pedestrians." The project is being implemented by Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) Joint Powers Authority (www.OnTrac-JPA.org). CBA has been retained to manage and administer the project as well as a longer term comprehensive grade separation program. The "Quite Zone" has many supporters, including Rep. Gary Miller (R-Brea), who was selected earlier this month to serve on a House-Senate conference committee that will finalize a massive transportation spending bill currently moving through Congress. The committee will seek to reconcile the differences between the House of Representatives' $275 billion bill and the U.S. Senate's $318 billion bill. The legislation, when signed into law by President Bush, will set federal transportation priorities for the next six years. Funding for the bill comes from the federal gasoline tax, currently at 18.4 cents per gallon. "People throughout the US and the world count on shipping freight in and receiving freight from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach via the transcontinental railway," said Congressman Miller. "This economically vital artery, which runs directly through Placentia, is responsible for the distribution of nearly $250 billion in trade. More than 50 trains per day travel through the Orangethorpe rail corridor, with rail traffic expected to increase to 135 per day by the year 2020." CBA is working with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Metrolink to design track safety improvements and rail crossing supplemental safety measures (SSM's) for all 11 crossings. "The goal is to create an environment that facilitates the expanding transcontinental rail trade, while maintaining local safety and quality of life," explained Becker. "CBA also assisted in the negotiation and completion of the many agency agreements needed to implement the project." The supplemental safety measures being designed for the rail crossings include raised and extended length concrete traffic medians, three- and four-quadrant rail crossing gates, traffic pre-signals as well as all new crossing warning flashers and signage. A three-phase video data collection study is underway following FRA guidelines used recently on similar whistle ban projects. During phase one, existing conditions are studied for four months; the video cameras are activated each time a train enters four specified crossings and all activities of motorists, pedestrians and the trains are monitored until the trains clear the crossing. During the second phase, the video will capture these activities following the installation of the supplemental safety measures, while train whistles are still in use. In the last phase, the video will record the crossing activity with the train whistles not used. The FRA, City of Placentia and BNSF will review data reports compiled from the video taping to determine if sufficient improvement in driver behavior (fewer violations) is in place (due to the new safety measures), to warrant the implementation of the whistle ban. Come December 18, 2004 a federal regulation becomes effective requiring all locomotive engineers to blow the loud whistles before entering a crossing to reduce liability unless the crossing is in an approved quiet zone. California began the tedious process to put a muzzle on "train whistle noise" in the City of Placentia Nov. 21, 2002, with the approval by the California Public Utilities Commission of Placentia's application for "supplemental safety measures" at eight railroad crossings. Placentia Mayor-Pro Tem Chris Lowe said, "We welcome the approval from the CPUC of our plans as a significant step in the process to establish Placentia as a 'Quiet Zone' where train whistles are not required. Our plan is to construct quad gates with pre signals and other enhancements at eight intersections. Once the next step in the process is completed, it will allow us to request an order from the Federal Railroad Administration seeking to cease use of locomotive whistles." "Our citizens have suffered for nearly two years with great intrusion into their peace and quiet. While this approval is not the last step, it does clear a major hurdle and we can now foresee a successful conclusion to our plans," Lowe said. Rail operators did not sound whistles through the Cities of Placentia and Anaheim for more than 25 years, until April 1, 2001. The informal agreement was set aside due to the increased volumes of trains and vehicles and greater potential for accidents and liability. The resumption of the use of the train whistles became a major community issue for North Orange County communities. "America's freight railroads carry more than 40 percent of the nation's intercity freight (measured in ton-miles)," explained Becker. "In many of the rail corridors and global gateways, from California to New York, and from Illinois to Texas, the railroads are operating in unsafe congested conditions, and run at unacceptable speeds because of the competition at grade crossings with automobiles and pedestrians. Many of the communities represented by Members of both the Subcommittee and Full Committee are confronted with these conditions every day," said Becker. For interviews and digital photos please call
George McQuade 818.340.5300 or 818.618.9229 or Aida Mayo, 818.6187.9226]or
email:
PR@MayoCommunications.com. # # #
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