CONTACT: Aida Mayo 818.340.5300 or 818.618.9229
George Young & Associates 310.822.0370 or Kris Kassouf (714) 993-8245
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PLACENTIA - The State put a muzzle on "train whistle noise" in the City of Placentia today (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 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," Mayor Lowe continued, "for more than a year 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."
The City's application for added rail crossing safety measures was on the Consent Agenda of the CPUC meeting today in San Francisco (11/21/02). All public hearings have been held and the CPUC staffrecommended approval. The official report says, "Staff has inspected the sites of the proposed project, examined the safety of the proposed grade crossing, and recommends that A.01-08-016 (Placentia's application) be approved". The application process was initiated with a filing to the PUC by the City of Placentia on August 13, 2001.
This action by the PUC will follow a previous approval by OCTA (Orange County Transportation Authority) Board of Directors of a $3.4 million grant to complete funding of the proposed project. The OCTA action was taken on August 12th of this year.
The
establishment of a "Quiet Zone" requires the coordination of approvals from
several government agencies. The City of Placentia decided to accelerate the
next project phase, while the CPUC decision was in process, in order to save
valuable time. The next phase has already begun and involves coordination with
the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration). Final construction plans and specifications
and railroad agreements are now being processed. Also, the first phase of the
process required by the FRA for Quiet Zone status is moving forward. That step
is to establish benchmark data through video surveillance of 4 crossings on
the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line. The plans for surveillance are in
final review, the contractor selected and implementation is under way.
Mayor Lowe said, "The City Council has been steadfast in its resolve to solve
the whistle noise problem. We have taken an aggressive pro-active approach in
working with the many agencies having jurisdiction over this project. The positive
actions of OCTA, the CPUC, BNSF, SCRRA, FRA and neighboring cities are greatly
appreciated. We now move into the construction phase, followed by the request
to the FRA for the quiet zone order. Our Citizens do not yet have full relief
from train whistles but we can see a time when they will. That is good news
indeed for the citizens of Plcentia." Placentia."
Rail operators did not sound whistles through the Cities of Placentia and Anaheim for more than 25 years, until April 1, 2001. This 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 oamajor comunity issue for North orange county communities.
Internet References: PUC staff report recommending approval (click on "Next Page" button for full 11 page report: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/AGENDA_DECISION/20565.htm Power Point display of how "Quad Gates" would work to increase safety at 8 crossings in Placentia: http://www.placentia.org/Train/ppt/Slide1.ht
