Quiet zone may not require safety measures
By Ben Saylor
Rocky River
Published Jan. 31, 2007

It could be easier than initially thought to establish a quiet zone, or area in which trains may not blow their horns, in the city of Rocky River.

At City Council’s committee-of-the-whole meeting Jan. 16, Mayor Pamela Bobst announced that following a new study by the city consulting engineer’s office that Rocky River’s risk index falls below the Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT) without any additional supplemental safety measures (or SSM’s for short). The index is determined by train traffic in a given zone.

The results came as a surprise to Bobst and other city officials, who had been expecting the results to be higher. Bobst attributed the difference to having the engineer’s office put updated train counts into the FRA calculator, in addition to a change in the way the way the information was put into the calculator.

Bobst, who called these results “stunning news,” said she contacted Ron Reis, the director of crossing safety for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to make sure the city’s risk index was correct, which Reis confirmed. However, it seems the city will still consider implementing safety measures like cameras, signage and more. Bobst said the greatest deterrents to motorists driving around the gates are education, fines and enforcement.

Should the city make the choice to go ahead with the quiet zone without implementing SSM’s, the zone would have to be monitored and evaluated every year. If the number of trains passing through the city each day increased to 10 (the example given at the meeting), the city index would rise above the NSRT.

Law Director Andrew Bemer reported at council’s Jan. 22 meeting that the current average number of trains per day was 4.1, with seven being the highest single day total and zero the lowest.

This new development sparked discussion as to whether implementing an evening-only quiet zone, which would run from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., would be enough the address the noise issue. Councilman Frank Gollinger indicated at council’s Jan. 16 meeting that residents wanted a 24-hour quiet zone.

Bobst said she wants to have a meeting within the next month with an FRA representative present where the public can ask questions and offer their opinions.

“I just think it’s important to have this dialogue in the community,” Bobst said.