Kelly Simonson covers her ears as a train blows its horn while passing by the Fanning
Street railroad crossing in December 2007. People from around town gathered at the
crossing to watch the demonstration of a wayside train horn that would reduce the
amount of noise compared to train horns.
(photo: Jenn Ireland)
Latest train horn silence date: March 1
By JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
February 5, 2010
The city of Flagstaff has tentatively set March 1 as the latest date for the silencing of train horns through the city. The project, long delayed by financial, political and administrative hurdles, was cleared by the Federal Railroad Administration earlier this week. A federal, on-site diagnostic team is expected to review and sign off on the installations in the next few weeks.
City Manager Kevin Burke said in a memo that the installation of pedestrian gates and wayside horns was completed last month. Both measures are designed to clear the way for train engineers to silence their horns through five at-grade crossings in Flagstaff.
Sensors will trigger wayside or directional horns at the Steves and Fanning railroad crossings, while pedestrian gates and crossing arms will be used at Enterprise, San Francisco and Beaver streets. Train engineers will sound their horns in emergencies only. City officials will begin testing the newly installed equipment next week, with the goal of establishing the quiet zones on March 1. The city has been pursuing options to silencing train horns since 2005 and is expected to spend $950,000 on installing pedestrian gates and wayside horns.
The city saw its last delay in the summer of 2009 when the Arizona Corporation Commission forced the city to stop installation of the wayside horns after the agency learned that construction crews had been working without the regulatory agency's permission. The issue was resolved in October when the commission ruled that work could resume, but only after a series of administrative hearings. A citizen-run bond advisory group is currently considering bonding to remove the directional horns at Steves and Fanning and replace them with a quieter alternative -- pedestrian barriers. The issue is popular with many eastside residents but considerably more expensive than the gates at the downtown crossings. The Flagstaff City Council has considered this option in the past but has rejected it several times due to its price tag -- estimated to be more than a million dollars.