SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Provide direction on the establishment of a Quiet Zone along the CSX railroad corridor through the City of Clearwater by reviewing various options and associated cost estimates. (WSO)
Body
SUMMARY:
Under the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Train Horn Rule, locomotive engineers must sound the train horn in advance of all public grade crossings. To mitigate the impacts of the high decibel train horn, the FRA offers the option of establishing a quiet zone. For crossings within a quiet zone the CSX locomotive engineer would cease sounding the train horn at public grade crossings unless an emergency situation arose.
Establishing a quiet zone requires that the City go through a process which includes but isn't limited to: identifying the crossings, determining if we wish to eliminate any crossings, obtaining the approval of all relevant jurisdictions, using the FRA's Quiet Zone Calculator to determine and compare the Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) with the Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT) with associated costs estimates, and determining which Supplementary Safety Measures (SSM) to apply.
Traffic Operations staff has used the quiet zone calculator to propose and evaluate several scenarios with various SSMs such as closing specific crossings, making certain roadways one-way, employing quad gates, constructing medians to avoid driving around the railroad arms, etc.
Below are the options that are being proposed. Options 2 and 3 from the Quiet Zone Calculator are not being proposed since they were determined to be infeasible.
Option 1: Belleair Road to Keene Road ($1,267,000)
Option 1A: Belleair Road to Keene Road ($175,000)
Option 1B: Belleair Road to Fairwood Avenue ($860,000) - Covers all crossings within the city limits.
Option 1BB: Belleair Road to Fairwood Avenue ($1,960,000) - Covers all crossings within the city limits.
Option 4: Drew Street to Pinellas Street ($245,000)
City staff is seeking direction from City Council on how to proceed with a Railroad Quiet Zone given the available options. Funding for either of these options would be pursued through a FRA Quiet Zone Grant but the City would be required to provide 50% matching funds.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
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USE OF RESERVE FUNDS:
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