The subject of silencing trains as they move through Baxter was part of the recent city council workshop sessions this month in light of budget considerations.
Baxter has been moving toward silent railway crossings for years, looking at ending the sound of the train’s whistle, or perhaps what is more appropriately described as a horn.
Council member Todd Holman noted the crossing project at Inglewood and Highway 210 was moved to 2022 construction. Holman questioned how the 2021 budget reflected that project going forward.
“We have had a pretty decent public push for the silent railroad crossings and so should that be an expense incurred for feasibility or whatever, preliminary design in 2021, or is that covered? … My fear is that it gets put off, we are going to build in ‘22 and then, ‘Oh, we should do the study in 2022,’ and then a year later we come back with amendments to what could have been constructed a lot more efficiently in 2022.”
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Holman said his concern then is that it gets pushed off to 2023 or 2024. He asked if there should be something in the budget for the coming year related to the 2022 Inglewood construction project.
Trevor Walter, Baxter city engineer and public works director, agreed. Walter said he forgot about that aspect in the budget but noted for three or four years the city’s goal has been to seek a silent crossing status when the last crossing was upgraded.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration notes the train horn rule means engineers must sound horns at least 15 seconds in advance of all public grade crossings and must be in a standardized two long, one short and one long blast in a pattern that is repeated until the lead locomotive or cab car is in the crossing. The maximum decibel level is listed at 110. But cities can create quiet zones if crossings are equipped with supplementary safety measures, such as crossing guards that entirely block vehicles or pedestrian crossings and it alerts the train crew it is deployed as they approach the crossing.
“That whistle blowing is time to go away in my opinion as well,” Walter said. “... We should be doing the feasibility study the year before we do that crossing and we should plan how we do the rest of the crossings so we can get that status.”
The train could be heard in the background at that point in the virtual meeting.
Holman said that cost represents hundreds of thousands of dollars and is not in the budget. While the council set the preliminary tax levy, they will continue budget talks this fall before a final levy is set before the end of the year.
Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchBizBuzz.
