�Quiet zone’ for trains is considered

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By Steven Martens | Sunday, July 16, 2006 1:11 AM CDT | () comments

DeWITT, Iowa — The whistles from the trains that run along the south edge of DeWitt more than 40 times a day can be heard all over town, and some residents would like to hear them a little less.

That’s why the city plans to host a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the DeWitt Community Center to invite residents to give their opinions about train noise and to discuss possible solutions.

Complaints about the train horns are nothing new, City Administrator Steve Lindner said.

“Some of it is longstanding,” he said.

Some residents of 1st Street, along the north side of the tracks, say they expected to hear train whistles when they bought homes next to the train tracks.

“You learn to live with that,” said Rod Binegar, whose back yard is adjacent to the tracks.

But there seems to be no consistent system for when the horns are used and how long they are blown, neighbor Laurie Wildes said.

“I think those horns are abused,” she said.

Herbert and Arlene Schnoor said the bigger problem is when the trains sit on the tracks across the street from their home and idle, filling the air with noise and diesel fumes.

Lindner said he still is exploring solutions to the problem. One would be to establish a “quiet zone” in the town where trains would not be required to blow their horns when approaching a railroad crossing. The establishment of a quiet zone would require safety improvements to two other railroad crossings in town, according to Federal Railroad Administration rules. A third crossing, on 9th Avenue just south of 1st Street, would have to be closed.

Binegar said he had concerns that closing it might impede emergency vehicles from getting to areas south of DeWitt, but Police Chief Gene Ellis said he did not believe it would create a problem.

“Without an overpass, you can’t get through no matter how many crossings you have,” he said.

Fire Chief John Burken said his department uses the 9th Avenue crossing, and once it is closed, there’s no reopening it.

“I would like to see us not close it if at all possible,” he said.

Arlene Schnoor said she and her husband use the crossing, located about a block from their house, but could always use the crossing on 6th Avenue, three blocks away.

“We use it all the time, but we could live without it,” she said.

James Barnes, director of media information for the Union Pacific railroad, said communities are becoming more aware of quiet zones, and the railroad is willing to lend any kind of assistance it can.

“Obviously we support that, but first and foremost, UP is concerned about safety,” Barnes said.

The LeClaire City Council recently approved a plan to establish a quiet zone after residents along Canal Shore Drive complained about excessive train noise. City Administrator Edwin Choate said the city already had spent the money to improve railroad crossing safety, so a quiet zone seemed like a logical step.

“If it had cost a whole bunch of money to do it, I don’t know if the council would have gone down the same path or not,” he said.

He said the city is working with the IC&E Railroad, and the quiet zone should be in place in about a month.

Barnes added he thought it was a good idea for the community to get together to discuss the problem thoroughly before deciding on a course of action.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.