At the request of the Fairways at Firewheel neighborhood, I asked that the Council consider establishing quiet zones in Garland over two years ago. Since then, I have posted what they are, what other cities are doing, and an update. When I made the request, I didn't know that the Transportation Dept was already well along on their research. I shudder to think how long this process might have taken if they had not initiated their research when they did.
 
The federal government allows cities to establish quiet zones but, basically speaking, crossings have to be safer with a quiet zone than than they would be if train horns are used, a tough standard to meet. Although the formula allows variation, essentially crossings must have gates that close and flashing lights. Medians are usually required so vehicles cannot leave their lane to drive around the gates. The graphic gives a good idea of the necessary types of warning measures.
 
Over the years, Garland had been upgrading its crossings so many qualified before the effort to establish a quiet zone. It was the exceptions that prevented moving forward. Finally, the last crossing along the KCS line, running from Sachse through Garland to Dallas, needing to be upgraded with gates is the State St crossing near City Hall. The state will pay for a portion of the cost to install the necessary safety devices and the city will cover the rest. However, KCS will do the construction. We've been waiting on that last step until we were recently notified that KCS expects to start construction in March. Construction won't take long but the approval process will not yet be over.
 
By law, notifications have to be sent to various interested groups and we must wait for them to respond. Warning signs that the crossing is in a quiet zone must be posted at the crossing.
 
We're still a few months away from having a north-south quiet zone, but it should be this year, unforeseen delays notwithstanding.
 
This news was part of the Capital Improvement Program presentations given by staff at Monday's Special Work Session. Robert Wunderlich, department director, also announced that Sachse will include the Murphy Rd crossing in the quiet zone. That will allow a quiet zone literally all the way through Garland and beyond. I very much appreciate how the council and staff in Sachse so closely work with us on issues that affect us both. They are generous and professional and both sides of the city limits benefit from the close relationship.
 
I'll be excited to post one last time on quiet zones, letting everyone know when it has been approved. Or, listen and if you don't hear anything but a rumble, you'll know.
 

1 comment

Comments:

Comment from: Deborah Morris [Visitor]

Whoo-hoo! A night-time no honk zone near downtown would be great. Bring it on!

01/26/10 @ 19:28

Comments are closed for this post.