CLINTON —
Silencing train horns at select crossings remains on the minds of Clinton City Council members, even if it is a project that won’t be completed in the forseeable future.
By federal law, the trains are required to sound their horns when approaching a crossing. However, an exemption can be made if a number of safety regulations are instituted, creating a “quite zone.”
Ward 4 Councilman Paul Gassman spoke with the members of the City Services Committee on Wednesday to reiterate his point that he would like to see a partial quiet zone instated from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Sixth Avenue South to 12th Avenue North.
“I had the wonderful privilege of living down at the campground for the entire summer collecting fees for the camping and all that. One of the things people always complained about was the horns were blaring all night long,” Gassman said.
A new quiet zone must be at least one-half mile in length and have at least one public highway-rail grade crossing, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Every public grade crossing in a new quiet zone must be equipped with the standard or conventional flashing light and automatic warning gates, at minimum.
Gassman said only the train crossings at Fourth Avenue South and Fourth Avenue North would potentially create a problem. Other than that, he said the intersections along that section of the Canadian Pacific Railway either have crossing gates or could be barricaded at night when the train horns would be silenced.
The details of completing the project, specifically the potential cost for the city, remain scant.
Gassman suggested looking to the city of Morrison, Ill., which completed the project a few years ago.
According to Morrison City Administrator Jim Wise, of the six crossings that are in his city’s quiet zone, the city had to pay for upgrades at four crossings. The two others consisted of a crossing along a state route that was exempt and an out-of-town crossing that required no work. Each of the four upgraded crossings entailed putting up traffic barriers in the median and upgrading lights and cost $8,000. Morrison spent $32,000 to upgrade the four crossings.
Gassman said he doesn’t expect the issue to be addressed in the immediate future.
“This is my rainy-day project, improve the quality of life for people who use our riverfront and live close to the tracks,” Gassman said.
Top News
January 24, 2013
Train horns concern council
- Top News
-
-
Striding for awareness
CAMANCHE -- Organizers for the third annual Strides for Clinton County Autism Family Walk and 5K run agreed that Saturday's turnout was better than last year. "It's getting bigger every year," Lori Bigwood, one of the organizers for the event, said.
- Clinton avoids heavy storm CLINTON -- Jim Blaess, official weather observer for the National Weather Service, said Clinton County was lucky during Sunday's storms. "We dodged a bullet," said Blaess, adding that the county did not see any tornados. The county did not receive a
-
Gas prices up 11 cents over past 2 weeks
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) -- The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.66. Midgrade costs an average of $3.8
-
10 Things to Know for Monday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
-
Clinton law enforcement honored
CLINTON — Members of the Clinton Police Department and Clinton County Sheriff's Office commemorated National Police Week with an awards ceremony and a memorial ceremony to honor those who protect the community.
-
Indians' Harksen takes 2nd in 400
DES MOINES -- There's a delicate balance for runners who qualify for the track and field state meet in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Because there is little more than a half-hour between the races on the opening day of the three-day event, a runner
-
Focused leadership vs. social status
The strength of a community is only increased when its members recognize leaders. Maybe that leader is you!
-
2 finalists named for city administrator
CLINTON — Two finalists have been selected in the search for Clinton's next city administrator: Clinton Finance Director and interim City Administrator Jessica Kinser and Joliet, Ill., Assistant City Manager Benjamin Benson.
-
It's close-but-not-quite for Sabers
DES MOINES -- After running the anchor leg and nearly catching Kate Sandage of Greene County in her heat of the shuttle hurdle relay, Central DeWitt's Sam Barr knew it would be a matter of a fraction of a second as to whether the Sabers would earn a
-
Students honored at ceremony
CLINTON -- Seventy-four students from Clinton High School's class of 2013 were honored Thursday during the 27th annual senior honors convocation. The class of 2013 has taken more Advanced Placement tests and has earned some of the highest scores on
- More Top News Headlines
-
