Feds derail Fort Collins quiet zone

Efforts to establish a "quiet zone" in downtown Fort Collins free of blaring train horns have been derailed by federal regulators.

The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday notified city officials it will not grant a waiver of its rule that trains sound horns before crossing public streets out of concern for safety along the BNSF tracks that run along Mason Street.

In a letter to the city, the FRA stated it is denying the city's request "at this time" and left open the possibility of creating a quiet zone if safety requirements were met, such as installing gates with flashing lights at every crossing.

The city's proposal to use traffic signals to control vehicle movement in parts of the proposed quiet zone did not meet the agency's safety standards, said Ron Hynes, director of the FRA Office of Technical Oversight.

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"When we establish a quiet zone, per the regulations, we require the equivalent level of safety," Hynes said. "And with the absence of gates, putting up red lights is not an option in the regulation."

Of the hundreds of quiet zones created across the country in recent years, none has been established without gates, Hynes said.

City officials were disappointed by the decision, said Dan Weinheimer, policy and project manager for Fort Collins. The city worked with a regional FRA office to come up with a proposal that seemed "reasonable," he said.

The FRA letter stated FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg had directed staff to form an internal working group with the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration to assist the city in finding a solution to the train noise issue.

The working group would be the first of its kind within the Department of Transportation, said Matt Lehner, communications director for FRA. The group was formed at the urging of the Colorado congressional delegation, especially Sen. Michael Bennet.

Having a working group would go a long way toward finding a solution, Weinheimer said.

"I see that as an opportunity where we would work collaboratively as partners to find an answer and not have them coming back to us with their version of what we should do," he said.

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City officials requested permission to designate a quiet zone along a 1.16-mile stretch of BNSF track from Old Main Drive on the Colorado State University campus to North College Avenue and its intersection with Cherry Street.

The proposal, which has been in the works for years, was submitted in March. It was reviewed by the FRA Safety Board, which visited Fort Collins in April to better understand the issue on the ground.

During the visit, board members saw several pedestrians crossing the tracks on Mason Street at places other than public crossing, according to the letter. The city should consider working with BNSF to put in fencing to stop the practice, which happens all over the country and is "incredibly dangerous," the letter stated.

The FRA is correct to focus on safety, Bennet said Friday during a meeting with the Coloradoan. But its train horn rule does not work for Western states or Fort Collins. Bennet said he would push to reopen the rule and conduct public hearings on it.

Cities have safety concerns, he said, but there are other issues to consider, including economic development and quality of life.

"Places are organic," Bennet said. "They evolve, they change, they grow. And if a rule can't take account of that, that's a problem and that's what we're facing with the FRA and we're just going to have to go back after it."

Later Friday, Bennet, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., sent the FRA a joint letter expressing their disappointment in the decision and calling for further examination of the rule.

About nine BNSF freight trains pass through Fort Collins each day, sounding their horns as they approach every intersection along the route.

BNSF tracks cross 12 intersections along the proposed quiet zone. Of those, two meet FRA requirements for warning lights, gates and circuitry connected to the railroad tracks to be part of a quiet zone.

City officials have said there is not enough space at other intersections along the tracks to install gates in all four directions, as required under quiet zone regulations.

The city proposed closing Old Main Drive at CSU plus Magnolia and Myrtle streets along Mason Street to crossing vehicle traffic, but still allowing pedestrians and bicycles to cross at the intersections.

Other intersections along the route have traffic signals and the required circuitry connected to the tracks.

The city spent $4 million on improvements along Mason Street in 2012 when the MAX bus rapid-transit system was built. Changes included building curbs separating the tracks from travel lanes on the street.

The improvements significantly reduced the risk of vehicles crossing in front of oncoming trains, city officials say.

Hynes said the FRA knows the problems in Fort Collins and that installing gates would be costly. Assistance is available through the agency in the form of grant and financing programs.

Windsor is in the process of establishing a quiet zone for 13 Great Western Railway crossings in its town limits. The quiet zone is expected to be in place by August 2016.

The town received a $3.3 million federal grant in 2013 to build safety improvements at crossings.

Colorado has 14 quiet zones, including three in Commerce City, according to the FRA website. Of those, seven are along BNSF lines.

Nationwide, there are 666 established quiet zones. Texas has the most with 114, followed by Wisconsin with 78.

Coloradoan reporter Nick Coltrain contributed to this report. Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg.

Safety concerns

In a letter to Fort Collins officials rejecting the city's request for a waiver of certain train-horn rules, the Federal Railroad Administration noted these national statistics on train safety: