Fri Feb 03 2012
by Jeff Saunders
Reporter
Macedonia -- As several dozen residents living near the Twinsburg Road railroad tracks watched, then applauded, City Council unanimously approved a quiet zone agreement with Norfolk Southern Railroad April 22.
"We're really excited," said Hudson resident Greg McNeil, who chairs a committee that has been working on the quiet zone for more than two years. "Our agreement has been approved. It was a long, hard battle."
The quiet zone at the Norfolk Southern Railroad crossing at Twinsburg Road is being paid for with $168,000 in federal stimulus dollars that McNeil applied for on behalf of Macedonia.
The improvements include electronic signal upgrades by the railroad that will bring the gates down in a uniform amount of time no matter how fast the train is moving, and metal posts down the middle of the road on both sides of the tracks to prevent vehicles from going around the gates.
Once completed, trains will no longer need to blow their horns when approaching the crossing unless there is an emergency.
Council approved the contract after five homeowners associations and two residential developers agreed to pay the costs of maintaining improvements to crossing through 2026.
According to the city's agreement with the railroad, the fee starts at $1,200, with annual increases capped at 3 percent and the first payment due in 2012.
McNeil gave the city signed agreements from the developers and associations.
McNeil said work on the crossing is expected to be completed as early as September.
Norfolk-Southern spokesperson Rudy Husband said he couldn't comment on the project, other than to say the signal upgrades would be completed by a deadline that would be set by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
PUCO spokesperson Shana Eiselstein said the deadline is March 3, 2011.
McNeil praised the railroad for working with the committee and the city on the quiet zone.
"The railroad has been terrific over the last two years in this process," he said.
Council Clerk Josephine Arceci read an April 22 letter sent to her by Brook Park Mayor Mark Elliot, who discussed three railroad crossing quiet zones the city established last year after eight years of work.
"As community leaders, it is our responsibility to provide the best safety and services for our residents," wrote Elliot. "The quiet zone project is personally my greatest success as mayor and it makes me proud that I have been able to restore an outstanding quality of life to all my residents."
E-mail: jsaunders@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3169
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