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By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, May 12, 2008
Greg McNeil and Lori Barber can handle the rumble of the freight trains as they pass behind their Hudson home.
It's the horn that gets them.
The Norfolk Southern line sits a few hundred feet from their colonial in the affluent Ashbrooke neighborhood. And the whistle sign — alerting northwest trains to start blowing the safety horn for the nearby Twinsburg Road crossing in Macedonia — is located just through the woods in their backyard.
With more than 70 trains passing by day and night — more than triple the number from just a few years ago — the couple and their neighbors in Hudson, Macedonia, Northfield Center Township and Boston Heights hear those loud, jarring horns often.
Now McNeil is leading an effort to silence them. He and others are lobbying for the creation of a federally recognized ''quiet zone,'' which would require upgrading safety features at the gated crossing in exchange for muting the horns.
''We love it here,'' McNeil said. ''We love the neighbors. We love the railroad, otherwise we wouldn't live here. But it comes down to a quality of life issue.''
Especially when those horns are blared in the wee hours of the morning.
Train engineers must blow their horns to alert motorists and pedestrians as the trains approach public crossings.
But a 2005 law allows communities to petition the Federal Railroad Administration for quiet zones. If a community proves it can upgrade safety at the crossing, then the horns can be silenced, either for 24 hours or just overnight.
Railroads cannot stop the process.
Today, there are more than 300 quiet zones in the United States, but only one in Ohio, in the Dayton suburb of Moraine. Ohio is home to nearly 40 railroads and has about 5,200 miles of track and 6,100 public grade crossings.
Several other Ohio communities, including Brook Park, Rocky River and Vermilion, are pursuing quiet zones because of an increase in train traffic over the last few years.
''We are seeing more freight migrate to the rails because we are much more fuel efficient,'' Norfolk Southern spokesman Rudy Husband said. ''And from a rate standpoint, we are becoming more competitive with the trucking industry.''
Co-existence
The Twinsburg Road crossing sits in a piece of southern Macedonia near Boston Heights, Hudson and Northfield Center Township — an area that has seen extensive growth of high-end houses over the last 20 years.
Many residents have no problem with the railroad, because they knew it was there when they moved in. It's even a point of pride that the trains are so close, and many residents enjoy watching them roll by.
But the rapid rise in train traffic has meant the horns are being blown much more often, even in the still of night.
''Yes, the railroad has been there forever. And, yes, our homes have been put up in the last 20 years or so, but there should be a way for everyone to peacefully co-exist,'' resident Tracy Cohen said. The railroad passes by her backyard.
McNeil is gathering the $7,500 necessary for a preliminary engineering study, which would determine what needs to be done to improve safety at the crossing and how much it would cost.
Macedonia has pledged to pay for half the study. Hudson is in for a quarter and Northfield Center trustees are debating whether they will contribute the remainder. The tracks run through those three communities, and residents in each of them have banded together for the effort.
The quiet zone would extend for a half-mile — a quarter-mile in each direction from the crossing. (The Highland Road crossing is not included because of an upcoming $11 million project that would install a bridge over the tracks there.)
The goal is to have the horns fall silent by Memorial Day next year.
Railroad response
Macedonia Mayor Donald Kuchta has received noise complaints about the crossing since he was elected five years ago.
His manila folder containing letters and phone messages is more than an inch thick.
Kuchta has agreed to have the city make the formal application for the quiet zone.
The city previously was put off by cost estimates, which can be as high as $700,000. But Moraine paid about $22,000 to install long medians that corralled vehicles into lanes and prevented them from driving around the gates.
''At least we see a light at the end of the tunnel,'' Kuchta said. ''This might just be achievable.''
After the study is done, the quiet zone supporters will determine how to pay for the improvements. Federal and state grants are available.
But the local group shouldn't expect any financial help from Norfolk Southern.
Spokesman Rudy Husband said the railroad has remained neutral on the quiet zone issue. But the company also believes the locomotive horn is a vital component of railroad safety, he said.
Some studies have shown a dramatic increase in accidents at public crossings where quiet zones were implemented, Husband said.
Florida allowed communities to silence nighttime train whistles in 1984 between Jacksonville and Miami. A federal study later discovered that accidents rose 195 percent at those crossings.
The Twinsburg Road crossing has not been a dangerous one. There has been only one accident in the last 10 years and it didn't involve injuries, according to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which oversees public crossings in the state.
Residents want to make sure the crossing is as safe as possible while quieting the horns, McNeil said. ''In doing this, we'll also be improving the safety,'' he said.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
Greg McNeil and Lori Barber can handle the rumble of the freight trains as they pass behind their Hudson home.
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