City of Houston envisions 6 freight rail quiet zones

Washington Ave quiet by April

Jay Blazek Crossley, Dec 22, 09.

The City of Houston is working with Union Pacific and two other rail operators to fulfill safety requirements that would allow them to create a quiet zone in the Washington Avenue corridor with much reduced horn use by trains, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Jeff Weatherford of the city’s Public Works and Engineering Department said that the city will work on a similar corridor through First Ward to be completed this summer and that eventually the city envisions 6 such quiet zones across the city. Currently, the only quiet zone in the city is the train line just inside the West Loop that runs alongside Afton Oaks, River Oaks, Bellaire, and West University. To receive Federal Railroad Administration clearance to establish a quiet zone, safety improvements, such as improved gates at intersections, will have to be added along each line. While train operators will no longer have to use their horns at each intersection, they will still be used in cases where a pedestrian or vehicle is close to the tracks.

A citizen effort to lobby for the Washington Avenue quiet zone found that 915 out of 944 respondents favor the plan.

According to a 2008 document issued by the city (pdf) seeking to identify the optimal areas to pursue as quiet zones, the city has allocated $4.1 million for fiscal years 2009 - 2011 to make the safety improvements required for quiet zones.

(Photo credit: markhillary)