Local Legislators Engineer Passage Of Train-Whistle Bill

The state Senate Wednesday approved a measure that would allow Spokane County to create whistle-free zones at gated railroad crossings.

The vote was 41-3 in favor of the bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Larry Crouse, R-Spokane Valley.

Crouse used to live near the railroad tracks where the constant blaring of train whistles has been a major nuisance for years.

“I really took this bill personally,” he said.

The bill cleared the House four weeks ago. A minor amendment was added by the Senate, so the new version will have to be approved by the House before hitting Gov. Mike Lowry’s desk. He will then have five days to decide whether to sign or veto it.

The measure would allow counties to enact ordinances banning the blowing of train whistles at gated railroad crossings which live up to federal safety standards.

The county will have to install barriers in the middle of the street at crossings to ensure that drivers can’t get through the gates while they are down.

Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane, who helped shepherd the bill through the Senate, praised the persistence of Valley motel owners Tony Lazanis and Ray Thieman, who have lobbied for years to get state lawmakers to provide some relief from the constant blaring to train whistles.

“We’re very happy. We’re delighted,” Thieman said. Thieman and other Valley residents started trying to get something done about the train whistle noise five years ago.

At first they tried talking to railroad officials.

“They just wouldn’t talk to us, they almost threw us out of the office,” said Thieman. He estimates he is losing 30 percent of his potential business at the Red Top Motel on East Trent.

Spokane County Commissioner Steve Hasson said the county would create the no-whistle zones as soon as possible once granted the authority by the state Legislature. The bill will take effect 90 days after being signed by the governor.

Hasson said he knows what the railroad’s neighbors are going through. “I can hear the trains at my place four miles south of the tracks,” he said.

Lobbying by railroads helped kill earlier versions of the bill. The railroads and their unions feared that accidents could increase without the blowing of the whistles to warn motorists of a train’s approach.

But the railroads agreed to support the current version of the bill, which requires that crossings be brought up to federal safety standards before any no-whistle ordinances can be enacted.

“Finally, after all these years, they got all the parties together,” McCaslin said.

The train whistle bill, while serious to Valley residents, has been somewhat of a joke in the state capital, where Spokane Valley lawmakers have sponsored similar efforts for each of the last four sessions.

More than a dozen senators jokingly voted against the measure Wednesday before switching their votes in favor of the bill at the last minute.