County Plans To Ban Whistles At University Road Crossing

Spokane County engineers plan to recommend a permanent ban on train whistles at a controversial Valley rail crossing when they meet with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad officials later this month.

Currently, trains are prohibited on a temporary basis from sounding their whistles at the University Road rail crossing.

The state Utilities and Transportation Commission and the railroad approved the plan last fall to use the crossing as a test case. Some residents and business owners near the crossing had complained the train whistles were disruptive.

As part of the pilot project, crews built a concrete median down the center of University Road to prevent cars from driving around the crossing arms.

The median has decreased the number of cars that circumvent the crossing arms enough to make the crossing safe without trains blowing their whistles, said Bob Brueggeman, county traffic engineer.

If the UTC and railroad agree, a permanent train whistle ban could be in place as early as next month. County engineers will continue to study the crossing for four more months if the ban is approved, Brueggeman said.

“If it proves successful, we would ask for bans at other (rail crossings),” Brueggeman said.

The state Legislature passed a law two years ago giving counties the authority to silence train whistles at gated railroad crossings that meet federal safety standards.

, DataTimes