Train Whistles To Fall Silent At University Road Crossing

Sat., Nov. 1, 1997

By Pat Sciuchetti pats@spokesman.com

People living along North University Road are looking forward to a silent night. And it might even arrive by Christmas.

The neighborhood’s long battle to silence train whistles at the University Road crossing is about to be won, say officials with the Federal Railroad Administration.

Last month, the FRA issued an interim final order to Burlington Northern Santa Fe, ordering the railroad to stop blowing its horns, except in special circumstances.

The order will go into effect following a 30-day public comment period and the installation of new warning signs. It will apply only to the University Road crossing.

The test ban will run four months, but has a good chance of being extended.

After months of negotiations, only a few issues remain unsolved. One of the biggest is insurance.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe is no longer asking for additional liability and pollution insurance during the whistle ban period, but the county’s risk manager is recommending additional coverage for the county.

Claude Cox will advise county commissioners to buy an additional $15 million in coverage, boosting total county coverage to $25 million. Such a policy could cost up to $60,000, but is worth it, he said.

Officials with the county, FRA, the state Utilities and Transportation Commission and Burlington Northern Santa Fe will meet several times this month to iron out details of the ban and make sure the requirements of the order are met.

Yellow and black signs, saying “Caution, No Train Horns,” will go up around the crossing in December. They’ll be covered until the first day of the ban.

It’s a day eagerly awaited, especially by the handful of Valley business owners who have been trying to silence the frequent train whistles for nearly a decade. They thought they had won the battle in 1995, when the state Legislature passed a law allowing silent crossings. But supporters soon found themselves stymied by unfinished federal safety standards.

The FRA order will allow the county to proceed with the ban, despite the fact that federal standards for whistle-free crossings aren’t yet in place.

Under the order, train engineers still can blow the whistle in an emergency, or if they feel it’s needed to warn nearby pedestrians, work crews or drivers.

The county must monitor the crossing with video cameras and maintain existing safety barriers.

County officials won’t set an official start-date for the whistle ban until the public comment period has ended on Nov. 19. They’re aiming for late December.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: INSPECT THE ORDER The order to silence train whistles at the University Road railroad crossing in the Spokane Valley has been published in the Federal Register. It is available at the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library. Valley residents can also see it at county library branches by asking a librarian to get a copy over the Internet. Comments can be submitted until Nov. 19 to: Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Mail Stop 10, FRA, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Washington D.C. 20590.

This sidebar appeared with the story: INSPECT THE ORDER The order to silence train whistles at the University Road railroad crossing in the Spokane Valley has been published in the Federal Register. It is available at the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library. Valley residents can also see it at county library branches by asking a librarian to get a copy over the Internet. Comments can be submitted until Nov. 19 to: Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Mail Stop 10, FRA, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Washington D.C. 20590.

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