Residents push for railroad quiet zone

For several years now, residents on

Birch Point Drive have stood up in front of the Whitefish City

Council expressing their concerns about the railway crossing that

sometimes isolates them from the rest of the city.

While backed-up trains blocking the

crossing for 45 minutes at a time has been the concern at other

council meetings, a request to establish a railroad crossing “quiet

zone” was brought to the council on March 7.

Birch Point resident Doug Wise said new

federal rules on use of sirens at crossings and the higher number

of trains have dramatically increased noise in their neighborhood.

When he moved to Whitefish in 1995, fifteen trains came into town,

Wise said, but now the number is 40.

“And I expect even more trains in the

future,” he said.

The city made changes at the State Park

Road and Second Street East at-grade railroad track crossings two

years ago that met federal regulations for establishing a quiet

zone.

The original estimate for installing

about 100 feet of plastic break-away channelization devices down

the centerline of each road on both sides of the tracks was

$15,000, but the final cost was closer to $10,000.

The Birch Point, however, crossing is

different — BNSF Railway has not installed signaling equipment and

crossing arms there, which are needed for a quiet zone crossing.

The estimated cost of installing that equipment at Birch Point

Drive in 2007 was about $160,000, which the city was expected to

pay.

Since then, Birch Point residents have

continued lobbying for improvements to the railroad crossing. Wise

said Whitefish resident David Blumhardt has spoken to BNSF and

state officials and learned each would contribute to the cost of

installing the signaling equipment and crossing arms.

According to John Althof, the

rail/highway safety manager for the Montana Department of

Transportation, the state was willing to pay half the cost of the

signaling equipment and crossing arms if the city picked up the

other half. BNSF has agreed to pay about 20 percent of the cost of

adding the crossing arms, Wise said.

Birch Point residents also were willing

to establish a special-improvement district (SID) as a way to raise

some of the money “so we have skin in the game,” Wise said.

Another difficulty is that unlike State

Park Road and Second Street East, Birch Point has only one lane.

Wise said residents hoped the city public works department could

help by doing the necessary work to widen the road.

With future development of the Great

Northern Veterans Peace Park adjacent to the Birch Point crossing,

widening the road and installing the signaling equipment and

crossing arms would add to the safety of the area, Wise said.

Wise said the Birch Point residents

wanted the city to begin the application process for a quiet zone

crossing, further negotiate with BNSF and the state for funding,

research for other funding sources and set aside funds in next

year’s city budget.

Public works director John Wilson

estimated the total cost for the quiet zone crossing at $180,000 to

$200,000 with the road work.

While council credited the residents

for their work and seemed ready to support the project, there were

questions about federal regulations and funding. The council

directed staff to bring something back for their next meeting.