05-14-2014 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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3. How are the crossings spaced? Spacing of the crossings is important since the quiet zone boundary is % mile either side of a crossing, so if another crossing is within that zone, it also must be included in the same quiet zone. The spacing of the six crossings allow the City to be divided up into 3 separate zones. The 3 north crossings (Woodlyn Avenue, S Owasso Blvd., and Little Canada Road) need to be one zone. The 2 middle crossings (Demont Ave and Co Rd 82) is another and Co Rd B could be a standalone. The decision on phasing is a local decision. 8.0 Funding Considerations Funding of grade crossing improvements for quiet zone implementation is a challenge for the local communities. There are no programs that directly pay for crossing improvements, but there are programs that may allow for certain portions of the projects to be funded. 8.1 Federal Crossing Safety Program The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has a grade crossing safety program directed toward new railroad signal installations or crossing closures. The program is administered by MnDOT. Minnesota receives about four million dollars per year which is enough for about 20 new signal systems state wide. MnDOT prioritizes the project requests primarily based on crash history and site distance limitations. The program pays 90 to 100 percent of the signal costs. These funds cannot be used for improvements directly needed for a quiet zone but could be used if the safety improvements are needed without quiet zone consideration. The program funds are committed until 2017. 8.2 Railroad Funds The Railroads do not normally provide funding for signal projects. They sometimes will provide matching funds to replace antiquated signal systems. The Railroads will fund some improvements if their operations have changed to cause a significant safety concern. Increase in speeds will trigger an issue with site distance. When MnDOT and CP did a field review in 2013, the recommendations from MnDOT was that CP install new or upgrade systems if CP went to a 40 mph operation. At this time, CP does not anticipate going to that speed, because of other priorities. There still could be an increase in traffic, 8.3 Local Funds Local funds are from agencies or road authorities that could be a combination of State Aid road funds, general fund or local business contributions. These funds are normally used to pay for the supplemental safety measures (raised medians). Railroad Quiet Zone Report City of Little Canada 16 LITTC 126672 Page 11