Concerns Raised At Quiet Zone Committee Meeting
SYRACUSE — There was a lot of discussion between members of the Syracuse Quiet Zone Committee, along with residents, Syracuse Town Manager Henry DeJulia and representatives from Lawson, Fisher Associates, an engineering firm in Mishawaka regarding safety and insurance liability during a Quiet Zone Committee meeting Tuesday night, Dec. 8.
The committee was discussing the possibility of a feasibility study regarding establishing a quiet zone. Faith Morrison, a civil engineer with LFA, explained there are two options, a partial quiet zone, where train horns aren’t blown for specific time periods or a full quiet zone, where train horns aren’t used at all. The exception to both is engineers are allowed to use their horns in case of an emergency. Kay Young, president of the Wawasee Property Owners Association, asked if there is a way to determine when the heaviest train traffic occurs as that would be instrumental in determining what type of quiet zone the committee wants to pursue.
Paul Hummel, senior vice president at LFA, explained supplemental safety measures must be as safe as current safety standards. They are meant to increase safety at railroad crossings when a quiet zone is established. Becky Fox, president of the Syracuse Lake Association, explained the last time a quiet zone was attempted in Syracuse, the committee looked at way-side horns. However, CSX refused to maintain them, the town would have had to accept that responsibility.
DeJulia asked about liability. He explained his understanding is the railroad has complete liability regarding any accidents on the tracks. If a quiet zone is established, the liability is shared between the town and the railroad with insurance requirements being $200 million per incident per crossing. Which would mean the cost of insurance would be approximately $800 million for the town.
Morrison said that isn’t true and provided an email she received from Tammy Wagner, regional crossing manager for the Federal Railroad Administration, which states “the train horn rule does not indicate that communities must increase their liability insurance. The final rule does not specify liability toward either the railroad or community. The courts will determine fault if an incident occurs within an established quiet zone … The municipality must decide on additional liability insurance.”
DeJulia said this was the first he heard of the information and it contradicted everything he saw in his research. He noted he tried to reach both Wagner and CSX representatives and neither returned his call.
Scott Seniff asked about sources of funding for the quiet zone. Morrison explained it is her job to find funding sources for the project.
Someone asked how safety services felt about the issue. DeJulia said the police and fire chief are very concerned. “I think you’d have to convince them it will be safer,” he said. “I don’t think they see that at all.”
After more than an hour of discussion, George Marlow, committee chair, suggested the committee move forward with the feasibility study so it would have the information to convince the town and county officials to establish a quiet zone.