Proposed Quiet Zone on West Trenton Line

NIMBYism at its' finest:

Fair use quote:

LOWER MAKEFIELD - The board of supervisors agreed to apply for a $500,000 federal grant to help pay for creating a planned ‘quiet zone’ in the township to keep commuter and freight trains from blowing their whistles when approaching the township’s three main railroad crossings.

Full story: http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/ ... 568296.txt

Aren't there far better uses for $500,000 in transportation funds than pandering to a bunch of self entitled McMansion owners?

Wait until someone gets hit because they "didn't hear the train coming". Should be obvious not to cross the tracks when the gates are down, but grade crossing accidents do happen, and with no audible warning of a train coming, seems to me like they're just making them less safe, all so people don't have to hear a train horn.

500k isn't anywhere near enough for all things they have to do to conform to a quiet area, especially for 3 crossings, and as the township nimbys want it the railroads won't be paying for any of it

Limited-Clear wrote:500k isn't anywhere near enough for all things they have to do to conform to a quiet area, especially for 3 crossings, and as the township nimbys want it the railroads won't be paying for any of it

I too thought that estimate was a little light. Assuming this does go through, don't the railroads then get saddled with the ongoing maintenance costs?

I'll just leave this:

http://articles.philly.com/2005-05-03/n ... l-stations

This is REALLY stupid. Will be contacting local state rep.

I think trains blowing horns at crossings may be a outdated railroad tradition. In the age of smooth and quiet riding cars, hands free cell phones, earbuds, incredible automotive sound systems and numerous other distractions to drivers, I believe it's the gates and flashers that stop the traffic, not the horn. The four quadrant gate system is really just two extra gates which isn't all that costly but the traffic barrier to keep traffic on the proper side of the road in the crossing area is probably the real cost. The crossings that utilize crosbucks only or flashers without gates, the horn is an appropriate safety tool, but it may be unnecessary at crossings with gates.

I'd like to see railfans take over some local town government a create a "Loud Zone" where trains have to constantly sound their horns.

This could increase the property values on hundreds of homes, resulting in higher tax revenues for the township. Sounds like a good deal for the township, especially if most of the cost is paid for by people elsewhere.

Jersey_Mike wrote:I'd like to see railfans take over some local town government a create a "Loud Zone" where trains have to constantly sound their horns.

Oh, they can already do it themselves. http://www.hornblasters.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . 25Hz, if you ever get a car, this is a must-have.

loufah wrote:Sounds like a good deal for the township, especially if most of the cost is paid for by people elsewhere.

This was precisely my point!! WHY should my tax dollars, which could be used for far more legitimate purposes, be used so some whiny NIMBY's, who undoubtedly knew the railroad was there when they bought their McMansions, aren't disturbed. If they want it, let THEM pay for it.

loufah wrote:Oh, they can already do it themselves. http://www.hornblasters.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . 25Hz, if you ever get a car, this is a must-have.

They'll just love to play with it at impound!

Class warfare at its finest:

glennk419 wrote:Aren't there far better uses for $500,000 in transportation funds than pandering to a bunch of self entitled McMansion owners?

I guess there isn't a chance in hell that ANYBODY who favors this quiet zone could be a regular working class stiff who lives in a house small enough to make a self entitled foamer proud?

I find it interesting that Septa approves this, then I though a bit more about it, this is a freebie for Septa and a move that can get them brownie points with the township, why? Well the township gets the grant money and ponies up some funds themselves, that's the project paid for, maintenance of it falls back to the RR, but Septa doesn't own that section, it belongs to CSX (septa only dispatches between Woodbourne and West Trenton), so maintenance costs fall to CSX, nothing at all comes from Septa except them saying yes we approve this great idea.

Next they will complain about the frequency of the trains and push to limit how many trains can run on the line and at what hours of the day and night!