Published: 8/26/2022 6:33:17 PM
Modified: 8/26/2022 6:29:42 PM
DEERFIELD — Several residents approached the Selectboard Wednesday evening requesting the town reach out to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Federal Railroad Administration to inquire about potentially implementing a railroad quiet zone.
Steam Mill Road resident Mark Russo, who was joined by several of his neighbors and Greenough Crossing Road resident Karl Sabo, said the increasing number of trains on tracks around town has created a “nuisance” due to federal regulations, which require locomotives to sound their horns 15 to 20 seconds before public highway crossings, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
“If they’re hitting the horns as hard in the center of South Deerfield as they’re hitting it up our way, it’s a real nuisance, especially in the summer if you need to have your windows open,” Russo said. “If it’s financially feasible, I think it would be great for the whole town to have a no-horn zone.”
Only a public authority, such as the government responsible for traffic control or law enforcement at crossings, is permitted to create quiet zones at railroad crossings. To create a quiet zone, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, the public authority must mitigate any additional risk that could occur from prohibiting train horns from being sounded.
“Examples of additional safety engineering improvements that may be necessary to reduce the risk of collisions include: medians on one or both sides of the tracks to prevent a motorist from driving around a lowered gate; a four-quadrant gate system to block all lanes of highway traffic; converting a two-way street into a one-way street; permanent closure of the crossing to highway traffic; or approved variations of these treatments,” a Federal Railroad Administration fact sheet states.
Selectboard members Trevor McDaniel and Carolyn Shores Ness said the cost of implementing these types of infrastructure may be the biggest challenge in establishing quiet zones.
“There is a path to look at this and figure out how we do it. … We can at least voice that we’re interested in doing it,” McDaniel said. “There are quite a bit of obstacles because … there’s some infrastructure that would have to go in.”
“Coming in tonight was the first step, having us officially write a letter. We can start the process,” Shores Ness added. “There is money involved so I’m not sure what we can end up with, but we can start.”
Town Administrator Kayce Warren said she has been in contact with Deerfield resident and Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) Executive Director Linda Dunlavy about the process required for establishing a quiet zone.
“I have talked to Linda and I think we could get some help writing that letter” to MassDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration Warren said, noting that it is fully in the hands of other government agencies. “We can’t determine when they do it, that’s up to DOT and the railroad.”
There are 29 approved quiet zones in Massachusetts, all of which are located in the eastern part of the state due to the abundance of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) tracks, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Russo and the other residents said they are hopeful they can get some sort of relief from the noise of the trains.
“My feeling initially was that it’s going to be a real uphill, difficult process for a quiet zone,” Russo said, “although that’s the solution if it’s affordable.”
“We would really appreciate any kind of help we could get to create a quiet zone,” Sabo added.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or
413-930-4081.