[RP TownTalk] Hyattsville council discusses RxR quiet zone for Decatur crossing

[Dwight Holmes]

The Hyattsville Life & Times's new issue reports on discussions at
Hyattsville's city council re the process of applying for a quiet zone for
the Decatur St CSX crossing.  You can access the article here:

http://hyattsvillelife.com/council-discusses-moving-forward-with-csx-quiet-zone/

This short paragraph grabbed my attention:
"In Oct. 2010, Riverdale Park completed upgrades of the CSX crossing at
Queensbury Road after multiple motor vehicle accidents, according to a City
of Hyattsville memo. One of those accidents reportedly included a bus in
March 2009."

I don't trust my memory for much of anything anymore, but I don't recall
that a rash of accidents was given as a reason for the upgrade.  (Anyone
knowing otherwise, please correct me!)  I thought that it was done - or at
least was originally initiated by then-council member Rob Oppenheim - as a
necessary step in the process of attaining quiet zone status.  And I do
remember that the process of upgrading the crossing gates, from start to
finish, took an amazingly long time, and certainly was begun well prior to
March, 2009.  In fact, looking back in my email just now, I see that I
posted to TownTalk in March, 2008 that CSX was unloading equipment as part
of the installation of the new gates!

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from Mayor Archer or one of our council
members what the status is of the quiet zone application process? Is it
something the town is still actively pursuing? If so, are there any signs
of progress?  What step of the process are on at this point?  (The HL&T
article links to the Federal Railroad Administration's "How To Create A
Quiet Zone" PDF, here <http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L03055>.)

Presumably none of us moved here not knowing there was a railroad in town.
Personally, I've always been fond of train horns (and trains in general).
But given the fortress nature of our new upgraded crossing gates, the
volume *and* duration of the horn blowing does seem excessive.  If it's
within our powers to force CSX to turn down the noise, I would be all for
it!

Dwight Holmes
Half-a-block from the tracks :)
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