Washington Quiet Zone Update

UPDATED APRIL 30, 2010

CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE FOR WASHINGTON QUIET ZONE FROM SHERWIN TO NATIONAL

PAPERWORK SUBMITTED TO UPRR AND FRA FOR A MAY 13, 2010 ACTIVATION DATE

NEW TIMEFRAME ANNOUNCED FOR WINTER STREET SAFETY/QUIET ZONE

We have just received updates on the Washington Quiet Zone from the City of Houston's Public Works and Engineering department.

SHERWIN TO NATIONAL

The Quiet Zone construction is complete from Sherwin to National. All signage has been placed, Thompson and Bonner Street crossings have been closed, final paperwork has has been signed by Mayor Parker and it has been filed. We are in a 21-day waiting period that ends on May 13, at which time the Quiet Zone from Sherwin to National will be in effect. While this is great news, There is still a possibility of delay, however any delays would be due to objection from the Federal Railroad Administration or Union Pacific. Delays are not expected, as the plans were previously approved by those entities.

With regard to the delay mentioned in the last post for the Cottage Grove area at the Sherwin crossing, that situation was rectified at the last public meeitng, when Tom Dornbusch, Vice President of Super Neighborhood 22, suggested a workaround, and that workaround was approved, negating the need for delay.

As of May 13, the directive for the Quiet Zone will be given to the engineers. As with any big change, there will be a period where they are learning to not sound the horns at the crossings. This should be EXPECTED. I personally plan to give them a couple of weeks to comply before alerting the railroad of non-compliance. How you decide to respond is, of course, up to you.

WINTER STREET SAFETY/QUIET ZONE

Per information received from the city, the Winter Street Safety Zone has not yet been approved. As you may know, the Quiet Zone process cannot begin until the safety project is complete due to the complexities of the Safety Zone funding.

Completion of the Safety Zone is expected in June. The Quiet Zone process will still take time after that, and under the best of circumstances, it will likely take 3 to 4 months for the paperwork and comment periods - giving us an expected completion timeframe of September-October 2010.

Remember, don't shoot the messenger. We will continue to follow this situation and update as information comes in.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know, at stoptrainhorns@washingtonquietzone.com

As always, your neighbors thank you for your support!

The WashingtonQuietZone.com team
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