05-10-17 City Council Agenda Packet

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at all crossings on streets with bus routes. On a split vote, the members of the citizen advisory panel recommended that pedestrian gates be installed initially only on High and Monroe streets, and that pedestrian gates on Washington, Pearl and other streets be considered later, as funds and opportunities allow. Another concern was the time it takes to cross the tracks in a wheelchair, especially if the crossing grade is in poor repair. The safety improvement project would bring all crossings to current ADA standards. Fencing A unanimous recommendation by the citizen panel to install 7,000 lineal feet of fencing to fill in gaps along the rail corridor from High to Chambers streets at an approximate cost of $300,000 was expressly intended to improve safety, particularly for people who walk and bike. Fencing is not a requirement for a railroad quiet zone; however, panel members felt the safety benefits of the fencing outweigh its costs. Thought was given to the design of the fencing and its aesthetic impact on adjacent homes and businesses. There was discussion about financial equity if abutting property owners are required to maintain the fencing, similar to how property owners currently are responsible for keeping their sidewalks in safe condition. .®¨²¤ £ /³§¤± %µ¨±®¬¤³ « )¬¯ ¢³² One of the most obvious environmental factors to be considered in establishing a train horn quiet zone is noise. This category can be looked at in several ways. -¤ ²´±¤¬¤³ ®¥ ³± ¨ §®± ²®´£² Under federal rules issued in 2005, a train engineer is required to sound the horn (two long, one short, and one long blast) starting 15 to 20 seconds approximately ¼ mile prior to a crossing, and the horn shall be repeated or prolonged until the locomotive occupies the crossing. The horns must be a minimum 96 decibels (dB) to a maximum 110 dB, measured 100 feet in front of the train. 3®´£ ¨¬¯ ¢³ A sound impact qualitative analysis done by Public Works Engineering shows that train horns in the 10 crossings may be as loud as 75 decibels on Garfield Street to the west, the University of Oregon campus on the east, 11 to 13 avenues on the south, thth and Country Club Road on the north. %¥¥¤¢³² ®¥ ®¨²¤ ¯®««´³¨® ® §¤ «³§ £ «¨µ ¡¨«¨³¸ Many Eugene residents believe that noise pollution from train horns causes mental and physical health issues. Lack of sleep is a commonly cited problem. During the public outreach phase of the project staff received nearly 100 specific complaints about the damaging effects of train horns on health and livability. A number of these complaints were from the south Eugene area, well beyond the 75 dB range used for the sound impact analysis. Eighteen people commented that they enjoy the sounds of train horns. %¢®®¬¨¢ ¤¥¥¤¢³² ®¥ ®¨²¤ Existing businesses for the most part have found ways to cope with train horns. That said, most existing businesses close to the tracks support a quiet zone harder to judge the impact of train horns on new developments. It has been reported that some developers will only move ahead on projects if a quiet zone is established. Federally subsidized housing projects must meet ambient noise standards that would be exceeded by current train horn noise levels. The implication of this is that new commercial developments and affordable housing projects would not be built unless there were a quiet zone in place with the day-night average noise levels less than 75 decibels. /¯¨¨®² ®¥ ³± ¨ §®± ®¨²¤ While the quantity of train horn noise can be measured objectively, the quality of the sound is a matter of opinion. Many people find the noise objectionable and cite the deleterious effects on health and livability noted above. Others say the sound is 26