Summary of 8/3 Meeting

Update on status of Quiet Zone

  • Mr. Weatherford and Ms. Parker gave a brief update on the status of the overall Quiet Zone program and specifically the 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone (formerly Garden Oaks Quiet Zone). See below for info on name change.

  • Public Works has started the design phase for several Houston Quiet Zones. They also looked into all Quiet Zones in more detail and found cost savings from the original estimates. Public Works was also able to acquire funding from other sources for some Quiet Zones. The additional funding and cost savings realized on some Quiet Zones has enabled Public Works to move down the list and begin work on additional Quiet Zones.  

  • The 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone is on the cusp of getting enough funding to be implemented. There is a desire by city officials to get the Pleasantville Quiet Zone and all others above it implemented. The 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone was ranked #9 and the Pleasantville Quiet Zone was ranked #10. The big hurdle for the 34th St Quiet Zone is the cost. The original estimated cost was $3 million but Public Works has been able to get that estimate down to around $2 million which is still a considerable amount. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss possible crossing closures to reduce the cost of the 34th St Quiet Zone. Even one crossing closure will significantly improve the chances of having enough funding to implement the 34th St Quiet Zone.

  • Discussed splitting the proposed 34th St Quiet Zone into two separate zones but Public Works officials said that would not be of any benefit because the crossings that need the most work are spread throughout the currently proposed Quiet Zone.

  • If enough cost savings and funding can be obtained to implement the 34th St Quiet Zone, the design phase would likely start in late 2009 and construction would start in late 2010.

Possible Crossing Closures

  • Public Works discussed the idea of closing some streets at the railroad crossings within the proposed 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone. Closing some crossings instead of upgrading them for the Quiet Zone would result in significant cost savings and would significantly improve the chances of getting enough funding for the 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone.  Additionally, the railroad companies are very supportive of closing crossings because it reduces safety risk along their tracks.

  • We discussed all 11 crossings within the proposed 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone.  Out of the 11 crossings, 2 are prime candidates for closure, 2 are good candidates for closure and 1 is questionable. We need community feedback to determine if the community would support closing these crossings. The benefits to residents of closing a crossing is that residents would see less traffic, improved safety around the railroad track and the train operator would not have to sound the train horn even if there wasn’t a Quiet Zone. Streets where a crossing is closed would essentially become cul-de-sacs which is favorable in many neighborhoods. Since the 34th St Quiet Zone is so “on the fence” with whether or not it will get enough funding, it sounds like we need to get at least one or two crossings closed to bring down the cost enough to get funding.

    • Golf – This crossing is a low traffic crossing that needs significant upgrades to comply with requirements for the Quiet Zone. This is a prime candidate for closure. Estimated savings if closed: $100,000.

    • Cornell - This crossing is a low traffic crossing and would need major  upgrades to comply with Quiet Zone requirements. This is a prime (and almost essential) candidate for closure. Estimated cost savings if closed: $310,000.

    • Brinkman – This crossing is a low traffic crossing and would need moderate upgrades to comply with Quiet Zone requirements. This is a good candidate for closure. Estimated savings if closed: $60,000.

    • Cortlandt - This crossing is a low traffic crossing and would need moderate upgrades to comply with Quiet Zone requirements. This is a good candidate for closure. Estimated savings if closed: $60,000

    • Oak Forest – This is a moderate traffic crossing and it needs major upgrades to comply with Quiet Zone requirements. However, there is a good distance between the next two crossings (Ella and W TC Jester) so there is a question of how feasible it would be to close this crossing. Estimated savings if closed: $310,000. 

    • This is just the preliminary stage of discussions around possible crossing closures. Please send all feedback regarding the proposed closures to: info@34thquietzone.com  The 34th St Corridor Quiet Zone Coalition is compiling initial feedback and will pass it along to Public Works. All proposed closures will be fully discussed through future public meetings.  

Quiet Zone Name Change

  • There has been some concern that using the Garden Oaks name in the Quiet Zone name was causing some confusion on what neighborhoods will be affected by the Quiet Zone. One resident mentioned he had heard residents in different neighborhoods dismiss the Quiet Zone effort because they thought the Quiet Zone would only affect Garden Oaks. There seemed to be a need to have a more generic name for the Quiet Zone since it will affect and benefit several neighborhoods.

  • There was a proposal to change the name to ‘34th St Corridor Quiet Zone’ since the proposed Quiet Zone parallels 34th St for most of the way. The name change was agreed upon by all attendees including officials from Public Works. Public Works will use the new name when submitting the final Quiet Zone application to the Federal Railroad Administration.

  • Website will be “rebranded” to reflect the name change.

 

Note: This recap was summarized by a resident attending the meeting with City of Houston officials. It is not a transcript and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the City of Houston Public Works & Engineering Dept.