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threshold that changes as safety improves nationwide. If Fort Collins' calculated corridor risk
index ever goes above the national threshold, the City would have to make additional
improvements at other corridor crossings to bring the risk index back below the threshold.
Using the standard Quiet Zone approach (i.e., making improvements at every crossing), the cost
of improvements through Downtown and CSU would be $4.3 to $4.9 million. The corridor
solution approach described here should reduce the overall level of investment needed to
establish a Quiet Zone but would potentially require improvements to be phased over time. Staff
is currently working on the FRA's risk index calculator tool to make sure it accounts for the
safety improvements we have already made to the crossings on Mason Street.
Future Development Considerations
The improvements needed at the College and Cherry crossings would include relocating or
closing one commercial access within 60 feet of the gate arm and extending medians to the
minimum 60-foot length. In particular, the need to close or relocate the alley just east of the
Cherry crossing should be kept in mind as that property is considered for redevelopment. In
order to limit the necessary Quiet Zone improvements to only median extension, there cannot be
any public accesses (including the alley) within 60 feet of the gate arm on any quadrant of the
crossing. If a proposed development is allowed to keep the alley in place for use by vehicles or
introduce another access along Cherry that is within 60 feet of the gate arm on any quadrant of
the crossing, the less expensive option of extending the medians is no longer viable.
It
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City. of
F lob.
F6rt Collins
DATE: February 22, 2013
Planning, Development & Transportation
Executive Offices
281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.221.6601
970.416.2081 - fax
fcgov.com/pdt
MEMORANDUM
TO: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
THRU: Karen Cumbo, Planning, Development & Transportation Director
FROM: Amy Lewin, Transportation Planner 6tx-
Rick Richter, Director of Infrastructure Services Ac
RE: Potential Quiet Zone at College Avenue and Cherry Street
This memo provides an update on the status of the potential establishment of a railroad Quiet
Zone at College Avenue and Cherry Street.
Summary
• A stand-alone Quiet Zone at College and Cherry is not feasible per Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA) due to the spacing of crossings in this area.
• These intersections are too close to Maple (less than '/ mile) for FRA to allow.
• College and Cherry will have to be considered as part of a combined Quiet Zone Corridor
Solution.
Challenges at College and Cherry
The two existing crossings of the BNSF Railway at College Avenue and Cherry Street are very
close to being Quiet Zone compliant. However, when approached about the pursuit of
improvements for a Quiet Zone at these crossings, the FRA indicated that the spacing between
the Cherry crossing and the next crossing to the south (Maple) is not the required '/ mile, which
would cause the locomotive engineer of a southbound train to violate the Quiet Zone at the
Cherry Street crossing every time as it approaches Maple. This is not acceptable practice for
either the FRA or the railroad.
The conclusion is that because of the crossing spacing we would not be able to establish a
"stand-alone" Quiet Zone at College and Cherry only.
Recommended Corridor Solution
Staffs recommendation is to consider these crossings as part of a larger downtown corridor (the
"Corridor Solution" option presented at the Work Session January 22"d). This corridor approach
allows a Quiet Zone to be initially established based on improvements at selected crossings
within the corridor (and College and Cherry would be likely candidates, among others). Staff
would then closely monitor and report on the corridor to the FRA in relation to a national safety