07-18-2006 City Council Study Session PacketCity of Grand Island
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Study Session Packet
City Council:Mayor:
Jay Vavricek
City Administrator:
Gary Greer
City Clerk:
RaNae Edwards
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7:00:00 PM
Council Chambers - City Hall
100 East First Street
Carole Cornelius
Peg Gilbert
Joyce Haase
Margaret Hornady
Robert Meyer
Mitchell Nickerson
Don Pauly
Jackie Pielstick
Scott Walker
Fred Whitesides
City of Grand Island City Council
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
A - SUBMITTAL OF REQUESTS FOR FUTURE ITEMS
Individuals who have appropriate items for City Council consideration should complete the Request for Future Agenda
Items form located at the Information Booth. If the issue can be handled administratively without Council action,
notification will be provided. If the item is scheduled for a meeting or study session, notification of the date will be given.
B - RESERVE TIME TO SPEAK ON AGENDA ITEMS
This is an opportunity for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items to reserve time to speak.
Please come forward, state your name and address, and the Agenda topic on which you will be speaking.
Invocation - Pastor William Voelker, Peace Lutheran Church, 4018 Zola Lane
MAYOR COMMUNICATION
This is an opportunity for the Mayor to comment on current events, activities, and issues of interest to the community.
City of Grand Island City Council
Item -1
Presentation of Final Railroad Corridor Safety Study Report
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Study Session
City of Grand Island
Staff Contact: Steve Riehle, City Engineer/Public Works Directo
City of Grand Island City Council
Council Agenda Memo
From: Steven P. Riehle, Public Works Director
Meeting: July 18, 2006
Subject: Presentation of Final Railroad Corridor Safety Study
Report
Item #’s: 1
Presenter(s): Steven P. Riehle, Public Works Director
Background
On September 28, 2004, the city council approved an agreement with consulting
enginering firm, Kirkham Michael, to prepare a comprehensive Rail Road Corridor Study
for the City of Grand Island. The study was kicked off at the April 19, 2005 city council
study session. Public meetings were held on June 9, August 25, and November 17 of
2005 to gather input from the public. Railroad Diagnostic Team field reviews were held
on December 6th and 7th, 2005 to look at the corridors for supplemental safety measures
that would be needed to implement quiet zones. The consultant and the railroads have
completed their diagnostic reviews and the report is now complete.
Discussion
Kirkham Michael Consulting Engineers will make a presentation at the meeting. The
report includes the following key areas:
? Introduction
? Existing Conditions
? Future Conditions
? Alternative Analysis
? Grade Separation Analysis
? Grade Separation Refinement
? Public Involvement
? Quiet Zone Study
? Recommendation and Implementation
Conclusion
This item is presented to the City Council in a Study Session to allow for any questions to
be answered and to create a greater understanding of the issue at hand.
It is the intent of City Administration to bring this issue to a future council meeting for
the approval of the report as a planning and budgeting document for the city.
Grand Island Railroad Corridor Safety Study – 2006
Page 1
Executive Summary
The City of Grand Island seeks to reduce community and railway conflicts by relocating
tracks, constructing grade separations, and/or other railroad crossing improvements along
the Union Pacific (UPRR) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway corridors.
In March 2005, the City of Grand Island contracted with Kirkham Michael to develop a
railroad corridor master plan.
This study and report provided by Kirkham Michael to the City of Grand Island is a
comprehensive evaluation of each of the railroad crossings in and near the City, updating
previous studies, and providing a plan from which to program improvements along the
UPRR and BNSF Corridors. The purpose of this report is to provide a long-range plan
that will guide the City of Grand Island, Hall County, UPRR, and BNSF through the
improvement process. The improvements will provide safer, quieter, and more efficient
railroad/vehicle interaction.
Bold steps have been taken in past years with significant investments made to build grade
separations over or under the mainline railroads in Grand Island. Underpasses were built
in 1950 along the UPRR at Sycamore and Eddy Streets to supplement the overpass on US
Highway 30. The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) rebuilt the grade separation
on US 30 and added new overpasses on US Highway 281 over the UPRR and BNSF.
The BNSF corridor was elevated through the northeast portion of the community in the
1990’s providing a grade separation over the UPRR, thus significantly reducing conflicts,
delays, and blockages along that corridor. The project also included six railroad
structures over city streets and a pedestrian underpass.
This study comes at a time when public support for upgrading crossing protection and
reducing train noise has peaked. Concerns for train and horn noise are on the rise across
the community. The exposure ratings (daily trains x vehicles) at many crossings warrant
strong consideration by NDOR and the railroads for grade separation funding. The motor
vehicle/train crash experience has reduced along the BNSF corridor in the last 10 years
with grade separation construction. However, the crash rate has been steady along the
UPRR, averaging 1.6 crashes per year for the past 10 years compared to 1.5 per year for
the previous 20 years.
The UPRR has an estimated 75 through trains per day in the City of Grand Island on the
double mainline tracks. These trains travel at a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour
(mph) at the west city limits slowing to 50 mph within the downtown area.
The BNSF operates approximately 60 through trains per day in the City of Grand Island
on a single mainline track. These trains travel at maximum speeds of 60 mph on the
fringe areas of the city and 45 mph on the elevated portion of the corridor in the central
part of the city.
Grand Island Railroad Corridor Safety Study – 2006
Page 2
There are currently 33 railroad crossings located within the study area, with 15 along the
BNSF corridor and 18 along the UPRR corridor. The UPRR has the highest traffic
volumes crossing the corridor within the study area, at 115,340 vehicles per day. A total
of 61,800 vehicles per day cross the BNSF Corridor within the study area.
The possible investment of several million dollars in grade separations to reduce conflicts
between trains, vehicles, and pedestrians raises the question of the feasibility of
relocating the UPRR around the developed part of the Grand Island community. This
study and report considered two possible corridors, one north and one south of the city to
weigh the benefits, costs, and impacts of relocating the UPRR versus initiating
improvements along the existing corridor.
The constant sounding of horns creates a nuisance for area residents, and has been an
increasing source of complaints. Noise from train whistles will continue to increase and
disrupt adjacent land uses if not mitigated. Grade separations and crossing closures are
the most effective means of reducing train noise. Since train noise was the number one
concern of persons attending the first public information meeting, Kirkham Michael
initiated a Quiet Zone study to identify measures to reduce the noise levels where at-
grade crossings remain open or until grade separations can be constructed.
The Quiet Zone study was based on the information and requirements for the creation of
Quiet Zones as outlined in the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Final Rule on
the Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, which took effect on
June 24, 2005. The following Supplemental Safety Measures (SSMs) may be used to
mitigate the silencing of locomotive horns at railroad at-grade crossings:
1. Permanent or temporary closure (nighttime closure)
2. Four-quadrant gate systems
3. Gates with medians or channelization devices (traffic separators)
4. Conversion of a two-way street to a one-way street
Wayside horns may also be used as a one-for-one substitute for locomotive horns at
individual or multiple at-grade crossings. The wayside horn is a stationary horn located
at a street / railroad crossing designed to provide a more focused and confined audible
warning to oncoming motorists of an approaching train, while reducing spillover noise to
adjacent land uses.
All crossings within a proposed Quiet Zone must be equipped with flashing lights and
gates, as well as train detection circuitry that provides consistent (constant) warning in
seconds of an approaching train, and power off indicators to alert train engineers of
power failures that affect crossing equipment.
Due to the cost of needed improvements and the location of future grade separations, the
proposed UPRR Quiet Zone was limited to the area from ¼ mile west of Webb Road to
¼ mile east of Oak Street. This would result in a quiet zone 2.98 miles in length and an
effective whistle free zone of 5.1 miles at a cost of $1,864,000.
Grand Island Railroad Corridor Safety Study – 2006
Page 3
The proposed BNSF Quiet Zone selected began ¼ mile west of Engleman Road and
continued to ¼ mile east of Shady Bend Road. The cost of improvements for this 7.63-
mile quiet zone and effective whistle free zone of 8.8 miles is estimated at $625,000.
Pedestrians and bicycles crossing the corridor, especially in areas of high usage, such as
around the downtown are also a concern. The existing underpasses at Eddy and
Sycamore Streets do not meet current needs for pedestrians and bicyclists nor the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for public rights-of-way. Fencing of
portions of the railroad corridors also needs to be considered to control the inherent
dangers of pedestrian trespassing.
Five of the seven at-grade crossings along the BNSF Corridor and all of the 13 main line
at-grade crossings in the UPRR Corridor in the study area meet the minimum exposure
threshold of 50,000 to justify a grade separation. However, at most three BNSF and
seven UPRR grade separation locations are anticipated due to the requirement of closing
at least two at-grade crossings for each new grade separation. Each of the at-grade
crossings were evaluated using a matrix based on both benefit and impact criteria. The
resulting rankings in order were:
1- Broadwell Avenue at BNSF
2- Shady Bend Road at UPRR (County)
3- Husker Highway at UPRR (County)
4- Broadwell Avenue at UPRR
5- Shady Bend Road at BNSF (County)
6- North Road/ Stolley Park Road at UPRR
Study Recommendations:
1-Establish a Railroad Transportation Safety District (RTSD). It is recommended
that the City of Grand Island and Hall County establish a RTSD under the Statutes of
Nebraska (Sections 74-1302 through 1321). The RTSD purpose and activities listed in
the Statutes are an ideal fit for the challenges Grand Island and Hall County are currently
addressing. The RTSD provides a proven mechanism for moving joint county-city
railroad projects forward on a program basis. Funding of an estimated $800,000 per year
could be provided for railroad projects through an RTSD.
2-Initiate Improvements in Existing Railroad Corridors. It was concluded that
improvements to the current UPRR corridor meets the major objective of eliminating
railroad-crossing conflicts at the least cost to the City of Grand Island. Establishing a
new corridor would result in higher grade separation costs immediately and similar
impacts in the future as the community continues to grow.
3-Initiate Quiet Zone Improvements. It is recommended that safety measures be
constructed that will allow the implementation of Quiet Zones along both the UPRR and
BNSF corridors.
4- Pursue Construction of Grade Separations. It is recommended that the City of
Grand Island and Hall County pursue construction of grade separations as recommended
above.
Grand Island Railroad Corridor Safety Study – 2006
Page 4
It is recommended that the projects shown in the table below be programmed over a 12 to 15-year period assuming theestablishment of a RTSD. Funding Schedule With RTSD