(The following article by Kristina Herrndobler and Virginia Groark was posted on the Chicago Traibute website on February 6.)
CHICAGO — The head of the Federal Railroad Administration will come to the Chicago area this month to discuss a controversial new proposal that could affect train whistle bans in scores of northern Illinois communities.
FRA Administrator Allan Rutter will attend two meetings with state and local officials Feb. 16 to answer questions about the rule, scheduled to go into effect in December. His appearance demonstrates the proposed regulation’s significance in the Chicago area, where quiet zones in 50 municipalities could be lifted if municipalities don’t take steps to meet new safety guidelines.
The rule, which would allow municipalities to maintain their whistle bans if they meet certain safety criteria, has generated controversy locally.
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who will hold one meeting in Arlington Heights, said the sessions will give municipal officials valuable time with Rutter.
“This rule is not yet official, and the most important thing is to give our mayors who have to implement this rule the maximum amount of time to weigh in with the administrator,” Kirk said. “Our mayors are the ones who are on the front line, and they can bring all the resources to bear of each town and certainly explain the impact of the rule.”
Kirk was one of three people who testified about the issue Wednesday at a public hearing in Washington. Even though the hearing was expected to last all day, it ended after an hour.
But in the Chicago area this week, people have been filling up rooms to learn more about the regulation. State Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest) said she has received so many letters, e-mails and phone calls about the proposal that she will hold a meeting on it Feb. 23 in Northbrook.
Indeed, a recent FRA report found that quiet zones in 50 northern Illinois municipalities apparently do not meet the safety criteria, which evaluates risk by looking at train and vehicular traffic at crossings, among other things. If the report is accurate, that means those municipalities could have to make potentially costly safety upgrades if they want to keep the bans in place. Some of the options include installing extra gates at crossings, putting in median barriers or making streets one-way.
That has not sat well with many municipalities facing budget constraints.
“Nobody’s got money for that,” said Chicago Ald. Tom Allen (38th), who chairs the City Council’s Transportation Committee that met Thursday with FRA officials to discuss the issue. “So that presents a problem.”