Quiet Zone Crossings Evaluated For Safety Every Few Years
Quiet zones are sections of railroad where trains do not have to sound their whistles/horns at crossings. Crossings within a quiet zone are identified with a "No Train Horn" sign posted below the cross buck signs at the crossing. In the Village, quiet zone crossings occur along the Union Pacific Railroad at:
- 91st Street and 7th Avenue
- 116th Street from 4th to 8th Avenues
- 75th Street, east of Cooper Road
- Cooper Road, south of 75th Street
- Green Bay Road, north of Bain Station Road
- Bain Station Road, west of Green Bay Road (two crossings)
- 95th Street, west of Green Bay Road
- Springbrook Road, east of 80th Avenue
In a quiet zone, railroads have been directed to cease the routine sounding of their horns when approaching public highway-rail grade crossings. Train horns may still be used in emergency situations or to comply with other federal regulations or railroad operating rules.
Municipalities wishing to establish a quiet zone are first required to evaluate safety data at a crossing and install safety measures to offset the increased risk caused by the absence of a train horn. The data evaluated includes: which safety devices have been installed at each crossing; traffic counts and collision history at each crossing; and the speed and number of trains passing each crossing.
This data must be updated and submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration every two and a half to three years. When traffic and collision data indicate an increased risk at a crossing, supplementary safety measures must be installed at the crossing in order to maintain the quiet zone designation. For this reason, drivers may see changes made at crossings in quiet zones every three years or so, depending on increases in traffic counts or collision data.
No quiet zones have been established along the Canadian Pacific Railroad due to faster train speeds. To learn more about quiet zone crossings, please visit the Federal Railroad Administration website.