[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8394-8395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2688]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2007-0023, Notice No. 1]


Federal Railroad Administration Review of the New Quiet Zone in 
Little Falls, MN

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of quiet zone review.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 49 CFR 222.51(c), FRA is providing notice 
of its intent to review the New Quiet Zone that has been established in 
Little Falls, MN. According to recent quiet zone risk calculations, the 
Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) for the New Quiet Zone in Little Falls has 
undergone a dramatic increase and is now at a level above the Risk 
Index With Horns (RIWH). As it appears that safety systems and measures 
implemented within the quiet zone do not fully compensate for the 
absence of the locomotive horn due to a substantial increase in risk, 
FRA intends to review existing conditions within the New Quiet Zone to 
determine whether the quiet zone should be terminated or whether 
additional safety measures may be necessary to ensure motorist safety.

DATES: Written Comments: Comments must be received by March 14, 2008. 
Comments received after this date will be considered to the extent 
possible without incurring additional expense or delay.

ADDRESSES: All communications concerning these proceedings should

[[Page 8395]]

identify the appropriate docket number (Docket Number FRA-2007-0023) 
and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Note that all comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), or you may visit http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ronald Ries, Office of Safety, 
FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 202-
493-6299); or
    Ms. Kathryn Shelton, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 202-493-6038).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The City of Little Falls established a New Quiet Zone for the 
following four highway-rail grade crossings through submission of a 
Notice of Quiet Zone Establishment:
    1. 9th Avenue NW;
    2. Broadway Avenue W;
    3. Minnesota Power Company (a private highway-rail grade crossing); 
and
    4. Highland Avenue (8th Avenue SE).
    According to the Notice of Quiet Zone Establishment, which was 
dated October 24, 2006, this crossing corridor qualified for quiet zone 
status on the basis of having a QZRI that was below the RIWH. (The 
Notice of Quiet Zone Establishment indicated that the QZRI was 64,457 
and that the RIWH was 69,396.) In other words, the Notice of Quiet Zone 
Establishment indicated that the City of Little Falls had taken 
sufficient measures to compensate for the excess risk that results from 
silencing routine train horn sounding at the four highway-rail grade 
crossings that were identified in the notice. Therefore, the Little 
Falls New Quiet Zone took effect on November 14, 2006.

Recent FRA Calculations

    According to recent quiet zone calculations performed by FRA, the 
QZRI (i.e., the measure of risk to the motoring public at highway-rail 
grade crossings within the quiet zone) for the Little Falls New Quiet 
Zone has increased to 92,176. It appears that this increase in the 
quiet zone risk has been caused by several factors pertaining to the 
Broadway Avenue W Crossing, including increased highway traffic counts 
and a train/pedestrian incident that occurred at the crossing on 
September 9, 2006. This new QZRI is well over the RIWH that was used to 
establish the quiet zone.
    Since the QZRI is now at a level above the RIWH (i.e., the measure 
of risk to the motoring public that would exist if locomotive horns 
were routinely sounded at every public highway-rail grade crossing 
within the quiet zone), it appears that safety systems and measures 
implemented within the New Quiet Zone in Little Falls fail to fully 
compensate for the absence of the locomotive horn. Therefore, FRA is 
initiating a review of existing conditions within the Little Falls New 
Quiet Zone, pursuant to 49 CFR 222.51(c), in order to determine whether 
the New Quiet Zone should be terminated or whether additional safety 
measures may be necessary to ensure motorist safety.
    Interested parties are therefore invited to submit written comments 
on the Little Falls New Quiet Zone to the electronic docket. In 
particular, FRA is interested in obtaining information about any 
``near-hit'' incidents involving train crews and motorists that may 
have occurred at the Broadway Avenue W Crossing during recent months, 
as well as information about the frequency with which crossing gate 
arms are being replaced due to motorist intrusion. FRA is also 
interested in obtaining information about any proposed safety 
improvements for the quiet zone that may be under serious consideration 
by the City of Little Falls. Please refer to the ADDRESSES section 
above for guidance on the submission of written comments to the 
electronic docket.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 8, 2008.
Michael J. Logue,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program 
Implementation.
[FR Doc. E8-2688 Filed 2-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P