HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.E. Discussion on Proposed Letter to be Sent to the Union Pacific Railroad potm General Business 7
SHAK0PEE /�•
TO: Mayor and City Council
Mark McNeill,City Administrator
FROM: Mark McNeill,City Administrator
DATE: 06/24/2014
SUBJECT: Discussion on Proposed Letter to be Sent to the Union Pacific Railroad(F)
Action Sought
Discuss and approve the sending of a letter to the Union Pacific Railroad concerning needed improvements to a
section of the Union Pacific rail line in Shakopee.
Background:
Councilor Mike Luce has been involved with research regarding the establishment of a Quiet Zone(QZ)in
Shakopee. In order to create this "no train horn" designation from the Federal Railroad Administration(FRA), it is
likely that physical improvements will need to be done to a dozen or more at-grade crossings in a section of tracks
from generally from Sarazin Street,to west of Rahr Malting.
Financial participation is sought from the Union Pacific in order to make those improvements.
Before the draft letter(attached)would be sent,the Council is asked to discuss and provide input.
Action Required:
The Council should discuss,and determine whether to send the attached letter, and under whose signature.
Attachments: Quiet Zone Letter
June 18, 2014 Draft
Mike Blackley
Union Pacific Railroad
1400 Douglas St., Stop 0910
Omaha,NE 68179
Dear Mike:
We appreciate the opportunity for Councilors Mike Luce and Matt Lehman, and City staff,to
have met with you in May to talk about the needs of Shakopee to establish a Quiet Zone.
As we discussed at that meeting, a Quiet Zone would run from roughly Sarazin Street,to the
west side of the Scott County Highway 69 overpass.
The City is aware that there are numerous safety concerns which will need to be dealt with in
order to meet Quiet Zone criteria set by the Federal Railroad Administration. Those would
include the need for street crossing upgrades,warning devices, and potentially the closure of
some at-grade crossings.
However, we are also know that the existing 10 mile per hour speed limit on trains passing
through the mile long section of Shakopee from Marschall Road west to Rahr Malting is an
operational bottleneck for the Union Pacific.
We hope that a"win-win" situation might be created by cooperatively working to establish a
Quiet Zone,which, in exchange for a financial partnership for the Union Pacific in meeting the
necessary upgrades,would allow the City to support an increase from the existing 10 miles per
hour,potentially to as much as 29 miles per hour. We understand that at speeds of 30 PMH and
above, a pedestrian fence would be required for the entire length of the corridor, which we do not
believe benefits either the City, nor the railroad.
The UP recently conducted a computerized inspection of the rail integrity in May of this year.
Would you please provide us with a copy of the inspection findings? Having this information
should help us to assure the public that a speed increase would not lead to a decrease in the
safety along that section of the rail line.
We understand that an engineering study will be needed relating to the Quiet Zone. The City is
willing to cover the cost of the consultant's study. Overall, because of the benefits which will
accrue to the Union Pacific from the increase in speed, it is the City of Shakopee's position that
the costs of the crossing improvements, future maintenance, and any future costs needed to
regain the Quiet Zone status should it ever be revoked by the FRA, should be borne by the Union
Pacific.
At this time, the current City Council is supportive of the type of work which will be needed to
be done to facilitate creation of Quiet Zone. The existing membership of this Council will
remain in place until December 31, 2015; however,we cannot guarantee that future City
Councils will be as inclined to support the work needed to be done to establish a quiet zone.
We await your response to the City's proposal.
City of Shakopee, Minnesota
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