Railroad Quiet Zone

This project page is intended to be a forum for updates on the partial quiet zone for the Union Pacific Railroad crossings at Zedler Lane, Donges Bay Road and Mequon Road in the City of Mequon.　 The history of the quiet zone process is below.

Current Status:  The quiet zone has been approved at Donges Bay Road and will begin on Friday, April12.　 Residents may still be able to hear the horn sounds at Zedler Lane and Mequon Road due to the proximity to the intersection.　 Trains may also sound horns at Donges Bay Road when required by railroad safety standards.

History:  In 2003, the Villages of Fox Point and Bayside, and the City of Mequon completed a joint proposal for the establishment of quiet zones for the roadway crossings of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR).  The review and deposition of our proposal was postponed due to a pending change in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rules that govern quiet zones that was put in place in December of 2003.  There was no further pursuit of a quiet zone at that time.

In 2012, looking ahead toward the pursuit of a quiet zone, the City petitioned the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads (OCR) to evaluate the crossings and identify any upgrades necessary to bring them up to current minimum safety standards.  The at-grade roadway crossings at Zedler Lane, Donges Bay Road and Mequon Road that cross the railroad tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad were included in the petition of the OCR.  An action by the OCR mandates that the railroad perform an action at no cost to the petitioner.

In March of 2015, the City of Mequon received a finding of fact from the OCR that required that UPRR upgrade the warning devices at the Donges Bay Road crossing and install and maintain 12" LED automatic flashing lights with gates and constant warning time circuitry.  There was no action required at the Zedler Lane and Mequon Road crossings.  The OCR mandated warning device improvements that were specified at the Donges Bay Road crossing were installed in early 2015.

In the fall of 2015, the City received several phone calls from residents in the southeast corner of the City regarding the volume, frequency and hours during which the train horns sound on the railroad.

UPRR operates six trains per day on the railroad corridor that runs through the City of Mequon.  There are four at-grade crossings at Zedler Lane, Donges Bay Road, Mequon Road and Pioneer Road.  Trains are required to sound their horns four times as they approach an at-grade crossing to alert motorists that a train is approaching.  To the south, some residents can hear the train horns at all three crossings due to their close proximity to each other.

In July 2016, Staff brought the issue before the Public Works Committee for consideration of a budget request for 2017.  At the time, Staff indicated that in order for a segment of railway to be considered for as quiet zone, the crossings must be brought up to, or beyond modern minimum safety standards, as trains will not sound their horns upon approach to a roadway crossing and motorists will rely on the warning devices at the roadway crossing to alert of a coming train.  Given that the UPRR warning devices at Donges Bay Road were antiquated, the City has used the OCR process to leverage the signal upgrades at that location.  Once a quiet zone is applied for, the UPRR and FRA will analyze all of the existing crossings and signal devices and will determine whether additional upgrades are required to maintain a safe crossing environment for operation without train horns.

A partial railroad quiet zone from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. for the Union Pacific Railroad crossings at Zedler Lane, Donges Bay Road, and Mequon Road were applied for by the City on December 11, 2017.  The partial quiet zone request was denied in February and the notice of intent closed.  On April 4, 2018 City staff met with railroad officials to discuss the next steps for the quiet zone.  The crossings at Mequon Road and Zedler Lane lack a constant warning time device which is a minimum requirement.  The Donges Bay Road crossing meets the constant warning time requirement.  The two crossings would be required to be upgraded at the city's cost.  In addition, traffic counts and a risk analysis are required to be performed prior to consideration for a partial quiet zone at all three crossings.  Additional safety improvements based on the traffic counts and the risk analysis results may be required at each crossing.  A new partial quiet zone can be applied for when the signal upgrades are made and the risk analysis is completed.

The options for establishing a railroad quiet zone was presented to the Public Works Committee on May 8, 2018.　 The Public Works Committee directed staff to proceed with a partial quiet zone at Donges Bay Road which meets the minimum safety standards.　 Staff gathered required traffic counts on Donges Bay Road in June and prepared the risk calculation based on the traffic counts in July.　 A notice of intent for a partial quiet zone at Donges Bay Road was applied for on July 24.

The Union Pacific Railroad has provided a letter outlining the requirements to establish a partial quiet zone at Donges Bay Road on September 17, 2018.  Requirements include:  updating the current crossing inventory, installing signs notifying the public that the train horn will not sound, and filing a Notice of Establishment with the Railroad and other jurisdictional agencies.  The letter from Union Pacific Railroad is available below.

On January 2, 2019 staff sent a Notice of Establishment of a partial quiet zone to the jurisdictional agencies in charge of quiet zone establishment at Donges Bay Road.  On January 29th, City staff was notified of the rejection of the quiet zone establishment.  City staff has since corresponded with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and has determined what revisions need to be made to the letter in order to establish the quiet zone.