Dear residents, college students, business owners and visitors of Bethlehem, PA
Much of the town of Bethlehem, PA is subject to train horns sounding at two Railroad crossings. These crossings have a very low volume of vehicular traffic. After legally setting the minimum required decibel level of train horns to a whopping 96db, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in 2008, enacted a provision (Train Horn Rule), allowing municipalities to establish Quiet Zones* relative to train horns for certain crossings**. The two crossings on Riverside Drive (see photo above) fall into that category. Currently, the official FRA data on the volume of vehicles crossing the tracks is outdated (it states that over 500 vehicles cross one of these daily) and a new assesment of the actual traffic volume must be made by the city of Bethlehem before a quiet zone is requested. It should also be noted that trains travel at a much lower than average speed through these crossings.
The first crossing along Riverside Drive (map) appears to be a private crossing which traverses Brighton St., used by Reeb Millwork delivery vehicles (see A in photo above). This crossing is only used during business hours, then, access from the facility is gated and locked during non-business hours. The second crossing is a public crossing (see B in photo above) with a sign posted at the east end of the street restricting vehicular access by stating "No Outlet" (see C). The only public users of the road drive to and from the Lehigh County Community Corrections Center, the Center for Recovery, the Reeb Millwork shipping and receiving and Harris Rebar.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN:
1. Mayor Donchez must approve and the City complete a new traffic volume assessment for the crossings as well as further research to ensure all FRA criteria are met for the City's Quiet Zone request.
2. The city must ensure that the crossing/safety devices are up to FRA standards
3. The statistics for these crossings must be updated on the FRA website
4. The city must request a Quiet Zone from the FRA.
Please sign this petition and let's all make silent nights (and days) in Bethlehem a reality.
*Since 2008, over 400 new quiet zones have been granted nationally.
**Please note that the "Quite Zone" does not prevent the train operator from blowing the horn in, what he/she would observe as, an immediately, potentially dangerous crossing situation.
