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SYRACUSE - Syracuse residents got a chance Friday to vent their frustrations to politicians and railroad representatives about the increased railroad traffic in town and number of times trains blow their whistles.
Though no decisions were made at the meeting, all involved said they will gather more information and meet with the public again at a later date. Friday's meeting was almost two hours long.
Those on the panel at the public meeting in the town hall included Ind. Sen. Bob Meeks, Ind. Rep. Dave Wolkins, CSX Transportation Public Safety Coordinator Jay Kern, Indiana Department of Transportation Railroad and Utilities Engineer Jedd Copenhaver and Syracuse Town Manager Brian Redshaw.
Dennis Beadle, a Syracuse resident and a member of the committee that organized the meeting, said the meeting was a discussion of where the town stood on the issue and where they could go.
"(Trains) have increased substantially. They have changed our community," Beadle said. More than 1,400 trains per day are allowable by federal regulations, he said. The railroad tracks in Syracuse are Class Four tracks, which means the speed of the trains are 60 miles per hour but 70 mph for Amtrak trains.
Kern said, "The engineers are required by law to begin their whistle-blowing at the whistle post." The whistle post is approximately 2,200 feet from the crossing. The whistle is the only device the train engineer can use to avoid a collision. Engineers should blow their whistle two short, one long, two short as they approach a crossing.
"The whistle is a very important part of railroad safety," Kern said.
According to Redshaw, a law was passed in January which changed the process in which towns could ban train whistle- blowing. First, all crossings must have crossing arms and signals before any ordinance can be passed. Syracuse has three crossings (at Oak, Main and Front streets) and they do not all have the proper crossing arms and signals. Once a town does have the safety devices in place, Redshaw said, the town can pass an ordinance, which must then be studied by INDOT, which will determine if the whistles in the town are necessary. If INDOT affirms the ordinance, it can be enforced.
However, Redshaw said, there is federal legislation in the works which would not permit towns to ban train whistles unless the crossings are over- or underpasses.
A representative of Sphinx Condominiums residents asked why there aren't more safety devices at the crossings. Copenhaver replied, "We agree (there needs to be more) and there is an accelerated program with the railroad and the federal government to put more (safety protection) in." Improvements to two crossings in Syracuse are expected by late winter or spring, he said.
"I apologize sometimes for disturbing a community ... ," said Kern, "but I can't stress enough how important (whistle-blowing) is."
Kern said more than half of collisions occur at crossings with some type of warning system. He said those accidents occur because people drive illegally around the gates.
Meeks said Indiana is in the top three or four states with high numbers of railroad fatalities. He said legislation to enhance penalties for people who drive around gated crossings was defeated because politicians thought it was unfair to motorists.
"I for one, I've seen those (train) accidents ... I've seen one happen right in front of me ... I for one am not ready to sacrifice safety for convenience's sake," Meeks said.
Syracuse resident Bruce McIntosh said he and his wife saw a boy killed on the train tracks just weeks ago in Syracuse. The train's whistle blowing didn't stop the 7-year-old from being hit by the train.
Kern said whistle blowing was not a cure-all but it does save lives.
Meeks said several new concepts are in the works, including a horn system that is attached to the flasher system that will keep the noise level to the area of the crossing and not all over town. The system is being tested in several states, including Nebraska and Iowa.
Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Director Shelly Bickel said one concern is that all the emergency services are on one side of the tracks. She asked about the possibility of an over- or underpass.
Copenhaver said that if the town wants to pursue it, the best idea would be an overpass because the water table in the area is too high for an underpass.
