BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1491|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1491
Author: Leslie (R), et al
Amended: 5/24/00
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/25/00
AYES: Bowen, Alarcon, Brulte, Hughes, Kelley, Mountjoy,
Murray, Peace, Solis, Speier, Vasconcellos
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Railroad crossings: automated warning devices
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the California Public
Utility Commission (CPUC) to supervise the operation of
pilot projects to evaluate proposed railroad crossing
warning devices at designated crossings, with the consent
of specified parties.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/24/00 make technical changes
by requiring the CPUC to evaluate the pilot projects on a
case by case basis.
ANALYSIS : Current law requires the sounding of a
locomotive bell or whistle at least 1,320 feet from the
place where the railroad crosses any street, with certain
exceptions.
This bill adds an exception to current law in the case
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where the railroad crossing has a permanently installed
audible warning device that automatically sounds when an
approaching train is at least 1,320 feet from the crossing.
This bill authorizes, on an application by application
basis, CPUC to supervise the operation of pilot projects
for the purpose of evaluating proposed railroad crossing
warning devices or new technology at designated crossings,
with the consent of the local jurisdiction, the affected
railroad, and other interested parties.
This bill declares the intent of the Legislature that the
CPUC authorize pilot projects, after an application is
filed and approved, in at least the communities of
Roseville and Lathrop to test the utility and safety of
stationary, automated audible warning devices as an
alternative to trains having to sound their horns as they
approach railroad crossings.
Background :
The City of Roseville asked the CPUC for permission to
create a pilot project to install an automated horn system
at two railroad crossings as an alternative to having
trains sound their whistles as they approach the crossings.
This automated horn system, known as a "wayside horn," has
the potential to reduce noise pollution because the horns
are stationary, located at the crossing, and can be
directed down the street - as opposed to a train whistle,
which sounds for about a quarter mile as a train approaches
a crossing.
The CPUC didn't grant the City of Roseville's request for a
pilot project because it found the project ran contrary to
state law - the state law this bill proposes to change.
Some cities, including Sacramento, have established "quiet
zones" in which train whistles are either banned or
restricted. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the
federal agency responsible for railroad safety, is
formulating draft regulations to limit "quiet zones" to
areas only where supplementary safety measures are
installed, such as four quadrant gates. (Public hearings
were held on these draft regulations in Los Angeles on
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March 15 and are being held throughout the country over the
next month).
These regulations are in response to an FRA study of
Florida's train whistle ban, which found that trains not
sounding their whistles were far likelier to have a
collision than trains which did sound their whistles.
Because the supplementary safety measures are costly (e.g.
the author estimates the four quadrant gates cost about
$250,000) the consequence of the FRA regulations will be to
effectively eliminate "quiet zones."
Comments :
Relevance of Prior Study ? The FRA has evaluated the
wayside horns proposed in this bill, having commissioned a
study of such a system that is deployed in Nebraska. That
study noted that using a wayside horn in lieu of the train
whistle reduced net community noise impacts, but the report
questions how effective that particular system was in
alerting motorists. The FRA noted the study "did not
contain adequate data or analysis to permit a determination
of whether a wayside horn could fully substitute for a
train-born audible warnings (sic)." However, the study
itself does note "the wayside horn shows promise as a
warning device that can reduce community noise impact
without adversely affecting safety."
Public Safety . The purpose of having a train sound its
whistle as it approaches a crossing is to warn pedestrians,
drivers, and others that a train is indeed coming down the
tracks. The question posed by this bill is -- in the
absence of quiet zones or the use of four quadrant gates --
whether it's better to have the whistle sounded from the
train as it approaches the crossing or from the crossing
gate as the train approaches.
According to RCL, a wayside horn manufacturer, wayside
horns have been installed in five cities throughout the
United States without any grade crossing accidents.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/00)
Orange County Transportation Authority
Roseville Chamber of Commerce
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill proposes to evaluate the
effectiveness of wayside horns by conducting pilot projects
and in turn providing the analysis of those projects to the
FRA in the hope that the wayside horn can provide for
adequate safety and less nuisance than sounding the train
whistle in the more traditional fashion.
NC:jk 5/25/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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