The railroad quiet zone in downtown Canby took another step forward last week, as the Canby City Council, in their role as the Urban Renewal Agency, approved a $271,000 contract for engineering services to design the second phase of the proposed improvements that would be needed for the zone to be realized.
If approved, the quiet zone would remove the mandate requiring train engineers to sound their horns as they approach the three intersection in downtown Canby, at Elm, Grant and Ivy streets. Of course, they would still be permitted to whistle if a car or pedestrian were in the crossing, or to alert people of other emergency situations.
The proposal would come along with other engineering improvements at the crossings intending to make them safer, such as concrete medians that would prevent cars from driving around the arms of the railroad gates. The purpose of this contract is to design those improvements, as well as to acquire the rights-of-way that would be needed for the project.
The contract was approved with PBS Engineering and Environmental, Inc., who have been involved with other aspects of the project. The city has also been working with representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad.
The quiet zone is something the city, with the support and encouragement of the downtown business community, has worked toward for years, and those efforts are finally starting to bear fruit now. City Administrator Rick Robinson says there is good reason to keep the momentum going.
With more design and right-of-way work still needed, Robinson estimated that the project would be ready for to begin the bid process for construction about 12 months from now, in the spring of 2020.
Photo by jefzila.