Sumter County commissioners Tuesday rejected a request by residents of Grand Oaks Manor to establish a railroad quiet zone near their homes due to the potential cost.
Grand Oaks Manor is along County Road 472 west of The Villages. The CSX railroad tracks cross CR 472 near U.S. 301.
Federal law requires the sounding of locomotive horns for 15 to 20 seconds when approaching a crossing. Quiet zones would prohibit the horns all the time or during certain hours.
The law requires other safety measures to compensate for the lack of the horn. They include one-way streets with gates, channelization devices or four-quadrant gate systems. Closing a crossing also is an option.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold said creating quiet zones would cost the county $30,000 to $1 million per crossing. If quiet zones were established for all of the county’s 42 grade crossings, the cost would be $1.26 million to $42 million.
Cities like Boulder, Colo., have established quiet zones at a few crossings financed by government grant funds.
In other business, commissioners:
• Elected officers for the coming year, including Don Burgess, chairman; Steve Printz, first vice chairman; and Garry Breeden, second vice chairman.
• Learned that construction will be completed soon on Warm Springs Avenue (County Road 468) and County Road 501 near the Villages of Fenney and DeSoto. CR 501 will open later this month.
• Reported that 76 percent of Sumter County voters participated in this month’s election and the county completed the recount of three state races on Monday.
