Letter to the editor: Quiet zone won’t make our city safer

The quiet zone coalition has yet to prove the value of a quiet zone. As a safety professional, I have seen no factual evidence proving quiet zones are safer. During the time Fargo-Moorhead has had the quiet zone, there’s been two serious accidents. There were none in Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot or even Jamestown. How is that safer?

Traffic lanes will include a six-inch cement barricade that separates traffic. These barricades will supposedly stop people from racing the train and crossing around the gates. Drivers can simply cross the lane prior to the barricade, and these barricades will make it tougher for city crews to clean snow in those areas.

The entire city is not protected by the proposed quiet zone. A rail crossing just east of Hillcrest Golf Course and the crossing at Cavendish are not on the list. Trains will continue to use their horns in these areas. That’s right — the northeast and southeast portions of town will continue to have horns. Since Jamestown is within hills, the sound will continue to echo and affect many neighborhoods.

Lately the quiet zone coalition has advertised that the zone will cost less than $1 per year. Interesting, since last year it was $2 per year. The coalition ASSUMES they will get grants for three crossings. They also ASSUME that the construction price is unchanged from two years ago.

Quiet zone supporters believe downtown will see booming times once the quiet zone is enacted. This is not true. Businesses and customers do not come downtown for many other reasons.

Jamestown has many other needs — permanent flood protection, road repair, viaduct replacement, downtown parking lots, and Civic Center updates to name a few. Let’s fix our infrastructure first, and then look at wants. Voters turned this down once, and they should turn it down again.

David Klein

Jamestown

Tags: opinion, letter, quiet, zone