In the past few months, my thinking has changed on the subject of “quiet zones” along the FEC right-of-way. With the near exhaustion of Martin County’s court challenges, which I believe the county was correct to bring even though they were not successful, we should seriously consider this option. Whether one believes Brightline will succeed as a business model or not is becoming less relevant. It is also irrelevant whether there will be more freight or not. The reason I believe that we should explore this option is because, if they build new tracks, whatever will run will go faster and be noisier.
What is the downside to having “quiet zones?” First, since there are still open areas the public can access, individuals will not have the warning of the train whistle. This can make it easier to have fatalities. Another reason is that it is much more expensive to have four gates than two gates at grade crossings. The City will be maintaining the crossings and those costs will be added to our budget forever. These are both serious considerations that need to be weighed before any final decision is made.
To qualify for the improvements necessary for “quiet zones,” trains must be traveling above 79 miles per hour; none of Stuart’s crossings reach that speed. Brightline only has to pay for improvements for intersections where the train is travelling above 79 MPH. Therefore, Martin County would have to request the implementation of “quiet zones” throughout the County. I believe this would have to be done in conjunction with the Martin County MPO. But the time has come for us to have an open and frank discussion unclouded by politics.
In the past, other elected officials and I have been reluctant to broach this subject. During our legal and administrative challenges to Brightline, no one wanted to undermine our efforts. With the winding down of these cases, we need to look to our future. While there still is a glimmer of hope with bills filed by Senator Mayfield, Representatives Magar and Grall in Tallahassee, we do need to at least begin a dialogue to see what is possible to minimize the impact.