Petition for Waiver of Compliance, 40639-40640 [E9-19276]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40639-40640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19276]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain 
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being

[[Page 40640]]

requested, and the petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

City of Crystal Lake, Illinois

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2009-0013]

    The City of Crystal Lake, Illinois (City) seeks a permanent waiver 
of compliance from a certain provision of the Use of Locomotive Horns 
at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, Title 49 CFR part 222. The City is 
seeking a waiver from the rule that requires active grade crossing 
warning devices at public crossings within a quiet zone be equipped 
with constant warning time devices. Specifically, the City is seeking a 
waiver from the provisions of 49 CFR 222.35(b)(1), so that the active 
grade crossing warning devices at Prairie Street are not required to be 
equipped with constant warning time devices.
    49 CFR 222.35(b)(1) reads as follows: ``Each public highway-rail 
grade crossing in a New Quiet Zone established under this part must be 
equipped, no later than the quiet zone implementation date, with active 
grade crossing warning devices comprising both flashing lights and 
gates which control traffic over the crossing and that conform to the 
standards contained in the MUTCD. Such warning devices shall be 
equipped with constant warning time devices, if reasonably practical, 
and power-out indicators.'' The purpose of constant warning time 
devices (CWT) is so that the crossing warning devices provide the same 
amount of warning time regardless of the speed of the approaching 
train.
    The City is in the process of establishing a new quiet zone along 
the Union Pacific Railroad's (UP) McHenry Subdivision, which would 
extend from approximately Milepost (MP) 58.21 to MP 59.35. The quiet 
zone will consist of two public at-grade crossings, one of which is at 
IL Route 176 (DOT  178 803B) and the other is at Prairie 
Street (DOT 178 802 U).
    Prairie Street is a two lane, 40 foot wide, asphalt road with an 
average daily traffic of 1,450 and a posted speed limit of 30 miles per 
hour (mph). The crossing has two railroad tracks, one of which is the 
main track and the other is an industrial track. There are nine train 
movements per day (six on the main track and three on the industrial 
track) with a maximum timetable speed of 20 mph. The automatic warning 
devices at the crossing are standard flashing lights with gates. CWT is 
present for detecting trains on the main track and DC circuits are used 
on the industrial track.
    The lack of CWT on the industrial track was first raised at a 
diagnostic review meeting on February 22, 2008. Since that date, the 
City has attempted to resolve the question as to whether or not CWT was 
``reasonably practical'' as used in the rule with the Railroad, FRA and 
the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) without success. An FRA 
representative indicated that it usually leaves the determination of 
this up to the State agency responsible for crossing safety, which is 
ICC in this case and the railroad. Neither party in this instance is 
willing to make a determination.
    The City cites the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices 
Section 8D.06 which states that CWT shall be used where the speed of 
trains on a given track vary considerably under normal operation. The 
City also refers to the Illinois Department of Transportation Bureau of 
Local Road's manual chapter 40-2.04, which provides in part that CWT 
should be considered where trains operate at variable speeds on the 
line.
    The City's position is that CWT is not reasonably practical for a 
number of reasons. There are relatively few trains through the crossing 
and they travel at a low constant speed. Prairie Street is a low volume 
street which has not had a crossing collision within the last 5 years. 
The City is working on removing the on-the-street bike route in the 
future which will enhance safety. It also states that a quiet zone can 
be established without making any improvements at Prairie Street and 
notes that UP did not raise the issue of the crossing not having CWT 
during the 60 day comment period on the Notice of Intent to establish a 
quiet zone. Lastly, the City points out that the money necessary to 
install CWT would be taking away funds that could be used to improve 
the City's roadways which are in need of improvements.
    The City states that it attempted to reach an agreement with UP in 
regard to their requirement for CWT through numerous correspondence; 
however, no resolution was attained. Due to the unresolved issue, the 
City is not filing a joint waiver. It is the opinion of the City that 
the absence of a joint waiver that included UP would not significantly 
contribute to public safety as is described in its petition.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in 
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for 
their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2009-0013) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice 
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments 
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All 
written communications concerning these proceedings are available for 
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.--5 p.m.) at the above 
facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for 
inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web 
site at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the 
name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 
19477-78).

    Issued in Washington, DC on August 6, 2009.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E9-19276 Filed 8-11-09; 8:45 am]
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