Waco OKs $1.2 million for downtown railroad quiet zone work at 4 intersections

A train crosses Sixth Street, one of four intersections that will get attention soon as part of a project to create a downtown quiet zone where trains will not sound their horns unless faced with an emergency.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald

Speakers breaking ground earlier this month for a new Hyatt Place hotel on Third Street had to raise their voice over a blaring intruder. Nearby, also well within the racket zone, crews are building a 182-room AC Hotel by Marriott.

The trains are not going anywhere, but the city would prefer they limit horn-blowing to emergencies. To meet railroad standards for keeping horns quiet in the normal course of crossing downtown roads and sidewalks between Peach Street and 13th Street, Waco is footing the bill to plan and implement changes at 10 railroad intersections on the 1.4-mile stretch.

Negotiations with Union Pacific have progressed to quoting prices. The Waco City Council voted last week to give Union Pacific $1.2 million to improve railroad crossings at Second, Third, Sixth and Eighth streets. The city will also pay Union Pacific $34,000 annually to maintain warning devices at the crossings, and that figure may rise, according to the resolution the council passed.

“The City determined that the establishment of a Quiet Zone through the downtown Union Pacific Railroad (“UPRR”) corridor would be beneficial to the quality of life of residents and visitors to the area,” according to a background document presented to the city council. “Trains passing through the Quiet Zone will not sound their horns unless an emergency requires this warning.”

Waco real estate agent Gregg Glime, who lists multiple downtown properties and was instrumental in moving along the Pivovar project, said by email that he appreciates the city’s persistence in seeing the quiet zone project through.

“I have been on many property tours downtown and have experienced the brain-rattling horn firsthand,” Glime wrote. “This has been a nuisance for business owners, tourists, residents, pedestrians, etc. … This is just one more step towards a more prosperous and enjoyable downtown.”

Carla Pendergraft, assistant director of tourism for the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she welcomes a quieter dining experience.

“I’ve personally been to lunch at Pivovar when a train came by, and all talk must stop until the train passes,” she said via email. “The tourism businesses along those tracks, such as hotels and restaurants, will appreciate the new Quiet Zone. It will allow for more peaceful patio dining and better sleep.”

The quiet zone has been several years in the making.

With money for the planning stages approved by the downtown Tax Increment Financing Zone in 2017, the city council later authorized up to $200,000 for engineering work at the planned quiet zone’s 10 crossings. In 2020, the council approved $600,000 in TIF-funded work at Fourth and Fifth streets, with $18,530 for annual maintenance.

Council members last week allocated almost $1.2 million for work on crossings at Second, Third, Sixth and Eighth streets, plus $34,000 a year in maintenance costs. The construction portion is funded by the TIF zone, while the maintenance costs will be covered by the city traffic division’s operating budget.

The city is awaiting designs from Union Pacific for the crossings at University Parks Drive and 11th Street, according to information presented to the council.

Josh Barrett, an agent with Turner Brothers Real Estate, said his team’s development at 11th Street and Webster Avenue practically hugs the Union Pacific tracks. A steakhouse called Casa do Brasil has signed a lease there, and Barrett is pursuing retail, brewery and entertainment users for the 54,000-square-foot building that once housed Diversified Product Development.

He said an ear-piercing train whistle would create a nuisance.

Waco Pubic Works Director Amy Burlarley-Hyland said in Union Pacific will replace all signal equipment at the crossings, including flashing lights and gates. It will set up boxes resembling cabins near the tracks to hold electrical components.

She said work may start in six to nine months.