Romeoville, Lemont, Lockport Sign Off on Quiet Zone Study

In response to a growing number of concerns about train noise along the Heritage Corridor line, three southwest suburban municipalities are joining together this winter to study the feasibility of creating a quiet zone.

Officials in Romeoville, and Lockport have all signed on to participate in a quiet zone study, which will be completed by spring or summer. Establishing a designated quiet zone would require trains to use either a softer horn or none at all.

Lemont officials announced the study during a village board meeting Jan. 9.

"The goal of the study is to determine which improvements are necessary to achieve a quiet zone designation, and the costs associated with these required improvements," Lemont Assistant Village Administrator George Schafer said.

The idea for the study began with Romeoville officials, who recently approached Lemont and Lockport to sign on as well. Due to the proximity of the crossings in all three communities, Romeoville Mayor John Noak said it made more sense to pursue the quiet zone as a group.

"In order for it to be an effective quiet zone, you have to do it as a corridor," Noak said. "Otherwise, by the time [the train] would hit the next intersection, it would have to blow the horn."

In Romeoville, the quiet zone would primarily affect the crossing at 135th Street and New Avenue, near the . In Lemont and Lockport, the zone would impact the downtown areas, where each town currently has a Metra station, as well as the crossings down Main and State streets.

The Federal Railroad Administration must sign off on all quiet zones, meaning detailed analysis is required of all intersections to determine traffic counts and accident rates, as well as the condition of each crossing and potential improvements, Noak said.

“It’s a fairly complex formula,” he said. “Safety is ultimately the most important [factor],” Noak added, noting the fewer the accidents, the more likely the FRA is to approve the quiet zone.

Lemont officials said each municipality will pay about $2,500, plus the cost of traffic studies.

"It's more cost effective if we all go together, and it'll give the maximum relief to residents," Noak said.

With construction on a scheduled to begin in 2014 and an East Side development plan in the works, Noak said it was a good time to revisit the quiet zone issue.

"Residents have been asking more [about a quiet zone] in the last few months," he said. "We thought it was a fitting time with all the work we're doing with the corridor."

In April 2011, Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) announced that the Illinois Department of Transportation  of increasing Metra service on the Heritage Corridor line. Currently, Metra provides only three morning trains downtown and three trains to the suburbs during evening rush hour. There is no midday or weekend service.

Lemont Village Administrator Ben Wehmeier told Patch this week that the study is ongoing. However, village officials have been informed that final determinations could be impacted by the construction of the Illinois High-Speed Rail, Wehmeier said.

According to the project's website, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood awarded IDOT more than $186 million for the project earlier this month. Construction is already underway, and work on the extension to Joliet is expected to begin this spring.

Romeoville Patch Editor Shannon Antinori contributed to this report.