“It is one step toward creating a quiet zone throughout that area, which I'm sure the residents of Pelanconi are impatiently waiting for,” said Councilman Ara Najarian.
Pelanconi Estates residents, who live near the train tracks, have been especially vocal in their disdain for train horns, which engineers are required to sound before each rail crossing. The neighborhood has long pushed for the stretch of rail to earn so-called quiet-zone status, in which trains passing through do not have to sound their horns because of certain safety improvements, including upgraded signals and impassible vehicle gates, or because crossings have been eliminated altogether.
Even with the planned changes to Grandview and Sonora, those safety enhancements would have to be installed at three other crossings, including a controversial one at Doran Street, to qualify the Glendale stretch for quiet-zone status, officials say.
Glendale and Los Angeles are negotiating over the fate of the Doran Street crossing, which Glendale officials are pushing to close off to street traffic. The two cities have shared jurisdiction over the crossing, which serves as a pass-through for vehicles moving between Glendale and the mostly industrial Los Angeles area.
Glendale wants the crossing closed because of its proximity to an adjacent propane storage and distribution facility, but Los Angeles wants to keep it open for emergency responders.
A tentative agreement on what to do with the crossing has been reached, according to Glendale Public Works Director Steve Zurn, although he declined to elaborate on what it entailed.
“It's encouraging that we've tentatively agreed on a concept,” he said.
Last year, the California Public Utilities Commission suggested in a letter to stakeholders that it was leaning toward closing the crossing, but a final determination isn't expected until November 2013.
