Tualatin struggles to find train noise mitigation funds
The city has earmarked $85,000 for train noise mitigation in the 2008-2009 fiscal year
TUALATIN — Let’s face it. Train noise from TriMet’s WES has the potential to be a problem for the city of Tualatin. But right now the prospective funding to mitigate that problem isn’t good.
Councilor Jay Harris left a work session meeting in October with the sentiment “the project is dead.”
He was angered by the majority of the council’s refusal to back an analysis of a possible gas tax in Tualatin to help pay for the $1.5 million to $2 million projects associated with establishing quiet zones in the city.
Councilors did favor looking into the creation of a Local Improvement District to fund the projects.
But even that idea seemed questionable. City attorney Brenda Braden noted that to do a citywide LID the officials would need to show that the entire city would benefit from the tracks being a quiet zone and not just the nearby neighborhoods.
“We have to show that each property benefits,” Braden said.
That hit a sour note with councilor-elect Joelle Davis who noted that residents in north Tualatin likely wouldn’t buy into a district that quiets the north-south running train tracks but not the other west-east train tracks.
The city earmarked $85,000 for train noise mitigation this fiscal year, and everyone admitted that amount is just a drop in the bucket.
Recent updates to the Federal Railroad Administration’s railroad crossing quiet zone calculator has given city officials a new perspective on what to expect for quiet zone projects — the $1.5 to $2 million project range are not definite price tags.
While council discussion touched on specific intersections and quiet zone projects, the group hit a roadblock when it came to funding.
McKillip noted that even with FRA approval the city is at least two years away from establishing and implementing a quiet zone.
City officials have spent the last year discussing potential noise issues from TriMet’s Westside Express Service — the $117.3 million 14.7-mile commuter rail line running from Beaverton to Wilsonville. TriMet officials have said the agency will not help fund noise mitigation projects.
The Portland & Western train tracks cut right through the heart of Tualatin and wind through the backyards of a few neighborhoods.
Council President Ed Truax expressed his concerns about sacrificing safety for silence in pursuing quiet zones in the city.
“I would like to see this be a safe project,” said Truax.