LovelandPolitics.com BLOG
All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only.
Entry for July 2, 2008
photo

Loveland residents have endured ever increasing (in both frequency and noise level) horns and whistles from trains coming through Loveland. This is due to new regulations requiring trains to use their horns on certain types of at-grade crossings that are not safely protected from traffic or pedestrians. SEE STORY

One solution is to apply for a quiet zone with the railway but according to Keith Reester, Director of Public Works, that will cost $4.5 million since Loveland is at “the bottom of the barrel” in its infrastructure.

This is because our infrastructure has not been updated as capital improvement funds are increasingly being diverted to annex or outright buy property along the I-25 to satisfy the City Manager’s ambitions for the city to expand.

According to the railway the estimate is high but either way the money doesn’t appear to be available since it doesn't involve the City Manager's priorities. The staff at LovelandPolitics studied the issue and believes the quality of life of those being impacted by the horns and the safety of the community demands the Council appropriate funds to fix the problem – starting with a serious study to determine the actual costs to improving the intersections. What do you think?


2008-07-02 20:29:43 GMT
Comments (10 total)
Author:Anonymous
The Cizitizens For Quiet Zones have organized and will be back to see if this city counsel is serious or just talking for the crowd. Keith Reester first said the improvements would cost only $2 million in an interview with the Coloradoan but that night changed his story to $4.5 million.
--Jacob
2008-07-03 17:24:02 GMT
Author:Anonymous
The Cizitizens For Quiet Zones have organized and will be back to see if this city counsel is serious or just talking for the crowd. Keith Reester first said the improvements would cost only $2 million in an interview with the Coloradoan but that night changed his story to $4.5 million.
--Jacob
2008-07-03 17:24:14 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Thanks for doing the story. I was surprised to learn the Railroad seems kinda reasonable and not what we were told that night by the city.

Councilman Skowron told us to take it to the federal level. It seems like the problem is the 'bottom of the barrel' state Loveland's crossings are already in. Thanks for doing this great piece. I linked to those sites and learned a lot I didn't know. Somone from Citizens for Quiet Zones should link this to their site.

Keep up the good work!
--J.D.
2008-07-03 23:05:03 GMT
Author:Anonymous
I wonder if the City Council understands that failing to keep up the services people expect is not acceptable. i don't care about the noise just the safety. The next time a killed is killed on the tracks or another car is hit - we can thank Don Williams for diverting funds to acquire land near I-25 instead of improving railroad crossings.
--Jerry
2008-07-04 05:19:04 GMT
Author:Anonymous
I wonder if the City Council understands that failing to keep up the services people expect is not acceptable. i don't care about the noise just the safety. The next time a killed is killed on the tracks or another car is hit - we can thank Don Williams for diverting funds to acquire land near I-25 instead of improving railroad crossings.
--Jerry
2008-07-04 05:19:12 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Give it a rest, whiners. You knew the railroad was there when you moved in.

You can find more stupid crap and nonsense to complain about than a five-year-old in church. If you don't like it move back to California where you came from.

As to your so-called staff: Do they even know how to read and spell? This web site and blog are so poorly written and constructed they would flunk as a school project.

Until you set an example others can realistically follow you're just pissing in the wind.
2008-07-04 12:33:53 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Wow! Did someone on the City Council write that? I think the point is the train horns can be heard a good distance from the tracks because they bother me and I don't live that close.

What example should I follow? I am not from California but I understand when the public works guy says Loveland's infrastructure is the bottom of the barrel what that means. Anyway, everyone knows that if Larry Heckel, Dave Clark, or the Mayor were in the railroad crossing business they would be all over getting the city to spend money building more.

I already told my neighbors (who live closer to the tracks) to stop asking the Council and ask McWhinney to make the request to council. That is the only way they will spend money to fix the problem. Loveland's City Hall is on Rocky Mountain Ave. Oh yea-aren't the precious McWhinneys from California?


--Deb
2008-07-07 04:16:03 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Wow! Did someone on the City Council write that? I think the point is the train horns can be heard a good distance from the tracks because they bother me and I don't live that close.

What example should I follow? I am not from California but I understand when the public works guy says Loveland's infrastructure is the bottom of the barrel what that means. Anyway, everyone knows that if Larry Heckel, Dave Clark, or the Mayor were in the railroad crossing business they would be all over getting the city to spend money building more.

I already told my neighbors (who live closer to the tracks) to stop asking the Council and ask McWhinney to make the request to council. That is the only way they will spend money to fix the problem. Loveland's City Hall is on Rocky Mountain Ave. Oh yea-aren't the precious McWhinneys from California?


--Deb
2008-07-07 04:16:12 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Mr. Pissing in the Wind:

Why are you so angry and harsh? I love lovelandpolitics and told all my friends and even have the bumper sticker on my car. You obviously were shooting off your mouth before reading the story. If you read the story you would have learned that trains now whistle louder and a new federal rule making requires engineers to blow the whistle before every crossing unless it qualifies as a quiet zone. When I bought my house the train never blew the whistle coming close to our house now they do all the time between 2 and 3 AM.

Please take the time to read what people are complaining about before blowing your whistle too loudly.
--S.T.
2008-07-08 03:52:20 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Great picture guys of our elected representative Carol Johnson "napping" at the last council staged theater show they call a meeting.

When you meet in private and email one another to decide the issues before the public meeting -- it sure makes having to attend the carefully choreographed public show boring. I guess Johnson couldn't stay awake since she already knew what would happen next.

Making a mockery of our democratic process may be so common in Loveland now it makes Johnson sleepy but it makes me angry. Am I the only one angry about this new McWhinney crap?

Is anyone planning on going to the August meeting or we all be focused on the national election?
--Jimmy Dean
2008-07-08 04:04:45 GMT
Add to My Yahoo! RSS