Title
Resolution to Authorize a Professional Services Agreement with SRF Consultants, Inc., and to Appropriate Funds for Railroad "Quiet Zone" Conceptual-Engineering Services ($35,000.00) (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
Attached for your consideration is a resolution to authorize a professional services agreement with SRF Consultants, Inc. to complete professional design efforts responding to the issue of train horn noise for residents along the Ann Arbor Railroad corridor and to appropriate funds for that purpose.
As background, residents in two areas have raised concerns to the City about train-horn noise: (1) adjacent to the downtown and Old Fifth Ward area, and (2) in the Northside neighborhood, north of Argo Pond. Residences in both areas are close to the railroad and its at-grade street intersections.
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations require sounding a locomotive horn near such crossings unless they are in an FRA-designated "Quiet Zone." The "Quiet Zone" rules require a safety evaluation and, potentially, public-safety improvements before any area may be designated a "Quiet Zone." These improvements could include upgrading crossing gates to four-quadrant systems, which prevent vehicles from bypassing lowered gates, or curb channelization to restrict vehicles to the lane protected with the gate.
This resolution seeks authorization and funding to retain a qualified professional engineering firm to conduct the required safety review and to develop engineering concepts to support designation of an FRA "Quiet Zone" in these areas.
Staff requested and received three (3) quotes, which included descriptions of each firm's proposed project team, each firm's experience with "Quiet Zone" rules, and a proposed scope of work. Following review, staff selected SRF Consulting Group, Inc. (SRF). The rationale for selecting SRF included the firm's experience and prior successful efforts in Michigan, as well as the comprehensive and detailed descr...
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