City Council - Regular Meeting

The city continues to explore ways to make railroad crossings safer and potentially reduce train horn noise in some neighborhoods. Residents living near the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City rail line have reported more overnight train traffic in recent years, bringing increased noise from train horns. To better understand possible solutions, the city hired SRF Consulting to study seven railroad crossings in Edina. The study found that safety improvements at several crossings could eventually allow for the creation of quiet zones, where routine train horn use is limited. One potential quiet zone in northern Edina would require coordination with the City of St. Louis Park.

We could potentially do up to four separate quiet zones. One at Dewey Hill right behind me, Valley Lane, Hanson Road, and then the northern ones all have to be together and we have to partner with St. Louis Park if we actually want to create a quiet zone there. And the reason for that is that they're within, they're closer than a quarter mile, the northern ones. The other ones are separated far enough where we could do independent quiet zones. And all of this has to happen after all of those safety improvements are completed.

Depending on the location, the recommended improvements are estimated to cost between $1.4 million and $3.5 million each. The projects have been included in Public Works' proposed capital improvement plan for 2027 through 2030, but funding has not yet been identified.