Railroad crossings to close: City will receive upgrades in return

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by Emily Canning-Dean

Reporter

Bedford -- By agreeing to close two railroad crossings, the city can receive $350,000 in improvements from the Ohio Rail Commission for two of its other crossings.

City Manager Bob Reid said Council gave him the nod to prepare legislation that would result in the closing of crossings on South Park Drive and West Monroe Street. He said legislation should be on the May 5 Council agenda.

"The rail commission is in favor of closing crossings where it can because crossings can be a safety hazard," Reid said. "To entice cities to do that, it is offering upgrades on other crossings, which also enhances safety."

If Council approves the closing of the crossing, the Ohio Rail Commission would fund $350,000 of improvements to the crossings at North Park Drive and Powers Road, Reid said.

Reid said improvements would include new signals and lights as well as adding gates to both crossings. He said the city is not expected to pay a minimum price on this work.

"There could be some improvements that exceed the $350,000 and the city could pitch in the extra money to have them completed," he said.

Reid said the city would pay for the expense of closing the crossings at South Park and Monroe.

"I don't have an exact cost of what that would be, but a lot of it could be done in-house such as planting grass and setting up a decorative fence or wall," Reid said. "I'm estimating it would cost the city between $25,000 and $50,000."

Ward 1 Councilor Warner Batten said he was concerned about closing the crossings because it would be a hardship for trailers to enter Bedford Commons during summer festivals.

Reid said he agreed that could be an issue.

"But I hate to give up $350,000 because of some trailers," he said.

But Batten reminded Reid that summer festivals are a draw for Bedford and should not be taken lightly.

"When reviewing our master plan, our Square was mentioned as one of our biggest assets," Batten said, adding that he would rather wait until the festivals begin in June to see how much of a hardship closing the crossing would be.

But Reid said the city needs to give the Ohio Rail Commission an answer soon.

"They will start preparing their 2009 budget, and we want to make sure we are included in that," Reid said.

Reid said the city would not begin the process of closing the crossings until later this year when the rail commission's budget has been approved.

"Once we know for sure we would receive the money is when we would begin closing the crossings," he said.

E-mail: ecanning@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3166