Bonner County approves framework to let communities fund railroad crossing quiet zones

Bonner County commissioners on Oct. 29 adopted a tentative framework that would let communities pay for safety upgrades and ongoing maintenance needed to create railroad crossing quiet zones.

Matt Mulder, staff engineer for the county Road and Bridge Department, told the board the county’s 2020 pilot quiet zone at the Kootenai Bay crossing demonstrated both community benefit and ongoing costs. "Railroad crossing quiet zones are areas where trains no longer blow their horns at every crossing, enabling quality of life improvements for nearby residents and reducing noise pollution," Mulder said, and he warned the county that long‑term inspections, maintenance and recurring Federal Railroad Administration recertifications can be costly.

The framework approved by the board would have Bonner County contract a consultant engineer to serve as the county’s quiet‑zone proponent and require each community that requests a quiet zone to hire and fund that consultant for site‑specific work,…