Train Horn Update: City to Begin Installing Medians Today

The city will begin installing reflective traffic medians on High Street and Canal Street today, as it continues to work to keep train horns silent, Mayor Michael McGlynn said in a press release.

The city is working closely with the Federal Railroad Administration to "implement several mitigation measures that will allow the city to continue the Quiet Zone in the West Medford area," the press release said.

Locomotives passing both intersections began sounding horns Friday, June 17, when the Federal Railroad Administration revoked Medford's status as a quiet zone for failing to meet a June 2010 deadline calling for Medford to implement safety standards at the crossings.

The deadline was set by a 2005 federal law requiring locomotives to sound horns when crossing intersections, or have communities provide a safety alternative.

The horns stopped sounding last Thursday, when McGlynn struck an agreement with the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail to slow trains to 15 miles per hour at each intersection, slow enough for the FRA to deem horns unnecessary.

The barriers on High Street and Canal Street will be inspected by regional officials from the FRA, and further safety improvements may be called for.

"This work is the first step in satisfying the dual needs of resident and traffic safety, while ensuring that our residents are not adversely impacted by train whistles," McGlynn said in the statement. " As we move through the process, we will keep the community informed of our progress."