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September 19, 2008

Residents pleased that quieter bells to sound at five railroad crossings

By Paul Leighton

BEVERLY — Residents who live near five railroad crossings might not be so cross after learning of the city's plan to install quieter bells at those locations.

Mayor Bill Scanlon said this week he wants the city to spend about $35,000 for the MBTA to put quieter bells at railroad crossings at Congress Street, Kittredge Crossing, North Beverly and the two crossings near the Montserrat train station.

That decision pleased Colon Street resident Patrick Lucci, who had written a letter to Ward 5 City Councilor Don Martin in February urging the city and the MBTA to install the quieter bells. Lucci said the bells go off 25 times per day for three minutes at a time. The bells sound whenever the railroad gates are down and continue sounding while the train is stopped at the station.

Lucci ran against Scanlon for mayor in a contentious campaign in 2005. Despite those differences, he said he gives Scanlon credit for following through on the quieter bells.

"He said he would do it and he's done it," Lucci said. "Kudos to him."

Scanlon said the cost of the bells will not exceed $7,000 per crossing. He said the money will come from a $95,584 payment the city recently received from Verizon for using the city's water towers to place cell-phone antennae.

Scanlon credited Scott Houseman, an attorney and former chairman of the city's Zoning Board, for pursuing the money from Verizon. Scanlon said the $95,000 compensates for "insufficient payments" the company had made dating back to the 1980s for using the water towers.

The MBTA will install the new bells, and the city will pay for them. An MBTA spokesman said the new bells are not necessarily quieter than the old ones, but the technology allows the sound to be "pointed" in a different direction.

The $35,000 must be authorized by the City Council. The council has set a public hearing on the matter for Oct. 6 at 7:50 p.m. at City Hall.

Scanlon said the city could convert other railroad crossings to the quieter bells if the change at these five crossings solve the problem. The city has a total of 17 railroad crossings.

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Residents pleased that quieter bells to sound at five railroad crossings
by By Paul Leighton , , Fri Sep 19, 2008, 05:14 AM EDT
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