By Steve Landwehr
IPSWICH — For months, they denounced a federal agency's finding that one of their railroad crossings is dangerous. Now, some of those same Ipswich residents are embracing the description, hoping it will allow them to continue to enjoy the peace in their homes.
The Federal Railroad Agency, responsible for overseeing every railroad crossing in the country, has deemed the MBTA commuter rail crossing at Topsfield Road unsafe. As a result, in June, it ordered the MBTA to have its drivers start sounding their horns on every trip through town, at every crossing.
The resulting din was matched only by the cacophony from neighbors who lived close to the track.
They complained the horns, which had been silent for many years, were interfering with sleep, damaging hearing and causing anxiety.
By submitting preliminary plans for safety improvements, town officials were able to gain a temporary reprieve from the uproar this fall. That will end in 2010 unless those improvements are in place at the crossing, at an unknown cost to taxpayers.
After minimal discussion, voters at Special Town Meeting Monday night approved spending $68,700 to have detailed plans drawn up for those improvements. The belief is that will make it possible to determine the final cost, with the money being requested at next spring's Town Meeting.
The improvements being considered are the installation of so-called four-quadrant gates, which block traffic in both travel lanes on both sides of the track when a train is approaching. Estimates have been all over the board, but have mostly been in the $1 million neighborhood.
Proponents of a whistle ban were whistling a different tune by the time they got to Monday's meeting and spent less time talking about annoying shrieks and more focusing on the need to make the crossing safer. The issue was not just quality of life, they said, but life itself.
"In my opinion, that's the overriding factor," said Selectman Charlie Surpitski, who made the motion for Article 6. "The goal is to make sure the thousands of vehicles and pedestrians that travel through that crossing every day do so safely."
The Ipswich Citizens Action Committee formed after the train whistles began sounding, with a goal of getting them turned back off.
River Court resident Bob Foote, a member of the committee, spoke Monday night. He said every resident who ever used Topsfield Road would benefit from the safety enhancements, so the issue isn't just about those who are plagued with the horns in their backyards.
Lisa Marie Cashman, spokeswoman for the citizens' group, said turning the spotlight on safety was judged the best way to foster support.
"While the issue of quality of life is very much on our minds for people who live close to the (train) corridor, we had to cast a wide net to bring in the rest of the town," Cashman said. "We had to think outside our box."
The FRA is loath to grant whistle bans because statistics show that intersections where horns are blown are markedly safer than those where they're silent. Foote said there are a lot of safety issues at stake.
"What about permanent damage to a chid's hearing?" he said. "They're invading people's homes at a sound level (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) considers unsafe."
Cashman and Foote admitted no one talked about safety at the crossing until whistles started sounding and suggested that's human nature.
"Until something drops in your lap, you don't react," Foote said.
People don't address problems until the hammer hits them," Cashman said.
Foote told the meeting Monday night that having the design money spent would open up possibilities to apply for federal grants to pay for the installation.
Public Works Director Bob Gravino wasn't optimistic. Most of the grants he's come across have been relatively small, and the pool of applicants large, he said.
Selectmen Chairwoman Ingrid Miles was another voice calling for unity Monday night.
"I want to really remind you when you vote on this article to look at this as a safety compliance issue," she said. "We need to act on this as a community."
By a two-thirds majority, on a show of hands, voters agreed.
