Train quiet zones start next week in Bloomington

Posted on November 15, 2018
Quite zone designations will start at three different crossings next week in Bloomington and McLean County. (WJBC File Photo)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – Several train crossings will become much quieter starting next week in Bloomington and McLean County.

Quiet zones will be designated at three public railroad crossings starting Nov. 20th. The crossings include Washington Street in Bloomington and unincorporated McLean County at Miller Street and Six Points Road.

Quiet zones ban the use of train horns unless in an emergency.  Normal started a quiet zone on its crossings in January.

The tracks are part of the Union Pacific Railroad/Amtrak line which runs north and south through Bloomington-Normal.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…