Penngrove Station by Lyndi Brown - April 2017

After 10 days away, I came home full of Mexico’s sun, warmed to the core on theOur sleepy little town has gone from a flag stop on the NWP RR to a major crossroads and thoroughfare with traffic signals. This month,

Supervisor David Rabbitt Reports

Main Street Crossing

• A queue cutter signal is currently being installed on Main Street in Penngrove. Over the next few months residents will see control boxes and foundations being installed and in early May should see the installation of the queue cutter signal poles and light displays. The goal is to turn on the queue cutter by the middle of May barring any unforeseen events. (A queue cutter is a special traffic signal designed to keep the railroad tracks clear from vehicles)

• The quad gate system is currently being designed. The final design is scheduled to go to theSonoma County Board of Supervisors in April. Once the design is approved and funding secured the quad gates will be ordered and the County will request a construction bid and set a construction schedule.

• Concurrent to the design of the Main Street crossing, Transportation Public Works Departmenthas been researching medians to replace the concrete medians that are found at some of the Penngrove crossings.

Quiet Zones

• Sonoma County is reviewing the Quiet Zone documents and will file a Notice of Intent early next week. Staff has been working closely with the City of Rohnert Park and Cotati to file this documentation with theFederal Rail Authority. Once filed the 60 day Reportscomment period will begin.

Copeland Creek Maintenance

• Supervisor Rabbitt and Supervisor Gorin advocated for a pilot project on Copeland Creek to help minimize flooding in and around Penngrove due to Copeland Creeks past history. Work has already started on this pilot project.

Cannabis

• With the recent voter approved cannabis tax measure, the county will be able to boost code enforcement to protect neighborhoods from illegal grow operations and permit grows in areas that their land use designation allows. The Board of Supervisors will discuss the approved measure expenditures in early April and will revisit a more comprehensive plan later in 2017.

Burr Wilson Reports

SMART Train

Test trains are regularly running on the SMART track through Penngrove. These aren’t your father’s old, mile-long freight trains lumbering down the track and tying up the crossings for eternity – the SMART passenger cars are fast and quick to come and go. Safety is paramount. A newly developed Positive Train Control (PTC) system is online, with flaggers and monitoring personnel being posted at critical grade crossings during system shakedown runs.

Your safety begins with you: please use caution when crossing the railroad track on foot, on bike, or in a vehicle. There’s no need to rush a crossing to beat an oncoming SMART train. The crossing will be closed for only a minute; let the train pass, and then go safely on your way.

Road Work Ahead

The county Public Works department and contractors are erecting traffic signals on major roadways around Penngrove; 1) the pedestrian crosswalk on Old Redwood Highway intersection with Adobe Road and Penngrove Avenue is becoming an active warning system, and 2) traffic elements at the intersection of Main Street with Woodward Street are being signalized, starting with queue-cutter* traffic signals around the railroad crossing. An illuminated No Left Turn signal will warn motorists inside this intersection not to turn onto the railroad tracks during train approach. Pedestrian elements of this busy and congested intersection plus a long-awaited upgrade of railroad crossing warning appliances to a 4-quadrant gate system are still in the design stage.

What is a “queue-cutter” signal?

Queue-cutters are a specialized form of traffic signal, consisting of a pre-signal on the roadway placed in advance (upstream) of a railroad grade crossing and interoperated with a downstream signal beyond the crossing. These traffic signals are interconnected with railroad crossing warning systems for pre-emptive, coordinated operation, giving adequate time upon train approach to clear vehicles from the track area and downstream intersections.