Avon to Railroad: No Parking Railroads — they're old and powerful. And what the railroads want, historically, they get. Every once in a while, the little guy - like the town of Avon, Colorado - wants something, but if the big man in charge doesn't feel like being generous, a power struggle ensues. That's basically what the tussle between Avon and Union Pacific Railroad boils down to. It all started when Avon wanted two ground-level, or at-grade, railroad crossings to increase access to Riverfront Village, an incoming development of hotel rooms, shops and condos that will also be the base of a gondola to Beaver Creek. Union Pacific didn't want to let Avon have the crossings, and as the two parties fought it out before the Public Utilities Commission - which oversees safety and building of new crossings - it looked like Avon would get its way. But Union Pacific suddenly announced it wanted to store 500 railroad cars in Minturn. Coming from Utah, the cars will have to go through inactive railroad tracks in Avon to get to Minturn. Avon's plans for the crossings could unravel if the Public Utilities Commission rules it's too dangerous to have two crossings with 500 cars moving through Avon, either regularly or sporadically. "I think (Union Pacific) is doing this just to harass us, to deny us the at-grade crossings," Avon Mayor Ron Wolfe said. "They don't want at-grade crossings, no how, nowhere, but it's a shameful way to do business. It's a shameful waste of their UP shareholders' resources." Avon is fighting back by adding to its nuisance ordinance. While it's already illegal for railroad cars to stop at railroad crossings, according to Avon law, the Town Council has ruled that railcars aren't allow to be stopped anywhere in Avon for more than two days. "Without legislation dealing with the problem, we have no way to object," Wolfe said. "We could expect them to be nice guys and not hang out on the track, but given their track record, they have no intention of being nice guys." Town councilors unanimously approved the nuisance law, but it still has one more round of approvals to go before it will becomes law. What's wrong with railroad cars? Wolfe, along with other council members, easily list the reasons why they'd rather not see trains and railcars in town - they're ugly, attract vandalism, decrease property values and act as a barrier to wildlife. "Crappy old railroad cars through the center of Avon - who wants to see that?" Wolfe said. "You don't want to have your downtown segregated by the Berlin Wall, and that's what these cars are." Councilwoman Debbie Buckley said as a resort town, Avon places higher value on aesthetics than other communities. "The cars are an eyesore," she said. "Everyone sees them when they go to the airport - they're old, and they're an eyesore." Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific, maintained many people enjoy the historic look of trains, but did say he's heard railroad tracks have lowered property values. But the biggest reason Avon wants to keep the town free of railroad cars is the safety risk they pose, Wolfe said. "Railroad cars are an attractive nuisance to kids," Wolfe said. "They have attractive ideas of climbing and falling. They're old and rusty." But safety is the same reason Union Pacific is using to try to prevent Avon's two railroad crossings. "This isn't retaliation, it's a safety issue," said Davis, who dismissed Wolfe's theory of revenge as "a very bad rumor." "Just having a crossing there opens up the possibility of an incident," Davis said, adding people in ski boots and heavy clothing that muffles sound would make the crossing even more dangerous. "It's as much for the train crew members as for the public - they're the ones who have to witness these horrific collisions," he said. "They have no control when someone falls or steps in front of a train, or a busload of people - that's the most horrific." Davis said if Avon was trying to build crossings under or over the tracks, Union Pacific would likely be more agreeable, but Wolfe said there's not enough room at the Riverfront Village for such crossings. "If we look at the rest of the state, there are innumerable at-grade crossings, and they're working just fine," Wolfe said. "This just makes no sense." Will it work? While Buckley and Councilman Mac McDevitt said they aren't convinced Union Pacific is storing trains in Minturn solely to distress Avon, they did say it's a suspicious coincidence. They also share some of Wolfe's reasoning behind supporting the ordinance, saying railcars will be a visual blight on the town. But unlike Wolfe, Buckley isn't so sure something as simple as a nuisance law will stop Union Pacific. "I don't think it's going to hold water, but it's worth a shot," Buckley said. "The railroad has a lot of power. They've owned the land for a long time, and they can outspend us." McDevitt agreed the law can't hurt, but said he's weary of "fighting the big guy." "Certainly we need to have an ordinance like this to even pick this fight, but when it really comes down to it, can we win a contest against them?" Avon town attorney John Dunn is confident the law will work, but Buckley said if it was that simple, why haven't other towns passed similar laws? Union Pacific's Davis said the nuisance law won't stop the railroad. Davis said federal commerce law, which supersede town laws, will likely let Union Pacific move where it wants, when it wants. - Nicole Frey, The Vail Daily
and more.... Do You Like the Sound of a Train Whistle? "I would hate to be one of those people," said Kyle Bolio of Edwards, pointing to a row of houses that face an unused railroad track just north of U.S. Highway 6 in Edwards, Colorado. "Poor people." The Union Pacific Railroad says it wants to store 500 train cars in Minturn, which would mean renewed activity on tracks that have been dormant since the early 1990s. In addition to ruining his "nice, quiet walks" on a path parallel to the tracks, Bolio said the train traffic in the area would present a slew of problems, from general safety to traffic around the Berry Creek Middle School. "Minturn's going to look like a dump," he said. "Minturn wants to be a resort town, and this is not a route to do it," added Elizabeth Nilsson. "(500 train cars) might detour prospective investors." Pete Burnett, whose grandfather was the first railroad foreman in Minturn, said he wouldn't mind slowing the town's growth. "I'd rather see a railroad than a development. I'd rather look at dirty, black (train) cars than condominiums," said Burnett, who still lives in Minturn. "But I don't think it's going to slow anything down. The land is too valuable." Manager and resident of Eagle Villas Jacquelyn Pacheco said train traffic near the complex in Eagle would hurt her business. Although she said she lived by train tracks throughout her life and quickly got used to it, Pacheco said she thought the noise and vibrations of trains would be hard on families. "Kids are scared of every little noise in the night," she said. "That's going to affect (residents) if it's waking up their children." Pacheco said her biggest concern was the safety of Eagle Villas residents, which include about 200 children. "There is quite a few holes in the fence (around the tracks)," Pacheco said. "Children go through there to go to the bowling alley. I know some residents go through them to walk to work. Everyone's so used to not having traffic here. "Noise is one thing," she said, "I'm just worried someone might get hurt." Bobby Bank, whose house on Eaglebend Drive in Avon may be one of the closest properties to the tracks in Eagle County, said he's not looking forward to train traffic but won't fight it. He said trains were running when he bought his house 13 years ago, and he knew the tracks were never fully abandoned. "Of course I would prefer if (the trains) didn't run, but they're not my tracks, and you shouldn't really be telling other people what to do with their property," Bank said. Martha Brassel of Edwards said she can't wait for trains to pass through. "I think they're beautiful," she said. "It's an old industry, and we've built so much of this country hauling train cars back and forth." Burnett agreed. "I would kind of like to hear the whistles blow again," he said. "And I'd like to be the one tooting them." - Nikki Katz, The Vail Daily
Blogged I wrote about this on my blog site. Thanks for the tip, John! Love the line "Minturn's going to look like a dump." Um, what do you think it looked like in the 80s and 90s? I'll give you a two word hint: Railfans Paradise.
The latest news... Avon Closer To Building Railroad Crossings AVON, CO -- A year-and-a-half after first applying for a couple of ground-level railroad crossings, the town of Avon is one step closer to building them. The crossings are back on track after a judge denied Union Pacific Rail Road's appeal. The crossings were previously approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, but Union Pacific appealed the commission's decision after announcing plans to reactivate the previously dormant line. The railroad said it needed to move cars through Avon for storage in Minturn. Because of the possible new activity -- an estimated one train car a week would go through Avon -- Union Pacific said ground-level crossings would be too dangerous. The crossings would connect west Avon to the incoming Riverfront Village, a development of hotel rooms, shops, condos and a gondola to Beaver Creek. “The purported changes to the railroad activity and any resultant safety considerations were not substantiated in the hearing and the (judge) denied the argument against the crossings,” Avon Town Manager Larry Brooks said. But Union Pacific could further stall the process for Avon. The railroad has 19 days to appeal the decision and bring Avon back to court. And even if Union Pacific doesn't appeal, the railroad must approve Avon's drawings for the crossings. “We submitted the drawings months ago, complete with the fees to cover the review of the plans for the crossing,” Brooks said. Avon representatives said they would contact Union Pacific again Tuesday to get an update on their drawings' status. “We were ready to move forward and build the crossings a year ago, and we remain ready to proceed,” Brooks said. - Nicole Frey, The Vail Daily News
