Recently I had the privilege of attending a presentation by LIRR officials and their design engineers with regard to the Mainline Corridor Improvements Project. Leaders from a wide array of New Hyde Park community organizations were in attendance. A line of communication has been established directly between the LIRR and the New Hyde Park community. It is my hope that the LIRR will continue to reach out to us in good faith.

Current and past New Hyde Park at-grade crossing elimination plans call for the taking of several homes in the vicinity of the Covert Avenue at-grade crossing. This is of great concern to the families directly affected and those of us who know these families for many years.

At the NHP community meeting, LIRR officials and their design engineers presented an "Alternative Plan for Consideration" for the Covert Avenue at-grade crossing. The LIRR would consider an option in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to keep Covert Avenue at-grade with 4-quadrant gates installed to enhance safety. If this proves to be a viable option, there would be no homes taken on Covert Avenue.

At the meeting, I proposed that the LIRR take their suggested alternative plan one step further. I proposed that the LIRR partner with the New Hyde Park community to create a "Quiet Zone," using 4-quadrant gates and several other supplementary safety measures at the Covert Avenue, South 12th Street, and New Hyde Park Road at-grade crossings.

Currently, trains' horns are federally mandated to be sounded several times at all public at-grade crossings. To alleviate the impact of train horn soundings in suburban communities, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has created a "Quiet Zone" rule. Local governments can create "Quiet Zones" at railroad at-grade crossings by making specific safety upgrades such as the installation of 4-quadrant gates. A "Quiet Zone" must be a federally mandated one-half mile or greater in length.

The benefit to our community goes beyond the partial or complete elimination of the sound of train horns for part or all of the day and night. In the context of the at-grade crossing elimination project, the LIRR could eliminate the New Hyde Park Road at - grade crossing, install the third track, and observe, along with our community, if the Covert Avenue at-grade crossing, with enhanced safety features, is a viable long-term option. A viable option that requires no homes to be taken.

It is my hope that the LIRR is serious about their "Alternative Plan for Consideration" for the Covert Avenue at-grade crossing. Their commitment to working with us would create a reservoir of goodwill that would be beneficial to all concerned. Only time, and our vigilance, will tell.

Edward W. Powers,
New Hyde Park