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CSX Proposes Solution To Keep Trains From Blocking Cottage Hill Neighborhood
February 14, 2019
CSX has proposed a plan to keep their stopped trains from completely blocking the Cottage Hill area east of Highway 95A.
The plan, according to Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry, will benefit residents in the area from McKenzie Road to Eden Lane.
For trains under 10,000 feet, CSX trains that stop to service a Cantonment customer will be pulled far enough south that they will not block the neighborhood. That’s because the McKenzie Road crossing will remain open, Barry said. A stopped train over 10,000 feet will initially block the neighborhood, but CSX will break the train at Eden Lane as soon as possible.
“From McKenzie Road to Eden, when they are all blocked, there is no way out,” he said. “That’s also something that didn’t used to exist. Trains didn’t used to be two miles long; now they can be. So it’s something new.”
Barry said CSX and the county are still working on a solution for Greenberry Drive, Countri Lane and surrounding area. “We are still trying to find solutions for folks that are locked by those crossings.”
In late January, Barry and Florida Sen. Doug Broxson met with CSX and International Paper to discuss trains blocking local roads for extended periods of time.
The first step included real time communication between Escambia County and the railroad. There are documented incidents where fire trucks and EMS units were unable to respond to medical emergencies in blocked neighborhoods due to stopped trains.
As previously announced, CSX and railroad officials are also working decrease the amount of time Highway 29 is blocked by trains at International Paper.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Comments
12 Responses to “CSX Proposes Solution To Keep Trains From Blocking Cottage Hill Neighborhood”
And to think that a Democratic candidate for President wants to get rid of airplanes for trains!
Trains being 2 miles long is not something new. CSX pins in just about every neighborhood east of the tracks all the way from Gonzalez to Molino.
Build a road on the east side of the tracks from Eden Lane and continue south to connect it to Old Novak road by St. Monicas Church.
At least in a emergency folks could keep moving north or south of the stopped train?
The trains crews are jus doing what they are told to by dispatcher and upper management. They know they have it block and dont like blocking but if they dont do what they are told then they will get in trouble from CSX.
I think the trains were there first! When developing a new neighborhood, why not require the state, county, city and developers to work together to provide the required access for home owners and emergency vehicles! I seem to remember from school the PPPPPP principle! “Prior Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance”.
Actually, the poor planning of the entire County, including and especially the Commissioners for District 5, both past and present, have allowed this to happen due to urban sprawl with NO PRE PLANNING. You can only siphon so much water through a straw, the rest either has to stop or flow over. District 5 has LONG (extra exaggerated emphasis) been ignored and the money sent south of 9 mile road.
Now, the only thing driving all this is the Credit Union, it’s that simple. They need places for the potential employees and roads for them to get to work quickly. They fire you if you aren’t. Let’s put the blame where it belongs. Those trains have been running for decades, but now the traffic is a hundred times worse thanks to poor planning, new subdivisions, etc. Now, the county has recently removed prior protection from too many subdivisions being built by changing the codes that police that in District 5. We elect them, so we must live with what they do. We need someone who has good old fashioned common sense, and isn’t afraid to lay the blame at the feet of the Gods directing our own properties, the County Commissioners. Until we find that person, you best adjust your lifestyle to waiting in bottlenecks. Next, it’ll be Hwy. 196 where the Beltway will clog the area up there with subdivisions, red lights, drainage problems and will RUIN our beloved Perdido River where most of us have enjoyed the clean, beautiful serene scenery most of our lives.
CSX imentality is the problem..they are only acting…I said ACTING like they give a damn..because of the limelight cast upon them by our citizebs.
Stop playing footsie with the crackerjack box tin fines..make it a felony blocking fire and emergency operations to people’s jome..jail the upper management asses..fine them 50k..perdonally..and mandatory. Jail time. You will see a fast recovery. The guys on the train do…what they are let to do.
Fairground Rd crossing in Molino has had this problem for over 30 years and there isn’t any way to get around. At one time you could drive along the railroad to get to another crossing but the railroad has completely blocked us from the other crossing with supplies to repair the tracks. The crossing has been blocked for hours at a time. Hopefully CSX new plans don’t make our problem worse. CSX has never had a concern for the small neighborhood that they have blocked for 30 years. Good Luck with getting this worked out
I would not trust CSX………they
have of habbit of lying and not keeping
there word.
I have read about a lot of local towns in Ohio
who had the same problem, and CSX didn’t
keep there word with them
Hopefully this will help those of us in Cottage Hill, but it appears that there is NO solution for the Becks Lake Rd folks who are ALWAYS blocked! They need to be given some access road to the back side of Cottage Hill to at least get around the train.
What about hwy 29 when traffic backs up for miles at rush hour. I have heard that the people doing this think that it is funny.
..the 2 mile long “super trains” never stop in Cantonment unless they break down..Cantonment customers are served by the smaller local train that comes out from Golding siding in PNS.