Dublin City Council this week asked staff to take the first steps toward changing the railroad crossing at Cosgray Road into a quiet zone and to partner with other communities to work toward a six-mile quiet zone along the tracks. The process normally takes a few years, city staff said.

Ballentrae residents brought a petition to city council in September, asking for the crossings at Rings and Cosgray roads to be converted into quiet zones. Residents said the loud whistles of trains passing to the south and west of the development have caused them to lose sleep.

Federal laws require trains to blow their whistles at crossings for safety purposes.

After receiving the petition, council asked staff members to look into the process and costs of turning the crossings into quiet zones. The report went to council on Monday.

Civil engineer Tina Wawszkiewicz told council members that Dublin could only silence the whistles of the 22 trains that use the tracks each day at the Cosgray Road crossing.

"The Rings Road (crossing) is maintained by Franklin County," she said.

Wawszkiewicz presented council with a six-mile proposed quiet zone that runs from state Route 161 in Madison County to Leap Road in Hilliard. To get the six-mile quiet zone, Wawszkiewicz said the city would have to work with Madison County, Franklin County Columbus and Hilliard.

According to Wawszkiewicz, Hilliard is taking the first steps to bring quiet zones to the crossings at Davidson and Leap roads.

Dublin polled other municipalities, and Wawszkiewicz said they're interested.

To make a crossing a quiet zone, the city must install "supplemental safety measures, or SSMs, such as gates that cover the entire road, more lights and a median to keep people "from getting around the gate," Wawszkiewicz said.

According to the staff report, "CSX estimates the cost for SSMs to range from about $175,000 to $300,000 per crossing, depending on existing conditions, right-of-way limitations and type of improvements made."

Council directed staff to declare the city's intent to establish a quiet zone to CSX and the federal rail commission and take steps to get CSX to outline a plan for improvements to declare the Cosgray Road crossing a quiet zone.

Staff also will work with surrounding jurisdictions for a six-mile quiet zone.