Lincoln Selectmen submit final filing to establish federal railroad quiet zone

LINCOLN -- April 26, 2010, Lincoln files final paperwork to end train horns at all four crossings. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to submit the town's Notice of Quiet Zone Establishment to the Federal Railroad Administration under 49 CFR Section 222.43, capping a roughly 15-year effort and certifying a calculated risk index of 18,143. Town Administrator Tim Higgins said construction at the Route 117 and Tower Road crossings is complete and that state regulators and private rail carriers have signed off. Chair Gary Taylor warned the approval is conditional, with any future accident potentially forcing recalculation. The same meeting adopted a renewable energy regulation enabling an as-of-right solar facility at Minuteman High School, rejecting a Conservation Commission edit Taylor said "would just totally undercut" the state's 365-day expedited process, and endorsed the affordable marketing plan for the Groves, whose 30 rental units all count toward Lincoln's state affordable-housing inventory.