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The creation of a quiet zone in Pleasanton would require the installation of four- quadrant gates at all of the downtown at-grade crossings. The upgrades are required because the elimination of horn blowing increases the risks of an accident at the grade crossings. The basic tenant of the quiet zone rule is that the end result must have less of a risk then the beginning condition. In this case, the elimination of horn blowing increases the risk factor, but the installation of four-quadrant gates lowers the risk below the starting condition. The risk is reduced because when the existing two crossing. gates are down, there is a possibility that a vehicle could drive around the gates and still cross the railroad tracks. The addition of the two additional gates precludes this possibility. An alternative to the four-quadrant gates is the installation of a median which would extend back from the crossing gates and prevent cars from moving over -into the opposite lane. This alternative is problematic on the streets because it blocks access into existing driveways. It also does not provide the same level of protection as a ~four- quadrant solution. In addition to the quadrant gates, the City would need to provide fencing to prevent pedestrians from crossing at St. John Street, Division Street, and Old Bernal Avenue. Currently, pedestrians cross at these locations. even though the streets do not cross the railroad lines.. The elimination of the train horns will eliminate the warning to the pedestrians, and as a result, the crossings must be eliminated, or protected by additional automatic gates. Discussions with other cities in California that have installed gate systems have provided a wide range of costs for the installation. The City of Pomona, for example, is estimating $740,000 per intersection, which includes both afour-quadrant gate system and a median. Campbell's crossing improvements were installed as part of a tight rail system, and the City did not have any costs. Fremont is estimating $500,000 per four- quadrant crossing. Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) staff have said that they can't provide good estimates without having a developed design. They provided previous costs for four-quadrant systems ranging from $150,000 to $1,000,000, depending on the complexity of the system. Staff estimates the cost for the proposed four-quadrant crossing gate, system will be $400,000 for each location. The actual costs are determined after submittal of the project to the FRA and UPRR has prepared the design of the four-quadrant system. The price varies based on the level of detection required, the size of the gates, and the amount of train traffic. Overall estimated costs for the installation at the four Pleasanton crossings range is $1.6 million, not including the Castlewood crossing. In addition to the capital costs for the system, UPRR staff have informed us that the City will also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the extra gates in the amount of $10,000 to $20,000 per year for each crossing. In addition to the City paying the costs of the construction work, if the train operator is no longer required to sound the horn, the regulations are intended to remove the failure to sound the horn as a cause of action against the railroad in lawsuits involving collisions at grade crossings within the quiet zone. As a result, there is some increased liability to the City. Page 3 of 4