WHEREAS, deaths and injuries continue to occur because of collisions between motorists and trams in North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, public safety is the North Carolina Department of Transportation's prime objective in planning and improving transportation facilities; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration recognize that consolidation of rail-highway grade crossings is a key element in their Rail-Highway At-Grade Crossing Safety Action Plan; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Transportation has designated the Raleigh-Charlotte rail route as one of five national high speed rail corridors; and

WHEREAS, utilization of our rail network offers significant economic development, environmental, and safety benefits, and is a solution to increasing highway congestion; and

WHEREAS, Governor James B. Hunt Jr. has established the comprehensive North Carolina Transportation 2001 Plan for two-hour Raleigh-Charlotte rail passenger service by the year 2001 and has directed that redundant and/or unsafe rail-highway at-grade crossings be eliminated on this and other rail corridors; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation is undertaking a major update of our rail-highway at-grade crossings inventory; and

WHEREAS, rail-highway at-grade crossings are a significant obstacle to the safe and efficient movement of passenger and freight traffic; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Railroad Administration is committed to promote safer, reliable, more efficient and environmentally sound transportation throughout the U.S. railroad system as part of its strategic plan; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Transportation, through the Federal Railroad Administration, has set a national goal of reducing rail-highway at-grade crossings by 25 percent as a means of improving the safety of the transportation system.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:
That the North Carolina Board of Transportation, recognition of these concerns as well as needs, encourages the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Division of Highways and Rail Division to reduce the number of rail-highway at-grade crossings on the State-Highway System through consolidation projects where possible; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:
The North Carolina Board of Transportation fully endorses the selection process and procedures proposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation for consolidation of rail-highway at-grade crossings on the State Highway System, and encourages cooperation with cities and towns to implement consolidation projects on their municipal street systems as part of traffic studies, corridor inventory studies, and the thoroughfare planning process.

This, the sixth day of October, 1995.

Contact: Paul Worley

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