STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

IN RE: )

Petition of the Florida East Coast ) Railway Company for permit to close )

an at-grade railroad crossing ) CASE NO. 75-1328 Railroad Crossing No. 271920 )

FEC Mile Post 104 + 172' ) FEC File 27155, Section 79000-6609, )

State Road (Lincoln Avenue) Ormond Beach )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice a public hearing was held before Delphene C. Strickland, Hearing Officer, Department of Administration, Division of Administrative Hearings, in Daytona Beach, Florida, on November 20, 1975, at 3:00 p.m. in the Volusia County Courthouse Annex, Courtroom Division 8.

APPEARANCES

Philip S. Bennett, Esquire Office of Legal Operations Department of Transportation Haydon Burns Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304

Witness: William G. Gray

Charles H. Evans, Esquire General Counsel

Florida East Coast Railway Company One Malaga Street

St. Augustine, Florida 32084

Witnesses: Hermard D. Vlasin

Frank F. Stuart

Donald J. Seps, Esquire

Duffett, Barry, Seps, Akers and Burnett

120 East Granada Boulevard Post Office Box 2633

Ormond Beach, Florida 32074 Witness: Gerald F. Althouse

ISSUE

Whether the at-grade crossing in the vicinity of Lincoln Avenue and Florida East Coast Railway Company Mile Post 104 + 172' in Ormond Beach, Florida should be closed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. By application the Florida East Coast Railway Company seeks a permit to close an existing at-grade public railroad crossing located in Volusia County, Florida, at Florida East Coast Railway Company Mile Post 104 + 172' in the vicinity of Lincoln Avenue.

   
   

2. There exists a standard cross buck sign or fixed sign at the subject crossing and there is a vehicular stop sign on each side of the crossing. There is a total of sixteen freight rail movements and a total of two local freight rail movements crossing each day. In addition to these scheduled moves there are a few unscheduled movements such as work trains. The speed limit for this area is 35 m.p.h. A 24-hour traffic survey was set up on Lincoln Avenue just west of the railroad-tracks where the number of vehicles counted was 567. The 24-hour period started at 11:00 a.m. on November 18, 1975, and continued until 11:00 a.m. on November 19, 1975. There is no sight problem from south to north but from north to south there is a curve that bears to the right coming into Lincoln Avenue which gives a railroad sight problem. For vehicles there is a sight problem going from west to east, but no sight problem going from east to west. There have been four documented accidents at the crossing: one in 1962, one in 1965, and two in 1973. There has been expansion of the city to the areas particularly west of the railroad tracks and north of the crossing at State Road

1. Lincoln Avenue is the only crossing between State Road 40 and State Road 5A. It is approximately 1.5 miles.

   
   

   1. There is a need for a railroad crossing in the area as an alternate to the crossing on State Road 40.

      
      

   2. The railroad suggests bells, flashing lights and gates, in the event this application to close is not permitted. The Department of Transportation recommends flashing lights and bells, suggesting that gates would be better, but such signalization adequate. The City did not recommend a type of signalization but did recommend that the permit to close be denied.

      
      

   3. The Hearing Officer further finds:

      
      

      1. The permit should be denied inasmuch as there is a need for the crossing;

      2. The crossing should be signalized to make it less hazardess;

      3. Signalization without gates is adequate.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Section 338.21, Florida Statutes, provides in part that the Department of Transportation has regulatory authority over all public railroad crossings in this state. One of the purposes of this law is to reduce the hazards inherent with highway traffic crossing railroad tracks. The evidence demonstrates that there is a need for the crossing and that said crossing should not be closed. The evidence also demonstrates that the crossing is hazardous and should have more sophisticated signalization.

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Deny the application to close the crossing, but require installation of signalization with flashing lights and bells, a Type 1 installation.

DONE and ORDERED this 28th day of January, 1976.

DELPHENE C. STRICKLAND

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Room 530, Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304

(904) 488-9675

COPIES FURNISHED:

Philip S. Bennett, Esquire

Counsel for the Department of Transportation

Charles H. Evans, Esquire

Counsel for Florida East Coast Railway Company

Donald J. Seps, Esquire

Counsel for the City of Ormond Beach

Docket for Case No: 75-001328

Orders for Case No: 75-001328