Commonwealth Magazine: Some towns yearn for commuter rail silence
Published: Oct. 7, 2021
By Colman Herman
… The MBTA, which oversees the commuter rail system, is not a fan of quiet zones. “We believe that quiet zones compromise the safety of our employees, our customers, and the general public,” wrote MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak in a 2019 letter to Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick. …
… To create a quiet zone, municipalities must install what are known as “supplemental safety measures” to block drivers and pedestrians from going around the gates. This can be accomplished by installing, for example, a four-quadrant gate that fully blocks all lanes of traffic on both sides in both directions or a two-quadrant gate with a median in the road that prevents slaloming through the gates. …
