Explanation
1. Background
This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Public Service (“DPS”) to enter into a master agreement and subsequent contribution agreements with the Ohio Rail Development Commission (“ORDC”) for signal preemption projects.
Through substitute House Bill Number 250, the Ohio General Assembly created the Ohio Rail Development Commission as an independent agency of the State of Ohio within the Department of Transportation (“ODOT”). The ORDC administers federal funds for railroad grade crossing safety programs on behalf of ODOT.
ORDC and ODOT have jointly undertaken a project that reviewed Ohio’s current traffic signal specifications and developed new standards for Ohio Traffic Engineering Manual and traffic signal procurement specifications relating to the preemption of grade crossing warning devices.
ORDC and ODOT intend to work with Local Highway Authorities (“LHA”) to incorporate the elements of preemption outlined in Ohio’s standard and the City of Columbus (“City”) is a LHA located in the State of Ohio.
There are eleven (11) known railroad grade crossings in the City that are currently equipped with traffic signal preemption or should be evaluated for possible preemption. Preemption is, for example, the coordination between a traffic signal that is within 300 feet of a railroad gate. The two traffic control devices would be coordinated so as to reduce traffic back ups at the intersection while the train crossing gates are down and a train is passing by.
DPS and ORDC would enter into a master agreement for the purpose of identifying, evaluating, and/or planning the safety enhancement of railway-highway crossings and also enter into future, project specific, subsequent contributions agreements identifying the scope and amount due to the City from ORDC for each signal preemption project. Jointly, ORDC and the City would confirm the need for signal preemption and the City would perform the work either with its own ...
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