46294 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 172 / Tuesday, September 8, 2009 / Notices 

would extend from approximately 

Milepost 48.71 to Milepost 50.76. The 

new quiet zone will consist of two 

public at-grade crossings: Eldamain 

Road (DOT #079586F) and Needham 

(DOT #079588U). The City seeks a 

waiver from the requirement that 

medians with non-traversable curbing 

may not be used where highway speeds 

exceed 40 mph. The Eldamain Road 

grade crossing is equipped with 

standard flashing lights, flashing lights 

on cantilevers, gates and medians that 

are 200 feet in length. The curbing on 

the medians is at least 6 inches in 

height. The posted highway speed is 45 

mph. 

The City provides several reasons 

why the 5 mph difference in speed limit 

would not diminish the effectiveness of 

the SSM, and thus the waiver should be 

granted. First, the existing median is 

much wider (12-foot) than the typical 

medians used for this application. The 

median is also twice as long as the 

nominal required length (100-foot) as it 

is 200 feet in length. The City points out 

that the median installation has 

performed properly and without 

incident since its installation, 

approximately 13 years ago. 

Secondly, the design used by the 

Kendall County Highway Department 

(the public authority responsible for 

roadway and has consented to the 

establishment of the proposed new quiet 

zone) follows the Illinois Department of 

Transportation standard which allows 

curbed medians on highways with 

speed limits of 40 or 45 mph. The City 

feels that this standard should be 

allowable under the clause ‘‘Additional 

design specifications * * *’’ in the 

definition. 

Lastly, the City states that the Kendall 

County Highway Department opposes 

the creation of a 40 mph speed zone in 

the vicinity of the crossing as it wants 

to avoid multiple speed zones on the 

same roadway. However, the County 

Engineer has expressed a willingness to 

post advisory 40 mph signs in advance 

of the crossing in each direction. 

The City’s waiver petition did not 

directly address efforts made to have the 

BNSF join in the waiver request. 

However, attachments that were 

included with the waiver request 

indicated that communication between 

the two parties on the subject of a joint 

waiver request did occur. On June 15, 

2009, a representative of the consulting 

firm utilized by the City to assist with 

the establishment of the new quiet zone 

sent an e-mail to the Manager of Public 

Projects for BNSF. The e-mail 

specifically requested that BNSF 

participate in the process so that the 

waiver could be forwarded to FRA as a 

‘‘joint waiver request’’ and to reconsider 

its interpretation of the definition of the 

non-traversable curb. In a letter to the 

City dated June 22, 2009, BNSF 

acknowledged receipt of the joint 

waiver request but did not specifically 

address the issue. BNSF stated that the 

questions should be posed to FRA and 

that BNSF was going by FRA’s 

regulation which provides that the 

highway speed must be 40 mph or less. 

The City did not provide any 

justification as to why the absence of 

BNSF’s participation in the waiver 

would affect safety. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver 

Petition Docket Number FRA–2009– 

0066) and may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Communications received within 45 

days of the date of this notice will be 

considered by FRA before final action is 

taken. Comments received after that 

date will be considered as far as 

practicable. All written communications 

concerning these proceedings are 

available for examination during regular 

business hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) at the 

above facility. All documents in the 

public docket are also available for 

inspection and copying on the Internet 

at the docket facility’s Web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 31, 

2009. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–21503 Filed 9–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

notice is hereby given that the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) received 

a request for a waiver of compliance 

with certain requirements of its safety 

standards. The individual petition is 

described below, including the party 

seeking relief, the regulatory provisions 

involved, the nature of the relief being 

requested, and the petitioner’s 

arguments in favor of relief. 

City of Vancouver, Washington 

Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA– 

2009–0053 

The City of Vancouver, Washington 

(City) seeks a temporary waiver of 

compliance from certain provisions of 

the Use of Locomotive Horns at 

Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, 49 CFR 

Part 222. The City intends to establish 

a New Partial Quiet Zone under the 

provisions of 49 CFR 222.39. 

Specifically, the City is seeking a waiver 

from: (1) The provisions of 49 CFR 

222.9, definition of a New Partial Quiet 

Zone so that the hours of the new partial 

quiet zone will be from 10 p.m. to 6 

a.m.; and (2) the provisions of 49 CFR 

222.35(b)(1) so that the active grade 

crossing warning devices at Jefferson 

Street are not required to be equipped 

with constant warning time devices. 

49 CFR 222.9, definition of New 

Partial Quiet Zone reads as follows: 

‘‘New Partial Quiet Zone means a 

segment of a rail line within which is 

situated one or a number of consecutive 

public highway-rail crossings at which 

locomotive horns are not routinely 

sounded between the hours of 10 p.m. 

and 7 a.m., but are routinely sounded 

during the remaining portion of the day, 

and which does not qualify as a PreRule Partial Quiet Zone or an 

Intermediate Partial Quiet Zone.’’ 

49 CFR 222.35(b)(1) reads as follows: 

‘‘Each public highway-rail grade 

crossing in a New Quiet Zone 

established under this part must be 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 172 / Tuesday, September 8, 2009 / Notices 46295 

equipped, no later than the quiet zone 

implementation date, with active grade 

crossing warning devices comprising 

both flashing lights and gates which 

control traffic over the crossing and that 

conform to the standards contained in 

the MUTCD. Such warning devices shall 

be equipped with constant warning time 

devices, if reasonably practical, and 

power-out indicators.’’ The purpose of 

constant warning time devices (CWT) is 

so that the crossing warning devices 

provide the same amount of warning 

time regardless of the speed of the 

approaching train. 

The City is in the process of 

establishing a new partial quiet zone 

along the BNSF Railway’s (BNSF) 

Northwest Division, Fallbridge 

Subdivision, which would extend from 

approximately Milepost 9.95 to 

Milepost 10.51. The new partial quiet 

zone will consist of three public atgrade crossings: West 11th Street (DOT 

#092276S), Jefferson Street (DOT 

#090249N), and West 8th Street (DOT 

#090248G). The City seeks a waiver 

from the defined hours for a new partial 

quiet zone (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) in order 

to have the new partial quiet zone’s 

hours to be from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The 

City states that the change is sought to 

provide noise relief during the 

downtown residents and convention 

visitors prime sleeping periods while 

minimizing the effect on peak 

commercial traffic movements or safety. 

The City plans to utilize a temporary 

closure supplementary safety measure at 

the West 8th Street crossing and that 

there would be virtually no adverse 

impact on highway traffic if the street 

was open to traffic from 6 a.m. to 10 

p.m. 

The City’s new partial quiet zone plan 

includes the use of medians at the 

Jefferson Street grade crossing. The 

medians will be alternative safety 

measures as the southern median will 

only extend 50 feet from the gate. 

Jefferson Street is currently equipped 

with automatic warning devices 

consisting of standard flashing lights 

with gates. However, the warning 

devices are not equipped with CWT. 

The City states that the use of CWT at 

this crossing is not reasonably practical 

at this location since the crossing will 

be closed by December 31, 2011, as part 

of the City’s Waterfront Access project. 

The City is requesting a temporary 

waiver through the end of 2011, at 

which time the crossings will be closed 

as part of the City’s Waterfront Access 

project. 

The City states that it works closely 

with BNSF on a variety of projects and 

believes that it has a good working 

relationship with the railroad. The City 

contacted BNSF immediately 

concerning the proposed waivers and 

that the BNSF did not express any 

reservation with the proposed new 

partial quiet zone hours of 10 p.m. to 6 

a.m. The City requested input from 

BNSF on the quiet zone improvements 

proposed for Jefferson Street but had not 

received a response. The City does not 

anticipate BNSF support for the portion 

of the waiver concerning CWT and 

decided to file the waiver petition alone 

in order to expedite the process. It also 

states that the lack of a joint submission 

will not compromise public safety or 

will applying the requirement of a joint 

submission be likely to significantly 

contribute to public safety. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver 

Petition Docket Number FRA–2009– 

0053) and may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Communications received within 45 

days of the date of this notice will be 

considered by FRA before final action is 

taken. Comments received after that 

date will be considered as far as 

practicable. All written communications 

concerning these proceedings are 

available for examination during regular 

business hours (9 a.m.—5 p.m.) at the 

above facility. All documents in the 

public docket are also available for 

inspection and copying on the Internet 

at the docket facility’s Web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 31, 

2009. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–21504 Filed 9–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

Bradford Bank: Baltimore, MD; Notice 

of Appointment of Receiver 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the authority contained in section 

5(d)(2) of the Home Owners’ Loan Act, 

the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) 

has duly appointed the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver 

for Bradford Bank, Baltimore, Maryland 

(OTS No. 01348), on August 28, 2009. 

Dated: September 1, 2009. 

By the Office of Thrift Supervision. 

Sandra E. Evans, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

[FR Doc. E9–21473 Filed 9–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6720–01–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

Open Meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer 

Advocacy Panel (Including the States 

of Delaware, North Carolina, South 

Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, 

Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia 

and the District of Columbia) 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: An open meeting of the Area 

2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be 

conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy 

Panel is soliciting public comments, 

ideas, and suggestions on improving 

customer service at the Internal Revenue 

Service. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Wednesday, October 21, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marianne Ayala at 1–888–912–1227 or 

954–423–7978. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given pursuant to section 

10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES