Rail crossing will close with or without city cooperation

RAYNE –– It was evident during a public meeting Thursday night, June 4, that the Parkerson Street railroad crossing will be closed –– with or without the cooperation of Mayor Charles “Chuck” Robichaux and the City Council.
If city officials cooperate and approve a closure ordinance, BNSF will provide a $25,000 grant.
If DOTD is forced to begin legal proceeds authorized under a state statute, the city will lose the grant and eventually BNSF will be instructed to close the crossing themselves.
DOTD’s highway/rail safety engineer Bill Shrewsberry, who was invited to outline the options, pointed out the effort to close one of the city’s seven crossings has spanned over ten years.
In a letter to Shrewsberry from James Petitjean dated January 30, 2003, the former mayor talked about starting negotiations and wrote, “At this time, the Parkerson St. location would be the logical choice of the City of Rayne administration.”
The DOTD engineer cited traffic count data which show the Parkerson Street crossing has the less average daily traffic of 985 vehicles, while Polk Street is second with 1,101 daily crossings.
The national recommendation is that there be no more than five crossings within a mile.
When Mayor Robichaux asked, “Can we be assured you won’t seek closure of Polk Street?”, Shrewsberry said six crossings were reasonable, noting, “We don’t want to close two crossings.”
Throughout the exchange between Shrewsberry and the mayor, Robichaux emphasized, “People in Rayne really don’t want to close Parkerson.”
He asked if DOTD “could hold off another year,” because he and the Council were a “new administration.”
If DOTD initiates legal proceedings, Shrewsberry estimated the crossing could be closed before the end of the year. “We don’t want to force the closure, but we can,” he said.
He pointed out that he has already been authorized by DOTD’s legal department to go to court to close the Rayne crossing as well as a crossing in New Iberia.
Robichaux also asked if repairs to the Arenas Street and other crossings “which are falling apart,” could be arranged. He explained, “We want to limit the city’s liability.”
Shrewsberry responded crossing repairs were the responsibility of the BNSF road master. However, he suggested the Council issue a resolution to him and fellow DOTD official Randy Richard, who accompanied him to the meeting, and they would convey the city’s concerns to the district road master.
Though the railroad company has offered a $25,000 grant as an incentive to city officials, Mayor Robichaux, during the exchange, repeatedly used $30,000 as a figure and, at one point, said, “I like $40,000,” prompting laughter from the audience.
At one point, City Engineer Tim Mader suggested, if city officials agree, an resolution could be introduced at the June 9 meeting, and acted on at the Council’s July meeting along with authorizing the mayor to deal with BNSF officials.
The meeting ended with neither the mayor nor members of the City Council offering any indications of what they may do.