Complaints made about parked rail cars

CORNWALL — Rail cars parked on a siding for an extended period have prompted complaints from residents and a request for information on railroad operating procedures.The Board of Selectmen discussed the matter at a July 6 meeting and agreed to send a letter to the Housatonic Railroad Company.About two dozen rail cars had been parked for about two weeks on a siding south of the center of Cornwall Bridge, according to First Selectman Gordon Ridgway. “Some of them have demolition materials in them, and the siding is fairly close to the river,” he said. “We have questions about what’s in the cars, what’s policy, and we’re concerned about potential vandalism. We want to open up communication with the railroad.”Freight service operates through Cornwall adjacent to the Housatonic River. Construction debris is among the most commonly carried materials, destined to be turned into paper products. It is not designated as hazardous material.Are regulations being violated by leaving the cars there for any specific period?Ridgway said probably not, but the board would like to be better informed. He noted also that the state owns the rail line, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (DOT).“I thought the sidings were more for switching cars around, not storing them,” Ridgway said. “And the people who live along the river want to see the river, not rail cars full of debris.”Rumsey Hall debtMeanwhile, the town attorney has been authorized to “aggressively” seek repayment of about $45,000 loaned toward the demolition of Rumsey Hall. The loan was part of a plan to help property owner Andrew Hingson comply with an order from the building official to have the run-down former school building razed last fall.Town officials are not desperate for repayment, and don’t mind the 18 percent interest rate, but approval given by voters at an Oct. 1, 2010, special town meeting was for a short-term loan. A succession of letters from the bank has promised repayment for months.Speeding motor vehiclesA final plan for the installation of solar-powered speed signs was approved. Formally called the Northwest Connecticut Village Center Signage and Wayfinding Design Project, the goal is to slow, or “calm” traffic through town centers. Encouraging drivers to slow down is first and foremost a safety issue. It is hoped that making the business centers safer for pedestrians, and possibly enticing drivers to stop, will have a positive impact on the business climate.The signs, which will light up with a readout of a vehicle’s speed, will be placed near the Cornwall Bridge Firehouse and the intersection of routes 7 and 4, near the Cornwall Package Store in Cornwall Bridge. In West Cornwall, both will be on Route 128 — one to alert drivers heading down the hill into the village center and the other in front of Bain Real Estate, just west of the Covered Bridge.An application will be made to the DOT, which must approve the modifications along the state highways. Ridgway said they hope to have the signs approved and installed in the fall, if not sooner.

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