A group of Chickamauga residents is seeking relief from what they say is a
disturbance to their quality of life, and city officials are pledging to do all
they can to help solve the situation.
The conflict centers on operations by Shaw Industries on the Chattooga and
Chickamauga Railway adjacent to Long Street.
Since mid-October the company has been off-loading, from rail cars to
semi-trucks, the pelletized materials it uses for manufacturing carpet backing at
its Chickamauga plant, located on U.S. 27 about two miles away.
According to Kenneth Vick, who lives on West Ninth Street near the
off-loading site, the noise is unbearable to area residents.
“We feel like prisoners in our own homes,” he said in addressing Chickamauga
City Council Monday night. “We can’t even open our windows for a breeze in
the fall or sit out on our porches.”
Vick, who moved to the city in March 2001, said he learned from a long-time
neighbor that the operations were to begin again after a hiatus of many years.
Synthetic Industries (now Shaw) had moved the operations to a rail yard in
Chattanooga.
Vick said the noise from the trucks coming in, backing up the access road,
engaging their air brakes, the compressors pumping the pellets, and drivers
banging on the sides of trucks with rubber mallets to settle the pellets “is
enough to wake you from a dead sleep.”
Eight of Vick’s neighbors attended the meeting in support. He continued by
saying that he moved to Chickamauga for the quality of life and the small-town
atmosphere. “I was aware there was a train track that ran next to my house,
but I did not know it would be used for loading, unloading or as pumping
station.”
The crux of Vick’s message to the Council was in how this affects a town that
is promoting itself as tourist- and family-friendly. He suggested that a
prohibition on the operations, which currently run 24-7, be instituted from 10
p.m. to 6 a.m.
Chickamauga Ci
I take it that a truck transload operation works better than building a two-mile rail spur to the plant?
Of course, we’ve got a transload operation like that at North Milwaukee, though I’ve never heard of anybody complaining about it. And trucks handle the last leg of the trip in spite of the factory itself being 1/4 mile away from a rail line, though it is a different (somewhat less than customer-friendly) railroad!
A two mile spur costs:
Land acquisition – unknown
Permitting costs – unknown
Design costs – $30,000 minimum
Earthwork costs – $50 LF for easy terrain, including a few small culverts, or $500,000
Track costs – $150 per LF = $750,000
Grade crossings – $10,000 for crossbucks and concrete pads; $65,000-$250,000 for signalization
So you’re looking at low side ~$1.24 million. That’s a lot of carloads transloaded at $300-$500 a pop to make up for.
S. Hadid
[:(!] So, potnetially hundreds of people have to risk losing their jobs because of one person? What’s the matter, the former owners of the house failed to disclose the rail activity during the sales negotiations? Sorry, I have NO SYMPATHY.
Now a possible restriction on the hours of operation of the noisy transfer compressors to daytime like 7a to 7p outside of areas zoned industrial, is reasonable, in my opinion. But they had better make it apply to all noise sources not just a targeted few (or one).
Most folks lack sympathy for NIMBY’S until it’s their backyard.
If this company is the largest employer, and the largest taxpayer, what is this guy complaining about? If the company leaves- which appears to be what he wants- a lot of his neighbors are going to be out of work. Maybe he better look down the road at a place called Hapeville. I understand it is very quiet right now down there.
I am surprised that he did not bring up the idea that everyone should stop buying carpet so he is not bothered by the business.
Boycott Carpet!
Install only tile or hardwood.
Use rugs!
That’s kind of my point, Erik. As for why I have no sympathy, my neighbors for the last 7 years was a cornfield. Except for a few days at planting and harvest time, nice quiet neighbors. Two months ago, a 100 Million gallon ethanol plant was announced. Now I’ll get machinery noise 24/7 or nearly so. I’m not standing in government offices demanding someone do something else on their property.
Carpets are hard to clean. Use rugs, use excercise mats, use polar fleece padded mats which can all be removed for cleaning. Carpets are fastened in place and take in dirt and odors. Only use carpet if you find a small scrap for a high traffic area. Plastic or Ceramic tile is easier to clean than carpets. Why waste the effort on installing difficult to clean carpets. To keep carpets clean some people have a long list of rules. Forget the rules and do not bother with carpet in the first place. Tile is easier to clean. Get a roll of linoleum. Try hardwood. If you want soft, get a rubber mat and a polar fleece roll from the fabric store.
Andrew
Yeah, forget carpet. Live in a grass hut with a dirt floor. That way no one will notice any extra dirt drug in by your or your neighbor’s kids and pets.
Or here’s another zinger - mandate the installation of hardwood floors but make sure it is a very rare Brazillian hardwood that has to be shipped by rail from the rainforests they are clear cutting to get the wood.
Seriously, this is yet another reason why America is a service economy and all the good jobs are going to China. One person has the potential to derail an entire industry in an area of the country. “I was aware of the train tracks but…” is becoming a common sob-story refrain that really bores me to death.
If you are that stupid to buy a house next to the railroad tracks and then fein suprise when the tracks are actually used then you should probably check into the home via the short bus.
I used to work at the airport and the complaints were louder than the planes.[:P] “it wasn’t this noisy when I bought this house…”[#oops]
Or the community that wanted an Air Force base to relocate its main runway after a plane crashed near a school - that was built long after the base was built…
As with most problems, there are solutions. The compressors can be quieted. Vibrators (like those used in concrete work) can be used instead of hammering on the side of the truck. The list goes on, and it sounds like they are working on solutions. I can certainly understand the limited hours thing - there are those workers who opine that “if I’m up, they can be up.” Even at 2 AM.
You can’t legislate common sense. At least the RR seems to want to work with residents. There’s nothing wrong with an hours restriction as long as it’s universal. [2c]
It seems that most concerns are already addressed. I wonder if it was communicated to the area residents before operations restarted?
Who wants to take a bet that: a the 12 ft sound barrier is to low or b it is to ugly and the city should do something about it?
greetings,
Marc Immeker