The long-studied and much-debated effort to establish a Quiet Zone in Needham took a major step forward May 11 when Special Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly to appropriate $8.2 million for design and construction work that signals the beginning of the end of mandatory sounding of train horns at street crossings in Needham.
The vote authorizes the town to borrow funds to upgrade the railroad crossings at West Street, May Street, Oak Street, Rosemary Street and Great Plain Avenue to a safety level that would eliminate the horn requirement that currently exists for nearly 20 hours a day.
These changes will not bring complete silence. The plan does not address the horn soundings required at the private crossing at the Needham Golf Club near the Hersey Station, where a separate project to eliminate that crossing entirely is being considered.
A Quiet Zone has been discussed for nearly a decade, with cost estimates steadily rising as the project became increasingly complex. In May 2024, Town Meeting appropriated $750,000 to assess the feasibility of going forward with the project. That effort led to this year’s Town Meeting proposal sponsored by the Select Board.
“The Select Board has heard — loud and clear — from residents that they need relief from the noise of train horns,” Select Board member Cathy Dowd said in her presentation of the request to Town Meeting.
“And we agree that this is a health and quality of life issue of the highest priority. Poor sleep is associated with numerous health problems, including dementia, heart disease, type two diabetes, obesity, and even cancer,” she said.
“Poor sleep also just feels miserable and gets in the way of functioning at our best in our everyday life.”
In addition to improving safety levels, Dowd argued the project would provide economic benefits such as higher property values and a more hospitable downtown business environment.
Dowd also noted the T has become more responsive to the town than it had been in the past, which bodes well for the next steps in the process.
“We now have the T’s ear. We understand what we need to do and we should seize this momentum. Putting it off again risks not only higher costs due to inflation, but the possibility of new regulatory requirements.”
Dowd received some applause from Town Meeting members at the conclusion of her remarks, a reaction that drew a rebuke from Town Moderator Michael Fee.
“We don’t do that,” he said sternly. “This is not a theater. This is a lawmaking body.”
The project was also recommended by the Finance Committee, an endorsement that came via a narrow 5-4 committee vote and over strenuous objections from some members. That ambivalence was reflected in FinCom Chair John Connelly’s recommendation to Town Meeting,
“The Finance Committee recognizes the strong support that this article has from numerous residents,” he said at the outset of his eight-minute presentation.
He noted FinCom had received more than 100 emails urging support for the article but emphasized that FinCom’s review placed its greatest emphasis on the article’s financial implications.
“Our discussions were focused on two categories of consideration. First, what are the reasons not to approve this article at this time? And second, what are the reasons to approve this article at this time?”
Supported by a slide presentation, Connelly then spent more than four minutes detailing the reasons not to approve but less than two minutes on the reasons to approve.
He noted the high cost and considerable debt incurred, adding that he would have preferred the project be funded with as much cash as possible as opposed to 100% through debt. Other concerns included the “displacement” of other town capital projects that would now be less likely to go forward, and several areas of “uncertainty” in terms of MBTA cooperation, the budget and the construction schedule.
He also cited the lack of inclusion of the golf course crossing, “which we refer to as the orphan crossing.”
When the article was put before the meeting for discussion, precinct E member Philip Murray immediately made a motion to put off a vote by referring the article back to the Select Board for additional due diligence and postponing action until a future Town Meeting.
He offered a number of suggestions, including ending the commuter rail line service at the Needham Junction station so the trains would never have to traverse the five grade crossings. That option, however, is not available to the town as it has no say in the T’s operations.
Eight other Town Meeting members or residents also spoke, evenly divided between supporters and opponents of the article.
Opponents expressed concern that the money would be committed before design and construction plans were fully complete, that the MBTA was not a reliable partner and the crossing at the golf course was not being addressed.
Those speaking in favor included Lars Unhjem, founder of the Safer Quieter Needham resident group that has spearheaded the Quiet Zone effort since 2021. Unhjem is also a member of the Quiet Zone Working Group that formulated the plan and is an engineer and builder by trade.
He noted that, while the design is indeed at the “30% complete” stage, that is actually much further along in the process than the 30% descriptor might imply. He argued that the current $8.2 million estimated cost should be considered reliable.
“I know 30% sounds scary, but we’re really pretty far down the road.”
When the article came to a vote after 45 minutes of discussion, the motion to refer the article for further study was voted down. That was followed by an overwhelming voice vote to approve the article.
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