Maricopa Broadband acquisition, UPRR quiet zone on Tuesday’s council agenda

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The Maricopa City Council will be discussing and possibly taking action on the acquisition of Maricopa Broadband, LLC by Orbitel Communications at Tuesday’s meeting.

On April 20 Maricopa Broadband LLC filed a form with the Federal Communications Commission to transfer their cable license to Orbitel per the contract dated Oct. 19, 2004, and the City of Maricopa’s cable/ television code.

According to the FCC transfer agreement, Maricopa Broadband started service in February 2006 and the transfer, if approved by the council, will take effect on or around May 13, 2011.

Also during the meeting, the Maricopa Transportation Department will present plans for the widening of Honeycutt Road, the third most traveled road in Maricopa and the second most traveled by citizens of Maricopa. Nearly 10,000 vehicles travel the road per day.
 
The proposed widening of Honeycutt Road will start just east of state Route 347 and will join with the four lanes at the Villages subdivision on the eastward lanes. The proposal also includes enough pavement to create two lanes in the westbound direction.

The council may also take action after hearing a presentation by Transportation Coordinator Kellee Kelley regarding the creation of a quiet zone through Maricopa along the railroad tracks. A railroad quiet zone is an area where locomotive engineers are not required to sound train warning horns as they approach an at-grade crossing.

In Maricopa, there are five at-grade highway-rail crossings: Ralston Road, John Wayne Parkway, Porter Road, White & Parker Road and Hartman Road. Federal regulations require engineers to use their horns on these types of crossings. Although it is at the discretion of the engineer, horns may be blown in an established quiet zone, if and when there is the possibility of danger at the crossing. This could include pedestrians or automobile endangerment that would cause an accident, according to the city staff report.

To qualify for a quiet zone, the city must comply with the regulations established by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) related to grade crossing safety devices and periodic reporting. In addition, a quiet zone would require the concurrence of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), which shares safety oversight for these crossings with the FRA and the Union Pacific Railroad.

The council meeting will be held at the Maricopa Unified School District Office Administration boardroom, 44150 W. Maricopa/Casa Grande Highway, at 7 p.m. with the work session beginning at 6 p.m.

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