To the Editor:

The Oct. 2, 2025 article in The Enterprise on the Quiet Zone has some good news on the progress of the Voorheesville Quiet Zone [“Voorheesville Quiet Zone nearly a go,” Oct. 2, 2025]. Let’s hope there are no more surprises.

The article also discusses potential liability concerning “safety measures put in place by the local public authority,” which in this case, would be Albany County. A little perspective is in order.

The essential safety measures of the Quiet Zone are spelled out in federal regulations. For Voorheesville, these measures involve adding gates to create a four-quadrant gate system at each railroad crossing. This requires the proper construction, operation and maintenance of those safety measures.

CSX, not Albany County, has the expertise to perform these functions. How could any other party besides CSX be responsible if those measures were deemed to be “insufficient, improperly designed, or malfunctioning?”

Given that reality, the chances that the county could be found liable for an accident in the Quiet Zone would appear very remote.

Moreover, as pointed out in these pages, the added safety measures of the Quiet Zone make it safer than a crossing with horns, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration.

This is a “duty of care” undertaken by the county that should be appreciated.

Steven Schreiber

Voorheesville