§ 32-31. Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

Director means the director of the department of public works and transportation, or his/her duly authorized representative.

Highway-rail or grade crossing means any street or highway crossing over a line of railroad at grade.

Locomotive horn means a train-borne audio warning device including a horn, bell, whistle or siren meeting standards specified by the United States Secretary of Transportation.

Supplemental safety measure (SSM) means a safety system or procedure at a highway rail or grade crossing that is determined by the Federal Railroad Administration and/or the United States Secretary of Transportation to be an effective substitute for the locomotive horn in prevention of highway-rail casualties that fully compensates for the absence of the warning provided by the locomotive horn. A traffic control arrangement that prevents careless movement over the crossing (e.g., as where adequate median barriers prevent movement around crossing gates extending over the full width of the lanes in the particular direction of travel), and that conforms to the standards prescribed by the United States Secretary of Transportation under the Swift Rail Development Act of 1994, Public Law 103-440, as amended, shall be deemed to constitute supplemental safety measures. The following do not, individually or in combination, constitute supplemental safety measures within the meaning of this definition: standard traffic control devices or arrangements such as reflectorized crossbucks, stop signs, flashing lights with gates that do not completely block travel with the line of railroad or traffic signals.

(Ord. No. 8442, § 1, 2-3-05)