Officials approved local designation Tuesday of “quiet zones” at each of the town’s railroad crossings.

What remains to be determined is what additional safety measures — if any — would be installed in substitution of the 95-decibel horn blasts, and how the town will pay for them.

Tuesday’s 5-1 Town Council decision, with Vice Chairwoman Kristina Egan opposed, came as a relief to many residents who say daily train horns are unraveling the fabric of their lives.

It will be at least two months before the quiet-zone designation can take effect.

Town Manager Peter Joseph now must notify track owner Pan Am, the Maine Department of Transportation and governing body Federal Railroad Administration of the town’s intentions and allow them 60 days to comment.

Subsequently, after addressing whatever concerns are raised, the town must then wait 21 more days for the quiet zones to go into effect.

To qualify for quiet zones, the town must meet national safety risk index standards at each of its crossings. But those figures are arbitrary and largely based on national accident rates and population densities which don’t necessarily apply to Freeport, Joseph said.

Despite the vote, some residents remained frustrated at the slow pace of discussion.

“People will cross no matter where, they’ll cross in between two streets because they want to cross the railroad tracks,” said Royal Avenue resident Pauline Harris. “You can’t take care of stupidity. There’s no need of spending a whole bunch of money … for stupid people.”

Among the possible options are swing-down gates and plastic traffic markers at each crossing.

All agreed that the Bow Street crossing, the town’s busiest, should be upgraded. But Town Council Chairman Jim Hendricks said he is wary of choosing options that might satisfy safety threshold statistics but do little to protect motorists or pedestrians.

At-large Councilor Rich DeGrandpre concurred, worrying that “we’re buying a rating, but not necessarily improving safety.”

Egan acknowledged residents’ wishes but maintained her stance that quiet zones increase public safety risks.

“It’s incontrovertible that when you stop blowing horns, it’s a risk,” she said.

Addition of wider gates could run as high as $50,000 per intersection. Most of the councilors favored a combination of safety measures that would drop the town’s risk index ratings low enough to make the quiet zones permanent and eliminate the requirement of an annual traffic review.

Councilor Melanie Sachs proposed larger gates at Bow Street, plastic traffic “channelization” markers at Fernald and Webster roads, as well as Mast Landing, and increased signage at all of the crossings.

Sachs estimated the total estimated cost of her proposal to be $95,800.

“Think about what that would mean,” she said. “It would mean a permanent quiet zone, no annual review, a one-time expenditure, and it accomplishes everything that we as a town in these meetings have said that we want to do.”

During the 60-day comment period, the council plans to consider the various safety options and solicit both the state and federal government for funding assistance. Other possible revenue sources include the town’s Infrastructure Reserve account, tax acquired property account, or inclusion in the 2014 Capital Improvement budget.

Councilors plan to revisit the issue, with updated costs, during their March 19 meeting.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com