Specific Public Safety and Operational
Concerns Relating to the South Napa
Junction Road Crossing

The prepared testimony of CN's General Manager, Robert Jones, which was served by CN in anticipation of the hearing, states that CN switched 4,165 cars at Napa Junction Yard in 2005. The railroad makes six to ten switching moves over the South Napa Junction Road crossing on weekdays between 6:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., three on Saturday mornings, and occasionally on Sundays. The crossing site is also blocked by the inbound train from Suisun for as much as 45 minutes while its cars are switched, and for as much as 30 minutes by the trains to Vallejo and Suisun while brake lines are charged with air. There are currently four weekday train movements between the yard and Vallejo each day. These operations do not create notable interference with vehicular traffic at present, because the level of traffic over the private crossing is low.

When the City's General Plan is implemented, vehicular traffic will increase dramatically, because South Napa Junction Road will become a local connector between downtown and Flosden (Newhall) Road. The General Plan specifies that this connection is a critical element of the new town center, and the public need for the public roadway at this location is apparent. The City projects a traffic volume on the road of 5,710 vehicles daily, with 366 during the peak morning hour and 516 during the peak afternoon hour. These figures indicate a high likelihood that significantly increased conflict will occur between the vehicular traffic and CN's operations if the railroad continues to switch south of the crossing during the day. The increased conflicts would create both congestion delays and safety hazards.