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Transportation Board (STB) is not <br />requiring the private sector to pay. <br />e) At -grade crossings are blocked by both <br />long moving trains and by trains that <br />stop and remain stopped, sometimes for <br />hours at a time. Blocked crossings delay <br />motorists and sometimes prevent <br />passage of emergency vehicles. <br />Difficulty and expense of imposing and <br />enforcing whistleblowing ordinances. <br />Unabated graffiti on railroad cars and <br />structures. <br />Negative impacts of long- and short- <br />term storage of rail cars on adjacent <br />properties. <br />i) Pre-emption of local and state authority <br />to regulate railroad activities. <br />f) <br />g) <br />h) <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities opposes legislation and policies that <br />disproportionately shift authority, costs <br />and/or liability away from railroad <br />companies and onto other entities. The <br />railroad industry, along with state and <br />federal government, must: <br />a) Adequately mitigate the negative <br />impacts of railroads on communities; <br />b) Allow local governments to enforce <br />the existing state and federal laws <br />regarding the maximum time a <br />crossing may be blocked, and provide <br />a mechanism to do so; <br />c) Provide that timely notice to the <br />impacted municipality is required in <br />advance when a crossing or crossings <br />will be blocked by a stopped train; <br />d) Require railroad companies to <br />provide a direct emergency response <br />telephone number for city first <br />responders (police, fire, ambulance or <br />other designated official) to call when <br />an at -grade crossing is blocked, and <br />the emergency services need this <br />crossing immediately unblocked to <br />continue their response; <br />102 <br />e) Allow local governments to enforce <br />whistle -free zones; <br />f) Impose and implement safety <br />standards that are in the best interest <br />of the public, including requiring <br />every train that is carrying freight to <br />be operated with a crew of at least two <br />crewmembers; <br />Equip and train local public safety <br />officials to respond to potential <br />catastrophic rail incidents; <br />h) Develop plans and identify funding <br />sources for more grade separations <br />between railways and roadways; and <br />i) Fund and implement improvements to <br />rail car storage facilities. <br />g) <br />The public sector should not incur the <br />costs of improvements sought by the <br />private sector, and cities should not be <br />required to fund most of the cost of <br />crossing repairs or improvements. The <br />federal government must exercise greater <br />oversight of the STB to ensure fair and <br />equitable solutions are reached when <br />dealing with cities in Minnesota. Finally, <br />the Minnesota Department of <br />Transportation's (MnDOT's) Office of <br />Freight and Passenger Rail should <br />advocate on behalf of local communities <br />when conflicts between cities and railroad <br />entities arise. <br />LE-45. Airport Planning and <br />Funding <br />Issue: Airports are an essential component <br />of Minnesota's transportation infrastructure. <br />Airports in the State of Minnesota serve <br />important gateway to the region, the nation, <br />and global markets. They serve as a primary <br />access point to our national airport system. <br />The Minneapolis St. Paul International <br />Airport (MSP) is critical to the movement of <br />people and goods in and out of the state and <br />even with all the planned improvements, it <br />