Royston Asked to Close Four Railroad Crossings

The Hartwell Railroad has petitioned the City of Royston to close four railroad crossings they say are redundant.

At their regular meeting Tuesday evening, city manager Ed Andrews told the city council and mayor David Jordan he received the petition from Hartwell Railroad recently.

“Their petition states the Georgia Department of Transportation has mandated the railroads look at all of their crossings throughout the State of Georgia, not just Hartwell Railroad, but all railroads in Georgia,” Andrews said. “From my understanding have been looked at and deemed redundant and have been looked at from a safety standpoint.”

Hartwell Railroad wants to close four railroad crossings in town.  They include, Bowers St., Tony Jones St., Carlton St. across from the Royston Drive-in, and one below the Davison and Davison Law Firm near Lee St.

Andrews said his staff still needs to research the impact closing those crossings would have.

“We still have some ongoing deliberations,” he said. “We want to sit down with Hartwell Railroad, the Georgia Department of Transportation, sit down with local business owners and get their input. If any closings were to happen, what kind of impact would that have on local businesses.”

Andrews said if no agreement with the railroad can be reached or the city council decides they don’t want the crossings closed, then hearings will have to take place.

“The petition then would be formally answered through a public hearing process,” Andrews said. “From that date we would have 60 days to prepare and get ready for public hearing to get all aspects from the railroad, the public, the city and to make an informed and factual decision based on the information from that.  Then, we would sit down with all parties involved and try to come to a resolution.”

So far, Andrews said no meeting date with the Hartwell Railroad has been set up and his staff along with city attorney Andrea Grant are still researching the matter.