SMART train horns spur request for ‘quiet zones’ along tracks
Bob Ulmer listens to the trains as they approach his Petaluma home, the sound of their horns steadily increasing in pitch until the 68-year-old feels as though they are “coming through my house.”
Operated by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit authority, the sleek green-and-gray trains are making near-daily test runs on the rail line, including past Ulmer's home near the North McDowell Avenue crossing in east Petaluma.
Once passenger service begins later this year, according to SMART's draft schedule, trains will pass by Ulmer's home - and the homes of thousands of people living along the 43-mile rail line in Sonoma and Marin counties - 30 times a day on weekdays, and a dozen more times daily on weekends. At a minimum, that's 54 horn blasts over a typical seven-day week, starting before dawn and ending after dark.
“Some people don't know what they are in for,” Ulmer said. “I have nothing against the SMART train as far as it goes, but I really object to my peace and quiet being disturbed. It's noise pollution, and it's not going to make things safer.”
Horns a nuisance
The reality of rail operations tied to the resumption of passenger service on the North Coast is starting to hit home for many people living along the tracks, especially those near road crossings and stations, who are likely to be most affected by the train noise. While SMART trains are quieter than freight trains, for some railside residents the horns in particular have become an unwelcome nuisance they say detracts from their quality of life.
The horns serve an obvious public safety purpose by alerting motorists and pedestrians to approaching trains. But federal railroad authorities, recognizing that the sound can perturb, allow communities to establish so-called “quiet zones” to dampen the noise. There are more than 700 such zones nationwide, including 46 in California, according to federal data.
Along the SMART rail line, San Rafael and Novato are well on the path toward establishing quiet zones in response to public outcry in those communities over the sound of train horns. The proposed citywide bans on horns sounding at public at-grade crossings, except in limited circumstances, would be timed to coincide with the start of SMART's passenger service, currently set for December.
Opposition to quiet zones
In Sonoma County, there has been no equivalent sense of urgency, despite a growing number of complaints about the train horns. Some local officials express reluctance or outright opposition to seeking quiet zones, citing concerns about potential liability for crashes.
Santa Rosa has only begun taking tentative steps toward establishing a quiet zone that would encompass the entire city. City officials are scheduled to meet Friday with representatives from SMART, the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Railroad Administration to tour the city's 15 rail crossings that have been upgraded to meet the designation for quiet zones.
The city would next have to file a notice of intent to seek a quiet zone and solicit public feedback. At a minimum the process could take three months.
According to Jason Nutt, Santa Rosa's director of transportation and public works, the consensus among transit planners in Sonoma County when SMART was still in its infancy was to take a wait-and-see approach to the horns.
“No one really knew whether people would complain,” he said. “There is a community out there that loves the nostalgia of the train horns. Which group is bigger, those that like it or those that complain about it?”
But for some residents, restrictions on the noise can't come soon enough.
“It's definitely loud. We're preparing for a real change,” said Nathan Wright, who lives with his 4-year-old daughter and girlfriend in northwest Santa Rosa near the San Miguel Avenue crossing.
The neighborhood has generated the most complaints of any in Santa Rosa about the horns, according to Nutt.
Crash liability issue
In Petaluma, Ulmer first took his concerns to city staff. The city manager's office responded in a June 13 email stating opposition to quiet zones on the grounds they could expose the city to a heightened risk of liability for crashes.
A link to SMART's draft operating schedule was attached for Ulmer to review. The schedule notes trains will begin passing by Ulmer's house starting at about 5:30 a.m. on weekdays, with the final train scheduled for sometime after 8 p.m. On weekends, the last train of the day will pass by Ulmer's house after 9 p.m.
“Hopefully, this set of operating hours will not unduly disrupt the quiet in your neighborhood during the day, and should not be a problem during the later evening hours,” the city manager's staff wrote.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: