Sonoma County seeks to quiet SMART train horns outside cities

At Redwood Montessori School in Penngrove, teachers have given up trying to keep children from running to the windows to watch trains go by.

The green-and-gray trains, operated by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit authority, roll past the Main Street school several times a day, horns blaring as they cross the intersection with Woodward Avenue.

“We’re excited for it to go by, but it would be nice if it was quieter,” said teacher Laura Porter. “Especially during nap time.”

She may get her wish. Sonoma County officials have taken initial steps to establish so-called quiet zones at nearly a dozen rail crossings in unincorporated areas, including at the downtown Penngrove intersection.

It’s the latest effort in Sonoma and Marin counties to limit the sound of SMART horns, which are designed for safety but have become a nuisance for many living and working along the rail line.

SMART’s passenger service is still months away, but already the trains are a familiar sight and sound along the initial 43-mile segment. That includes at 10 public crossings in unincorporated areas of Sonoma County that are on the list of locations where officials may seek to designate quiet zones.

Such zones prohibit train engineers from sounding horns except in limited circumstances, including when a vehicle, person or animal is on the track or when crossing gates are not functioning.

The crossings in unincorporated Sonoma County extend from Airport Boulevard outside Santa Rosa south to Ely Road near Petaluma. An 11th crossing, at Aviation Boulevard south of Windsor where passenger trains are not initially scheduled to operate, might also be included in the locations where the county seeks to dampen horn sounds.

David Rabbitt, a Sonoma County supervisor and SMART director, expressed reservations in early August about communities seeking quiet zones over concerns such crossings may be less safe or increase the county’s liability for crashes.

But Rabbitt now is spearheading the county’s possible move to establish such zones, saying he’s heard from more and more people who are bothered by the train horns.

“I could never tell someone who lives right on the crossings that this (the sound of horns) is something they shouldn’t be bothered about,” Rabbitt said.

Rabbitt was planning to bring the issue up at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting as a first step toward the county taking formal action on quiet zones.

Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who also is a SMART director, on Monday said there hasn’t been enough research on whether quiet zones - which have been established at hundreds of locations around the country - diminish safety. Nevertheless, she said she generally supports their implementation in Sonoma County.

“If the general consensus is that people want them, I’m going to support what my constituents want,” Zane said. “But I want them to be informed.”

The desire to limit train noise has steadily increased as testing of SMART trains continues in the two counties. In Sonoma County, the cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma have already applied for quiet zone designations for every public crossing.

The applications to the Federal Railroad Administration are followed by a 60-day comment period, and by 21 days of noticing before the zone can take effect.

Rohnert Park and Cotati have not moved forward with similar applications. However, according to Bill Gamlen, SMART’s chief engineer, officials from both cities were present last week for a tour of crossings that might one day be covered by the noise regulations.

Gamlen said it might make more sense for the county to take lead on establishing quiet zones at crossings between Santa Rosa and Petaluma.

San Rafael and Novato are now taking that approach, after initially submitting separate applications. The goal now is to establish quiet zones for all crossings in Marin County, including at three crossings on private property between the two cities, according to Russ Thompson, Novato’s public works director.

Gamlen, with SMART, said it’s yet to be determined whether crossings in unincorporated areas of Sonoma County are eligible for quiet zones.

SMART’s website states the crossings meet that designation. But that was in 2014.

County officials, in the meantime, demanded changes at some of the crossings to address concerns some of the safety measures were potentially a hazard for motorists. That included the Main Street intersection in Penngrove, where center medians were shortened.

Making changes at those intersections to meet quiet zone eligibility could again impact motorists. There’s also the matter of who will pay for the upgrades.

“At the end of the day, I’m not sure we’re talking really big dollars to make this quiet zone ready,” Gamlen said.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com.