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.

City Manager John Brown could not be reached for comment Friday, when city offices are closed.

Ulmer, who found the city's response lacking, next took his concerns to the Petaluma City Council on July 18. In response, the city's public works staff has tentatively scheduled a presentation on quiet zones to the council next month.

“If something's going to run 30 times a day, starting at 5 in the morning, that's a big issue,” Ulmer said.

David Rabbitt, a Sonoma County supervisor and member of SMART's board of directors whose district includes Petaluma, acknowledged the train horns can be annoying for people who live near the tracks. He said a few people in the unincorporated area of Penngrove have also expressed concerns about the noise.

But Rabbitt said based on conversations with public utility engineers, he considers crossings within quiet zones to be somewhat less safe than those where horns are sounded. He also said Petaluma city officials have legitimate concerns about increased liability for crashes that occur within such zones.

Rabbitt prefers people becoming accustomed to SMART trains operating on a routine schedule before they consider measures limiting the sound of horns.

“Today, my attitude is, why don't we wait and see how bad it is? We can always make the application later,” he said.

Petaluma Mayor David Glass sounded a similar tune.

“I don't argue that the noise is going to be irritating,” he said. “What I'm concerned about is having people get used to it, before we go to a less intensive recommendation of alertness for our community.

“What I fear is someone is going to get trapped on the tracks, and that's a far worse consequence.”

Some residents living along the rail line acknowledged their concerns might strike some as hypocritical given their choice to live near the rail line.

“The tracks were there when we bought the house, so I can't complain,” said one San Miguel Avenue resident who declined to give her name. “It's like living near the airport and complaining about the planes.”

Linda Giannini, who also lives on the avenue, said she has no problem with the horns, saying they evoke childhood memories and enhance safety.

“I have grandkids. I wouldn't want them to stand on the track if they weren't aware of it (the train),” she said.

Horn regulations federal

Federal regulations require train engineers to sound horns at least 15 seconds in advance of all public rail crossings, as well as when entering and departing stations.

The volume must be between 96 and 110 decibels, which at the upper register is equivalent to the sound of a chainsaw.

However, under federal law, communities can establish quiet zones prohibiting the use of train horns except in limited circumstances, including when a vehicle, person or animal is on the track or when crossing gates are not functioning.

Such zones don't completely silence rail operations. For people who live near crossings, there's no getting away from the loud ding-ding-ding when the gates are lowered.

To qualify for quiet zone designation, supplemental safety measures must be in place at the crossings where the horns would no longer routinely sound.

The enhanced safeguards include four-quadrant gate systems, which provide full closure of the crossing as trains pass through, and curb medians to discourage motorists from attempting to drive around lowered gates.

With those improvements in place, federal railroad authorities consider crossings in quiet zones to be as safe, or safer, than crossings that feature standard safety measures and the sounding of horns.

Support for quiet zones

SMART has spent about $10 million to make crossings in public right-of-ways eligible for quiet zone designation. Farhad Mansourian, SMART's general manager, said the rail agency works closely with local agencies to accommodate such requests.

“My board's policy is for us to support applications for quiet zones,” Mansourian said.

But liability for crashes that occur within the zones remains a sticking point. SMART is seeking an agreement with San Rafael that would indemnify the rail agency from liability in such circumstances, according to Lisa Goldfien, the city's assistant attorney.

“We're trying to clarify exactly what they are asking for,” Goldfien said. “We're trying to explain to them what we are, and are not willing to indemnify them for. We're trying to end up with the same understanding. We're not there yet.”

SMART is engaged in similar negotiations with city officials in Novato, according to Russ Thompson, the city's public works director.

“We don't feel like we have liability for something that's one, in their (SMART's) right-of-way and installed and maintained by them,” Thompson said.

Mansourian said what the rail agency is seeking amounts to “very standard language” over the responsibilities and costs associated with working in adjacent right-of-ways. But he declined to answer whether the rail agency is specifically seeking to leave potential legal responsibility for crashes that occur in quiet zones to cities that establish them.

“Our lawyers are working with other lawyers to put this agreement together that will cover a number of issues. Legal liabilities is one of those (issues),” Mansourian said.

The Federal Railroad Administration's guidelines for quiet zones are intended to remove the failure to sound horns as a cause of action in lawsuits involving collisions that occur at crossings within the established zones. But the guidelines also note that the courts will ultimately assess blame.

Federal regulators do not keep records of how many crashes have occurred in quiet zones. In the Bay Area city of Richmond, which has eight such zones, a driver was killed in one after ignoring warning signals and gates, and driving onto the tracks into the path of an oncoming train. The incident did not generate any legal claims and the quiet zone for that crossing remains in place, according to Novato officials.

‘Ruined by that noise'

In Rohnert Park, some residents have encouraged city officials to do something about train horns. Carol De Bois, who lives near the East Cotati Avenue crossing, said her life and that of other residents living in the area is being “ruined by that noise.”

“Those people have sleeping babies, or are sick and dying and that noise impacts their quality, my quality of life,” De Bois wrote in an email to the City Council, which took up the issue of quiet zones at its July 26 meeting.

Counter to the federal government's analysis, the city's staff report stated that there is “no question that quiet zone designations will have a potentially negative impact on public safety.” The report also raised concerns about the city potentially facing a greater risk of liability related to the zones.

Several members of the council expressed concerns about the noise. But the consensus was that the city should wait until after SMART begins passenger service before deciding whether to revisit the issue.

Jake Mackenzie, the city's vice-mayor and a member of SMART's board of directors, stated in a text while on vacation last week that he supports the concept of quiet zones.

But, he added, “safety first.”

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 707-521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.