On the subject of train-horn noise, here’s the choice faced by residents near railroad tracks (and to a certain extent city by Vancouver officials): Would you rather have 110 decibels covering 31 acres or 92 decibels covering half an acre? The answer is easy. Paying for it is difficult.
Last Friday, a cutting-edge type of warning horn was tested at three railroad crossings in Vancouver. Residents of the nearby areas who attended the tests were thrilled at the results. More persuasive than the scientific data presented above was what the people heard: noise, but a lot less of it. Quiet Zone Technologies has devised a way to focus train-warning sound where it’s needed, at the crossing, instead of all around the neighborhood.
Residents are excited about this and other old and new technologies that could reduce train-horn noise. Vancouver officials share that enthusiasm because they want to improve the community’s quality of life. We salute both factions for conducting their valuable research, but they’re still a long way from conquering the main obstacle, which has nothing to do with trains or noise.
Yes, it’s all about money, which the city of Vancouver has very little of. In fact, the city is looking at ways to overcome a projected deficit of several million dollars, and now is the worst time to expect any new expenditures to reduce train noise. That hasn’t kept city officials from at least trying to solve the problem with research such as Friday’s tests. And the financial challenge has not kept residents from likewise seeking solutions. And to their credit, they realize the most logical source of that money is their own wallets, not the public trough.
The wayside horns cost about $100,000 (for two horns) per railroad crossing. Eight crossings — from the western downtown area beyond Interstate 205 to Southeast 139th, 147th and 164th avenues — are being studied by the city. At three, wayside horns are considered preferable, and at some sites the money might come from businesses. One site — Eighth Street, just west of The Columbian — won’t require any noise-abatement work because the crossing is scheduled to be closed as part of the riverfront redevelopment project.
In the southeast corner of the city, neighborhoods are studying ways to create a local improvement district that would require assessments on each household over several years — higher fees closer to the tracks, lower fees for LID residents farther from the tracks.
A city study last year showed that more than 80 percent of respondents supported a plan to make annual payments from $89 to $295 over 20 years, to create a quiet zone that would eliminate almost all of the train blasts in the area.
Costly “four-gate” technology and other tactics such as 6-inch-high medians to prevent gate violators are among the solutions at several locations.
One complaint that does not belong in this issue is “trains were there before houses, and those folks knew it when they moved in.” That accusation is invalid because the residents are not advocating public funding of solutions; they’re simply looking for the best way to solve their own problem, and they’ve got a right to that pursuit.
Those solutions will not come quickly or cheaply, but as long as the greater taxpayer base is not having to pony up the money, the residents and the city officials deserve praise for trying to make neighborhoods and the downtown area more pleasant to the ears.
