Vancouver’s first train horn quiet zone goes live

Written by jrood

Southeast Beach Drive in Vancouver, Wash., is now officially a train horn quiet zone, city officials said, The Columbian reports. It's the first of nine crossings where various improvements - medians, crossing gates, street closures - may be used to hush the 24-hour call of horns.

The city has been working
with the Federal Rail Administration and BNSF since 2004 to establishment this
quiet zone, the city said in a statement.

Vancouver installed six-inch-high
on-street medians that prevent drivers from making their way around the
crossing gates at Beach Drive. The total cost, with labor, is about $5,000,
planners have said.

While the new designation
prohibits trains from blowing their horns there (unless there is something or
someone on the tracks), the city cautioned that train engineers may continue to
blow their horns for a few weeks there as they adjust.

The city has installed
warning signs at the crossing, alerting drivers that trains do not sound their
horns when crossing that location. In particular, Wintler Park visitors should
drive cautiously and watch for trains.

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