(The following story by Michael Hirtzer appeared on the Daily Southtown website on October 29.)
CHICAGO — A group of residents have petitioned South Holland to adopt a “quiet zone,” restricting when, where and how train horns are used.
They may soon get their wish.
The Federal Railroad Administration will release guidelines for quiet zones by the end of the year, according to Warren Flatau, administration spokesman.
The restrictions are nearly 10 years in the making. In 1994, Congress approved legislation allowing trains to blow their horns at any hour of the day in an effort to curb collisions with cars and people walking along the tracks.
Ida Stewart, a South Holland resident who lives at 164th Street and Wabash Avenue, said she hasn’t slept through the night in months because of train horns, which is why she organized a petition calling for a quiet zone.
“We want a no-blow rule, at least between midnight and 6 a.m.,” she said.
More than two dozen people signed the petition.
Todd Jacobs, a South Holland resident who lives on Thornton Avenue near the Union Pacific tracks, said the noise from the trains is the worst he’s heard in 35 years.
“I’ve been in my house since ’67, and it’s never been this bad. Between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., it seems to be even worse than during the day.”
That may be true, according to village administrator Rich Zimmerman, who said the number of trains has increased to an average of 50 to 60 freight trains per day from both the Union Pacific and Canadian National railroads.
An engineer is bound by law to blow the horn each time the train travels through a crossing.
“We can’t have the trains not blow their whistles,” Zimmerman said. “The best thing we can do is hope the engineers are considerate.”
Even a considerate engineer can be perceived as belligerent, though.
At each crossing, the engineer is required to blow the horn four times.
And since South Holland’s crossings are so close together, it can be a major inconvenience for those who live near the tracks, Zimmerman said.
Mark Davis, Union Pacific spokesman, said a number of alternative measures are being tested, such as automated horns at crossings, as well as crossings equipped with four gates instead of two.
Those, Davis said, would prevent drivers from attempting to drive around the gates.
However, Davis said UP must abide by federal rules and blow the horns until the FRA establishes the quiet zone guidelines.
Flatau is confident the public and the train industry will be satisfied when those guidelines are released later this year.
“We believe the final rule will be highly responsive to the concerns of individuals across the country. It will provide a good amount of flexibility to communities seeking to establish quiet zones,” he said.
But train horns will still be needed, Davis said.
“The bell and the whistle are the only avenues for the engineers to warn walkers on the tracks,” he said.