Encinitas Train Horn Quiet Zone Postcards & Signs

A group of Encinitas and Leucadia residents is joining together to show support for a Citywide Train Horn Quiet Zone. We are printing and distributing yard signs to get the word out and engage more residents who are suffering from the train horn noise.

Last year we printed and mailed 6,500 postcards to educate residents and businesses in the Train Horn Blast Zone about the fact that the City of Encinitas can make a Citywide Train Horn Quiet Zone. These postcards helped educate the rest of the people who are suffering in the Train Horn Blast Zone and let them know that they can take action to let our City Council know this is the #1 thing the city can do to improve their lives.

It worked! The public response and widespread community support from residents and businesses in the train horn blast zone let the city council know that we want to restore peace and quiet to our community!

Encinitas City Council has approved the engineering design funds to make all of Encinitas a Train Horn Quiet Zone. The next step is to get the city council to approve the construction funds to implement the Supplemental Safety Measures (SSM) that will improve the safety of the crossings so that the trains will no longer be required to blast their horns every time they come to the crossings in our town.

The vote on the construction funding will happen after the engineering design is completed in early 2024. We need to keep building community support so that we can let the city council know to approve the construction funding.

 

Why now? There are now 744 train horn blasts a day in the city. This is because federal law requires all trains including the Coaster, Amtrak, and freight trains to blast their horn 4 times before approaching an unimproved at-grade crossing. Encinitas currently has 3 of these, Leucadia Blvd, D Street, and E Street. And… There are now, on average, 62 trains a day passing through our city.

 

3x4x62 = 744 train horn blasts every day!

 

That is a lot of train horn noise and it’s going to get worse as more trains are added to the schedule. And, to add insult to injury, the volume of the train horn blast is around 150 decibels. If you were standing immediately in front of the horn, that is loud enough to instantly rupture your eardrums and cause permanent hearing loss.

 

Congress recognized that the train horn blasts can cause great suffering and created a way for cities to silence the routine blasting of train horns. By improving the safety of the crossings through the SSMs and applying for Quiet Zone status, cities can create Quiet Zones where the trains will no longer have to routinely blast their horns.

 

The City of Encinitas completed a Quiet Zone feasibility study in 2018. However, the project did not move forward in downtown Encinitas or Leucadia because the city decided to split it into two phases. They completed Phase 1 (Chesterfield Ave) in 2019, but Phase 2 (D Street, E Street, and Leucadia Blvd.) got derailed because of a lack of funding and fell by the wayside. Now, because of the efforts of a number of citizens who are raising awareness and making their voices heard, the citywide Quiet Zone is back on the City’s agenda. 

 

By working together we can stop the train horn blasts night and day.

 

Please help show your support. Even $1 is helpful because it will show that you care. The more people who show they care, the more likely we will be able to get the construction funding passed in the 2024 budget cycle. 

 

Also, please share this GoFundMe as widely as possible since this will help educate even more residents that there is a solution to their suffering! 

 

Here is a snapshot of the yard sign. Perhaps you have seen them around town. We would love for more people to have them in their yards to help raise awareness and let our neighbors know that we can do something to stop the suffering from the constant train horn blasts.

If you would like one for your yard, please let us know. No donation is required. We just want more people to know that we can do something about it. If can donate, please do so and we will print more!