“We can significantly reduce train horn noise without compromising safety,” said Doug Underwood, whose family lives on Hochwalt Avenue. “These improvements will lead to improved sleep, reduced stress, better concentration for children doing homework and increased property values.”
Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein said city staff are doing research on quiet zones.
“We have not tried to establish that in the city before,” she said. “We are taking a look at what are the steps and the cost.”
Around the clock
Underwood, 44, who co-owns a business called Breakfast on the Run, said he can hear more than 190 train horns every day from his home.
His home is less than 0.3 miles from at-grade rail crossings at Weaver, South Broadway and West Stewart streets.
Train horns can be heard very clearly inside of Underwood’s house, including in the living and dining rooms even though he purchased and installed triple-pane windows when he moved in last spring.
On a recent weekday, horns from multiple trains were audible at his home within a span of about 66 minutes.
Underwood said at least two trains pass through his neighborhood every hour, and every train sounds its horn multiple times heading into street-level crossings.
“It wakes me through out the night and in the morning,” he said. “It’s usually the first thing I wake up to — I don’t really need an alarm because by 4 a.m. I’m up.”
Federal regulations require engineers to sound train horns for 15 to 20 seconds before entering public at-grade crossings, but not until the locomotives are within a quarter mile of the intersections.
Train horns are supposed to be sounded in a standardized pattern of two long, one short and then one long additional blast, says the Federal Railroad Administration.
Train horns are supposed to be played at a volume between 96 to 110 decibels — which is the decibel range of some power mowers and leaf blowers.
Underwood said train horns are disruptive and distracting in a neighborhood that is otherwise peaceful and quiet. Edgemont is home to about 700 housing units and around 1,500 residents.
Underwood’s next-door neighbors, Dorian Voegele and Lezley Weishampel, said train horns wake them up all the time, and the loud noises upset their neighbors’ dogs, causing them to bark.
Weishampel, 28, said the train horns are even worse at night.
“I’m sure a lot of people, especially new people moving in, would like some silence once in a while, and especially at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.,” said Voegele, 33. “It’s loud (in the home) and when you’re outside it’s even louder.”
Weishampel said unfortunately many motorists try to beat the trains and drive around the safety gates when they are lowered. She said that’s probably one of the reasons the trains blare their horns so much.
Weishampel said she thinks the rail crossings in her neighborhood could use enhanced gates or other safety upgrades to prevent drivers from trying to beat oncoming trains.
Quiet zone
Underwood said he wants the city to help establish a train quiet zone that includes at-grade crossings at Miami Chapel Road and Weaver, South Broadway and West Stewart streets.
Dayton currently does not have any quiet zones, but Ohio has 16, including in Moraine and Springfield, says the Federal Railroad Administration.
Local governments and public agencies can help establish quiet zones, which must be at least a half mile long and contain one or more public at-grade crossings.
The Federal Railroad Administration says public at-grade crossings in quiet zones must have greater safety measures than standard crossings.
Quiet zone crossings must be equipped with lights and gates, power out indicators and constant warning time systems, says the Ohio Rail Development Commission.
Upgrading a crossing to meet quiet zone requirements can cost more than $250,000, says Snyder & Associates, a civil engineering, planning and design firm.
Springfield created a quiet zone downtown to reduce noise, said Karen Graves, the city’s communications director.
Graves said the work cost about $5.3 million, but the city received funding and incentives from the Ohio Rail Development Commission and Norfolk Southern.
“The city believes the outcome of the project was a success,” she said. “For what little monies the city put into the project it was worth the effort. We have received positive feedback from the businesses and residents near the quiet zone.”
Tipp City considered establishing a quiet zone in the late 2010s and early 2020s, said City Manager Eric Mack.
City council, however, decided not to pursue the project after determining that it could cost about $2 million, Mack said.
“One major requirement, and a significant expense, for establishing a quiet zone is the installation of pedestrian gates between sidewalks and railroad crossings,” Mack said. “Even if a quiet zone is established, train conductors still have the discretion to use the horn in certain situations, such as poor weather or obstructed sightlines, for safety reasons.”
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