Will new law take the 'horn' out of Hornell?
By KYLE A. TOROK - STAFF WRITER
HORNELL - A new rule allowing local governments to limit train noise has the city perking its ears.
Communities could limit train horn noise by establishing "quiet zones," according to the Federal Railroad Administration's Final Train Horn Rule. The rule allows the zones, and also limits volume and duration of train horns.
Mayor Shawn Hogan had never heard of it.
"I had no idea there was such a thing," said Mayor Shawn Hogan. "It's one of those obscure laws people never hear of."
The FRA released the Final Rule Friday; it becomes effective on June 26, and is the result of a 1994 law mandating the use of the locomotive horns at all public crossings.
The city could banish blaring horns at intersections with a low risk of collision. Flashing lights and gates would need to be established as a minimum for any new quiet zone; added safety devices might be required to compensate for the muted horns. Communities can set the zones to be effective 24 hours a day or an overnight period between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. For communities that don't pursue the final rule's quiet zones, it also limits horns' volume and duration for the first time ever.
For the moment, whether to mute trains is a moot issue.
"We've really never had complaints," Hogan said of train noise. "Some people live here so long they don't even notice them."
By KYLE A. TOROK - STAFF WRITER
HORNELL - A new rule allowing local governments to limit train noise has the city perking its ears.
Communities could limit train horn noise by establishing "quiet zones," according to the Federal Railroad Administration's Final Train Horn Rule. The rule allows the zones, and also limits volume and duration of train horns.
Mayor Shawn Hogan had never heard of it.
"I had no idea there was such a thing," said Mayor Shawn Hogan. "It's one of those obscure laws people never hear of."
The FRA released the Final Rule Friday; it becomes effective on June 26, and is the result of a 1994 law mandating the use of the locomotive horns at all public crossings.
The city could banish blaring horns at intersections with a low risk of collision. Flashing lights and gates would need to be established as a minimum for any new quiet zone; added safety devices might be required to compensate for the muted horns. Communities can set the zones to be effective 24 hours a day or an overnight period between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. For communities that don't pursue the final rule's quiet zones, it also limits horns' volume and duration for the first time ever.
For the moment, whether to mute trains is a moot issue.
"We've really never had complaints," Hogan said of train noise. "Some people live here so long they don't even notice them."
~Greg Graves
