Especially now that there is more frequent electric service, residents in several cities are pursuing initiatives to reduce Caltrain horn noise.
Residents in San Mateo have been pursuing a quiet zone project to restrict the routine use of train horns at Villa Terrace and East Bellevue Avenue near downtown. The city is considering closing the crossing at Villa Terrace to drivers and pedestrians, and adding medians at East Belleview. These changes would allow Caltrain to avoid routine horn blowing where the street crosses the tracks.
At Hillsdale station, however, there is no at-grade crossing, so no additional safety improvement is needed. In other cities with grade separations, including San Bruno, Belmont and San Carlos, Caltrain has agreements to restrict the routine use of train horns
However, Caltrain’s practice has been to use the horns at stations with pedestrian crossings such as at Hayward Park, where there is a crossing for pedestrians but not drivers. San Mateo residents point out that federal regulations for train horns at public highway-rail grade crossings do not apply to pedestrian crossings, such as at Hayward Park. No state law in California requires routine train horns at pedestrian crossings either.
Hayward Park safety mechanisms that the Federal Railroad Administration recommends including fences which prevent pedestrians from crossing the tracks except at designated crossings as well as barriers that flash warning lights and ring bells when trains are present. Bells also sound from the trains themselves. Recordings also announces when trains are approaching
Residents seeking quieter neighborhoods can contact Caltrain and San Mateo city council to support this initiative.
Meanwhile, Menlo Park and Palo Alto are moving forward with Quiet Zone projects. The area from Oak Grove in Menlo Park through Palo Alto Ave in Palo Alto is being advanced with a partnership among the two cities. The project will provide four quadrant gates at Oak Grove and Ravenswood in Menlo Park, which are expected to be complete by Spring 2025. A quiet zone project at the Menlo Park/Palo Alto border at Palo Alto Avenue is also in progress, with construction expected to begin in 2025 according to correspondence in September 2024 from Palo Alto city staff.
In August, Palo Alto’s City Council Rail Committee started to consider an additional quiet zone area in the south part of the city at the Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive and Charleston Road rail crossings. Four quadrant gates are the leading option being considered for these crossings to block cars on both sides of the street from crossing when a train is approaching.
