City of San Diego provides update on downtown quiet zone

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A week passed since the Federal Railroad Administration temporarily suspended the quiet zone in Downtown San Diego for the large train, disrupting the residents in the area.

“The train noise has been pretty terrible,” Downtown San Diego resident Evelyn Huynh said.

Residents cannot go 10 minutes without hearing the horns from the train, according to Huynh.

“Nobody can get any sleeping. It’s disconcerting. Just when you’re kind of getting into a grove, it’s a honk, honk, honk,” Downtown San Diego resident Arlene Uhl said.

Robert Algeni has lived near the tracks since 2009 and remembers what it was like before the quiet zone went into effect in 2012.

“It was just like it is today. The conductors blowing their horns for as long as they possibly could, and it’s unnerving,” Algeni said. “But it went into a quiet zone, and it changed everything.”

As ABC 10News previously reported, the trains are now required to sound their horns following the temporary suspension, which stems from the FRA stating the city failed to comply with several safety rules.

The FRA said the horns must sound for at least 15 seconds but no more than 20 before a train enters a crossing.

On Wednesday, the City told ABC 10News in a statement, “…City crews are actively installing the pavement striping today at all of the intersections. The City is also performing the traffic count survey required to bring the zone back into compliance and expects to have the survey completed and submitted to the FRA for review by next week…”

There’s realistic hope for what comes next on getting the quiet zone reinstated soon.

“It’s too little too late. I mean, of course, we want the quiet zone back, but we should never be in this position,” Algeni said.