The Eugene thingy which ruins everything (Salem: how much, purchase, gated)

[massanu]

Hi

I am living in Eugene for more than a year now, Everything is great except one thing: TRAINS NOISE

I can't stand them anymore, I lived 1 miles south from campus, I also lived in country club road Area, the result is the same, and at my workplace it's the same

This f**** train are a nightmare, they ruins the beauty of this city by providing this depressing horns like if the city was under attacked 24h a day

Every place in Eugene seems to be more or less within the noise range of the 10 rails/crossroads of the city

Day and Night same treatment

What the hell the city is doing for that, I e-mailed the Mayor and she answered me that Salem fixed the problem and Eugene planned to a few years ago but stopped the project (money issue)
She said that when people living in Eugene will ask for they will reconsider the project

Every person I talked to in Eugene, thinks that trains in the city are a real disturbance but nobody really complain to the mayor.

What do you think about filling an online petition to submit to the city council ?

Eugene could be so beautifull and peacefull without this

[Billy_J]

Well the problem is trains need to blow their horns at each railroad crossing for cars. They don't need to do that if there is an overpass for the cars to go over the train tracks (like the new bridge on I-5 which goes over the train tracks).

So you simply need to build overpasses for every railroad crossing in Eugene. Or elevate all the train tracks to be above the roads. Or build a tunnel for the trains to go underground.

Boston put everything underground recently. Eugene could do the same. Shouldn't cost more than $22 billion or so.

How much money would you like to personally contribute to this project?

[bler144]

I'm curious what you think the city council would do. The issue presumably is the horns blowing as they approach non-gated crossings, and there are a bunch of those.

City council can't change the law on use of horns, so you'd be looking at gating every crossing. I'd be surprised if the city found the money for that. If you live in the south Eugene area, they'll be faint if not inaudible. Even if north Eugene if you get much north of Country Club Road, the sound should drop out pretty quickly.

"Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance..."

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Billy_J

Well the problem is trains need to blow their horns at each railroad crossing for cars. They don't need to do that if there is an overpass for the cars to go over the train tracks (like the new bridge on I-5 which goes over the train tracks).

So you simply need to build overpasses for every railroad crossing in Eugene. Or elevate all the train tracks to be above the roads. Or build a tunnel for the trains to go underground.

Boston put everything underground recently. Eugene could do the same. Shouldn't cost more than $22 billion or so.

Does the law require overpass/underpass? I thought it just required gating. In any case, I agree it would be expensive and extensive. Very unlikely the city can fix it sola.

[Billy_J]

Originally Posted by bler144

Does the law require overpass/underpass?...

Actually railroads are exempt from MANY laws! (If they had to abide by all the laws on this and that - environmental laws, etc., it would be too expensive to build the railroads and you couldn't have them running along rivers and environmental areas - there would be NO railroad!)

[massanu]

Do you know that there is more than 10 railroads crossing in a small city like Eugene ?

And no it will not cost 22 Billions like you said, Salem did it and this is called creating quiet zones

Saying that it's expensive, or it's the law so we have to accept that is not a valid point, this means every city in the nation has this issue ? I dont think so

here is the Answer of the mayor

"The rail companies have safety as their key objective and I'm sure this has been made more acute by some recent deaths in our area. There are 10 crossings in our city - that's a lot of horn. Quiet zones would require some major work to achieve as well as dollars. It's doable. Salem has done it. It's a matter of being a community priority."

And someone here said, everyone loves trains in a distance. I dont think so.
Moer thant 90% of the people I asked in Eugene agreed with the fact that trains are really annoying in Eugene.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I suspect that you did not move into a quiet town and have someone build a railroad after you purchase your house. You don't get to expect noise to stop just because you have moved in.

Salem has very few rail crossings. The city was built to go around the railroad tracks instead of across them.

I find the idea that Eugene would suddenly become quiet and peaceful just because the trains stopped running to be a bit silly. It's not like there isn't any other type of noise.

OP, I suggest that you move to a town where there is no railroad within, oh, about 20 miles. I can hear the local trains that are more than 5 mules from my house. It's not just the horns. On a still night, I can hear the clackity clack of the wheels.

[massanu]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

I suspect that you did not move into a quiet town and have someone build a railroad after you purchase your house. You don't get to expect noise to stop just because you have moved in.

Salem has very few rail crossings. The city was built to go around the railroad tracks instead of across them.

I find the idea that Eugene would suddenly become quiet and peaceful just because the trains stopped running to be a bit silly. It's not like there isn't any other type of noise.

OP, I suggest that you move to a town where there is no railroad within, oh, about 20 miles. I can hear the local trains that are more than 5 mules from my house. It's not just the horns. On a still night, I can hear the clackity clack of the wheels.

So you are the kind of people who can accept everything and dont make any move I guess

There are dozens of scientific studies which proves that noise disturbande (specially during night) create a trenmendous increase of stress and risk of heart disease.

If everyone was acting like you and moving away from a town they like instead of making things change, we will still leave in a world like the 1900's


If trying to improve the life and health of people is bad, you should probably move to some conservative area.

[nausax]

By Law, Trains Slipping Silently Through Towns : NPR

Flagstaff, a city that has a train rush through it every thirteen minutes or so (on average), enacted a quiet zone a few years ago. Very few people in Flagstaff have air conditioning, so most people have their windows open all summer. Combine that with a large amount of people living near the tracks, and you can see why the city enacted a ban on train horns. In place of train horns, the city installed electronic wayside horns. These horns are definitely loud enough to be heard by motorists, but the sound doesn't carry nearly as far as train horns. It seems like this has worked well in Flagstaff, and it might be an option for Eugene. Just an idea!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by massanu

So you are the kind of people who can accept everything and dont make any move I guess...........

No, I am the "kind of people" who won't move in next to a train track if I don't like train noises. I am also the kind of people who doesn't move in next to a train track and then try to insist that the train stop making noise.

I don't want train noise, so I solved that issue by not moving in close to a train track. It's not like anyone and everyone can't see where the tracks run, and the tracks never move. There they are and there they stay, right where the railroad spikes fasten the rails to the ground.

I don't like the smell of manure, either, so I always avoid moving in next door to a dairy or a pig farm. That's easier than moving in and then trying to stop the livestock from smelling.