Eugene city Council is discussing putting in a railroad quiet zone near downtown and Whitaker neighborhoods. The law, known as railroad quiet zones, was passed over a year ago. The problem lies is that they have to figure out how to make the crossings safer, even if that includes closing some crossings.
" "The noise is really too much," said Marianne Hall who lives right next to the tracks.
She says the noise has forced her to make some changes.
"We use to have our bedroom upstairs but we've put it downstairs in the farthest room away from the train partly because of the noise," said Hall. "
if you move in next to an airport, you might get some noise from airplanes... if you move in next to railroad tracks...
13 comments:
It never ceases to amaze me that people would knowingly move into a neighborhood near a railroad yard or an airport, knowing that noise is an inherent part of the activities of those places, then complain loud and long about the noise and demand that it stop. In Portland we have the same thing going on. Some people living near the Brooklyn rail yards in Eastmoreland or under the flight paths at PDX bought near there andwhine and cry about the noise and that it must stop.
Is that human nature, or just human idiocy?
I used to live close to those tracks, and the noise never bothered me. What DID bother me was that any time a slow freight train was going by, it was impossible to get into downtown without going a few miles out my way to one of the handful of bridges. If you are between the River Road/Chambers overpass and the Ferry St Bridge, there is NO way across those tracks when a long slow train is puttering along. And from Chambers to Maxwell, there isn't even a road that crosses the tracks. Don't even get me started on trying to get across the Willamette...
Maybe I'm one of the odd ones ... I've lived near railroad tracks a good portion of my life and I always found it somewhat lulling when the train would go by. It's a great thing to excite small ones (my brother was a great example) and draw rapt attention ... cheap entertainment, eh?
But as ScottieBill said, it never ceases to amaze me, either, when people do something like move into a high-traffic area of some kind and then decide that it all revolves around them and everything must change to accommodate them.
How very freakin' special!
Remember the definition of insanity ... doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
I also used to live within a half block from the railroad. It was annoying at first, but then you get used to it. After awhile, the only thing that even draws attention to the trains going by is when something unusual happens, for example, when one broke a hitch I thought it was going to come through the house.
I don't think that anybody could argue that living next to the tracks was not a choice.
7:37 AM
In defense of those living next to trains as I do there are some things to keep in mind. Number one, operations can have impact on the noise level. I live next to a switching yard and those that control the slowing of trains have an impact on the resulting noise. The harmonics developed by rubbing steel on steel can be fun to play with. Living next to it cannot. Secondly, if you have the opportunity to go to Europe, you will find they spend money there researching different base material for tracks, often dampening the vibration dramatically. Here, we do what is cheap yet strong and leave it at that. Lastly, the amount of time an engine spends idling awaiting tasks is insane. What a waste of fuel. Here there are two engines that sit and wait running all the time. When starting to move these engines, the noise can be outrageously loud and vibrates buildings. Somewhere there is a compromise. Yes, the romance of a train can be relaxing, but the screaming of brakes and the vibration enough to break windows is really uncalled for.
Help...the vibrations from the train tracks wake me numerous times during the night. I have a very heavy king size bed on the second floor-hen the train passes it feels like an earthquake. I need to get some uninterupted sleep. Any suggestions from the experienced?
As some of you have mentioned, there are particular people that choose to move into areas where there is noise from one industry or another and then they complain about it and expect it to stop. What you are not considering are those of us that moved into these areas quite some time ago and as business grows and the noise levels increase little is done to accomodate along the way with new technologies. So, in some instances, yes, the producers of the noise play a part and should make an effort to make things quiter, but more often than not they simply add more noise in the cheapest fashion possible.
wanted to add a comment / perspective from another part of the globe : A crowded Indian metropolis. I have an apartment thats right next to the train tracks. It is not so much the noise of the trains that go by that bother me, but what I was never prepared for is the continuous honking by the trains at full volume. Why do they honk ? Because the muppets that live in the neighborhood are too busy, lazy, or stupid to haul their ass over the overpass bridge to cross the railtracks. They would much rather risk their lives and actually run across the train tracks to get to the other side. Needless to say, accidents happen, and thus the trains have to announce their presence by honking loudly as they approach the station. This happens several times an hour 24 x 7. The only solution is nice soft foam ear plugs.
I would love to live next to a railroad track. I find the comings and goings of the trains very soothing. I also just love trains.
got noise problems consider secondary glazing !
Not to mention that our downtown is an urban residential neighborhood! I think a noise ordinance is the reasonable thing to do. There are gates that fall and flash
And ding. let's lay off the horn! we can live together.
I live miles away but even without any horn the rumbling is at such high decibels, the train runs from 1a-1:30a with a weird harmonic that makes out impossible to sleep through.
I have no reason to expect that moving here "earned me that privilege" as others have commented. Other trains haven't disturbed us, so it may be a seasonal thing or cost cutting opportunists.. The benefit to the businesses that operate and others that receive goods from this particular noisy train, versus the square miles of employees of countless other businesses who are irritable and unrested, doesn't seem a fair balance to me. Run these at 9p instead, or require several smaller rigs to avoid the 9500000 horsepower required. Sheesh.
From Tualatin/Tigard area in Oregon. But others may find similar experience within "quiet zones" since it isn't always just horns that are noisy.
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