Hate hearing train horns in Bellingham and Whatcom? There may be some relief in sight
The Bellingham Herald 1/24/2021 Robert Mittendorf, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Jan. 24 Residents near railroad tracks in some parts of Whatcom County should be hearing fewer train horns, thanks to several recent and ongoing projects to create quiet zones at neighborhood crossings.
Engineers normally are required to sound the locomotive horn when a train approaches a crossing where people, bicyclists or cars might be approaching.
But such quiet zones add safety improvements to those crossings, allowing engineers to use their horns less frequently. These quiet zones are a section of a rail line where locomotive horns are no longer routinely sounded because of alternate safety measures, said Marie Duckworth, spokeswoman for the Whatcom County Public Works Department.