Orange County Rail Crossings Safety: Snapshot of a Process

Impacted cities are strongly concerned about noise from OCTA/Metrolink train horns at railroad crossings. The cost of totally eliminating train horns county-wide through quiet zone corridor treatments could be in the range of $50-$60 million. Response: The City of San Clemente concurs with this finding. The City Council established the creation of a quiet zone as the number one Vital Few Priority of the City. There are a total of nine (seven (7) pedestrian, two (2) vehicular) at-grade crossings within a two mile stretch of the railroad corridor that runs along the San Clemente coast. This corridor is adjacent to coastal neighborhoods with a population of approximately 30,000 people (2006 Orange County Projections) who live within a half mile of the railroad. Excessive train horn noise is an overriding concern of the citizens of San Clemente and the City Council. Regarding the statement that the cost of totally eliminating train horns county-wide through quiet zone corridor treatments could be in the range of $50-$60 million: The City understands that the seven pedestrian crossings in the City of San Clemente have yet to be included in the OCTA program. As such, it is the opinion of the City that the estimated $50- $60 million cost may be low. Avenida Presidio San Clemente, CA 92672 On a different note, as the county and region move toward a multi modal transportation system, which will include transit oriented development, OCTA and SCRRA should be commended for their efforts to plan for and expand rail oriented service. The problems and issues that are raised (i.e. train noise ) should be addressed, but should not become a reason to abandon multi modal and transit oriented planning efforts. Finding F-3: It is unclear how the burden of cost for upgraded crossings will be shared by OCTA and impacted cities. Response: The City of San Clemente City Council concurs that the burden for cost is presently undefined. The City will have difficulty funding the cost of construction of the improvements necessary to establish a quiet zone in the near term if the majority of them are placed on the City.