B. Carfree

It's an unusual neighborhood. It was the original downtown. Much of the housing served the workers who laid the track when the rail switching yard went in. It was this city's version of a ghetto for years, it even had a dump, then a group of somewhat violent anarchists took it over in the 1990's. Somewhere along the way, a handful of families came to own almost all of the housing stock; eighty-two percent of the residences in this neighborhood are rentals. Ten years ago, a revitalization started when Ninkasi brewery started here. (The site was chosen both because it was cheap and because the city and county made grants, zero-interest loans and tax waivers available to encourage redevelopment; it worked.) Currently, commercial property in the neighborhood is being redeveloped at a rapid rate, mostly for alcohol production and tasting rooms/bars and/or restaurants.

In that setting, rents are rising much faster than the residents' wages at local service jobs. These renters believe a quiet zone would increase their already burdensome rents and force them to move far from their jobs. Also, we have a huge population of homeless people and five city-sanctioned homeless camps just beyond the edge of the neighborhood boundary,and a host of unsanctioned camps. (Eugene has about ten times the national rate of homelessnes and they are mostly in this neighborhood because the services for them are here.) These people use the tracks as a pedestrian way, so even with the improvements that lead to a quiet zone designation, we're still going to have horns at night as the campers make their way back from drinking in the neighborhood parks. Some feel that infrequent horns will be more disruptive than the regular ones that we have all learned to tune out.

Then there's the issue of paying for a bond that benefits the wealthiest people (landlords and the developers of the downtown properties that are being sold/given to them by the city, county and municipal utility) while the poorest people get either increased rents or unpleasant commutes. with that background, maybe you can understand why there is opposition to these crossing improvements.

By the way, no one has found any evidence that any of these crossings has ever had a motor vehicle/train collision. We have had several pedestrian/train incidences this past decade, most of them fatal, and one bike/train incident (the direct result of routing cyclists onto a sidewalk with a blind crossing where there is no legal requirement for visible notices of trains arriving). As you might surmise, most of the pedestrian incidents were between crossings rather than at the crossings.

CliffordK

One of the problems with train crossings is that the gates are often closed for longer than necessary.

In some places, it is not uncommon for he gates to be closed several minutes before the train arrives, and remain closed for several minutes after it departs.

The greater buffer may seem to give a greater opportunity to get out of the way, but it also entices people to cheat.

catgita

The commuter trains and light rail seem to have quick gates that close late and open early for fast moving trains. Transit is also rare but rapidly expanding in LA. But freight lines often close early, for no apparent reason, or when switching maneuvers are going on over a mile away. You can get stuck at freight lines for very long periods. So people learn to disrespect grade crossings, and get plowed by the commuter trains regularly.

I-Like-To-Bike

Sounds like the residents would welcome a toxic waste dump and rendering plant to this neighborhood in order to "preserve" the lower rent as well as its "character."

Chris0516

Better that, than a situation like when my (late)maternal great-grandfather was killed in the 1950's, at a train crossing with no lights or signals.

PatrickGSR94

Newer link to the CCTV video:

Caught on Camera: Polish Cyclist Collides With High Speed Train | NECN

ItsJustMe

No matter what was going on, the root cause was that he was (and probably remains) a moron.

Altair 4

Seems like a pretty fair analysis of the situation. As a side note, the view from the opposite side of the crossing looked like a scene from the "Final Destination" movies.

BikingZombie

Haha. I was wondering if anyone else made that connection besides me

Fargo Wolf

Speaking from experience, having actually worked for a major railway a few years back, I get the impression that the cyclists didn't realize just how fast the train was actually moving, due to their very large size. Trains can surprisingly quiet, even at speed, or under throttle.

ro-monster

Where I live they are gradually eliminating all of the grade crossings. They're being replaced by elevated tracks with the roads running across through underpasses, so it will be nearly impossible to be hit by a train through carelessness. However, most of the fatalities around here are suicides — about 1 per month — and most of them are on foot, so they can still enter the tracks through the stations.

indyfabz

Naw. He was trying to set a new record on Strava.

indyfabz

Good summary of "quiet zones." I have done two agreements with municipalities and will be working on another next year. Many people don't realize that federal law requires the use of the horn at public crossings unless a quiet zone is established. One reason for that was that regulation at the municipal level was creating a patchwork of laws and creating confusion. What is required to establish a quiet zone depends on things like the amount of vehicle traffic, the amount of rail traffic and track speed. The improvements can be quite costly. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases. That is why you often see them established in more affluent communities. The two I worked on were in well off communities in NJ.