West Berkeley Residents Demand Quieter Train Whistles

[The Straight Story]

West Berkeley Residents Demand Quieter Train Whistles

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Several Berkeley residents living near the railroad have a message for train conductors who blast past their homes night and day: “Don’t blow your horn.”

“It’s a piercingly loud sort of sound, like someone leaning on the horn of an old Ford,” said Rudi Widman, who lives on Seventh Street.

Some engineers just lean on the horn along the whole corridor, said Sandy Simon, who lives on Fifth Street.

“Their message is ‘I’m awake and the rest of Berkeley should be too,’” she said.

Now, Councilmember Linda Maio is proposing that the city spend $120,000 to install less invasive warning signals at three North Berkeley railroad crossings—Gilman Street, Cedar Street and Hearst Avenue.

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=06-14-05&storyID=21602

[One_Life_To_Give]

1. Which came first

If you move in next to a train crossing. And then decide to complain about the noise. You won't get much sympathy from me.

[benburch]

2. Anybody who has ever driven a train knows this is idiocy.

You lean on the horn because self absorbed assholes with cellphones drive around the gates.

[Moochy]

3. Come on ride the train!

Wow, funny you should mention this, but this morning at 7:02 am, the same train woke me up about 2 miles from the train tracks. North of Berkeley, they dont ride the whistle, but there are not as many old railroad crossings.

In Berkeley there are at least five crossings I know of that are dangerous to pedestrians, since they are alot of homeless people camped out in that corridor.

"Some call it Amtrak some call it "the train" -L. Skywalker