City hoping for ruling to end horns sooner

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

Apparently, there is nothing stronger than bureaucracy and red tape.

While a ruling from the Federal Railroad Administration came down Sept. 14 that the city’s variance and application for a quiet zone from the Canadian National train horns had been excepted, the train horns are still sounding.

The reason? CN is, well, making sure it’s crossing all of its t’s and dotting all its i’s.

“It’s a game of CYA,” said Mayor Bob Miller on Tuesday. “That’s what it boils down to.”

The city has filed yet another request with the FRA for an expedited ruling saying that CN can quit sounding its horns as it travels through the city and not be liable.

The horns will officially cease Oct. 7, but city officials had hoped that the ruling – and the letter from the FRA saying CN could stop sounding the horns if it chose to – would stop the noise immediately.

“Obviously, it didn’t turn out that way,” Miller said.

Meanwhile, the number of complaints the city has been receiving over the horn situation has diminished. Now, the city is hearing a more common thread of, “Thank God it’s over.”

“They are still coming in,” Miller said. “But the more common one is ‘Thanks for getting it taken care of; glad it’s going to be over.’”

Burlington Hampton Inn Manager Jeff Van Lysal is also pleased to see the situation coming to an end.

“I’m sure all of the downtown businesses and the entire City of Burlington are happy things will be back to the way it was for so long in this community,” said Van Lysal in an email. “The loudness of that horn was really disrupting the comfort level of our guests and all of the citizens of this community.

“The Burlington city government worked very hard to get the quiet zone back in place.”

Of course, that hasn’t stopped a handful of people enjoying the renaissance with an older era – one where train horns were commonplace and where trains passing through the city were still a fascination.

“I’ve heard those comments,” admitted Miller. “But no one has really approached me and said so in so many words.

“It’s personal preference.”