By Tony Cantú
Contributing Writer

Pending a traffic study and federal approval, Olmos Park railroad quiet zones – prohibiting train horns within earshot of neighborhoods – might one day become a reality. And with wide community support, the proposal is quickly gaining steam.

Olmos Park City Councilman Jeff Judson is spearheading an effort to create quiet zones at each of the four main railroad crossings within city limits at Basse Road, McCullough Avenue and Dora and Zilla streets. About 40 trains traverse through town every day – an average of 18 a day and 11 at night by one count – creating a noise-filled environment, he said.

Judson concedes the initiative is personal as his family has long endured noisy trains near his home on Wildwood. But he noted he’s garnered wide support for the measure: “I can’t describe the level of excitement people from Olmos Park have had to this idea. It’s the most amazing grass-roots effort I’ve ever participated in.”

Aside from being annoying, train noise diminishes property values for homes located near tracks, Judson said. “For a house within a zone, this would increase its value by 15 to 20 percent. If you live in a $150,000 home, it will be like putting a $30,000 check in people’s pockets.”

Maggie Sledge of the 100 block of Paloma – two blocks from McCullough/Mandalay tracks – attested to claims of widespread support. After sending a mass e-mail to 30 residents to gauge quite zone interest, she secured 100 supporters in 24 hours, she said.

A four-year Olmos Park resident, Sledge said she’s tried in vain to sell her home for a year, blaming a lack of offers to train noise: “They pass all hours of the night, and I have to wear earplugs.”

Judson conceded the zones wouldn’t pop up overnight, with a street study about a year away. Traffic counts would dictate the type of safety measures required by the feds to compensate for silenced trains.

Enhancements present varying degrees of complexity depending on surroundings. The lack of businesses along the Basse and Dora crossings would yield the simplest modifications – concrete curbs in the middle of the street running perpendicular to the tracks 60 feet out in each direction, he said.

Zilla and McCullough would be the most problematic – Zilla alone requiring not just a concrete slab, but another curb allowing only southbound turns from Zilla to Main Street. The street might have to be closed altogether at the intersection nearest the tracks, Judson said.

Myriad streets intersecting with McCullough – West Mandalay, Oran, East Mandalay and West Side Drive among them – present further challenges, Judson said. Street closures are the least expensive option, but not the most practical, he said. On Oran, installation of a concrete curb forcing traffic to turn only north onto McCullough might be considered, he added.

But for traffic cutting through Olmos Park Terrace from San Pedro, additional options – stop signs or speed humps – might be considered. The most expensive modification at McCullough would call for installation of so-called quad crossing gates blocking all intersecting streets when trains approach.

Whatever the cost, Judson said he wouldn’t stop pushing for the measure: “What I can say at this point is that I will ask the City of Olmos Park to help fund the cost of this. When that happens, we’ll take it out of cash reserves or find another source for it.”