Notice Post < Previous | Next >
Wikimedia Commons
Implement the SMART Train Quiet Zone in San Rafael
1400 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, California
7:00 PM PT
The SMART train will be commencing its federally mandated tests imminently, with trains running at 5:50 am daily, for 2 weeks. This testing period may repeat if the test fails. The Mayor is seeking out speculative and unsubstantiated reasons to delay implementing the new Quiet Zone. However, there is no evidence quiet zones increase risk of fatalities.
The Quiet Zone is already on course to be put in place within 2 weeks.
SMART is pressuring the City Council to delay implementing the quiet zone because of unsubstantiated safety risks, when there are far greater risks to safety if the quiet zone is not implemented. There is a large body of evidence that shows sleep deprived drivers increase the likelihood of road accidents.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Attend the city council meeting at San Rafael City Hall on May 10th. If you can't make that (or even if you can), I encourage you to send a letter to city councilors as I have done.
To:
kate.colin@cityofsanrafael.org,
gary.phillips@cityofsanrafael.org,
john.gamblin@cityofsanrafael.org,
andrew.mccullough@cityofsanrafael.org,
maribeth.bushey@cityofsanrafael.org
Here is my letter in case it helps.
Dear City councilors and Mayor Phillips:
Please put the Quiet Zone into place as soon as possible. This should be implemented ahead of the upcoming 2 week testing period, when trains will be running at 5:50 am past Civic Center station.
That's early. Our kids need their sleep. And so do we. Many community members have long driving commutes every day. There is a large body of evidence that shows sleep deprived driving causes accidents:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep-deprived_driving
"In the United States, 250,000 drivers fall asleep at the wheel every day." And, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving is a factor in more than 100,000 crashes, resulting in 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries annually in the USA.
Over 3,000 housing units will be significantly impacted by the train horns according to SMART's environmental impact reports. That's probably over 10,000 people. I am exasperated that the Council appears to be seeking out ever new excuses to delay implementing the widely supported Quiet Zone.
SMART may conceivably repeatedly fail its first FRA tests and have to repeat them. Are we then to be continuously inflicted with horns at 5:50 am while SMART gets its act together?
There is not one piece of evidence to support that Quiet Zones increases accident risks, only hearsay. However, there is substantial evidence that the horns may cause drivers, who commute, to lose sleep and cause road accidents. The council should be supporting its residents on this already decided upon action, not seeking excuses with no basis in fact.
Please vote to put the Quiet Zone in place at the Civic Center Station ASAP!
Organization: City of San Rafael