Will quiet zones silence Brightline train horns here? Not for at least a year, if ever

Quiet zones along the Brightline corridor through the Treasure Coast could silence the train horns local residents have been hearing from morning until night since the higher-speed railroad began full passenger service Sept. 22.

But it likely will be at least a year before counties and cities along the route even apply to the federal government to exempt individual crossings from the requirement that horns sound for 15-20 seconds as trains pass through crossings, if they apply at all.

Martin County

Martin County believes it has met all of the requirements it would need to qualify for quiet zones, according to county spokesperson Martha Ann Kneiss, but it has not applied or conducted the required analyses.

"It is Martin County’s position to allow trains to operate for up to one year without quiet zones to provide both seasonal and full-time residents time to become familiar with the frequency and increased speeds of Brightline trains in our community," Kneiss said in an email.

Only then would the county decide how and when to proceed with quiet zones, she said.

While horns may be a nuisance to some, safety is the higher priority for Martin County, Kneiss said.

"Our intent for the crossings under our jurisdiction is to monitor the safety of our public for one year (until September 2024) and track any issues that may occur, of which we hope that there are none," Kneiss said.

Stuart officials have said for the last few years that they would wait for the county to make its assessments and applications.

Stuart only qualifies for quiet zones based on a scoring system that evaluates all Martin County crossings, according to a the city website. Stuart will wait until the county moves first, a city spokeswoman said.

St. Lucie County

St. Lucie County is not actively considering applying for quiet zones, said spokesperson Erick Gill. Like Martin County, St. Lucie will take a wait-and-see position, he said.

"The expert advice was to allow the trains to operate for some time to determine the public’s response to the new frequency and increased speeds of train operations," Gill said in an email. "Once the response is understood, an informed decision can be made on how to proceed."

Some improvements might have to be made before quiet zones could be established, but, Gill said, a diagnostic review would need to be conducted looking at each crossing in the county.

In Fort Pierce, where the horns blow through downtown, spokesperson Audria Moore-Wells said the city has not applied for any quiet zones. She did not say whether it plans to.

"The safety of our citizens and visitors is the city’s highest priority and necessitates working closely with our federal, state, and local partners, as well as Brightline to ensure pedestrian and vehicular safety measures are installed and operable at our railway crossings," Moore-Wells said in an email.

Indian River County

Quiet zones are also not currently being considered in Indian River County, according to county spokesperson Kathy Copeland.

"In order to determine if any additional improvements are necessary, the proposed quiet zone would have to be analyzed using the Federal Railroad Administration‘s (FRA) quiet zone calculation tool," Copeland said in an email.

That wouldn't keep Vero Beach or Sebastian from applying on their own, yet, according to Vero Beach Public Works Director Matthew Mitts, the Federal Railroad Administration has stated it would be "preferable" for it to be done on a countywide level.

What a quiet zone would mean, need

Brightline now has 32 trains passing through the region every day, blowing their horns as they pass through neighborhoods and the Stuart, Fort Pierce and Vero Beach downtowns.

Those horns are a key safety feature for anyone near the tracks, but they can make other residents — even those who live miles away — aware every time a train passes, now on vastly increased schedule.

The Federal Railroad Administration requires these horns every time a train anywhere in the country passes through a public grade crossing. However, quiet zones are one key exception to that requirement.

The FRA allows local governments to designate quiet zones if they conduct risk analyses and agree to add a number of other safety features to a stretch of track. Federal rules for creating a quiet zone are 29 pages long, though some of the requirements are already in place at many local crossings.

If improvements are necessary, Gill said, the cost likely would be covered by an agreement between local authorities and the railroads that use the corridor.

Brightline's corridor is owned by Florida East Coast Railway, which runs freight trains between Jacksonville and Miami.

"Generally speaking, all quiet zone improvements are locally funded as federal funding is unlikely," Gill said.

More: Local governments still aren’t interested in quiet zones, even for free

Opinion: Quiet zones aren't more dangerous

Though there is not currently federal funding specifically for quiet zones, Copeland said some federal funding may be available for improvements needed at crossings.

Not a new idea for Martin County

Ever since the early days of the Brightline proposal, when the railroad was All Aboard Florida, Martin County residents have been asking local officials about getting the area qualified for quiet zones, particularly in Stuart.

In 2016, when Brightline said it would not install four-quadrant gates at any intersection where trains would run slower than 80 mph, Martin County commissioners decided they would not cover the costs of installing the gates in downtown Stuart.

Then as now, the Stuart City Commission took no official position on quiet zones. Former City Manager Paul Nicoletti voiced concerns over the safety of quiet zones, saying that upgrading infrastructure for the sole purpose of quiet zones is asking the city to "put a price on safety."

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: See what is required for quiet zones along Treasure Coast train tracks