Protect our Kids Hearing-Quiet Zone Now

To:  Olmos Park City Council

To: Olmos Park City Council
Quiet the Train Horns-Now!Save our Children's Hearing.

We, the undersigned, petition the City Council of Olmos Park to fund the engineering and traffic study as required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in order to determine what modifications are necessary to create an approved train horn Quiet Zone (QZ)for the benefit of the Children and for the enjoyment of all the Families of Olmos Park. We want City Council to help remedy the noise pollution problem caused by the train horns by the following actions:

1. At the April 17, 2008 City Council meeting approve funding the estimated $45,000 cost of the Quiet Zone engineering study from the City's available Contingency Funds and the more than $2 million in the undesignated fund balance-(available for any use). By paying for this study the City of Olmos Park will be able to:
a) Plan for and accurately determine the various options and costs and find the safest and most economical way to upgrade the crossings.
b) Effectively negotiate cost sharing with the Federal Railroad Administration(FRA), Union Pacific and the City of San Antonio for the safety modifications needed to establish the Quiet Zone desired by the families of Olmos Park.

2. Have City Council set as a priority to establish a FRA Quiet Zone Now to:
a) help Protect the Hearing of the Children of Olmos Park; and
b) substantially improve the Quality of Life for all the families of the City;and
c) keep our children from waiting until 2010 or 2011 to benefit from a Quiet Zone.

The City of Olmos Park is a wonderful city to live in but for many of those with children living closest to the train horn,(out of the hundreds of children living in Olmos Park, at least seventy-five(75) children of varying ages live in just the 5 or 6 blocks closest to the railroad alone) the risk to these children’s hearing is greater - see www.rpmd.us/horns.htm

Since many experts estimate that 90\% of train noise comes from blowing the horns, Quiet Zones can make a significant difference in protecting our children. Families with children have chosen to live near the trains but are often not aware of the aggressiveness of the horn blowing and the damage that can be caused.

We have all have accepted the horns as a part of life in Olmos Park since no option for a Quiet Zone existed prior to June 24, 2005 when the FRA implemented Quiet Zones. The approval of Quiet Zones created a viable option for Cities like Olmos Park to virtually eliminate all of the noise pollution caused by the damaging sound levels of the train horn when passing through a grade crossing while maintaining and in some cases, increasing the safety level.

The following links, http://www.railroadcontrols.co... and http://www.wood-harbor.com/new... provide detailed information about Supplemental Safety Measures (SSM’s), types and expenses of Quiet Zones.

Now that there is way to reduce the noise pollution and help protect our children’s hearing while increasing the enjoyment of all the families in Olmos Park ……we are asking that the City Council of Olmos Park immediately pursue funding of the required engineering study in an effort to protect our children and improve the quality of life in our City.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Protect our Kids Hearing-Quiet Zone Now Petition to Olmos Park City Council was created by Olmos Park Children & Families and written by John Whitsett (quietzonenow@yahoo.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.