Cities in northern Palm Beach County, armed with federal grants, are spending more than $3 million on safety features for rail crossings to silence train horns.
Yet the train horns still sound and could continue to sound in perpetuity in some sections of north county.
Unlike the concerted effort in 2018 by south county cities to establish quiet zones all at once, north county cities are not all on the same track. Lake Park is not pursuing a quiet zone at all. The Town Council decided in February to stand down.
鈥淵eah, I definitely don鈥檛 think we should consider it because Brightline is the most dangerous train in the United States,鈥� said at the Feb. 21 meeting, citing .
Quiet zones in four other north county cities are in various stages of completion. A quiet zone in the fifth, West Palm Beach, is in effect.
Without Lake Park, the result could be silence in some neighborhoods while blaring horns disturb the night next door.
VIDEO: See and hear Brightline racing through north county .
It鈥檚 taken longer than expected to achieve quiet zones as many cities hit roadblocks because newly installed safety measures fall short of rigorous federal standards.
The standards are not easy to meet or to even fully understand, Todd Engle, the Palm Beach Gardens city engineer, told the .
鈥淚 am going to try to explain quiet zones, something I don鈥檛 quite understand myself,鈥� he said. He summed up the city鈥檚 goal to be 鈥済et (the) risk (for motorists and pedestrians) without train horns under the risk with the horns.鈥�
And that means adding as many safety features as federal railroad officials require.
鈥淗ow they do not sound the horns is, basically, you have enough stuff at that particular crossing to let motorists know 鈥楬ey, there鈥檚 a train coming, get out of the way.鈥欌�� Safety measures are particularly important because Brightline trains can travel up to 110 mph in northern Palm Beach County. About 100 people have been killed by a train since Brightline began service between West Palm Beach and Miami in May 2018.
To silence horns except in emergencies, the Federal Railroad Administration requires additional safeguards at all intersections, including gates, signs and lights, to make sure cars, bikes and pedestrians don鈥檛 cross the path of an oncoming train.
Cities in north county began pursuing quiet zones as added a second set of tracks and made significant upgrades to begin service to Orlando in September 2023.
During the day, Brightline trains dominate the Florida East Coast Railway tracks, running hourly in each direction. The night belongs to freight trains, which sound their penetrating horn four times as they approach every crossing.
Improvements at some of the largest crossings, such as 45th Street, Donald Ross Road and Indiantown Road, cost more than $300,000, figures provided by state and local planners show.
Federal grants have paid for most of the upgrades, according to the . Brightline, a private company that built a second set of tracks to Orlando without public money, also has put up millions but the company did not provide precise figures.
In all, the taxpayer costs to upgrade intersections in the six cities tops $3.5 million, figures provided by the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency and the Florida Department of Transportation show.
Improvements at the six interchanges in Jupiter would cost more than $1 million and the six crossings in Palm Beach Gardens would top $450,000, the figures show.
Rail aficionado Jim Kovalsky said he originally opposed quiet zones in West Palm Beach, but after they were installed in his neighborhood, his perspective shifted.
鈥淚t's really been a game-changer,鈥� Kovalsky said. 鈥淚n the end, I've seen the horn is no longer the primary safety factor; it becomes an annoyance and it bothers people and it makes them dislike the train.鈥�
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Here is a look at each city鈥檚 progress, running south to north:
West Palm Beach
West Palm is the only city in north county that has established a quiet zone.
Horns were silenced first in the south half of the city in 2018 when all south county cities adopted quiet zones.
The city a quiet zone on Dec. 12 for the six remaining crossings, from 23rd Street to 49th Street. It cost more than $1.1 million.
Riviera Beach
In March, the city filed its Notice of Establishment, which shows it is officially establishing a quiet zone. The zone runs through four interchanges 鈥� Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 13th Street, Blue Heron Boulevard and Silver Beach Road 鈥� and costs about $200,000.
But federal railroad officials delayed the start of the quiet zone because the intersections did not have proper signage, city Public Works Director Roberto Travieso told Stet News.
Travieso anticipates the quiet zone will be active by late spring, but he would not specify a date as the schedule 鈥渋s an estimate and could be impacted by several factors.鈥�
Jupiter
Jupiter is drafting a Notice of Intent to federal officials of the city鈥檚 plan.
Town officials approved the quiet zone during a March 19 Town Council meeting and the notice was submitted the next day, Vice Mayor Ron Delaney said in an email. The quiet zone improvements 鈥� across Donald Ross Road, Frederick Small Road, Toney Penna Drive, Indiantown Road, Center Street and Riverside Drive 鈥� top $1 million.
Similarly to Riviera Beach, the Federal Railroad Administration delayed the installation of Jupiter鈥檚 quiet zone for a lack of proper signs, said Shawn Reed, the town鈥檚 community relations manager.
Palm Beach Gardens
Palm Beach Gardens filed its Notice of Intent to establish quiet zones across six interchanges, but a few 鈥済litches鈥� noted by federal railroad officials slowed them down.
For instance, the city plans to install gates at two crossings that its initial assessment didn鈥檛 consider merited, Engle said.
If all goes well, the quiet zone could be in place for Palm Beach Gardens by November, he said.
The TPA document indicates that the city鈥檚 quiet zone, consisting of six crossings 鈥� Richard Road, Lighthouse Drive, Burns Road, RCA Boulevard, Kyoto Gardens Drive and Hood Road 鈥� will cost about $452,000.
Lake Park
The town decided in February against pursuing a quiet zone, Town Planner Anders Viane said.
That means, no matter what happens in neighboring Palm Beach Gardens and Riviera Beach, horns will continue to blare at Northlake Boulevard and Park Avenue.
In deliberations, town commissioners said they had not received any complaints and noted that the trains pass through town quickly.
It would have cost about $218,000 to install safety improvements at those crossings, the figures show.
Tequesta
Tequesta is reviewing the 鈥渇easibility鈥� of installing a quiet zone for its sole crossing at Tequesta Drive and has not yet submitted an application to federal officials, said village Public Works Director Doug Chambers.
Elisabeth Gaffney is a junior multimedia journalism major at Florida Atlantic University. She will be in New York City this summer working as an intern at MSNBC.
This story was originally published by , a 港澳天下彩News partner.
