VERO BEACH, Fla. — County Commissioners in Indian River County, Fla., will not seek to develop quiet zones at 22 grade crossings in unincorporated areas along Brightline’s route in the county, preferring the safety impact of having trains continuing to sound their horns.
The TC Palm reports that the commissioners made that decision at a meeting earlier this month, with Commissioner Joe Earman saying it would be “a step backwards” to eliminate the horns, although some residents are complaining the noise from some 50 trains a day — now that Brightline service has begun to Orlando — is having a negative impact on their quality of life.
The county received some $31.6 million in safety improvements from Brightine and the Florida Department of Transportation as part of the settlement of a 2021 lawsuit, including additional gates and signals at grade crossings. As Earman noted, “We are still having accidents, even with the [improvements] we have now.”
Commissioner Deryl Loar said it does not currently make sense to do away with the horns.
“I think with time, people will get used to it,” he said. “Florida East Coast Railway has been traveling through here for over 100 years. If you buy a home or start a business near the tracks, you have to know you’re going to hear trains.”
The county does ban train horns from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but that is unenforceable because it conflicts with federal requirements to sound horns at grade crossings.
Cities in the county can still pursue quiet zones on their own.
Brightline has been plagued by grade-crossing accidents since it launched operations, despite extensive safety campaigns and use of quad gates and other protective measures at many crossings. In January, trains were involved in two fatal accidents in a three-day span in Melbourne, Fla., north of Indian River County, when vehicles drove around lowered crossing gates [see “NTSB releases preliminary report …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 9, 2024].
