Council members on Tuesday directed staff to petition the Federal Railroad Administration for a waiver of its rule for sounding train horns along a section of the BNSF Railway line through Old Town. The vote was 6-0, with council member Lisa Poppaw absent. Mayor Karen Weitkunat said residents are frustrated by level of noise from trains and it’s time for the city to take action. Cities across the country are trying to deal with train noise, she said.

“This seems like a logical process to move forward with to help the community of Fort Collins without compromising safety,” she said.

The approval came despite concerns raised by BNSF representatives about the waiver request. Attorney Walt Downing said train horns are sounded for the sake of safety. Crash rates along a quiet zone in Florida tripled after horns were silenced, he said. The FRA again required horns to be sounded, he said. BNSF is open to talking about a quiet zone, Downing said. But it and other interested entities, including the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, should be part of the conservation. “It’s a critical safety issue that somehow we need to resolve, and we invite the city to engage with us on it,” Downing said. If the waiver were granted, Mason Street from Laurel Street to North College Avenue would be designated a “quiet zone,” meaning trains would not have to sound their horns.

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