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Train whistles to go quiet near Pelanconi estates

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Before the end of the month, residents living in or near the Pelanconi Estates neighborhood will be rid of a noisy nuisance as Glendale institutes a railroad “quiet zone” at railroad crossings at Grandview Avenue, Sonora Avenue and Flower Street along San Fernando Road.

The nearly 100 trains that travel through Glendale daily will no longer sound their horns as required by the Federal Railroad Administration to alert nearby drivers at public, highway-grade crossings. In order to create a quiet zone, federal regulations require a certain amount of safety infrastructure to be in place to mitigate the risk of a train colliding with a vehicle or pedestrian.

The quiet zone will be the first for a Metrolink track in Los Angeles County and will be in effect starting Jan. 28 for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line crossings operated by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.

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In February of last year, the Glendale City Council unanimously approved a series of safety infrastructure improvements — funded by a portion of $1.5-million in street enhancements — that would grant the San Fernando crossings a quiet-zone status. These included new signage, fences and railings.

Those final improvements were the tail-end of of a larger effort that began in 2007 between the city and Metrolink toward making the necessary safety additions that would result in approval of a quiet zone along the Glendale corridor.

Over time, the improvements included the installation of a four-quadrant gate system, a gate for each direction of traffic that when lowered block traffic from entering the crossing. Also, raised median islands help channel traffic in the correct direction and help prevent drivers from using the opposite traffic lane to circumvent lowered gates.

Metrolink also installed warning lights, known as “backflashers” at the crossings.

Glendale’s public works department will hold a joint press conference with Metrolink on Wednesday to celebrate the quiet zone. The public event will start at 10 a.m. just down the street from the Grandview crossing at Pelanconi Park, 1000 Grandview Ave.

Mayor Paula Devine, Councilman Ara Najarian — who was recently reelected to serve on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board — and Roubik Golanian, the city’s director of public works, will join Metrolink officials at the press conference.

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