'Pissed Off' No More: Neighbors Along RTD's A Line Celebrate No Train Horns
DENVER (CBS4) - It was a typical morning for Eduardo Tiscareno, until he heard something unusual -- the sound of silence.
"I saw the crossing lights and the train went by. Then I wondered 'Wait a minute ... what's going on?'" said Tiscareno.
Tiscareno has lived in Denver's Swansea neighborhood for almost 30 years. Residents like him who live along nine of the 11 commuter train crossings for RTD's A Line will get a break from the noise. The trains will no longer routinely sound their horns. The quiet zones were put into place early Friday morning.
The horns from the A Line trains had became a normal part of life for Tiscareno and his neighbors.
"When the train goes by and it blows the horn, my granddaughter goes like this," said Tiscareno with his hands over his ears. "After a while you get used to it."
His neighbor Rosie Tozer, who lives even closer to the tracks, said she couldn't ever get used to the sound.
"I'm deaf!" Tozer said, "They wait until they get right behind my house. That's when they blow the horn and oh it pissed me off!"
Tozer, 92, was here long before RTD was. The two haven't exactly seen eye to eye.
"This is what they promised me," said Tozer about RTD, "'You are a pioneer here, you've lived here since 1953. The moment we build to the airport, you'll be the first one on the train.' Well, guess what?"
All Tozer says she got was noise. Thanks to the quiet zones, she can go back to enjoying life at home.
The nine new quiet zones are at the following crossings:
- York/Josephine streets
- Clayton Street
- Steele Street
- Dahlia Street
- Holly Street
- Monaco Street
- Quebec Street
- Ulster Street
- Havana Street
Train operators can still sound the horn at their discretion and when necessary. RTD says drivers and pedestrians will now need to pay extra attention to signs, lights and the gates to know when a train is approaching a crossing.
