Downtown Madison residents will no longer wake up in the middle of the night to the loud, high-pitched sound of a train whistle.
In response to resident complaints about late-night and early-morning train whistles, the city created three quiet zones"" going into effect Wednesday. Trains will not sound their horns unless it is absolutely necessary at these areas.
Peter Ostlind, chair of the Bassett District, said the implementation of quiet zones has been in the works for years, and residents are happy about being able to sleep without a train whistle disturbing them.
According to Steve Sonntag, Madison's pavement engineer, the city passed an ordinance banning train whistles at some intersections in 2001, but a 2006 federal law requiring improvements at each railroad crossing slowed the process.
Along with gates and flashing lights, federal regulations require each crossing to have an electronic notifier to calculate the speed of the train and trigger the gate to come down. The crossings must also have a battery backup and a power-off option so engineers will know if crossing signals or gates are not functioning properly.
Sonntag said the city has completed the necessary improvements and made it safe for trains to sound horns only when an engineer recognizes ""imminent danger"" in the crossing.
UW-Madison junior Tom Wangard, a Bassett neighborhood resident, said he worries the whistle-ban will make railroad crossings more dangerous.
""I'd rather be inconvenienced in my sleep occasionally than get hit by a train,"" he said.
Sonntag said residents should not worry about safety because engineers are still required to sound their horn when a person is in the crossing. Additionally, he said the new modifications have actually increased safety.
""When you're adding signals and gates, you're improving the safety of that crossing,"" he said.
Janet Piraino, spokeswoman for the mayor, said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz supports the upgrades in safety and is especially happy that many residents will sleep better.
""The mayor feels that a whistle-ban is a quality of life issue, so he's very supportive of the ban,"" she said.
