Although train whistles save lives, they also disrupt them, as anyone living or working near a railroad crossing can attest. Federal regulation requires that locomotive horns begin sounding 15-20 seconds before entering public highway-rail grade crossings, no more than one-quarter mile in advance.

An average of 40 trains go through the City of Clear Lake daily, each loudly sounding their horn. Five years ago, Mayor Tim Goenner decided he was going to try to make life in the city a little quieter. Speaking with MnDOT and the railroad, he began working on the many requirements necessarily to implement a quiet zone within city limits.

A quiet zone is a section of a railway at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded when trains are approaching the crossings. The cost to implement one can be considerable, depending on the number of crossings and the types of safety improvements required.

Once he had gotten the process to a certain level, Goenner didn’t feel comfortable working with the safety and point system requirements himself, so he hired SRF Consulting Group out of Little Falls a year and a half ago.

Along with permits and meetings with businesses and residents, safety upgrades were needed.

“We had to do some driveway closures,” said Goenner. “And MnDOT was helpful in putting in the median at the 1st Ave. crossing.”

He also had to get final approval from the Federal Railroad Administration, which oversees all rail. A representative from the organization came and met with the state, the county, MnDOT and the city.

Both businesses and residents have been pleased with the new quiet zone.

“You get used to the noise,” said Julie Roske, manager of the Clear Lake Elevator. “It wasn’t so bad inside the building, but outside you’d have to stop trying to communicate and just wait for the trains to go through.”

She said the trains actually startle her a bit when they come through now, but it’s better than them blowing their horns all the time. 

“We’re only here eight hours a day,” said Roske. “This is especially good for the residents who actually live here.”

“It’s fantastic, I absolutely love it,” said resident Aaron Mealhouse, who has lived next to the tracks for 18 years. “I’ve been waiting for it to happen.”

He said the noise had just been getting worse over the years, especially with so many oil tankers going through blowing their horns the entire way. He believes the railroad crossings are still safe due to safety upgrades and hearing about other cities who have implemented quiet zones.

“I have nothing but good things to say about it,” said Mealhouse. “I even gave Tim [Goenner] a hug.”

Although the quiet zone has already gone into effect, Goenner said it may take a couple weeks for the railway to get their signage up along the tracks and inform all their engineers about it.

“This has probably been one of the best projects I’ve ever worked on,” he said. “It took a lot of time, but I’m a patient man. I didn’t realize how many people this was going to affect, businesses for sure, but also residents from all over the city, not just those close to the tracks.”