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5 A\. <br />INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA <br />MEMORANDUM <br />To: Board of County Commissioners <br />Through: John A. Titkanich, Jr., ICMA-CM; County Administrator <br />Prepared By: Erik D. Ferguson, PE, PTOE; County Traffic Engineer <br />and Brian Freeman, AICP; MPO Staff Director <br />Date: January 26, 2024 <br />Subject: Presentation on the Process for Establishing a Quiet Zone to Address Train Horn <br />Noise <br />It is requested that the information presented herein be given formal consideration by the Board <br />of County Commissioners at its regular meeting of February 6, 2024. <br />DESCRIPTION, CONDITIONS, AND ANALYSIS <br />On September 22, 2023, Brightline commenced passenger service from West Palm Beach to <br />Orlando, which travels through Indian River County on the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad. <br />Currently, an average of 53 trains (consisting of 32 Brightline passenger trains and 21 FEC freight <br />trains travel daily through Indian River County). <br />Federal regulations known as the Train Horn Rule require locomotives to sound a horn 15-20 <br />seconds (two short, one long, and no more than % mile in advance) before entering a public <br />highway -rail grade crossing. In addition, the Train Horn Rule specifies that locomotive horns must <br />have a minimum sound level of 96 decibels and a maximum sound level of 110 decibels. Within <br />Indian River County, train horns are sounded at all 32 railway crossings. <br />Indian River County Code of Ordinances Section 306.04 contains a train horn ban from 10 PM to <br />6 AM. This ordinance is not enforceable as it was preempted in 2005 by the federal regulation <br />Use of Railroad Locomotive Horns at Highway -Rail Grade Crossings 49 CFR 222 and 229. The <br />configuration of the railway crossings in Indian River County in 2005 did not qualify for a train <br />horn ban. <br />Federal regulations permit the establishment of a quiet zone by a public authority with <br />responsibility for traffic control or law enforcement. Within a quiet zone, train horns are not <br />routinely sounded at crossings but may still be sounded in emergency situations. Federal <br />regulations allow for two types of quiet zones: <br />1 <br />