В Кенте проект «Тихой зоны» провалился: машинисты поездов продолжают гудеть вопреки новым правилам

Kent’s Quiet Zone along railroad tracks isn’t so quiet Published 1:01 pm Tuesday, September 1, 2026 The city of Kent last week debuted their decade-long “Quiet Zone” project to reduce train horns along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway mainline through downtown. The Quiet Zone includes eight BNSF mainline crossings and ranges from South 259th Street to South 212th Street, according to an Aug. 26 press release from the city. However, a little over a week after the city has implemented the changes, not much has actually changed. Conductors continue to sound their train horns regardless of the new rule and sparked a large amount of online discourse about the Quiet Zone. Complaints were frequent enough for the city of Kent to release a statement on Aug. 31 on its Facebook page to address concerns of residents. “Kent’s Quiet Zone officially went into effect last week, but that doesn’t mean the horns will stop overnight,” according to the statement. “We know how long our community has waited for this, and we understand the frustration of continuing to hear train horns.” The post mentioned that Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) officials were recently in Kent to oversee the progress of the Quiet Zone and help train officials smoothly adopt the changes. “This Quiet Zone was more than a decade in the making, and we know residents understandably expected an immediate difference once it took effect,” said Chad Bieren, city Public Works director. A large part of the project was establishing safety as a priority and increasing safety precautions throughout the Quiet Zone. This included changes to pedestrian crossings, barrier curb medians, pavement markings, roadway signage and more, according to the city’s press release. “The city has done everything required to establish the Quiet Zone, and we are continuing to work closely with the FRA and our railroad partners as they educate their crews and fully implement this change. We appreciate the community’s patience as that work continues,” Bieren said. On Aug. 27 the City of Kent held a press conference to celebrate the new Quiet Zone. As Mayor Dana Ralph was speaking, a loud train horn went off as the train passed by. Ralph made light of the situation by laughing at the irony and explaining that it will take time for all train officials to adjust to the changes. The comment section of the city’s statement on its Facebook post has more than 500 comments as of Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 1. Instead of rallying support for the city’s changes, the majority of comment posts expressed their disapproval of having a Quiet Zone in the first place. “Quiet zones should be illegal. They’re not safe,” said one commenter. “Train horns are quieter than a 13,000 ton freight train slamming through a bus,” another commenter joked. This comment garnered more than 300 likes. In short, Kent has a large amount of work to do regarding their Quiet Zone. The implementation of the Quiet Zone was not nearly as smooth as expected and now many residents seem to not be in favor of the Quiet Zone at all. “We appreciate everyone’s patience during this adjustment period as railroad operators, crews and partner agencies work to fully implement the Quiet Zone,” according to the city’s statement.