Working together to silence harmful train horns

Editor’s note: The author sent this letter to the Baker City Council.

On June 8th, I walked into a City Council meeting for the first time since 2020, and I didn’t know what to expect. What I saw was a panel of good neighbors — people who have stepped forward to serve and seek the best for Baker City residents.

A quick scan of the Council agenda and meeting packet reminded me how hard you work on our behalf. It is a part-time job with a volunteer’s compensation, and you probably hear more complaints than thanks. So let me be among those who say, “Thank you.” Sincerely, you make me want to be a better citizen and do more for our community.

I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss a community service project that Baker City residents have been working on for years, and I’m proud to be part of it. You listened patiently to my statement during the time allotted for comments, and later you asked questions in good faith to understand our concern. I really appreciated that.

We discussed the extraordinary power of the train horn, and how it is harming many Baker City residents at home and work, night and day. It is hurting our kids at South Baker Intermediate and Baker Web Academy. It is hurting many of our businesses, customers, and employees (including our tourism income, because impacted visitors leave negative online ratings). Also, the horn is artificially depressing the property values of many Baker City residents. The train horn has gotten louder over the decades. The decibels now range from 96 to 110 — levels proven to be “hazardous” and “highly hazardous” to kids and adults. This unfortunate situation is the result of one-size-fits-all federal regulation that simply doesn’t fit our community.

What if we could work together to safely de-regulate this harmful horn? What if we could make life better for thousands of our neighbors and generations of Baker City kids? What if we could improve the safety of our railroad crossings (affordably, like La Grande did), so the horn doesn’t need to blow all the time?

We can. With your support, Baker City can do all of this, safely and affordably.

We look forward to sharing more information, and we would be honored to work with you to solve this problem. Thank you again for your time and interest.

Your neighbor.

Email QuietZoneBakerCity@gmail.com to learn more about the project.

Peter Fargo

Baker City