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Councilmember McGovern said she received some email from residents who are talking about <br />horns that blow 16 times as they go through the downtown and she asked if there was any <br />regulation on the whistle itself. Mr. Wilson said there are no regulations about how long the <br />whistle blows, but there are with how often it is. <br />Councilmember McGovern questioned the number of trains that travel through Pleasanton per <br />day, the time of day they travel, which ones are freight and which ones are passenger trains. <br />She also wanted to look at the different intersections and we could try and determine which are <br />the most impacted to the downtown. Mr. Wilson said all intersections had equal impact, the cost <br />might be slightly different, but to have a quiet zone downtown, we would have to do all four in a <br />similar fashion. <br />Councilmember McGovern questioned if one could be done at some point and see how <br />effective it is, like a pilot. Her concern is the Bernal property which would be the Castlewood, <br />and she felt some area of that park should have some quietness to it. Mr. Wilson said it would <br />be the Castlewood Street intersection, as well as the horns blowing approaching the ACE <br />Station. <br />Councilmember McGovern questioned if any survey was done of how many train pedestrian <br />deaths there have been in Pleasanton in the last 4-5 years. Mr. Wilson said in doing the safety <br />analysis at each intersection, it listed the number of accidents and there were no accidents in <br />the last four years for all four intersections. <br />Councilmember Sullivan questioned and confirmed with the City Manager that the mid-term CIP <br />is reviewed in May. <br />Mayor Hosterman opened the item for public comment. <br />Dennis Thompson spoke in support of the quite zones. <br />Walt Veit expressed his support for the quite zones. <br />Lou Colzani spoke in support of the upgrades to allow quite zones. <br />Ronald Marovkh felt the Council could find better projects to spend money on. <br />Mayor Hosterman said staff has suggested review of this during the CIP in May of next year, <br />and at that time, discussion can be held whether or not the Council can fund these <br />improvements and at what rate; whether the City wants to do one project or budget for all four <br />projects. <br />City Manager Fialho said staff was looking for direction to include this in the mid-term CIP and <br />would return with a recommendation on whether we can fund one or all of them, over one year <br />or over multiple years. <br />Councilmember Cook-Kallio asked if grant money could be used for the work, and City Attorney <br />Roush said they did look at that potential, but usually for railroad projects, there is a specific <br />fund to be used for improvements and quiet zones is one that is exempt. Other cities have done <br />them in conjunction with other railroad projects, such as improvements to the ACE train or high <br />speed rail improvements. <br />City Council Minutes 13 October 16, 2007 <br />