[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Featured Image caption” _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n
A city committee estimates about 60 percent of Columbia\u2019s train noise comes from crossings in the Gadsden Street to Beltline Boulevard section of tracks. It would cost the city about $2 million to establish a quiet zone in that area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|”]<\/p>\n Blaring horns and trains clattering along downtown tracks are familiar sounds in Columbia. But some residents are fed up by the noise.<\/p>\n When Brenda Kramar moved back to Columbia after several years, she couldn\u2019t believe how loud and frequent the trains had become in her time away.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter not sleeping for weeks in a row I found myself running red lights accidentally because I was a zombie,\u201d Kramar said.<\/p>\n But instead of just dealing with the racket, silencing conversations when trains passed by or losing hours of sleep, Kramar took a stand and started looking for a solution. She found it in quiet zones.<\/p>\n The Federal Railroad Administration requires trains to blow their horns when passing through crossings. But it also allows local governments to create quiet zones where the trains can only sound their horns in case of emergency. But first, those cities have to pay for safety improvements to the crossings like medians and extra gates.<\/p>\n For Kramar, it seemed like the perfect solution.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than 800 quiet zones currently exist in this country,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they\u2019ve been created by more than 700 different public authorities so this is not an uncommon thing to do and its not a terribly difficult thing to do, the city just has to decide to make it a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Now Kramar is taking the solution to the city. She chairs the Quiet Zone Advisory Committee, which is working with the city to find a way to bring 11 different quiet zones to Columbia.<\/p>\n But they\u2019re facing one big problem: money. Aside from the $200,000 it would cost for engineers to assess the current crossings, the city would also need $2 million to make safety improvements in the first proposed zone, running from Gadsden Street to Beltline Boulevard.<\/p>\n To make the required improvements to all 11 zones, it could cost the city a total of $14 million.<\/p>\n City Councilman Howard Duvall is optimistic, but knows firsthand how difficult it can be to find millions of extra money in the city\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ll find the money, but it\u2019s not easy to find 2 million dollars in our budget,\u201d Duvall said.<\/p>\n Kramar also says she sees money as the primary roadblock for the proposal, adding that from here on it\u2019s up to the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision is in the hands of the city now. Funding is always an issue and that\u2019s one of the things city staff will have to be looking at,\u201d Kramar said. \u201cWhere does the money come from and how do we pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n If the city does find funding for the zones, it would be another year and a half to two years before they would be up and running.<\/p>\n Despite the obstacles, Kramar says she\u2019s still hopeful for silent nights in her future.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/ZONESP2_GM.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n The Federal Railroad Administration requires trains to sound their horns four times at a minimum of 96 decibels when going through a crossing. But if a local government establishes a quiet zone, trains can only sound their horns in case of emergency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/ZONESP4_GM.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Brenda Kramar lives near a crossing and says that the constant noise has driven her family to dangerous levels of exhaustion. She\u2019s pushing for quiet zones to help silence the trains and get Columbia residents some rest.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One Columbia resident is working to quiet the noisy clamoring of trains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":12717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Blaring horns and trains racing along the tracks are a familiar sound in Columbia. And one that has residents fed up.<\/p> The Federal Railroad Administration requires trains to blow their horns when passing through crossings. But it also allows local governments to create quiet zones where the trains can only sound their horns in case of emergency. But first, those cities have to pay for safety improvements to the crossings like medians and extra gates.<\/p> When Brenda Kramar moved back to Columbia after several years, she couldn\u2019t believe how loud and frequent the trains had become in her time away.<\/p> \u201cAfter not sleeping for weeks in a row I found myself running red lights accidentally because I was a zombie,\u201d Kramar said.<\/p> But instead of just dealing with the racket, silencing conversations when trains passed by or losing hours of sleep, Kramar took a stand and started looking for a solution. She found it in quiet zones.<\/p> For Kramar, it seemed like the perfect solution.<\/p> \u201cMore than 800 quiet zones currently exist in this country,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they\u2019ve been created by more than 700 different public authorities so this is not an uncommon thing to do and its not a terribly difficult thing to do, the city just has to decide to make it a priority.\u201d<\/p> Now Kramar is taking the solution to the city. She chairs the Quiet Zone Advisory Committee, which is working with the city to find a way to bring 11 different quiet zones to Columbia.<\/p> But they\u2019re facing one big problem: money. Aside from the $200,000 it would cost for engineers to assess the current crossings, the city would also need $2 million to make safety improvements in the first proposed zone, running from Gadsden Street to Beltline Boulevard.<\/p> To make the required improvements to all 11 zones, it could cost the city a total of $14 million.<\/p> City Councilman Howard Duvall is optimistic, but knows first hand how difficult it can be to find millions of extra money in the city\u2019s budget.<\/p> \u201cI think we\u2019ll find the money, but it\u2019s not easy to find 2 million dollars in our budget,\u201d Duvall said.<\/p> Kramar also says she sees money as the primary roadblock for the proposal, adding that from here on it\u2019s up to the city.<\/p> \u201cThe decision is in the hands of the city now, funding is always an issue and that\u2019s one of the things city staff will have to be looking at,\u201d Kramar said. \u201cWhere does the money come from and how do we pay for it.\u201d<\/p> If the city does find funding for the zones, it would be another year and a half to two years before they would be up and running.<\/p> Despite the obstacles, Kramar says she\u2019s still hopeful for silent nights in her future.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[96,86,79,77,220,99,219],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12715"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12827,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12715\/revisions\/12827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}