Downtown train-horn quiet zone could cost nearly $14 million after rail regulators' review, far above the $200,000 first estimate

The city's plan to stop trains from sounding their horns through downtown has hit a price problem. A project staff once expected to cost about $200,000 could now run $13.8 million, the Pleasanton Weekly reported Tuesday.

The jump came after a diagnostic team of representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration, the California Public Utilities Commission and Union Pacific Railroad reviewed the city's design in June, according to the Weekly.

What changed

The City Council approved a feasibility study and design in August 2025 after residents pushed for relief from horn noise, and hired Kimley-Horn and Associates for $168,858. Using the federal quiet-zone calculator, staff first figured the city would only need a new median on Santa Rita Road.

The review team instead called for changes at all four public crossings on the line: Santa Rita Road, St. Mary Street, Rose Avenue and West Angela Street. City spokesperson Sharon Petrehn told the Weekly the list included new pedestrian gates at Santa Rita Road and St. Mary Street, pedestrian posts with flashers at Rose Avenue and West Angela Street, and other replacements at every crossing.

Cost estimates ran from about $2.75 million at Rose Avenue to $4.8 million at Santa Rita Road.

The Weekly reported that the agencies cited safety concerns such as drivers halting on the tracks and crowds of pedestrians. City staff questioned whether most of the crossings needed that level of work given light pedestrian use, with Santa Rita Road, where Amador Valley High School students walk past the tracks, the exception.

Where it goes from here

Traffic engineer Mike Tassano told the Weekly an appeal is unlikely to succeed because appeals are handled within the same agencies that made the call. He said the price could end the effort, but the city and its consultant are developing other options, and he hopes to bring an update to residents in January.

One idea raised by a resident at a recent neighborhood meeting is a quiet zone only from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Tassano said he would like to see a compromise like that, but nothing has been put to the rail agencies yet, according to the Weekly.

Residents who have pressed for the zone were unhappy with the new figure. Jim Lehrman, who started a petition that drew more than 400 signatures, told the Weekly he now expects the cost to leave the city with neither a quiet zone nor the safety upgrades. Another downtown resident, Donna Pulvermacher, called the recommendations "total overkill" in her interview with the paper.

Both said they could accept a nighttime-only zone.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com