Editor,
For nearly two years, San Mateo residents have endured relentless train horn noise at all hours of the day and night. What was once an occasional sound has become a constant disruption to daily life, with only a brief reprieve from 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. when the trains don’t run.
On Jan. 13, I stood at the crossing on Fifth Avenue in San Mateo with a decibel meter and recorded a train horn blast at 103 decibels. Even inside our homes, with doors and windows shut and earplugs in place, the horns penetrate everything. My family is stressed and sleep-deprived, and our quality of life has deteriorated dramatically.
What makes this even more frustrating is that there have been periods when the horns stopped for days or weeks at a time. Residents experienced what normal life could feel like again — only for the horns to suddenly return at full volume. This demonstrates that silence is again possible, yet Caltrain refuses to provide a permanent solution. I recently cared for a cancer patient staying at the Menlo Park Marriott, where out-of-town Stanford Health Care patients undergoing chemotherapy are housed. The repeated train horns added unnecessary stress and exhaustion for vulnerable patients already coping with serious illness. Now residents are being asked to support a sales tax increase for transit funding. Before asking for more money, Caltrain should address the serious quality-of-life impacts its horns are having on Peninsula communities. Residents deserve answers, action and relief. Vote no this November.
Maria Mavridis
San Mateo
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.