DENVER — Neighbors in northeast Park Hill say they have endured nearly two weeks of constant train horns at the intersection of Smith Road and Dahila Street. Several tried to take matters into their own hands but said the Regional Transportation District (RTD) "haven't had really any answers."
Kelly and Spencer De La Mora have lived in the neighborhood for the past two years because it was peaceful and "close enough to the city, but not in the city." However, the peace they loved has been disrupted by the constant sounds of train horns.
"We have tried earbuds, noise-canceling earphones. We actually hung every single blanket in our house over our windows to try to dampen the sound, and it hasn't worked, unfortunately," said Spencer De La Mora. "So, just since the 16th, we haven't slept throughout the night because by our math, (we have heard) approximately 576 horns throughout 24 hours, all day, all night."
They say the whole neighborhood is impacted by these horns, as it can be heard inside homes and lasts all throughout the day.
"Clearly, we know it's RTD because it is a commuter rail, the A-line," said Kelly De La Mora. "Upon reaching out to RTD, they were surprised at the horns honking. They actually didn't know it was happening, so it seems like I was bringing it to their attention."
Nearly every 15 minutes throughout Monday morning, train horns echoed throughout the area. The De La Mora's and other neighbors explained that this has happened in the past, but never for this long.
"So it happened, and then we would call RTD, find out it was because homeless stole the copper or what it may be, and then it would be fixed in a pretty reasonable amount of time. This time, we haven't had really any answers," said Claire Riddell, a nearby neighbor.
Another neighbor, Tiffany Dorman, said she chose to live in the area because of the A-line, but now these horns are impacting her "mentally, emotionally, and physically." She contacted RTD to ask why this was happening and what the plans are moving forward.
"I just want an answer," said Dorman. "Give me a timeline of when it's going to be fixed. Give me a valid reason of what's happening, and give me an idea of when I'm finally going to get some rest, where we're heading into the new year."
Over the weekend, Denver7 reached out to RTD to understand why this was happening and to see if there was any update moving forward.
We received the following response.
"Thank you for your inquiry. Sometimes it is necessary for RTD’s Concessionaire’s O&M Contractor/Operator to sound train horns when approaching crossings. Sounding of train horns is always done for safety purposes. While the agency attempts to avoid disrupting its neighbors living and working near rail corridors, the need to sound train horns can occur for many reasons.
During high wind event that occurred on December 17, a gate arm at the A Line Dahlia Street crossing contacted an overhead wire due to a wind burst, which required some repairs to the crossings at Dahlia Street. Following completion of repairs at the crossings, RTD’s Concessionaire’s O&M Contractor/Operator for the A Line, Denver Transit Operators (DTO), has been working with Union Pacific Railroad and the City and County of Denver (CCD) to complete interconnect repairs and testing between the railroad signals and traffic signals.
As of Friday December 26, the Denver traffic signals team was working to upgrade the signal controller and verify safe and proper operation. Once safe operation of the signal has been verified by Denver and DTO, the crossing protections can be removed, and train horns will no longer sound.
RTD is committed to diligently working with DTO, UPRR and CCD to have them quickly resolve the underlying issues that resulted in the need for train horns."
RTD provided Denver7 with another update on Monday afternoon, saying "the train horns have been canceled due to repairs having been completed and tested successfully this afternoon."
Now, there's hope for these neighbors that the quiet will return and they can once again enjoy what first drew them to call this area home.
"Well, Denver7, honestly, we watch you guys. We follow you on Instagram. We know that you're on top of it. We reached out to other news channels, and you guys were the only ones that responded," said Spencer De La Mora. "We really just needed to get some eyes and ears on this because at this point, we don't know what else to do."
