Leucadia Deserves Better
Get the Facts
Q: How often will horns sound?
A: Law requires four 110dB blasts before every crossing day and night, With 54 trains and 3 crossings (including Leucadia) = 648 times daily. Trains will double in 2035.
Q: Is Leucadia getting a “Quiet Zone” to fix this?
A: Not here. A quiet zone north of Leucadia Blvd requires Carlsbad’s cooperation, but Carlsbad is against it.
Q: Are wayside horns a quiet alternative to a “Quiet Zone”?
A: No. Wayside horns redirect sound but don’t eliminate it. They operate at min of 92dB- as loud as a chainsaw. FRA requires a waiver which can be denied or revoked, forcing hundreds of full-blast horns daily.
Q: Do “Quiet Zones”, PAWS or Wayside Horns mean no full horns?
A: No. Train engineers can, at anytime, use 110db horns to warn pedestrians. More at-grade crossings = more horns. (Learn more about Pedestrian Auditory Warning Systems)
Q: How will this impact our health?
A: Chronic noise and disrupted sleep is a physical assault, linked to hearing loss, heart issues, and mental distress. Learning & cognitive development in children is impaired.
Q: Do horns affect the environment? Are there studies?
A: Horn noise threatens wildlife and migratory birds. The city has not done environmental reviews for the horns.
Q: Are at-grade crossings the safest option?
A: No. They are the highest-risk crossings for collisions between trains and pedestrians.
Q: Are there a better alternatives to at-grade crossings?
A: Yes. A grade-separated underpass or overpass eliminates horn noise and health and safety risks. Federal funding exists and can be pursued.
PUBLIC HEALTH BRIEF
Health Impacts of Environmental Noise from Train Horns
Submitted to the Encinitas City Council by Natalie Muth, MD, MPH | April 8, 2026 | Re: Proposed Leucadia At-Grade Rail Crossings
Environmental noise is not a nuisance. It is a physiological stressor with well-documented, cumulative health consequences. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have each issued formal statements identifying noise pollution as a serious and underrecognized public health threat. The ACC ranks it second only to air pollution among environmental health hazards. The WHO estimates noise-related disease causes the loss of more than one million healthy life-years annually in Western Europe alone.
The proposed at-grade crossings at Grandview and Phoebe streets would introduce 4 new 92-110-decibel train horns per train per crossing, with 54 train crossings per day. Combined with existing Leucadia crossing, this is 648 horn blasts per day. Repeated exposure to this level of noise directly damages hearing and triggers a chronic stress-response pathway that over time drives cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and mental health effects. Railway noise is particularly harmful because it is intermittent, unpredictable, and impossible for residents to avoid.
Who bears the greatest burden. Children are uniquely vulnerable. They cannot remove themselves from a noisy environment, their developing neurological and cardiovascular systems are more susceptible to chronic stressors, and the effects accumulate across years of exposure during the developmental window when they matter most. The AAP notes that noise-induced hearing loss in children is irreversible.
The crossings as proposed represent a permanent source of noise at levels that medical science links to serious and lasting harm.
Sources
SOURCES
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Children, and Adolescents [Policy Statement]. Pediatrics. 2023;152(5):e2023063752.
2. Balk SJ, Bochner RE, Ramdhanie MA, Reilly BK. Preventing Excessive Noise Exposure in Infants, Children, and Adolescents [Technical Report]. Pediatrics. 2023;152(5):e2023063753.
3. Miller MR, Landrigan PJ, Arora M, et al. Water, Soil, Noise, and Light Pollution: JACC Focus Seminar, Part 2. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2024;83(23):2308–2323.
4. Sagheer U, Al-Kindi S, Abohashem S, et al. Environmental Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease: Part 2 of 2. JACC Advances. 2024;3(2):100815.
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7. Hahad O, Kuntic M, Al-Kindi S, et al. Noise and Mental Health: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Consequences. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. 2025;35(1):16–23.
8. Bole A, Bernstein A, White MJ. The Built Environment and Pediatric Health. Pediatrics. 2023;e2023064773.
9. Zaman M, Muslim M, Jehangir A. Environmental Noise-Induced Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Mental Health Disorders: A Brief Review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International. 2022;29(51):76485–76500.
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Why Grade-Separated Crossings Are More Effective
Grade-separated crossings (overpasses and underpasses) are a superior safety intervention compared to at-grade crossings because they physically eliminate the point of conflict between pedestrians and trains. While at-grade crossings provide a legal path, they often act as entry points for trespassing rather than a solution to it.
- Drastic Reduction in Train-Pedestrian Strikes: Replacing an at-grade crossing with an overpass can reduce train strikes by 93%.
- Elimination of High-Risk Behavior: Fatal “high-risk” activities—such as attempting to beat an approaching train or interacting with a moving train—have been shown to decrease by over 92% once grade separation is in place.
- Preventing “Train-Event” Trespassing: Trespassing during actual train events (when a train is present and blocking the path) drops by approximately 84% with grade-separated infrastructure.
- Permanent Physical Barrier: Unlike gates and lights at at-grade crossings, which can be ignored or bypassed, grade separation removes the human-error element by keeping people and trains on entirely different levels.
Why At-Grade Crossings Fail to Reduce Trespassing
- The “Entry Point” Problem: Data indicates that at-grade crossings do not decrease trespassing; in fact, 74% of all trespassing casualties occur within just 1,000 feet of an existing at-grade crossing.
- Inadequate Deterrence: Warning devices like crossbucks and bells are often disregarded by pedestrians taking shortcuts. Over 60% of grade crossing accidents occur at crossings that only have passive warning signs.
- Proximity to “Hot Spots”: Most trespassing injuries happen near crossings because these areas provide easy, flat access to the tracks, which pedestrians then use as a walking path to reach their destination.
- False Sense of Security: At-grade crossings do not prevent people from walking along the right-of-way once they have crossed the street. Approximately 87% of trespasser casualties occur at non-crossing locations, frequently by people who entered the tracks near a designated crossing.
For more information on rail safety strategies, you can review the National Strategy to Prevent Trespassing provided by the Federal Railroad Administration.
