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Thurston County residents press commissioners for railroad "quiet zone"; board cites insurance, liability barriers
Summary
Residents near Pattison Lake described sleep disruption and health impacts from frequent train horns and urged the Board of County Commissioners to establish a quiet zone. Commissioners said they support the goal but cited legal and insurance liabilities and promised to bring the matter back on a future agenda while staff continues research.
Residents of neighborhoods near Pattison Lake urged the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 2 to establish a railroad "quiet zone" to curb frequent train horn blasts that neighbors say disrupt sleep, harm health and reduce quality of life.
At public comment, Patricia Williams described nearly 50 years living on Paterson Lake Drive and said the volume and frequency of horns now require extensive soundproofing to work from home and sleep with windows open. John Pettit and Jack Bird echoed those concerns and handed commissioners a Federal Railroad Administration brochure outlining steps and mitigations for quiet zones.
The complaints prompted a substantive response from commissioners. Chair Ty Mentzer acknowledged that the board and staff have reviewed the noise statistics and that the board is sympathetic. He said the main obstacle to establishing a quiet zone is the county’s legal and insurance exposure if certain alternative safety measures are implemented at crossings.
A commissioner present said the county’s legal and insurance teams have advised that implementing some mitigations would increase county liability. That advisory, he said, has been the primary barrier to earlier attempts to create a quiet zone. Another commissioner said the county has been in contact with other jurisdictions that have implemented mitigation measures and will continue to seek solutions.
One commissioner told residents the matter will return to the board for formal discussion: "This will be coming forward on a future agenda for commissioners' items. I've talked with the county manager about that. So I'll be bringing the matter forward in front of the board to talk about next steps." County staff and the board said they are continuing to consult the county engineer, risk manager, the county attorney’s office and other counties that have created quiet zones.
Commissioners noted they have engaged with the county’s risk pool executive director and attended Federal Railroad Administration training materials; one commissioner said he would reach out to the mayor of Bucoda and the mayor of Edmonds for examples of local insurance and legal solutions used there.
No formal motion or vote to establish a quiet zone was made at the meeting. Commissioners described the board’s posture as supportive of residents' concerns but constrained by outstanding legal and insurance questions. The board directed staff to keep researching mitigation options and liability solutions and said members plan to place the item on a future commissioners' agenda for further deliberation.
Residents who provided testimony urged expedited action and offered to continue working with staff and commissioners to identify feasible mitigations.
The Federal Railroad Administration guidance on quiet zones and the county’s internal risk assessment were cited during the discussion; commissioners said they will share additional technical materials with the public as they pursue next steps.
