The loud sound of horns blaring from trains that travel through Ames will be quieter beginning Monday.

Six railroad crossings in the city are to become quiet zones, where train engineers will be prohibited from routine sounding of engine horns, according to a recent news release from the city of Ames.

“This has been a very lengthy process, but the result is a significant improvement to the quality of life for many Ames citizens,” said Ames Traffic Engineer Damion Pregitzer.

Warning bells will continue to sound when the crossing arms go down, and train engineers will be allowed to use the engine horns for emergency reasons.

“It’ll be nice, it’ll be quieter. There’s no doubt about that,” said Shannon Bardole, of the United Way of Story County, 315 Clark Ave. The office is right next to the Union Pacific Railroad crossing near Clark Avenue.

The ordinance is from a community-wide study done in April 2006 that showed resident support for the quiet zones.

Bardole said the people who work near the railroad crossings become used to the sounds of the trains passing by all day.

“We hear so many, it’s just almost to the point where you don’t hear it very much,” Bardole said.

The city worked with the Union Pacific Railroad and the Federal Railroad Administration to not only reduce the sound of the passing trains, but also to implement further safety precautions.

The railroad crossing near the United Way of Story County office will be a quiet zone, along with the crossings at North Dakota Avenue, Scholl Road, Hazel Avenue, Kellogg Avenue and Duff Avenue.

In terms of safety, Bardole said, “The bars are still going to come down well before the train gets here, so I don’t think it should be a safety concern.”

“The City Council opted to go with an investment in crossing safety well above the minimum required to establish a quiet zone,” Pregitzer said.