Apparently the San Rafael City Council listed to the FRA and reviewed the available
data and analyses, which clearly demonstrates Quiet Zones are safer than train horns at preventing accidents at the at-grade crossings. Neither is perfect, but there are now
over 1,000 Quiet Zones established in the U.S., some for several years. So, there's
plenty of data to look at and consider which is safer.

Apparently, the quad gates and medians that prevent vehicles from circumventing the
gates is a critical piece of infrastructure.

This seems to be the consensus in the industry, despite unsubstantiated
worries repeatedly expressed by the CPUC and repeated by the poorly informed SMART
GM. They wanted the cities to wait until six months after rail service began
to establish the Quiet Zones. Other communities have heard this recommendation
(Richmond, Petaluma) and rejected it.

Besides, the CPUC is over-reaching. It's not their jurisdiction. It's the FRA.
If they have data to show it isn't safe, they should provide it. And they haven't.