Another view on the Rodeo story: why is there a day care center next to the tracks in the first place? Who approved it there? If "there ought to be a law" it's not that the RR (a long-standing and necessary feature of the landscape) should go away in favor of a (relatively) recently arrived and essentially portable facility (day care), but that those approving the land use should take some thought about what goes on along a main line RR (similar in some environmental and community aspects to a freeway, though taking up much less land) and be sensible about what goes next to it. For example (though I think they will probably be used in reverse), look at the "land use guidance" documents put out by the Air Resources Board and various air districts, which suggest that "sensitive land uses" (which includes day care centers) should not be near freeways or railroad yards on air pollution grounds. Arguably, similar LAND USE standards should be applied for basic safety near railroads and large highways.