Why does everybody make such a big deal about quiet zones? It seems to me that every time a crossing is upgraded the extra effort to make it a quiet zone one wouldn't be that much more of an expense. Don't bother in industrial areas but it's worth it in residential areas. Don't get me wrong, I like hearing train horns from the local that comes near my house. But my neighbors don't at 2:00 in the morning.

Where I live they have also put in "directional" crossing horns. They are automated horns at the crossings so the train doesn't blow it's horn, the crossing makes the horn sound. Personally I think the design is a failure. You still hear it a long ways away and the thing doesn't just blow once, it repeats over and over because the WES trains are slowing for the station. It seems like it makes more noise, not less.