Leucadia residents could hear warning sounds as low as 80 decibels at two planned rail crossings. That is well below the 96 to 110 decibels of a standard train horn, according to a city report released Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The city's Citizen Participation Plan Final Report lays out engineering details, cost comparisons and public feedback for the proposed at-grade pedestrian and bicycle crossings at Phoebe Street and Grandview Street. The crossings would span a 1.3-mile stretch of the Los Angeles–San Diego–San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor between Leucadia Boulevard and La Costa Avenue where no legal pedestrian crossing exists.

The report, approved Wednesday, Aug. 26, documents a May 26 community meeting at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center that drew 118 residents. The city collected 145 total public inputs: 55 questions and seven comments at or around the meeting, 14 email submissions and 69 online comment forms.

Two horn alternatives

The city's preferred option, called a Pedestrian Audible Warning System (PAWS), can sound as low as 80 decibels. The backup is a wayside horn fixed at 96 decibels. Both are stationary devices producing less sound than a moving train horn. Federal rules require train horns at 96 to 110 decibels in a pattern 15 to 20 seconds before a crossing.

Senior Engineer Carlos Baldenegro, the project manager, wrote in the report that the city will not build the crossings unless one of the two systems is approved and installed. If the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) denies a PAWS waiver, the city would switch to wayside horns, which are pre-approved equipment.

Obtaining FRA approval for PAWS could take six to eight months, the report states. Much of that timeline would overlap with the design phase.

Cost and timeline

Each at-grade crossing costs roughly $3.5 million. By comparison, a typical undercrossing runs $18 million to $20 million, and a bridge costs $16 million to $18 million. An undercrossing in Leucadia would add another $5 million to $7 million because of a natural gas transmission main and drainage challenges.

Construction of both crossings is estimated at 13 months once design is finished and the City Council awards a contract. The project schedule targets December 2026 for final design and permitting. Design was about 70 percent complete as of the Aug. 19 City Council meeting, City Manager Jennifer Campbell told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Construction timing depends on when the city receives federal grant money from the FRA. Encinitas was awarded $33.6 million in FRA grant funding announced Aug. 19, covering the Leucadia crossings, the Verdi Avenue undercrossing and a citywide quiet zone. The city estimates $6 million for the crossings project alone.

Noise studies and safety

The city committed to following California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, including noise studies that will be part of the permit record. Sound contour maps showing before-and-after decibel levels will be posted on the city's website.

A safety benefits study requested by the California Public Utilities Commission found the crossings favorable. The CPUC approved the two at-grade crossings Feb. 5.

One Leucadia business owner told the May 26 meeting: "When a train comes through near my business you have to stop talking, it's extremely loud, and everybody's anxiety goes up."

The crossings will include safety gates, railings, channelization and push gates on both sides so pedestrians caught on the tracks can escape as a train approaches. In 2024, the corridor averaged 54 trains on weekdays and 83 on weekends.

Quiet zone and next steps

The crossings are part of a broader effort to reduce train noise. Once the at-grade crossings and a separate quiet zone project are both built, trains through Encinitas would no longer need to sound horns except for safety emergencies, the report states.

The city has reached out to Carlsbad about extending the quiet zone north to Cannon Road, but Carlsbad is not receptive, according to the report.

The project requires both a Design Review permit and a Coastal Development Permit. No hearing date has been scheduled. Project updates are posted on the city's Leucadia crossings page.