That’s because the Federal Railroad Administration has finalized legislation to limit the noise from train horns in downtown San Diego. This new Quiet Zone consists of 13 public right-of-way railroad crossings that are in downtown – two of them directly across the street from the San Diego Convention Center.

San Diego’s four headquarter hotels are all adjacent to the Quiet Zone and visitors will enjoy the reduction in locomotive noise in these areas. In order to keep visitors and residents safe at railroad crossings, safety enhancements will also be made including additional gates, medians, traffic signals and warning lights.

Once the upgrades to the San Diego Quiet Zone are made, it will be the largest urban Quiet Zone in the nation. The project is scheduled to begin in Winter 2011.