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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Transit Authority is trying to tone it down in parts of Sandy and Draper after some residents complained TRAX trains are too loud.
UTA officials say they have received more noise complaints than usual from residents between the last TRAX stop in Sandy and the end of the Blue Line in Draper.
“Some of the residential housing is a little closer to the tracks than some of the other areas where our trains go through,” explained UTA spokesman Remi Barron.
That’s not the only problem some people have with the line. Geography can also spark noise issues, Barron said, so UTA can’t use the same approach to fix all the problems.
“Sometimes there’s a hill that might have the sound bounce off of it and sometimes there’s not.," Barron said. "So, we’re looking at each neighborhood as an individual [area] to fix.”
UTA has already taken some steps, and Barron believes it has made a difference.
“We’re polishing the rails to make them smoother so when the trains run over them they don’t make as much noise,” he said.
Barron said UTA is still adding sound absorbing materials to fences and adding skirting that will buffer the noise.
“Before we install that skirting, we’re putting sound absorbant materials on the inside of that so when the sound from the wheels hits the skirting it’s quieted,” Barron said.
Those won’t be completely installed for another couple of months.
