Ask TBC: Can we silence ambulances during quiet times?
| Sunday, Nov 08 2009 12:00 PM
Last Updated Monday, Nov 09 2009 10:40 AM
Q: Is there anything that can be done about the nightly assault on the neighborhood peace by the local ambulance company?
Unfortunately I live near South H Street. Every night at least once, if not more, I am awakened by an ambulance running "code 3.” Many times this is during the very early morning hours when there is absolutely no traffic in sight. Many cities have adopted local ordinances limiting the use of sirens during these “quiet times.”
What can we do to stop this attack on the public peace?
- Stephen Humphreys
A: There are no ordinances regulating the use of ambulance sirens in the city of Bakersfield or county of Kern because it could endanger public safety or cause liability problems, said Paula Caughron, Emergency Medical Services coordinator for the Kern County Emergency Medical Services Department.
She'd heard of noise ordinances related to trains but not ambulances.
Even in the middle of the night there are cars on the road and those drivers could be sleepy or otherwise impaired -- further necessitating siren use, Caughron said.
She said there could be liability problems if there's an accident involving an ambulance that was being sped to an emergency without its lights and sirens on, Caughron said.
But if members of the public have questions or concerns about ambulances, Caughron said, they can call EMS Director Ross Elliott at 868-5200.
Q: In last Thursday's "Ask The Californian" you mentioned 24th and Oak Street intersection improvements as part of TRIP (Thomas Roads Improvement Program).
What exactly is planned for the improvements at the intersection? My husband and I have lived near this intersection for nearly 40 years and would like to see improvements made on the corner as well. Is there any timeline for the TRIP work?
- Barbara Jackson
A: Ted Wright, an engineer in the TRIP office, answered:
No final decisions will be made about this intersection until the final environmental document is completed and approved. But planning for the Oak Street/24th Street intersection currently calls for widening the existing signalized intersection to decrease traffic delays at the intersection and improve traffic flow in the area.
This widening would include adding additional turn lanes for northbound Oak Street as it approaches the intersection, and would also add westbound and eastbound through lanes on 24th Street through the intersection.
There was an initial public information meeting held for this project last year and there will be more as the project's planning and environmental process continues to progress.
The construction of these improvements is expected to begin in early 2013.
Editor's note: In last Thursday's Ask The Californian, we asked readers if they know what might be the source of a loud horn-like sound in the early morning hours around Gosford Road and White Lane.
City officials guessed it's a train; an area resident who originally posed the question to us didn't think so.
We got four responses as of Friday afternoon.
Two readers said it’s definitely a train. One said San Joaquin Valley Railroad switches over Gosford Road right past Home Depot and probably blows its horn when it approaches the intersection. She said it blows again when it switches back over.
“The sound of the train really carries a long way,” she said in a voicemail message.
But Marie Schroepfer, who lives in the area, said one recent morning she heard the sound emanate from a black pickup truck.
She guessed the owner had the truck horn modified to sound like it does and that person either lives in or visits people in the neighborhood.
Agreeing was Derek Davis, another area resident.
"It definitely is NOT the train that cruises through a few blocks south," he e-mailed us. "I heard this in the middle of the day and it seemed like it was right in the intersection of White Lane/Gosford, but it was only one short burst. I believe this is a train horn mounted in someone's truck.
"Here's the link to one type of kit available: www.hornblasters.com.
"I believe they are illegal, but some of the videos online are pretty funny."
Ask The Californian appears in the newspaper on Mondays and Thursdays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.
