Councilman Bauters' Blog Takes on Train Noise

Mayor Bauters Attempts Long Standing Train Noise Fix

Public Invited to Help

Blog Drives Public Policy Using Facts as a Foil Against 

E'Ville Eye Hyperbole 

Mayor John Bauters is using his Emeryville-centric blog to activate the long simmering issue of excessive train horn blaring with a citizen drive to secure grant money for infrastructure to quiet the neighborhoods adjoining the tracks.  The issue, a source of much agitation especially for those Emeryville residents living near the tracks on the north end of town, has been taken up by many City Council members over the years, notably at election time, but Mr Bauters' efforts seem to be real and on the verge of success.  He is requesting residents to help in this effort by use of a letter writing campaign (see letter below).

It is the latest from Councilman John Bauters who has been a whirlwind of activism on the public's behalf since he took office starting with his prodigious blog he began shortly after being elected to office in November of 2016.  The no nonsense John Bauters' Blog has been used effectively to impart valuable information for residents and has stood above the blog sites other Emeryville City Council members have edited over the years not least in its rigorous density of information.
A recent January 1st blog entry, Closing out 2017: Progress on Priorities is especially impressive with its plenary list of footnotes and links that will long serve as a central repository of factual information on Emeryville's progress moving forward with the City's priorities up through 2017.
Also impressive is how Mr Bauters' March 2017 blog entry Information on the Halleck/Beach Dog Park, effectively used his blog to shut down a politicized issue of a dog park across the border in Oakland proposed by local blogger Rob Arias who sought to use it to keep homeless people out of his Park Avenue neighborhood.  Animating Mr Arias was a not-so-hidden attempt to increase his standing and that of his monetized blog The E'Ville Eye in the eye of the public by huckstering his dog park idea, PT Barnum style.  Councilman Bauters was viciously attacked by a hurt Rob Arias after the Councilman led a drive to kill the ill-advised dog park; a return to rationality after Mr Arias' self promotional foray into what should be public public policy.  Mr Bauters' blog post defending his Halleck/Beach Dog Park action was a non-political tour de force of purely rational public policy featuring a total lack of hyperventilating bombast to serve as a counterweight to the poisonous  E'Ville Eye missives.

Now, Mayor Bauters is using his blog to remind us the train noise issue looms with a deadline of January 25th and he urges residents to help write emails to secure the funding to finally do something about this vexing problem for Emeryville residents.
 Mr Bauters submitted the following letter to the Tattler to help towards that end:   

Dear Neighbor,

The City Council is actively pursuing a competitive grant that would bring us the funding necessary to install infrastructure at the 65th, 66th and 67th Street railroad crossing that would allow us to create Quiet Zones that silence the Amtrak train horn.

I am working with city staff to pull together an application and we need your help!

Attached to this email are two letters. The first letter is a letter I am submitting on behalf of the city council with our grant application.

The second is a draft letter we wish to submit from you, the residents and community members who stand to benefit from winning this grant award.

We would like to sign as many resident names onto this letter as possible to show how much the community supports the city's efforts to bring Quiet Zones to Emeryville. You can help us by doing the following easy steps:

(1) Read both of the short letters attached to this email.

(2) If you are willing to sign on in support of this request, please send an email addressed to both:

roconnell@emeryville.org
jbauters@emeryville.org

(3) In the subject line of your email please write: "Quiet Zones"

(4) In the body of your email please provide only the following information:

• Names of any adults in the household who wish to sign on to the letter
• List whether you are a resident, business owner or employee
• Your physical street address (we will not publish this, it is only to confirm for the grant review team that those signing the letter are from Emeryville if we are asked to provide proof)

Only your name and affiliation to our city (resident, employee) will be listed at the bottom of the letter.


(5) Once you have sent us your sign-on, please forward this email to your neighbors and ask them to sign on as well.

We must submit the application on January 25th.

I will post a final copy of the letter we submit on my blog site after we file the application. You can find my blog site at www.johnbauters.wordpress.com.

Thank you for supporting our community and helping us create a more livable space for everyone to enjoy!

Cheers,

John