116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Neighbors of Cargill rail yard in southeast Cedar Rapids ask city council fix ‘frustrating’ noise
Comments at Tuesday meeting were accompanied by audio recordings of diesel engines, howling rail wheels
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CEDAR RAPIDS — Two residents of a southeast Cedar Rapids neighborhood implored the city council this week to do something about the noise from a nearby rail yard.
Former state senator Rob Hogg, who lives in the Rompot neighborhood, used time during public comment at the city council’s Tuesday meeting to play five recordings of railroad noise. He made the recordings from his property in recent weeks. The sounds of diesel engines, howling rail wheels, and other noise could be heard on the recordings.
Hogg called the situation "frustrating" and said it happens daily.
"The city brought this to us. It's your problem you brought to us. You need to fix it," Hogg told the council.
Steve Smith, who lives at 2827 Otis Rd. SE — across the street from Hogg — said his property overlooks the rail yard.
"It (the railroad noise) happens every day — 365 days a year — since the railroad started its operations. I can no longer sit on my deck" or enjoy other activities at home due to the loud noise, Smith said. Some rail cars adorned with graffiti often sit in the area for long periods, creating an eyesore, he added.
Smith also asked the council to do something to help area residents.
The council offered no response to the comments.
At issue is a rail yard built in the area by Cargill after the city council voted in 2019 to rezone 28 acres to permit industrial use. It also amended the city's future land use map in the 200-year flood plain. That allowed the construction of a 12-track, 200-car rail yard between the Rompot neighborhood and the Prairie Park Fishery, near Cargill's corn milling plant on Otis Road SE.
Neighbors sued in district court, but lost. The district court decision was appealed and the Iowa Court of Appeals in December upheld the district court's dismissal of the lawsuit.
A three-judge appeals court panel sided with the Cedar Rapids City Council's 2019 rezoning action allowing the rail yard. Construction started in 2021 and is fully operational.
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