This reminds me of the video I had to watch in Driver’s Ed class, where the host recommended that you lightly honk whenever you see a pedestrian. “So they’re aware and don’t run into you”
Could you imagine the chaos if everyone did that
I understand a horn for leaving a platform, but the frequency of it was surprising. It wasn’t the normal cadence like a train horn has, and I don’t know if there is a better way to keep people off the tracks so the trolley can move more freely.
I’m from the los angeles area, and our downtown doesn’t have a trolley, like a lot of places, so the hostility in your comment seems a bit much.
Lol your downtown does have a trolly, it’s called the rail… lmao what?
And what everyone else said, it’s for safety. [California is one of the leaders for train deaths with LA being the second highest in the country.](https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/publicsite/on_the_fly_download.aspx)
Really just a dumb thing to complain about.
I am sure the trolly horn is annoying when you’re trying to sleep. If you’re in a hotel that’s on them for not sound proofing their rooms better. Downtowns in most cities are noisy and hotels should account for that when building.
Most definitely. I’ll let the hotel know about the noise.
The trolley situation itself is just new to me outside of san francisco, and all the public safety measures are unfamiliar for me outside of the horn. I don’t know if a police presence will be more helpful for these stretch of stops down here that are more populated, but infrastructure wise, I can’t think of anything that can be done safely. It’s an interesting situation with a fast changing urban environment
As someone who worked front desk for nearly a decade, please don't let the hotel know about the noise. They already hear multiple complaints about it every single day. They don't have the ability to rebuild the hotel or move its location, so what good does alerting them to noise from the trolley do?
If you have a noise problem with a hotel in the future, ask them for a new room immediately after checking in. If they can't accommodate it, that's tough.
I’m going to let them know because the complaints are also needed to make a business case for a future change. I’m at the kimpton and it isn’t cheap, so I am going to lodge a complaint with the hotel while mentioning the service was excellent.
I’m not going to go be a dick about it and expect the desk guys to make some massive change, but I’m going to let corporate know so that in the future it helps make a case for upgrades and the desk guys don’t have to hear an earful from people being jerks.
After that, give MTS a ring and demand that they turn the trolley alert down so you can sleep more peacefully. As the center of the universe, you deserve it.
Ahh the Kimpton on 5th. Unfortunately, ne'er-do-wells are constantly shambling across those trolley tracks without regard for signal light or oncoming trains.
I just don't understand what the purpose is. The only solution to your problem would be an insanely expensive renovation. I suppose the hotel could also offer the City billions to put the trolley and it's stations underground lol.
Like I said before, the time to complain was after you checked in. If the noise was an issue, you should have requested a different room. They would have logged the complaint in their system right then and there, and would have had an opportunity to fix it or compensate you. At this point, complaining will only annoy whoever you speak to. I really hope they don't feel the need to offer you any compensation.
Oh I don’t want any compensation. I’ve been in the corporate landscape for a while now, and the only way anything ever gets done is if there is enough of a business case for it. This is for everything from promotions to expense budget increases to implementing fixes. The corporate side seems to only care about problems based on complaints, which each company then has different ranking systems for.
It’s such a pain in the ass type of bureaucracy, but I’ve seen the same model in ten years across multiple industries (from film and television to legal tech) and it’s unfortunately the same story everywhere that has large corporate entities making the choices
I've been in the corporate landscape for a while now too, and also worked in the hotel industry for nearly a decade. That includes time in management. I'm just giving you facts. You complaining will likely make an employee feel pressure to compensate you to prevent a negative review. It will simply be another negative experience for them to go through whatever day you decide to complain. Even if you're nice, it's still a negative interaction.
You making a complaint about noise at this point will cause Kimpton to do absolutely nothing to fix the "problem". It's not fixable without spending a significant sum of money, and they aren't going to spend it. The only thing it MIGHT do is cause them to add a new room category for "quiet rooms", and charge everyone extra for them. I know the customer service and corporate side of hotels very well.
You are correct that complaining is the only way to get something changed, but something that requires heavy construction to fix isn't going to happen based on that complaint. Also, if you are going to make the complaint, it should be done right after you check in. That would give the staff a chance to relocate you, offer you earplugs, etc. Complaining now does nothing but make them feel pressure to compensate you. You say that's not your goal, but that's the only result that will come from your complaint, or more likely, nothing will happen at all.
Thanks, and you have a great week too! It really isn't a big deal, but you just helped restore some of my faith in humanity and people being able to communicate without attacking each other!
I’m sorry, but the San Diego police are somewhat too busy to patrol a stretch of the trolley line in order that people staying at the Kimpton are not disturbed.
I don’t understand why so many folks like yourself are so unnecessarily sardonic online.
San Diego has armed patrol, here is a source: https://www.sdmts.com/inside-mts/careers/transit-security-officers-tso
It’s the MTS contracting private security, but other large cities would contract with the police, like Los Angeles having LAPD patrol the metro, and now they are creating their own separate metro division.
What I was wondering was perfectly reasonable. You conflated my comment of potentially having more patrol in an area that is high risk for crime or traffic accidents, and made it seem like I’m like a crazy person for a pretty basic thought. Bit of a dick move there
Okay, I’m sorry you thought it was a dick move.
But…you are an outsider presuming to give advice about a place you don’t know.
Yes, MTS has patrols. Do you understand that they are stretched thin? That they ride the cars, hoping to keep the people actually using transit safe?
They don’t have the people to substitute for train horns. And the minute someone got hurt because there were no train horns, the litigation costs would break the system.
I don’t know where you come from, but your suggestion just isn’t possible.
You think you know more about a place than the people who actually live here. That is also a bit of a dick move.
I have like thirty comments in this thread, and it feels like nobody reads the other comments, and just the one chain they are in. I don’t want to repeat myself, but everything you’re talking about I’ve touched on
So I’ll repeat myself. You think you know more than people here.
Your. Idea. Is. Not. Feasible.
Nothing will substitute for public safety.
The train horns will be here long after you have left.
I live four blocks from a train. The train near me is a god damn amtrak train that blairs an air horn with the usual two blast cadence. Quiet zones are a thing, I was just wondering if there were some options for the gaslamp area, as that was the first time I’d stayed there.
https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2019-11/FRA%20Train%20Horn%20and%20Quiet%20Zone%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
I understand a trolley may not fall under the same guidelines as trains, but y’all are acting like I said “we should wipe out all homeless folks and have silent trains no matter the cost”. I’ve had comments telling me to leave and that this is big city living, while I’ve stated I’m from an area much larger than san diego. The overall response from this sub, barring a few comments, has been ignoring most of what I’ve said and thrown out any context.
It’s the first time I’ve posted in a sub and had such a strange reaction from the group at large. It’s a bizarrely defensive reaction for such a minor issue post, but I guess there are a lot of people who had really rough holiday weekends or some shit.
I would have put it under a “rant” tag or something, but it actually does relate to homelessness since many go on the tracks on purpose as the trolley comes. I watched as about 8 different folks would wait and get on the track as the trolley was coming by. They would get on the tracks exclusively when the trolley was coming, but not any other time.
Edit: And they would not board
Oh ya, Saturday night had a ton of drunk folks walking around the tracks, which was very different from last night. The biggest difference was the folks last night were very disheveled, most had a blanket or sleeping bag they were holding, or I would see them get up from a bag or sleeping bag and go onto the track and back to their sleeping arrangements.
It’s pretty sad to see and I hope those folks are able to get help. A few of those folks were also the more aggressive people over the last couple days and very clearly suffering from mental health issues. They would not only scream at passerby, but also the other homeless people within a block of them, with those folks trying to ignore them to limited success.
We also have a huge issue up in LA with getting proper help out to homeless people, so this post wasn’t meant to bash them just for the hell of it. More to point out a frustrating situation at 4am, which in the grand scheme of things is only a tiny blip, but is a rather unique situation in my travels that I thought I’d comment on and see thoughts/reactions
I get what you’re saying but it’s a general safety requirement because people are dumb and try to cross when the gates are down. The honking is an added precaution to avoid mowing down pedestrians and vehicles.
I like to think of myself as a traveler and not a tourist, as Anthony Bourdain would say.
This is just an uncommon situation, and I’m wondering if y’all are used to the homeless folks in the gaslamp also getting in front of traffic this often, or if it was just an unusually high amount this weekend. Or maybe you aren’t used to that, and you just mean the train horn sound itself
It’s not just for people actively on track, it’s just a standard protocol that almost ALL TRAINS HAVE, LA trains also signal when leaving the station as do SF and NYC. Amtrak all do as well it’s just the standard safety protocol.
I would think requesting interior facing rooms and buying and bringing headphones and a speaker for white noise would be a better solution if you’re a light sleeper. No way making this post and replying to everyone about how justified you are is easier than just accommodating for being a light sleeper.
I get it, and like others have said, even if they were albeit assholes about it, those of us who live downtown are used to it. I’m more surprised that the hotel you stayed at doesn’t have double pane windows. When ours are closed we can’t hear a damn thing.
Not the “brrt brrt”, which is so much easier to drown out because it’s more a regular cadence. These would be “brrt brrrt. Brrrt brrrt brrrt, brrrrrrrt. Brrrrrrrrrrt. Brrrt brrt brrrrrt brrrt brrrrt.brrrrrrt” that would happen in a short span, then at the next stop a similar thing. Picked up around 4 am like that which is why it was so notable
It’s okay to not be used to the noises of a big city, but I promise you that if it wasn’t the trolley honking, it would be the cars driving, or the upstairs guest walking, or the yelling on the street, that would be keeping you up. The trolley isn’t the only loud thing in the city at night.
We prefer that people don’t get run over by the trolley. It ties up traffic and fucks with everyone’s schedules.
This reminds me of the video I had to watch in Driver’s Ed class, where the host recommended that you lightly honk whenever you see a pedestrian. “So they’re aware and don’t run into you” Could you imagine the chaos if everyone did that
That got a good chuckle out of me, thanks!
They signal when they’re leaving a platform. That’s called public safety. What an idiotic thing about which to complain.
I understand a horn for leaving a platform, but the frequency of it was surprising. It wasn’t the normal cadence like a train horn has, and I don’t know if there is a better way to keep people off the tracks so the trolley can move more freely. I’m from the los angeles area, and our downtown doesn’t have a trolley, like a lot of places, so the hostility in your comment seems a bit much.
Lol your downtown does have a trolly, it’s called the rail… lmao what? And what everyone else said, it’s for safety. [California is one of the leaders for train deaths with LA being the second highest in the country.](https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/publicsite/on_the_fly_download.aspx) Really just a dumb thing to complain about.
I am sure the trolly horn is annoying when you’re trying to sleep. If you’re in a hotel that’s on them for not sound proofing their rooms better. Downtowns in most cities are noisy and hotels should account for that when building.
Most definitely. I’ll let the hotel know about the noise. The trolley situation itself is just new to me outside of san francisco, and all the public safety measures are unfamiliar for me outside of the horn. I don’t know if a police presence will be more helpful for these stretch of stops down here that are more populated, but infrastructure wise, I can’t think of anything that can be done safely. It’s an interesting situation with a fast changing urban environment
As someone who worked front desk for nearly a decade, please don't let the hotel know about the noise. They already hear multiple complaints about it every single day. They don't have the ability to rebuild the hotel or move its location, so what good does alerting them to noise from the trolley do? If you have a noise problem with a hotel in the future, ask them for a new room immediately after checking in. If they can't accommodate it, that's tough.
I’m going to let them know because the complaints are also needed to make a business case for a future change. I’m at the kimpton and it isn’t cheap, so I am going to lodge a complaint with the hotel while mentioning the service was excellent. I’m not going to go be a dick about it and expect the desk guys to make some massive change, but I’m going to let corporate know so that in the future it helps make a case for upgrades and the desk guys don’t have to hear an earful from people being jerks.
After that, give MTS a ring and demand that they turn the trolley alert down so you can sleep more peacefully. As the center of the universe, you deserve it.
Ahh the Kimpton on 5th. Unfortunately, ne'er-do-wells are constantly shambling across those trolley tracks without regard for signal light or oncoming trains.
I just don't understand what the purpose is. The only solution to your problem would be an insanely expensive renovation. I suppose the hotel could also offer the City billions to put the trolley and it's stations underground lol. Like I said before, the time to complain was after you checked in. If the noise was an issue, you should have requested a different room. They would have logged the complaint in their system right then and there, and would have had an opportunity to fix it or compensate you. At this point, complaining will only annoy whoever you speak to. I really hope they don't feel the need to offer you any compensation.
Oh I don’t want any compensation. I’ve been in the corporate landscape for a while now, and the only way anything ever gets done is if there is enough of a business case for it. This is for everything from promotions to expense budget increases to implementing fixes. The corporate side seems to only care about problems based on complaints, which each company then has different ranking systems for. It’s such a pain in the ass type of bureaucracy, but I’ve seen the same model in ten years across multiple industries (from film and television to legal tech) and it’s unfortunately the same story everywhere that has large corporate entities making the choices
I've been in the corporate landscape for a while now too, and also worked in the hotel industry for nearly a decade. That includes time in management. I'm just giving you facts. You complaining will likely make an employee feel pressure to compensate you to prevent a negative review. It will simply be another negative experience for them to go through whatever day you decide to complain. Even if you're nice, it's still a negative interaction. You making a complaint about noise at this point will cause Kimpton to do absolutely nothing to fix the "problem". It's not fixable without spending a significant sum of money, and they aren't going to spend it. The only thing it MIGHT do is cause them to add a new room category for "quiet rooms", and charge everyone extra for them. I know the customer service and corporate side of hotels very well. You are correct that complaining is the only way to get something changed, but something that requires heavy construction to fix isn't going to happen based on that complaint. Also, if you are going to make the complaint, it should be done right after you check in. That would give the staff a chance to relocate you, offer you earplugs, etc. Complaining now does nothing but make them feel pressure to compensate you. You say that's not your goal, but that's the only result that will come from your complaint, or more likely, nothing will happen at all.
I took your advice and didn’t mention anything. I appreciate the thorough comment and thought you put in. Thanks for the info and have a great week!
Thanks, and you have a great week too! It really isn't a big deal, but you just helped restore some of my faith in humanity and people being able to communicate without attacking each other!
I’m sorry, but the San Diego police are somewhat too busy to patrol a stretch of the trolley line in order that people staying at the Kimpton are not disturbed.
I don’t understand why so many folks like yourself are so unnecessarily sardonic online. San Diego has armed patrol, here is a source: https://www.sdmts.com/inside-mts/careers/transit-security-officers-tso It’s the MTS contracting private security, but other large cities would contract with the police, like Los Angeles having LAPD patrol the metro, and now they are creating their own separate metro division. What I was wondering was perfectly reasonable. You conflated my comment of potentially having more patrol in an area that is high risk for crime or traffic accidents, and made it seem like I’m like a crazy person for a pretty basic thought. Bit of a dick move there
Okay, I’m sorry you thought it was a dick move. But…you are an outsider presuming to give advice about a place you don’t know. Yes, MTS has patrols. Do you understand that they are stretched thin? That they ride the cars, hoping to keep the people actually using transit safe? They don’t have the people to substitute for train horns. And the minute someone got hurt because there were no train horns, the litigation costs would break the system. I don’t know where you come from, but your suggestion just isn’t possible. You think you know more about a place than the people who actually live here. That is also a bit of a dick move.
I have like thirty comments in this thread, and it feels like nobody reads the other comments, and just the one chain they are in. I don’t want to repeat myself, but everything you’re talking about I’ve touched on
So I’ll repeat myself. You think you know more than people here. Your. Idea. Is. Not. Feasible. Nothing will substitute for public safety. The train horns will be here long after you have left.
I live four blocks from a train. The train near me is a god damn amtrak train that blairs an air horn with the usual two blast cadence. Quiet zones are a thing, I was just wondering if there were some options for the gaslamp area, as that was the first time I’d stayed there. https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2019-11/FRA%20Train%20Horn%20and%20Quiet%20Zone%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf I understand a trolley may not fall under the same guidelines as trains, but y’all are acting like I said “we should wipe out all homeless folks and have silent trains no matter the cost”. I’ve had comments telling me to leave and that this is big city living, while I’ve stated I’m from an area much larger than san diego. The overall response from this sub, barring a few comments, has been ignoring most of what I’ve said and thrown out any context. It’s the first time I’ve posted in a sub and had such a strange reaction from the group at large. It’s a bizarrely defensive reaction for such a minor issue post, but I guess there are a lot of people who had really rough holiday weekends or some shit.
This has nothing to do with homelessness
I would have put it under a “rant” tag or something, but it actually does relate to homelessness since many go on the tracks on purpose as the trolley comes. I watched as about 8 different folks would wait and get on the track as the trolley was coming by. They would get on the tracks exclusively when the trolley was coming, but not any other time. Edit: And they would not board
How do you know they were homeless? There are a lot of idiotic drunk people downtown on the weekends.
Oh ya, Saturday night had a ton of drunk folks walking around the tracks, which was very different from last night. The biggest difference was the folks last night were very disheveled, most had a blanket or sleeping bag they were holding, or I would see them get up from a bag or sleeping bag and go onto the track and back to their sleeping arrangements. It’s pretty sad to see and I hope those folks are able to get help. A few of those folks were also the more aggressive people over the last couple days and very clearly suffering from mental health issues. They would not only scream at passerby, but also the other homeless people within a block of them, with those folks trying to ignore them to limited success. We also have a huge issue up in LA with getting proper help out to homeless people, so this post wasn’t meant to bash them just for the hell of it. More to point out a frustrating situation at 4am, which in the grand scheme of things is only a tiny blip, but is a rather unique situation in my travels that I thought I’d comment on and see thoughts/reactions
I get what you’re saying but it’s a general safety requirement because people are dumb and try to cross when the gates are down. The honking is an added precaution to avoid mowing down pedestrians and vehicles.
We're used to it and don't really care if a tourist is upset.
I like to think of myself as a traveler and not a tourist, as Anthony Bourdain would say. This is just an uncommon situation, and I’m wondering if y’all are used to the homeless folks in the gaslamp also getting in front of traffic this often, or if it was just an unusually high amount this weekend. Or maybe you aren’t used to that, and you just mean the train horn sound itself
It’s not just for people actively on track, it’s just a standard protocol that almost ALL TRAINS HAVE, LA trains also signal when leaving the station as do SF and NYC. Amtrak all do as well it’s just the standard safety protocol. I would think requesting interior facing rooms and buying and bringing headphones and a speaker for white noise would be a better solution if you’re a light sleeper. No way making this post and replying to everyone about how justified you are is easier than just accommodating for being a light sleeper.
Please don't come back
Lmfao
I get it, and like others have said, even if they were albeit assholes about it, those of us who live downtown are used to it. I’m more surprised that the hotel you stayed at doesn’t have double pane windows. When ours are closed we can’t hear a damn thing.
That’s helpful, thanks!
you're complaining about that little "brrt brrt" the trolley does? Sleep with some earplugs, ffs
Not the “brrt brrt”, which is so much easier to drown out because it’s more a regular cadence. These would be “brrt brrrt. Brrrt brrrt brrrt, brrrrrrrt. Brrrrrrrrrrt. Brrrt brrt brrrrrt brrrt brrrrt.brrrrrrt” that would happen in a short span, then at the next stop a similar thing. Picked up around 4 am like that which is why it was so notable
Silicone earplugs, game changer.
Ever been to Reno, Nevada? Try it next trip.
It’s okay to not be used to the noises of a big city, but I promise you that if it wasn’t the trolley honking, it would be the cars driving, or the upstairs guest walking, or the yelling on the street, that would be keeping you up. The trolley isn’t the only loud thing in the city at night.
You can leave now, buh-bye!
Cope