DIDSBURY - Town council is hoping to reduce the noise from whistles from trains as they go through town.
To that effect, council carried a resolution at the regular meeting on Sept. 27 to hire an engineer to study the railway crossings in Didsbury to uncover costs associated with upgrading the crossings for whistle cessation.
“Everyone says the trains were here first and I get it, they were here first, but they came through once a week and there were three trains with smoke coming out,” Coun. Joyce McCoy told council.
“They probably weren't blowing whistles. Now there are 25-plus a day with 100 cars. They're honking that horn. It's been tested that horn is louder than OHNS allows. Obviously, it's shorter and that's how they get away with it.”
McCoy said it's important to keep residents in town and that is hard to do “when you run from cover at the first sound of a train to prevent your ears from hurting.
“Didsbury is quickly becoming a minority and is ignoring the quality of life of our residents and business owners while putting the health and well- being of our residents at risk.”
McCoy pointed out several nearby communities in Alberta that have approved or are looking at whistle cessation including: Ardrossan, Strathcona County, the City of Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Rocky View County and Blackfalds.
On the Strathcona County website it states: “federal rules require all trains to whistle when they approach a grade level crossing. Municipalities may work with rail companies to install alternate safety measures at these crossings to eliminate the need for routine train whistling.”
Christofer Atchison, manager of legislative and development services, told the Gazette that council and administration have heard from residents for a number of years saying that whistle cessation is important to them.
“As such, council requested that administration budget appropriately to undertake the required engineered study in 2017,” he said. “Until this study is complete, the projected costs of upgrades required for whistle cessation, and also the feasibility of undertaking whistle cessation, are unknown.”
