Train whistles will continue to blow in St. Albert until at least 2013 after councillors endorsed the postponement of two capital projects.
Two whistle cessation programs were due to roll out in 2012 but the standing committee on finance voted to delay them until 2013 and 2014. Both decisions will be written into the capital budget for approval in the fall.
Mayor Nolan Crouse led the push for the delays, stating the programs are discretionary spending and subsequently represent an opportunity to save money.
“The trains were here first. The tracks were here first,” he said. “If you buy a house backing onto the tracks, you know the whistle might blow.”
Finding a way to prevent Canadian National trains from blowing their whistles within the city’s limits has been on the radar since about 2008. The city commissioned a study in 2009 that found it would cost $900,000 to implement a program for five intersections. The high cost prompted the city to narrow its focus to two intersections: Meadowview Drive and McKenney Avenue.
The McKenney Avenue program, projected to cost $150,000, will now be delayed until 2013. The $250,000 Meadowview Drive program will be delayed until 2014.
The Meadowview Drive program involves upgrading the crossing with bells, lights and gates, according to a city report. The McKenney location would require fencing along the rail right of way to eliminate the potential for trespassing along the tracks.
Transport Canada rules require train operators to blow their whistles within a quarter mile of a public crossing. Coun. Wes Brodhead has been a champion of halting the practice since he took office last fall. He said he heard from many residents in the affected communities who were experiencing disruptions at night due to loud train whistles.
On Monday Brodhead urged his fellow councillors to vote against the delay.
“This is constant awakening in the middle of the night,” he said. “For them it’s not discretionary.”
Research on interrupted sleep points to effects such as stress, depression, agitation, anger, sadness and anxiety, he said.
“To me this is a quality of life issue in St. Albert, as much as keeping the boulevards beautiful and the trees trimmed and the taxes low,” Brodhead said.
“Our people that live in the city deserve to have a quiet night’s sleep and for us to postpone it continually is saying to them they don’t matter.”
The use of train whistles can only be eliminated with the co-operation of the railway company and an exemption letter from Transport Canada, says a city backgrounder. A 2008 letter from Canadian National said that an average of six trains a day pass through St. Albert, four on the line that passes Riel Park and Grandin and two on the line that passes through the Campbell Business Park.
Alberta municipalities that have passed whistle cessation bylaws include Leduc, Parkland County, Stony Plain, Airdrie and Canmore.
