18 March 2008
Councillor Urges City to Blow Whistle on Trains
Regina Saskatchewan - The City of Regina doesn't want
trains to whistle while they work within city limits.
At Monday's meeting, city council approved a motion brought forward by Coun. Bill Gray that calls for the city's administration to
update the current status of anti-whistling for at-grade crossings, which are intersections of roads and
railways. The councillor for Ward 5, located in the east end of Regina where the CPR tracks run on the northern edge of the ward, said
implementing the anti-whistling initiative is about regaining quality of life for many Regina residents.
"People have moved out into the suburbs and now they get to listen to train whistles at all hours of the day... The
recommendations have been around for a very long time and they seemed to be kind of stalemated. This (motion) is meant to stimulate
that interest again, which it sounds like it has," Gray told reporters after the motion was passed by his colleagues.
In 1995, the city embarked on an initiative to prevent train whistling at crossings in residential areas. According to a report
submitted to city council in 2003, there were 15 locations where an anti-whistling rule was in place.
However, another 15 locations in the northeast and central areas of the city were being considered for also implementing an
anti-whistling initiative. Gray's motion calls for an update on the status of the 15 locations and for another
at-grade crossing to be considered involving Prince of Wales Drive and both the Canadian National Railway and Canadian
Pacific Railway.
The train whistles are a problem all year round. Gray said he gets complaints at all hours.
"Usually I get a call quite early in the morning saying, If I can't sleep, you can't either. They don't realize that I live beside
the tracks also," Gray explained with a smile.
"It's more or less a hindrance. In the summertime, you can't sit in your yards. In the wintertime, the air is lighter so the
whistles are actually louder. The complaints are that they want to have some peace and quiet, get on with life."
The motion also calls for the administration to request of Transport Canada and railway companies that train schedules be established
so vehicular traffic at major intersections isn't blocked by trains during rush hour time frames. For example, Gray said when a train
is travelling through the Ring Road crossing, motorists are often in for a long wait.
"It seems like, I don't know if it is coincidence or what, it seems they want to go through the city right when rush hour hits...
It takes a while," he said.
A consultant has been hired by the administration to examine the at-grade crossings and to consider the expansion of the
anti-whistling initiative to the Prince of Wales crossing. A full report is expected to be completed this
summer.
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