Canadian Pacific serves Medicine Hat from its main line - Date/Photographer unknown.

4 September 2012

Crucial Consideration Should be Given to Home's Environment

Irvine Alberta - A number of concerns expressed to the News by Irvine residents are unlikely to be resolved.
 
A handful of people remain irritated by the busy Canadian Pacific rail line running through the heart of the small town and are hoping their complaints will result in a whistle-cessation order.
 
It turns out that they should have considered the environment and the location of the rail line before signing on the dotted line.
 
The News spoke with various Irvinites with front-row seats to rail activity.
 
Nearly all of the homeowners directly adjacent to the line and automated crossing said they wanted to hear the whistles.
 
One gentleman has lived in Irvine for 33 years and said he considers the sound of the whistle a comfort and appreciates knowing children are warned the train is coming long before it arrives.
 
With bells ringing, lights flashing, and arms that drop in front of waiting vehicles, the man believes the crossing provides an additional element of safety to the intersection that sees trains roll through every 20 minutes or so.
 
A 30-something welder says he is often "driven crazy" by the train as it "blows through town at two in the morning."
 
He says falling asleep is easy but adds staying asleep is not.
 
His bedroom is directly adjacent to the train tracks and says that as the train rolls past his head every 20 minutes he sleeps for only 15 minutes at a time.
 
Although many Irvinites admit they've become accustomed to the sounds and say the whistles no longer disturb their slumber, the welder says he is exhausted.
 
Another Irvinite can watch the train speed through town from her living room window and can hear the trains whistle as it approaches.
 
After living at the corner of Brock Street and Pacific Avenue for the past two years the sounds have become "background noise."
 
With two young girls to care for she thinks the warning blasts let off by engineers as they approach the quiet borough are necessary.
 
One Irvinite did share her concerns for the structural integrity of her home.
 
After making costly repairs to the South Railway Avenue home the mother of two is concerned about how it sways slightly as the train passes by.
 
She says cracks in drywall, replaced just after flood waters receded, are developing as a result.
 
Each member of that household complains the whistle wakes them in the night and means they can't enjoy their backyard as much as they would like to.
 
The complaints and compliments have made one small thing crystal clear.
 
While it is important to have a home inspection done and financing for your future palace in place it might be more important to scrutinize the home's environment.
 
What sources of noise pollution are nearby and which one is the most irritating?
 
How close is your potential home to a source of industrial activity?
 
Will it disrupt your family in the evening or night time hours?
 
Would you be able to bear it?
 
It seems that while buying a house along a busy roadway deserves special consideration so would a home located in what once was a thriving town built on the success of the line itself.
 
Stacey Lee.