Parry Sound - Silence the train whistle or let it blow?
 
That is the million dollar question Parry Sound has been pondering, after receiving complaints from local residents.
 
Recently, council green lit the hiring of an engineering firm to assess the five level crossings in town.
 
But stopping the whistle is not as simple as some may think.
 
"There are approximately thirty trains every 24 hours that go through Parry Sound," explained Peter Brown, Parry Sound's Director of Public Works, to Wei Chen, host of CBC's Ontario Morning on Tuesday.
 
Brown said gone are the days of the romantic "toot toot" of a whistle, that it's more accurately described as a very loud horn with two long blasts followed by one short blast, and another long blast.
 
"It's purely for safety reasons. It identifies the fact that there is a train approaching a grade crossing and it's meant to ensure that the public, be it in a vehicle or walking, realize that there is a train approaching the tracks."
 
According to Brown, silencing that horn is very complicated.
 
Transport Canada has identified an eight step process and the town of Parry Sound is only on step four.
 
An engineering firm was recently hired to review all the grade crossings to ensure they are safe for the public without the train whistles, a process that will take several months, then an application has to be made to Transport Canada so they can review the procedures and engineering reports.
 
"We have to complete all eight stages in order for us to stop the whistles from blowing. I suspect it will take anywhere from one to five years to complete the whole process."
 
Horns Not the Only Problem
 
Many residents in Parry Sound have complained that it's not just the blaring of the horns causing frustration, but the screeching of steel on steel.
 
Brown says they are working with CN and CP to address the problem and are asking them to review their rails to make sure their process is working correctly so they don't have this screeching of the wheels.
 
He said even after so many years of having trains coming and going through town, some things are just harder to live with than others.
 
"For the most part you get used to the train whistles. I don't think anybody gets used to the screeching and the high pitched steel of the rail."
 
Cities that Silenced Successfully
 
Very few Canadian cities have successfully completed the whistling cessation process.
 
New Westminster, B.C. successfully stopped train whistles at its downtown rail crossings in 2017, and Maple Ridge, B.C. is hoping to achieve the same by the end of the year.
 
In Alberta, Strathcona County Council passed a resolution to discontinue routine train whistling at certain railway crossings in July.
 
St. Albert is also hoping to silence the whistles.
 
By November 2021, St. Albert and CN must meet all requirements of the updated Transport Canada Grade Crossing Standards, including signage, crossing surface specifications, sightlines, and warning systems.
 
Nicole Martin.