Train horns will continue in Markham at 6 scheduled crossings

Advocates frustrated at delays in implementation of whistle-cessation program

YorkRegion.com
Jan 15, 2019
Tim Kelly

It wasn’t much of a happy new year for those who have been fighting to stop train whistles in the city of Markham.

The long-festering project, which is way behind schedule in some parts of the city, was supposed to be completed by now, but will drag well into 2019, according to a chain of emails shared by those involved in the project.

Stop the Horns leader Shanta Sundarason reached out to Mayor Frank Scarpitti in mid-December to inquire about when all the work would be completed.

So far, of the 16 rail crossings in Markham, seven have been completed in phase 1 of the whistle-cessation program and the horns blow no longer at those crossings.

These include crossings at Eureka Street, Main Street Unionville, Kennedy Road North, Snider Drive, Main Street Markham, Castlemore Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive.

However, crossings at Kennedy Road South, Denison Street, McCowan Road, 16th Avenue, Bur Oak Avenue and Highway 7 in phase 2 of the program have been delayed and are not yet completed, which has Sundarason and others frustrated. Three other crossings in the northern "rural" part of Markham near Stouffville are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Scarpitti said he “understands and echoes the frustration of residents” in an email he sent Sundarason and others. He explained that work on the remaining six crossings was supposed to be done by the end of the year but blamed the delay on a lack of companies who can do the “specialized” work for “track protection.” He also said in the email that Markham is one of the many projects in the queue for the work and that “weather conditions has the ability to impact construction progress as we have already experienced in November.”

But Sundarason wasn’t satisfied with the mayor’s answers.

“During the election, the mayor made a promise at Unionvilla that by November that the rest of the (six) crossings would be complete,” said Sundarason.

She said she is now hearing from many of those who believed the job would be done by now and are frustrated at the delays.

“It’s not acceptable that it’s not done,” she said.

“This is about quality of life for a lot of people, it affects a lot of people,” Sundarason added.

Tom Owen, who has long fought to have the horns silenced in Markham, also expressed disappointment at the pace of the work, this time in an email to city staff.

“Over the last couple of years I have been alternately encouraged and disappointed with the lack of progress,” said Owen in an email to Brian Lee, director of engineering for the city and point person on getting the horns stopped.

“We are at a point where something concrete needs to happen,” Owen said.

Several councillors weighed in on the horns debate online with a number of them saying they want to see quick action take place in the new year.

Regional Coun. Jack Heath said he wasn’t happy with the delay in finishing the six crossings in phase 2 of the whistle-cessation program. He said he had heard at one time the horns would be silenced by August, and “then by the end of the year.

“I am upset I heard horns recently, I can imagine how others closer are much more upset,” Heath said.

“This is much slower than anticipated, and I apologize … This is irritating and I wish it was behind us,” he added.

Ward 3 Coun. Reid McAlpine also said he was behind quick action on the train horns issue.

“I have also informed the mayor et al. about the need to quickly complete phase 2 of the horn-cessation program which is already funded,” McAlpine said.

Scarpitti has promised “to continue to proactively work with Metrolinx to schedule flagging for the remaining crossings in order for construction and implementation for whistle-cessation. City staff has been looking at all options to keep the project moving forward.”

It should be noted that even after phase 2 of the whistle-cessation program is finished, phase 3, involving the final three level crossings in the “rural” area of Markham near the Stouffville-Markham border, will have to be done. That is expected to take place throughout 2019 with completion of the project expected sometime this year.