‘It’s just brutal’: Train whistle causing many sleepless nights for Tottenham residents in new subdivision

Simcoe.com
Sept. 11, 2020
Brad Pritchard

Tottenham resident Kevin Misner is not the type of guy to complain about stuff, but after months without getting a good night’s sleep, he can stay silent no longer.

Misner, who moved into the new Deer Springs subdivision last year, has started a petition demanding the town silence the train whistle at the Canadian Pacific crossing at the 3rd Line.

“I’ve been having serious trouble sleeping,” said Misner, whose home backs onto the tracks. “Sometimes it comes by every hour at night, and they seem to just hold the horn as they pass through the town. It’s just brutal. I’m not blaming them; it’s their job and they have to do it. But it’s just insane.”

He said the horn can register at 90 decibels in his bedroom, which is comparable to someone standing next to a running lawnmower.

Misner said he knew about the train before he purchased the home, but he had no idea how loud it was.

“It's a quality-of-life issue and you can have serious health problems from a lack of sleep. The stress and anxiety from it, it just causes a ton of issues.”

Misner said he has talked to many of the original homeowners, and several claim they were misled about how often the train passes through the area.

“It’s such a shame because these are such beautiful houses, a great neighbourhood, and everyone here is so great. We look after one another,” he said. “But all we talk about is the train and what are we going to do about it.”

Silencing the whistle may be feasible since the crossing is controlled with mechanical arms and flashing lights. He noted other municipalities in Ontario have implemented quiet zones as communities grow, such as Woodbridge, Kleinburg, Vaughan, Bolton and Markham.

Misner, who recently made a presentation to council, has managed to obtain 200 signatures for his petition, and he hopes to keep up the momentum.

Local councillors Alan Lacey and Shira Harrison McIntyre said they sympathize with the residents’ situation, but Lacey thinks it would be problematic to silence the horns at the 3rd.

He said even if the 3rd Line was silenced, the horn will still have to be used as trains approach the crossings at the 4th and 5th lines, which have lights and bells, but no gates to block the road.

“Until we have all the crossings in Tottenham with barriers, I wouldn't even envision … the cessation of the 3rd Line,” Lacey said to Misner after his presentation.

But council has agreed to look into this and have a report brought back looking at the costs and timelines associated with silencing the horns and installing barriers.

The town's road-needs study from 2018 identified the 4th Line (Mill Street East) as No. 1 on the priority list for the addition of gates; Nolan Road (4th Line) was second.

The report assumes that the cost of upgrading the barriers would be shared between the town and CP Rail, but funding may also be available through Transport Canada.

The gates and warning system installed at the 3rd Line crossing in 2018 cost a little more than $430,000. Half of this cost was split equally between the town and CP Rail, and the other half was proposed to be covered through a funding program from Transport Canada. But the town was unable to confirm if the feds provided the money.

The town will also need to investigate whether there will be an added cost of insurance liability for silencing the horns at the 3rd Line.

Misner said he thinks one way to mitigate any potential insurance increase is to continue blowing the horn during the day, but to have full cessation at night.

To view his petition, visit change.org/p/the-town-of-new-tecumseth-whistle-cessation-at-3rd-line-crossing-in-tottenham.