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'It's only going to get worse': Stouffville moves toward silencing GO train horns

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 13, 2021

You can’t live much closer to the GO train than Steve Noorhoff and that’s the way he wants it. Noorhoff moved to Blake Street more than 20 years ago precisely due to the proximity to the GO train, which he used to commute to work on.

Noise was never an issue for Noorhoff until the past couple years when trains began coming later and later and later. “I understood it when it was during rush hour,” he said. “But when they start running trains 10:30 p.m., 11 p.m. and past midnight it becomes an issue waking everyone in the house,” he said.

Noorhoff said the horns are not consistent with some blasts a lot longer and numerous than others.

With GO Transit’s train traffic frequency set to increase in future he is worried that it will get worse if nothing is done about the matter.

Noorhoff is not alone. Residents like Ron Oren have been advocating for whistle cessation for a couple years. Oren moved to Stouffville three years ago and said the noise has got progressively worse. “When we moved in here the train was running mostly during the day at a pretty regular schedule,” he said. “The trains now come very, very late at night time.”

They frequently wake Oren up. He has been taking his concerns to council, prodding councillors to move forward with whistle cessation like Markham did, silencing 13 rail crossings at a cost of $6 million in 2020.

It seems Oren might get his wish. Last month, Stouffville council voted to move forward with the next steps in whistle cessation which include consultant services for the preparation and detail design for improvements required to implement whistle cessation. According to the staff report, estimated costs range between $216,000 and $296,000.

Upgrades that would be needed at the crossing for whistle cessation include sidewalks, road advance warning signs, pavement markings and warning system.

The matter was contentious with the town’s rural councillors voicing their opposition to the move due to safety concerns.

But urban councillors, including Ward 4 Coun. Rick Upton and Ward 6 Coun. Sue Sherban, say this is the issue residents contact them the most about. “I don’t think the safety we have at crossing will be reduced with whistle cessation,” Upton said. “The whistles are going at 1:30 and 3 in the morning ... This thing is unacceptable.”

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Upton said the town can take confidence from Markham, which implemented the measures. Sherban said she has a list of more than 50 residents who complain about the GO train whistle on a semi-regular basis. “It’s not a matter of one horn,” she said.

Mayor Iain Lovatt said the situation has evolved as the community has grown and the trains have increased in frequency. “This is a real felt need in our community,” he said. “It’s only going to get worse." The mayor added that Transport Canada officials are realizing they need to change how the level crossing functions so they can eliminate excessive whistling.

The rural councillors in town didn’t see the matter the same way.

“The regulatory agencies believe that whistling is an essential part of the safety program,” Ward 1 Coun. Ken Ferdinands said. “This is not to be taken lightly, it is safety issue.”

Ward 2 Coun. Maurice Smith was concerned about what he thought could be additional liability for the town. But town staff said there would not be any additional liability because the town already has whistle cessation implemented at Millard Street and Bethesda Road.

Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon, a vocal supporter of train whistles, wasn’t about to change his mind. “I take very seriously maintaining the safety of people. I have absolutely no interest in removing that vital level of protection.”