{"id":30436,"date":"2021-12-09T21:41:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T02:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=30436"},"modified":"2021-12-09T21:43:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T02:43:39","slug":"residents-renew-calls-to-make-aurora-a-whistle-free-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/residents-renew-calls-to-make-aurora-a-whistle-free-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents renew calls to make Aurora a whistle-free community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a track that has been travelled many times but has ultimately led nowhere, but Aurora residents are once again calling on Council to undertake measures to reduce or eliminate train-whistles as they pass through Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council will further explore the possibilities of a train whistle cessation program \u2013 along with any cost and liability issues \u2013 through a future report following delegations to Council by area residents Susan Morton Leonard and Lynn Brown, both of whom said it was time for Council to put the needs of residents first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In stating her case, Ms. Morton Leonard cited a decision made by the present Council in 2019 not to proceed with a raft of new pedestrian safety measures at level crossings, such as where the trains cross Wellington Street East and Centre Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe issue is more than blaring train horns, it\u2019s about adding modern safety equipment to protect the daily foot traffic moving across the four level crossings in Aurora,\u201d she said, adding \u201cconstant daily noise pollution\u201d from the resulting train horns is impacting the wellbeing of residents. \u201cSuspending train horns will also lessen the noise competition for outdoor events and activities held in Town Park and elsewhere in the Cultural Precinct, a short block west of the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUpgraded safety equipment has been installed to protect vehicular traffic from commuter trains moving through Aurora\u2019s downtown core. Are vehicles more important to Council than pedestrian safety? Why would Council vote against joining the 21st<\/sup> century by protecting everyone\u2019s safety at all level crossings? People who are deaf, blind, deal with mobility issues, have mental health conditions often exacerbated by loud, unexpected noises \u2013 plus those unfamiliar with the practice of train whistles \u2013 are still at risk. They are not protected by archaic train whistling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Council last considered the measures that would need to be in place to meet standards for a whistle cessation program, the price tag stood at just over $1.1 million. This, said Ms. Morton Leonard, was a \u201cbargain price\u201d compared with the Town\u2019s other recent capital projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFoot traffic is comprised of more than GO Train commuters, [it is] GO Bus users, high school students and people attending the Library, Aurora Community Centre, Town Park, Sheppard\u2019s Bush, the Leisure Complex, industry and retail,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople need to cross the tracks daily. Shouldn\u2019t Council care about pedestrians who are not commuters safely crossing the tracks? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe number of trains moving through Aurora will increase. Every 15 minutes, a train will travel through Town blaring its horn. Metrolinx\u2019 July 2021 study [notes] that in the near future, commuter trains will be used more for tourism and family leisure visits than for work commutes. Does Council want tourists and citizens coming to Aurora visiting the new Town Square to be overwhelmed by frequent blaring train horns? The reason why this Council did not fund train whistle cessation\u2026 in 2019, according to the staff report, is cost and not wanting to accept liability for crossing upgrades. The influence of no action taken by surrounding municipalities dealing with the same issue is also a factor. When will Council make decisions based on Aurora citizens\u2019 needs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She challenged Council to look at what the City of Markham did working with Metrolinx to solve the issue and said a $2 million price tag for safety upgrades is a \u201creasonable\u201d cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Brown followed Ms. Morton Leonard in a delegation that just happened to be timed for a whistling train to pass by on the other side of her back fence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whistles, said Ms. Brown, leaves her feeling \u201calmost as if you have no outdoor space whatsoever in the house that you own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe noise is horrendous,\u201d she said. \u201cI get a lot of comments from people who say, \u2018Oh, well you moved by the tracks. Why don\u2019t you just accept it or move on?\u2019 I have been here a long time, since 2001; I moved to the tracks, yes, there were three going south and three coming north and it wasn\u2019t such an issue. Then it increased and increased and there are people all around my neighbourhood who are even considering moving and I wanted to take a stand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council picked up the challenge, with Councillor Rachel Gilliland making a successful motion calling on staff to consider the comments made by the delegates while drafting a new report looking at the options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause Centre Street is so close to Wellington, [conductors] have to honk the horn four times,\u201d said Councillor Gilliland. \u201cBy the time they have crossed over Centre Street, that is eight times. I can appreciate that sometimes these horns continue on much, much further past those tracks than perhaps is\u2026 it is upsetting, it is very noisy and I totally get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Wendy Gaertner also voiced her support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a lot of residents who live along the tracks and with the trains going every seven minutes with more to come,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is very concerning and sound travels a long way. I used to live on Walton Drive and I could hear the train. It was my morning alarm clock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting a new report was approved unanimously by Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVE YOUR SAY \u2013 Are train whistles a problem in Aurora? Should Council revisit a train whistle cessation program? Send your thoughts to brock@lpcmedia.ca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a track that has been travelled many times but has ultimately led nowhere, but Aurora residents are once again calling on Council to undertake measures to reduce or eliminate train-whistles as they pass through Town. Council will further explore the possibilities of a train whistle cessation program \u2013 along with any cost and liability […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-7UU","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 07:33:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}