Quinte West residents living near train tracks will be getting more peace and quiet.
During Wednesday’s council meeting, Quinte West Council voted on a number of recommendations from the Active Transportation and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee.
Most of the items were passed without any debate, but one item in particular drew special attention. Councillors spent significant time debating a move to stop trains from sounding their horns near the 2nd Dug Hill Road railroad crossing.
The tracks at that crossing are owned by CN.
Residents had complained to council about excessive noise from the passing trains, with horns and whistles sounding extremely loud in the dead of night.
Councillor Shelley Stedall was against eliminating the train whistles, due to liability and insurance concerns, and that if someone got hurt the city could be held responsible for preventing the trains from whistling.
“Some of the staff have indicated that we may not get increased premiums,” said Councillor Stedall. “However if there is one incident, it could go to court, and the city could be liable. I didn’t want to see that come back because it could cost the city money.”
Councillor Armstrong was one of the councillors in favour of silencing the train whistles. He said that since all the safety equipment at the level crossing was up to date, it would be safe to trial without the whistles.
“The person on the street has to accept their responsibility too,” said Councillor Armstrong. “If you’re going to go around the wig-wags, we can’t stop that.”
Several other items were approved without debate, based on recommendation by the committee.
While the Committee had looked at reducing speed on both Frankford-Stirling Road and Telephone Road, council accepted the recommendations to not reduce the speed at either of these locations.
City staff were also directed to remove foliage that was obstructing sight at the intersection of Plant Street and Fraser Drive in Batawa.
