tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506868496663273256.post5586612814284750213..comments2023-07-04T09:54:15.920-05:00Comments on Our Town and Its Business: UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCESEvelyn Buckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03283458715658096750noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506868496663273256.post-85868617923019305572016-10-17T08:09:50.781-05:002016-10-17T08:09:50.781-05:00This is not a comment for this post but a new one ...This is not a comment for this post but a new one for discussion. <br /><br />I read in Thursday's Era Banner dated October 13 that Council was to have debated on October 11 (that is correct, a newspaper talking about what was supposed to have happened 2 days previously) train whistle banning.... AGAIN!!<br /><br />Why do we continue to waste time and money on finding a way to make it less safe on our roads? Transport Canada mandates that a train must blow their whistle/horn when approaching a level crossing. The mandated sounding is a long-short-long. Each engineer has his or her own style of this sounding - stop and listen and you will hear the differences.<br /><br />As a train approaches a level crossing, it will encounter a small sign with a "W" on it. That is the trigger to make the sounding. <br /><br />In the newspaper, Mayor Dawe makes a brilliant statement. "There are 5 trains in the morning and 5 trains in the evening. Increasing the GO schedule will mean more trains." (I have paraphrased). <br /><br />We have GO transit level crossings at Englehard, Wellington and St Johns within the Town. We have had a death before at Englehard. Wellington is our "gateway" to downtown Aurora and the trains are either slowing down or starting out (depending on the direction). St Johns is a major 4 lane road taking a lot of traffic. <br /><br />I grew up in a railroad town with 24 hour rail traffic. The horns on the old diesels were a lot louder than the new GO equipment. I found it comforting to hear that sound. Even now, I will hear the whistle of the train as it approaches the Bloomington Road crossing just west of Bathurst. It is a reminder of my youth but more importantly it is a safety feature that has been in place for over 100 years.<br /><br />Let's not screw around with something that will 1. cost the Town money and 2. make it more dangerous to cross the tracks. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com