"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 12 June 2008

Comments to the Train Horn Blog

I thought the train horn blog was a bit clumsy. Except for the by-election question, it has received the most comments.

People seem to agree regular sound becomes part of the environment and causes no disturbance.

My daughter lived in Holland Landing up the hill from a level crossing. She heard the freight train in the beginning but soon after it failed to register. Another daughter lives in Newmarket. Her experience is the same. Ambulance and police sirens are part of her environment because of the proximity of the hospital, but she doesn't hear them unless a visitor comments.

One of my correspondents speaks of growing up on an air force base and being nostalgic for the high-pitched sound of jets taking off. Even while she wrote it she found it hard to believe.

People live alongside the tracks throughout the length of Aurora. None of the crossings are distant from each other. Yet the people in the extreme north-east are the ones who are disturbed by the noise.

It has been an interesting exchange. I really appreciate the comments.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sleep with my bedroom window open (no central air!)and at about 4:10 most morning the birds awaken me. They are very loud, busy getting their day started. There are few mornings I am not wakened by them. I guess I am just an early riser at heart. However there are a few mornings when I would like to just sleep. There are six people in my home sleeping with there windows open and I am the only one the birds wake. I guess they have all just become accustomed to the noise. Maybe I should ask the Aurora council if they could do something about the birds in my backyard so I can sleep with my windows open and not be desturbed by the birds.I can hear the train horn. Some nights its the screaching of fighting racoons or cats,boy can that be loud. Could Aurora council please do something about these noises to. Come on people noise is all round you! You can control some but not most. I say keep the train whistle for the safety of all the people

Anonymous said...

Train Horns can be dangerous if used all the time. But they are easy to install and a lot of fun.