Council votes down proposal to investigate nighttime train whistle ban

Story by Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist & Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

City council rejected a proposal to take steps towards banning nighttime train whistles along the main CN Rail corridor at their last meeting. 

Councillor Lisa Osanic led the motion to move forward with preliminary studies for overnight train whistle cessation. It was argued that a ban is necessary due to widespread resident impact, particularly in the west end, where residents are being woken up by the whistles throughout the night.

Despite complaints from residents and similar bans being instated in other neighbouring cities, concerns over costs, including $200,000 for studies and up to $3.9 million for implementation, led to the motion’s defeat in an 8-5 vote.