Woolwich council have deferred a decision on a motion to reduce the noise of trains in St. Jacobs.
Woolwich Councillor Eric Schwindt brought a motion to a meeting on Tuesday that looked to direct staff to work with organizations that use the train crossing at King Street North in the south end of St. Jacobs to implement improved safety features to reduce train whistling.
Residents in Woolwich have complained to council that loud train whistles on approach to the crossing on King Street keep them up at night.
“During the night, it’s about three or four times a week, and that ranges from midnight to four in the morning,” said Kyle Huff, a delegate at Tuesday’s meeting.
Woolwich staff noted that, in order to reduce the number of times trains blow their whistles on approach to that crossing, additional infrastructure, like lights and gates, would need to be installed. That cost, as staff explained, would be paid by the Township of Woolwich.
This isn’t the first time that Woolwich council has looked into finding a solution to loud trains. According to staff, similar inquiries were made in the last 20 years, but cost or liability issues kept the council of the day from finding a solution.
According to Director of Infrastructure Services Jared Puppe, a 2021 staff report detailing the costs of installing appropriate infrastructure to reduce the amount of whistles at any given crossing noted that it would be, depending on the location, between $400,000 and $600,000.
“This is a quality of life issue, so if it costs us money, I think that it’s worth, at least, exploring,” said Councillor Nathan Cadeau.
Council deferred making a decision until staff can give a more fulsome overview over what would be required to do this work.
