New Westminster city council is committed to achieving whistle cessation at railways in the city – but council members have different views on the best track to take to get there.
At its Dec. 12 meeting, council considered a six-point motion about train whistles from new councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas.
“I am a resident of Quayside and I am very blessed that in my community, that train whistles have stopped. I can sleep at night. My son can sleep at night. My spouse can sleep at night,” Fontaine said. “But I can't say that for everybody who lives in Sapperton or in Queensborough.”
Prior to council’s consideration of the motion about whistle cessation, a Sapperton resident appealed to council for action to address train whistles.
“If you don't live there, you have no idea what we're up against,” said the resident of the Brewery District. “You can't even sleep.”
The first part of the motion called on council to re-establish the former railway community advisory panel and asked staff to report back on terms of reference. (That committee, formed in 2012 and eliminated in 2020, included representatives from the city and the four railway companies operating in New West, as well as a couple of residents, who discussed a variety of topics related to rail issues in the city.)
Mayor Patrick Johnston suggested council postpone consideration of the re-establishment of the panel, and the potential makeup of that committee, until after it holds its strategic planning session early in the new year. He noted that committees will be among the items discussed at that strategic planning session.
Council approved a motion to consider the reestablishment of the railway community advisory panel as part of its strategic planning session, with Fontaine and Minhas opposing that decision.
“I will not be in support of delaying this or sending this to the mother of all strategic planning sessions next year,” Fontaine said.
Coun. Tasha Henderson questioned whether politicians should be involved in this issue or if it’s a technical discussion best handled by staff.
In terms of an advisory committee, there is value in having a technical advisory committee because the work is extremely technical, said Lisa LeBlanc, the city’s director of engineering.
“So, a lot of value and having all the rail companies involved come together regularly to hear from one another and for staff to hear from them, and to work together as a collective technical group on a very significant technical challenge that whistle cessation presents,” LeBlanc said. “Whether a committee like that is chaired by an elected official or not is something that I will leave to our elected officials to comment on.”
Some parts approved
The motion put forward by Fontaine and Minhas also recommended:
* The city establish a target of eliminating all unnecessary train whistles by no later than 2026.
* The city draft a letter to the federal Minister of Transportation advising that the city wishes to accelerate negotiations with the federal government to get its support and assistance with whistle cessation.
* Staff be required to provide quarterly updates to city council and the public regarding progress made to eliminate train whistles.
* Staff ensure the city’s website, containing critical information regarding whistle cessation, is updated with the latest information.
* Staff report back on the capital costs related to infrastructure upgrades to the Sapperton and Queensborough train crossings, and the city, if eligible, apply for provincial or federal infrastructure funding to lower the tax burden on city ratepayers.
“I've heard this is important to the community and know that they need and want this,” Henderson said. “I do take some issue with calling the whistles unnecessary in this motion, though, as they are actually an important safety measure to prevent deaths and harm, and are regulated by the Federal Railways Act. I feel like calling it ‘unnecessary’ here makes it seem as though the city can just fix this with a wave of a wand and is choosing not to. As I'm sure we all know, it's a complex and multi-jurisdictional process involving dozens of stakeholders.”
Henderson said some parts of the resolution feel like council is “putting the cart before the horse” as she doesn’t think council members have an understanding of the reality of the proposed timeline for whistle cessation at crossings in the city.
“This motion speaks to all crossings in the city before 2026, and we don't know what that would actually take in terms of the budget – or even if it is possible to achieve cessation at every single site, particularly some of those in Queensborough,” she said. “So I personally don't feel comfortable making this promise to the community before I have that information on the technical nature.”
Johnstone said he felt it would be appropriate to refer a large part of the motion back to staff for information in the new year, so council has details to inform its decisions. He said that report could provide information about financial and technical considerations regarding whistle cessation, as well as any jurisdictional issues related to the railways and regulatory issues involving railway crossings in the city.
Coun. Ruby Campbell – who, like Henderson, Minhas and Fontaine, is serving her first term on city council – said it would be valuable for council to be informed about railway whistle cessation before making a decision on this important issue.
Johnstone said he agrees with the spirit of the motion, but is worried about some of the timelines and commitments being put forward. He said he’s not sure the city could achieve whistle cessation by the end of 2026, even if it tried, because of financial, technical and other issues.
“I do want to assure the community that we will be prioritizing this because I know it's something that all of council wants to see completed as soon as possible,” he said.
Some council members initially suggested referring the rest of the motion back to staff, but Henderson said she’d be support the aspects relating to regular updates on whistle cessation and updates on the issue on the city’s website. Council unanimously approved those two components of the motion.
Aspects of the motion relating to completing work by no later than 2026, writing to the federal government and reporting back on capital costs to upgrade crossings in Queensborough and Sapperton were referred back to staff. Minhas and Fontaine voted against referring those parts of the motion to staff.
Fontaine expressed concern about delaying decisions on an issue that impacts the livability of many residents.
“People are counting on us as our elected leadership to move as quickly as we can. And I'll tell you, we have to be honest with them. If we cannot do this by 2026, then we have to tell people,” he said. “There are people who cannot sleep at night, and they're living with the hope that this somehow this is going to be fixed in the next four years.”
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
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