The City of Windsor is going to look at what can be done to reduce the number of late night train whistles in South Walkerville.
A notice of motion introduced by Ward 4 councillor Mark McKenzie asks that train whistles be silenced at crossings along the Essex Terminal Railway Company lines, east of Howard Avenue and west of Walker Road.
The motion passed by Council asks that train whistling be stopped between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless absolutely necessary.
McKenzie says the issue was raised during the most recent municipal election and he's still receiving complaints from residents about the increase in train whistles.
"For years we've had these trains going back and forth. The past few years it's maybe been two, three trains a day, max. Now that has increased to about six or seven trains a day, at all hours of the day as well," he says. "It starts as early as 6 a.m. and occasionally there's trains as late as 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m., depending if they're running late.
McKenzie says it's the increase in whistle noise that's really been noticed and it's impacting residents.
"They're blowing these whistles at all hours of the morning and night, and for long periods as well. It's not just one whistle, it's five, six, seven, sometimes a dozen whistles, that's because of the grade crossings that go right through neighbourhoods in South Walkerville." he says.
McKenzie says he doesnt want it to be excessive.
"There are people that still live there and a lot of the residents have said it's almost as if the train noise is louder. It's not only more frequent, it's that the train noise is being heard from two to 2.5-kilometres away," he adds.
Administration has been asked to follow Transport Canada procedures and engage with the railway company to initiate the process to request train whistling be limited, and used only if absolutely necessary.