$60,000 in improvements have been identified for the Highway 2A/50 Ave. rail crossing in Lacombe.(Google)

By Troy Gillard

Finally?

Rail crossing improvements could lead to train whistle cessation in Lacombe

Jul 9, 2019 | 11:13 AM

The day may finally be coming where Lacombe residents no longer have to put up with annoyingly loud train whistles.

City council voted unanimously on Monday to bring forward safety standard improvements to rail crossings at Wolf Creek Drive, 50 Avenue and 46 Avenue along Highway 2A – on what’s known as the Leduc Line – for budget deliberations in 2020 and/or 2021 pending the receipt of grant funding (of up to 80%). The line sees about 12 trains per day, according to counts from 2015.

Pegged at $72,000, the improvements would ensure the crossings meet Transport Canada’s 2021 safety standards and, perhaps more excitingly for residents and business owners, clear the track for whistle cessation along the line once upgrades are complete.

“It’s certainly not my intent to do all of this strictly for whistle cessation, that certainly may be an offshoot of it,” Mayor Grant Creasey noted during Monday’s meeting.

“I talk to quite a few people about this very item and (they’re) pretty apathetic about the whole thing, really,” he added. “As soon as you say there could be a significant cost involved the conversation changes in a hurry. So I think to bring this forward strictly suggesting it’s for whistle cessation is not going to make for a productive interaction with the public, I’ll put it that way.”

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About $60,000, is aimed toward reconfiguring the crossing at Highway 2A/50 Avenue. This would include overhauling the stop light and signal light system in a bid to reduce the number of motorists stopping on the tracks, and sidewalk, path and fencing upgrades to stop pedestrians from cutting through when the safety features are activated.

A much costlier option ($503,000) to seek whistle cessation on the Bretcher Line adjacent to Highway 12, which only sees about three trains a day, was turned down by council. The Bretcher Line has crossings at Wolf Creek Drive and 34 Street.

The motion approved by council would result in train whistle blowing in Lacombe dropping by about 85 percent.