Editor, The News:
Re: ‘Train whistles part of Canada’ (Letters, May 5).
We moved to Maple Ridge 26 years ago. One of the reasons was the quiet area combined with the rural atmosphere and nature, mountains and the Fraser River close by.
In the early ’90s, five to eight freight trains were passing through Maple Ridge in a 24-hour time frame. Now, we have to deal with 30-40 trains a day.
It is not about the station stops of commuter trains. It is about the two crossings near 225 and 223 streets (and other crossings near 203 Street), located right in the residential area of Maple Ridge.
Two crossings, close together, means two times five blasts of the train, approaching and crossing the two level-crossings, one guarded, one unguarded, within about a time period of 30 seconds.
And that happens about 35 times a day.
Talking about train whistles being part of Canada, the bell on the steam locomotive between 1881 and about 1920 and afterwards the steam whistle are part of Canada, not the blasting whistle, created for the Prairies and the mountain areas with the ear splitting number of decibels.
So, it is not a matter of moving to a place far away from the train tracks. It is about passing a bylaw, prohibiting any whistling (except, of course, in emergencies) in the residential area of Maple Ridge.
Jan Wilke
Maple Ridge