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WklXbV ÂU~~ iiW~, W1U>NUAX w!rfl Mat O, kPAGE 15 Trai w ites:@ o otsnbd but' iself To the editor. Your article of August 1, 1990 on the subject of thetain whistle at the Gardon, St. level-ecueing bas now boon "formenting" on our itchen table for almuet thre. weoks. We are normally not i the habit of cllonin newspaper articles and oditoriaks yet, the angor, frustration and annoyance this one ovoked ini my wife and I has, conitrary to initial oxpectations, flot uubuided, but rathor intensified. Ah. Lincoin sayig came ta niind: 'It lu true that yon may b. ahie te fool al of the.peuple sme of the. time; you cmn even fool Mome of the. people ail the. time; but you cant foo l al thi epleý ail of the time." I muât conclude that tis ad sayig enjoys tremendous 1prpula ity, wit Whitby counc -and especlelly councilcir Dennis Fczm L.t ther. b. no doubt, foolng tdu.peuple lu, mndeod, -the' issue here, -rather than adeiga sensitive as wofl as potentially very hazrdous inatter in a resoiube manner. In suppo th fairlystrong statement Iehould 1ke to offer the following consideraficas. Initialiy, concrned people wer. led to bolieve that a&raiway ov.rpasu/underpass would b. *constructodithi. neer future ta alleviat. concerns regardinr safoty aspects and to, elininat. the nuisance factor s.mn from frqont whlstling, day and night. But, as your reort revoaled, there wes and lu no sucli goverment 7tdplz not evon -for- 1996., hâéÙ strýategy may hv ~as angry proteSefr a nuinher 0 years.Yet, after ail, w. have been It ià fùrthbriffor rather foolie are flot complaining ta thei.g tiiey didin the past, theremay be moewhat lbaser concers na iithe cornrunity, or even chnd perceptions and attitudes- mqW"stnu a sudden tu rn tao "romntic or "nostalgic" sentimentality. Peuple have simply been misled,,and fooled inta believing remedial, action wasimmlinent._ . On the subject of nostalgia, it shouild b. noted that tbis id 1990, not 1890. W. are today faced with. overburdened railway sYutoms that carry difforont cargos, urne of which - are 'extremel hazardous, seven'days a week, day and night, at higiier ued ovor longer distances th..ro.ugh_È relatiyely 'densely ppuad cconmunities. How anybodycan compare taday's situation te, the turn-of.the-oentury, onoe-a-week- event, huffing and puffing and hooting past small towns and- villages, le'b.yond -me. Lot me sugetw e lah, th ln ary railway lino" in its proper place in histoiy and get on with today's more cemplox probloIsmý.- coemçllo. M Fp jel whiek e not lo<mSd but em» ta, cover moot of the Town i of Whitby. If it was not for the. lights and barriers. at the. crossing, I dare say muet drivers could not tell where the. nois. was coxn ingfo and theroforo would deielittle safoty from 'the enormous whistling exorcise. Asido -fri= the.nuisance aspects of the. situation, lot me now comnment on the. more serious issues et band, namely liebility and public safety. According ta the. article, Whitbhy coundil .efained fr-om taking any action i regard ta the' nos train wiiistllng for reasons 0< labity and possible litigation "if anyone got hurt." Thsis :t b. oneof0 the. munt ludicrous st1temente made by a public servant in a long whlle. Thero isne doubt I ind that Mr.FParand Iùs à ar fLlw y aware of the fact municipalities, whoare planning and approving buligruade and dovelopment rcuecte, are tally responsible or public safety -i the Comniunity. The fact that govermnent funding Pt always be secured for mqjor rojocts (as i the case of the an St. level croesing) does not lieve municipalities in any ay from their rosponsibi ties towards main *Î g public safety. And, Mr. Foxr public safety is indeed the bottom lino. Yet fthe extent of public safety at the Gardon St. level croesng, with residential developmonts and a echool in cioeProI)rt, now depends on an -alert train enneor Ioning on hie whistle and hoping the barriers are down. Io Mr. Fox tolling us that this enginoor, rather than Whitby council. wil face litigation 'If SEE PAGE 31 Councillor. slyý as a foxk To the. editor. Ini a nowspaper article in May, coimcflor Dennis Fca steted that Complainte about train whistles had:n made regularly over the. lest month. But recently ho stted h. could count on one hand the numbor 0 ompaiteh. heu receved over tii. past year. I the. May article, it was stated that councillor Fx asked council wiiat could b. dons ta stop train whistles in this Town. Why did ho aek that question if ho lied investigated the. matter tho- roughlv back i 1987. as he claimed? Why bas h. not ceme up with a suggestion as to how ta eliminate tuis problem affer three years? It appeare te me that councfllor Fax lu trying ta b. very deceptive in tbis matter. .In the. article, councmillor Fca slso stated that h. lu new used ta the. sund of trains. Mayb. peuple around tiie Gardon St. crooeing could have that pleasure of 11f., tue, if tiiose siil disturhing train whistles wer. removed, or tiie times wiien trains pass through Witby were rqguated in some marner. The mayor aIse claixùed, itii. May article, that coecl bas known about this problom for the. lest ton years. But nothig hmu boon don. ta correct tiie Proble i tiie lest tonyears (aI jusL add that Mayrhem been in ofce for tii.laut - ton year). wWhsiiould stoppng the trin wstep liko they have been stopped et Brock or Dundes or Cochrane Sts.,mekotiie Town liable in any way? J" msetIim Whftb ALLAN FURLONG 10,