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Say the trai Cori say wo, By MARC VINCENT Free Press Staff Residents of thg corridor area of Whitbj still fear that thi development of a GO ALRT maintenanct yard behind their home wil have a detrimental effect on their propert) and lifestyles.. Last ýThursday night, GO-ALRT officiais hield a workshop at the Whit- by Municipal Building to describe in detail the site, ifs construction anc eventual use. The worksbop was organlzed in response ta a number of letters of concern from local residents about the in- crease i noise level and the visual liability of a maintenance facllity i their backyards. The proposed site s approxlmately 300 meters from the neareat bouse, however, the bouse are at the top of an incline wblcb will make it difficuit to Ignore the maintenance yard below. There is also a CN rail Uine in between the houses and the site and residents are concerned that the noise level wil increase as a resuit of the additional traffic. The GO-ALRT of- ificials at the workshop attempted tf0*assure residents that the site is flot a marshalling yard and wil not produce a lot of noise. GO-ALRT further ex- plained that the trains are electric, much lighter and will ot produceany more noise than is already present with the CN track. The maintenance fadility wii also be housed in an attractive building complete witb Iandscaping that wiil try and reduce the visual ef- fect. Paul Johanneson, a GO-ALRT represen- tative, said from a in will be right in their back yards...., WITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMIBER 14,1984, PAGE 3' or area residents stil unhappywith GO-ALRT, rkshop did nothing but confirm their worst fe'ars mitigation procedurE that wil try and reduc e the noise even furthei >y such as a special greas ie on the tracks or a soun >-barrier. ,e Johannsson ait ýs assured the resident il that the tracks havi Y been designed t0 reduc the amount of noise b, t, incorporating Ioni d sweeping curves. t- Cliff Lumley, projec g manager, said that ti e noise legally must bi 1 kept below a prescribec level. The ambient levé i whicb is the averagE volume mfeasured ir r decibels on this sitE cannot go above 67 decibels which is 1already produced by the CN track. The CN traci is about 100 meters dloser to the residenflai area and Lunley doub- ted thâtfthere could be a f ur th ~increase in Despite the assuran- ces and tbe dlsplays many residents were still sceptical about the noise level and many reported tbat the value of their bouses have dropped significantly since tbe announcement of the plan. "Turils eloquent presentation bas con- firmed our worst fears," said'Bll Walsh, "The site is literally in our backyard." Walsh bas been a resident in the area for 14 montbs and was not aware of, the proposed site prior to moving in. "We bought the bouse for over $100,000 -and sent a lot of money for privacy, we didn't ex- pect this," Walsh-said. John Atherton also said he didn't believe one Word from the workshop. "I wouldn't mind if tiiere was a factory there but a marsballlng yard will be moving trains ail nigbt. " Despite the plans to reduce-the noise level, Atiierton' is adamant that the trains are steel wbeels on a steel track and there is nothing that can be done te keep the noise level down. Other residents were disgusted at the futiity of their position,' thev can't afford to move out now and if the site does conform to their worries it wilI be impossible for themn to selI. The only thing tbey can do is wait and see if GO ALRT is telling the truth. Centre Ward Coun. Marcel Bruneile admit- ted tbat he was very surprised at the reac'- tion of the residents. "I live within 300 yar- ds of a train track and bave neyer heard of a complaint from the neighbours"p said Bruneile. Brunelle aftributed the reaction to new residents wbo have just moved into th e area wbo were- not aware of the developmenf.' Bruneile was also in- dlined te belleve the Go- ALRT officiais would not produce a lot of noise or atý least nothlng compared to the 40 box car train thiat goes tbrougb the area regularly. 1According to Bruneile, council would be prepared f0 reduce the visual effect 0f the faciity by applying t0 GO-ALRT for funds to plant trees in the area between the bouses and the maintenance building. Council, he added, -supports the program, becauseîif is an oppor- -tnty tf0 show, thaf WÏtby is a progressive town and an incentive té attract other businesses into the area. Brunelle also noted that the yard will be a valuable source of tax dollars and employmenf for Whitby. Ian w'Iilams, a member of an engineering, consulting firm for GO-ALRT, explains te, C.A.R.A. residents the details of a plan to build a maintenance yard on Champlain Ave. RICH MON D AUTHOI WATERFOF WIth Advanced Generation Ultrc LotS O coz?ùro go choosefrom.WerDt ? < Lasting Be Reg. 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