By Mike Kowalski Hundreds of Whitby residents could experience'an unfamiliar sensation in the months ahoad - silence. That's because an end te the constant blowing of train whis- ties at the Hopkins Street rail- way crossing may soon be at hand. Transport, Canada will bo in- formed by Canadian Pacific that the rail company is prepared to sign an- anti-Whistling agreement with Durham Region. If approved by the ministry, CP enginoors will no longer bo able to indiscriminately blow their train whistles when approaciffg tho crossing' south ounas Street. CP spokesperson Gorry McKechnie told TheF'ree Press that following a récent inspection of the crossing, the company has agreed to comply with a munici- pal anti-whistlingbylaw. .1 talkod to our. oprating people and they. said if we want a~n anti-whist ing agreemnent McKechnie. «Now i's *uet acse of the pa erwok, e said. ]e*ncouncil votod ta ask CP to orfer its engineers to stop the whistles diruingt Heirneigh bouhoos ds piaioly t ight hoquestfn thehedaTeowcniof ofterosing, whisves are hearnd for miles aourinth onineeisrutitarthounigthe -whistone-quheremil e or hue rain reahes methe cin. Whitby initiatod similar action with the Garden Street crossing three years ago, but needed Dur- ham's. approval as Hopkins Street is a regional road. Athough CP will inform Transport Canada of its coin- pliance, it isn't as simple as they (council) think, " said MCKechnie, directar k ofien- munity affairs for CP Rail Ss teyns. "Thoy (ministry) may want ta go look atit as well » he said. «It could ho iko Garden Street» McKechnie recalled, in that fencing and other measures had ta be implementod bof'ore that anti-whistling agreement w as approved. But eywn -with an anti-whis- tling bylaw in place, the whistles No Town council meetings (public) wil be held imtil September will net stop entirely, McKechnie stressed. "If thero is a trespasser or something on the crossing the engineor will blow tho whistle,» he said. "If there's a chance of an acci- dent he'll blow the whistle as a warning.» Safety reasons alone will dic- tata if and when the whistle ia blown, said McKechnie, who ref- erred ta statistics compiled by the Rail Association of Canada. "Of aIl the rail accidents in Canada,- 60 per cent occur at protected crossings ... that's an _Awful lot,» ho said. Protected crossings are those nqupped with flashing lightS and belîs or lights, belîs and a gate. McKechnie estimated it will take a minimum of 60 daysupon receipt of CP's letter, bfr Transport Canada approves the company's request. Witb;y councillor Dennis Fox was delighted when informed of McKechnie's comments last week. Fox, who lobbied for the Gar- den Street anti-whistling bylaw, has also raised the Hopkins Street mnatter on a regular basis at council meetings. In an earlier interview, the east ward representative was clearly annoyed by CP's delay. "They're completely ignoring the bylaw and attenmpts b the Town ta find out why,' said Fox. «W've writton the railway and (MP Dan) MeTeague, nothing's happening,"he said. «We announced a bylaw's in place and the residents are won- dering what's going on.» if CP had concerns about the Hopkins Street cressing, they were nover expressed ta council or Town staff, Fox claimed. "A community has the right ta ask them ta cease (blowing) as long as precautions are in place and there are safety de vices in place there,» he said. «I think what's'happening is a numbor of engineors know it's in place and they'ro purposely leav- ing heavily on it at ail tîmos of the day and night. "Irm net jtist talking about a quick teot, but a long, loud blast.» m Whitby Free Preas, Wechesday, JuIy 20, 1M.4 Page 3 Dent ures so natural... .you'II nover know the difforonce! muftiwlsfor sensitive 0gums;19 (FREE CONSULTrATION) Walter Wimmer, Denture Therapist PICKERING TOWN CENTRE 4205020imsce615oM n