Dartmouth train whistle keeping residents up at night could end soon

Overnight train whistle blasts have become a fact of life for homeowners in Dartmouth ever since the construction of the residential units at the King's Wharf Landing.

But new safety measures could eliminate the whistles by the end of the summer.

The loud whistles have been keeping some in Dartmouth up at night.

"It's a good, long, healthy blast for five to 10 seconds — it wakes me up every night," said Steve Kimball, the chairman of the board for the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission. 

He lives on Newcastle Street.   

Kimball said the impact of the overnight train whistle isn't limited to the buildings right next to the tracks.

"Even as far away as Slayter Street and Crichton Park — I don't know why it travels so far — but it certainly does," he said.     

The CN train whistles started because the construction of the King's Wharf project put pedestrians and cars close enough to the crossing that the whistle became necessary.   

To have them stopped, extra safety measures are needed, including more signage and better lighting.

There's a list of 14 measures in a report going to council. Some of those measures have to be done by the city, others by CN Rail, and a couple by King's Wharf.

"It's been done in other places, so I don't see any reason why it can't be done there," said Kimball.

Once the list is complete, and CN Rail signs off, then the city can apply to have the whistles stopped.

"The safety study indicated that there was a concern with the angling of the signals not being as visible for the people exiting the parkade and the gravel parking lot that's still here at King's Wharf," said Gord Gamble, the general manager with Fares Inc., the company behind the development.

"They made a request that two additional signal lights be added — there's a cost of about $7,000 for those additional signals which Francis Fares has agreed to pay for. They've now been ordered and once CN installs those that should be the completion of that component." 

Kimball said he is hoping for a  full night's sleep by the end of the summer.