514 streetcar still screeching, Corktown residents say, despite TTC attempts to reduce noise
The TTC says new technology has 'diminished' noise, but they can't prevent all streetcar sound
The TTC has failed in its efforts to lessen a screeching and squealing noise from the 514 Cherry streetcar when it turns at King Street East and Sumach Street, according to area residents.
"We are thinking of moving, seriously considering it," said Meredith Mednick, who lives less than 70 metres from the intersection. "This has impacted our health and our quality of life so much so that we can't live there anymore."
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Some Corktown residents want 514 streetcar yanked until noisy tracks fixed
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TTC working on solutions for screeching 514 Cherry streetcars, Corktown residents told
The 514 streetcar went into service two years ago, and shortly after, residents in the King Street East and Sumach Street area began to complain about a screeching sound, which happens when the streetcar makes a sharp turn at the intersection. Since then, the TTC has taken several measures to try to curtail the noise.
But Laela Weinzeig, another resident, said the sound is still like nails on a chalkboard.
"It's this really high-pitched screech that kind of like eats right through you. It's quite nasty," she said.
When asked if she'd noticed any change in the sound over the past year, she said, "not at all. If anything on some days I think it's worse."
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said after the line was created, they did find streetcars at the intersection particularly noisy.
Soon after, the transit agency met with residents and neighbours to implement changes to ease the noise, he said.
"The reality of that intersection and the reality of streetcar traffic in Toronto in general is that they'll never be completely noise-free," said Green.
"We've gone through a lot of pains to reduce the noise in this area, and in other areas, and we know that, using our noise meters and just anecdotally … the noise in that area has gone down considerably in the last eight to 10 months."
But according to Mednick, what's been done isn't enough.
"They're doing their best, and they're coming out with solutions," said Mednick. "But this has been going on for almost two years. It just seems like this is ridiculous at this point."
Mednick said she took this video of the intersection on Thursday.
Her husband, Jason, posted this video last spring.
Remedies being tested
Green said the streetcar network overall is quieter as a result of more new low-floor streetcars being added to routes.
"They've got more bends in them; they've got more points where they can articulate on the rail."
The King Street East. and Sumach Street intersection itself has also become a sort of "guinea pig," Green said, where they've begun testing new technology to reduce noise.
Shortly after receiving the complaints in 2016, they started grinding and rebuilding the rail to adjust the angle the streetcar turns on.
The TTC also added a GPS-based lubrication system to new streetcars on the 514 route, which allows them to pinpoint and place grease at specific points in the network.
"When it rains or there's some weather, that can be washed away or we have to replace that. So, the squealing will never be completely gone, but it's completely diminished," Green said.
In just the last few weeks, they've also begun testing a rubber ring on wheels to reduce the sound coming as a result of steel wheels hitting steel rails.
"It's something that, if it's successful and if it works for us, we can put it on this route as a priority and then even put it out throughout the rest of the streetcar system," Green said.
"We've done a number of community meetings in the area, and each time we have a meeting we hear from the residents saying, 'Oh, it has gotten better.'"
'Just so awful,' according to resident
Mednick is adamant that while there may be some improvements; she's still suffering as a result of the streetcar noise.
"I continue to be woken up at 5:45 a.m. every morning on weekdays," she said. "And it goes on until around 2 a.m. It's just screeching and squealing."
"Occasionally, there are days when there is none … It's never consistent."
Mednick is on maternity leave and says she leaves her home as much as possible to get away from the noise, and with streetcars running every 10 minutes, she says she hears it often.
She'd like to see a bus brought to the neighbourhood until the noise can be improved.
"I shouldn't have to feel that I can't stay in my own home during maternity leave because this is just so awful," she said.
"Nobody should."
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With files from Talia Ricci