RICIION OF YORK OI. ... K'I OfFICE Pll.l No.· fl~ ~RKHAM OCT - 8 Z015 October 2, 2015 Mr. Denis Kelly Regional Clerk Regional Municipality of York 17250 Y onge Street Newmarket, On L3Y 6Z1 RE: ANTI-\VHISTLING ON STOUFFVILLE GO LINE AND ANTI-WHISTLING BY-LAWS & ASSOCIATED LIABILITY (5.12) Presentation Dear Mr. Kelly: This will contl.rm that at a meeting held on September 28, 2015 , Councii of the City of Markham adopted the following resolution: "1) That the written submission and petition with 2,300 signatures from Shanta Sundarason and Margaret Wilson regarding anti-whistling be received; and. 2) That the deputations by Shanta Sundarason and Margaret Wilson, Philip Blachier, Bryan Allen, Michelle Sukul-Chan, Masood Mohajer, Peter Miasek representing the Unionville Ratepayers Association, Mira Jug, Lene Ergir, and Doug Denby regarding anti-whistling be received; and, 3) That the September 22,2015 presentations from staff and Jardine Lloyd Thompson be received; and, 4) That staff finalize the safety audit, cost estimates, cost assessment and Regional Express Rail (RER) requirements for the road/rail crossings in consultation with the Regional Municipality ofYork and Metrolinx; and, 5) That staff undertake a safety audit on the Green Lane and Langstaff Road crossings on the CN Bala Subdivision (Richmond Hill Line) and report back to Council as to required safety improvements and cost to continue anti-whistling; and, ..... .21 The Corporation of the City of Markham • Clerk's Department Anthony Roman Centre, 101 Town Centre Boulevard, Markham, ON L3R 9W3 • Tel: 905.475.4744 • Fax: 905.479.7771 • www.markham.ca 21 2- 6) That the City of Markham reaffirms its commitment to safety measures for at­ grade rail crossings in collaboration with Metrolinx and the Regional Municipality of York to achieve whistle cessation at those crossings and to improve the quality oflife for residents adjacent to those crossings; and, 7) That staff be directed to hire a rail safety expert to determine if safety measures beyond the Grade Crossing Regulations are required, and provide a report by January, 2016; and, 8) That the Budget Sub-committee be requested to include an additional $500,000 in the Capital Budget to begin a grade crossing safety program; and, 9) That the Regional Municipality ofYork be requested to confirm 100% funding and liability for grade rail safety on regional road crossings; and, 10) That the Mayor's Office arrange a meeting with Metrolinx to confirm the timing of implementation for safety measures in the RER initiative; and, 11) That staff confirm with Metrolinx their approved funding to implement such measures; and, 12) That staff collaborate with Metrolinx to advance, where feasible, the implementation of the safety measures in the City of Markham; and, 13) That the City of Markham strongly request Metrolinx to implement the safety measures that achieve whistle cessation prior to the implementation of all day train service; and, 14) That staff provide an update to Development Services Committee by November 30, 2015 on progress reiated to all ofthe issues; and 15) That the City of Markham, in conjunction with the Anti-Whistling Working Group, hold public information meetings to keep the public apprised of the progress; and, 16) That staff develop a work plan and implementation plan for the grade crossing safety program and report back to Council on that plan no later than January 30, 2016; and, ...... 3/ 22 3- 17) That staff report back on the above issues for Council's direction; and further, 18) That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Lee, Deputy Director, Engineering, at 905-477- 7000 ext.4838. Yours sincerely, Kimberley Kitteringham r; tu rl a ..lr ~J.t,J '-".1\..l.l.n.. KK.:mbp Encl. 23 ,'• ·- Anti-Whis1tli1ng on Stou·ffville GO Lir1e in t~1e City of Markham 24 f:>roject Upd«:ite Dev49lopment Services Committee September 22, 2015 f;fflll!l ; j ContE~nts "' 1. Train Whistling at Public Grade Crossings 2. Elinnination of Train Whiistling under the RailwaJI Safety Act, 1985 3. Public Grade Crossings on the Stouffville Line in Markharn 25 Future Service Plans for the StouffVillle Line Crossing Safety Assessment by AECOM Issues to consider for Anti-1whistling Cost to Upgrade Grade Crossings Experience from other ()ntario Municipalities I Safety, Risk & Liabilitie~s - presentation by Jardine Lloyd Thompson Uunmarv & Next Steps · Train Whistling at Public C~rade Crossings • Train whistling is an irr1portant way to keep drivers, cyclists and pedestrian safe .. In some cases, these whistle can be botherson1e to people living nearby and municipalities may wish to end the whistling to provide local 26 residents with relief from the noise. (Sourct~: Transport Canada 'website: https://www. tc.gc. ca/enq/rai/safetvlrai/safetv-976. htrnj) The Canadian Rail Op~erating Rules (CROAt) is a set of operatin~1 rules for .. railways in Canada pursuant to the~ Rail Satety Act, 1985. The CROR ire all trains to whistlE~ whenever they approach a public grade Elimir1ation of Train Whistling u1nder tlhe Act • The CROR has a provision for the elimination of train whistle. • The "Procedure for Eli1minating Whistling At Public Grade Crossings" is a B- 27 step process that is consistent with the requirements of section ~~3.1 of Rail1way Safety Act, se~ction 104 of the new Grade Crossing Regulations (GCR) which came into effect on November 27, 2014, and Appendix D of the (3rade Crossing Standards. The GCR (2014) supersedes Transport Canada's Guideline No. II: Procedure & Conditions tor Eliminating Whistling at Public Crossings, and the Metrolinx's Guidelines for Whistle c:essation., . -inx follows the h~detral-regulated Procedure although it is not a lated raillwa.y. It is re1gulated by the Ontario Ministe1r of . Elimi11ation of Tra.in Whis1tling under tlhe Act {c:ont'd) • Whistling elimination is lirnited to vvhistling at the public crossings. There are other situations under Section 14 of CROR that require the ~ihistle to be sounded, e.g. alarm for p~ersons or animals on or near the track 28 • The ringing of the Engine Bell (CROR Section 13) is not part of the elimination of train whistling Metrolinx has advised that whistles are sounded in n1unicipalities where ,elimination of train whistling is impllemented, based on the train e~ngineers' le discretion .~CN· Bala Subdivision (Richmond Hill G<)) currently has an anti-whist1 whistles are not sounded at Gre~en Lane and Langstaffr:u- Subdivision has train whistling at the Avenue. ~\~'.:.,,..,.n 14th 8-Ste1) Procedure f~•r Elim1inatio1n of Tr·ain Whh:;tling • Step ·1 -Interest for whistlin~J cessation is e>epressed- completed • Step :2 - Municipality consults with railway company - completed • Step :3 - Municipality issues noti1fication and public notice 29 • Step 4 - Municipality and railway assess the~ crossing(s) against thE~ prescribed requirements in the Grade Crossing Regulations and Grade Crossing Standards- substantially completed Step 5- Municipality and railway agree that the crossing(s) meets the prescribed nequirementf; of the Grade Crossing Regulations and Standards - underway . Step 6- Municipality passes a nesolution de~claring that it agrees that whistles should not be U$ed in thBlt area, thereby prohibitiing train whistling - Railway company notifies Transpo11 Canada and informs the municipality within 30 dc:w~ .. ·has arranged to have whistling ceased at the crossing(s) ·· .. , -Municipality and railway share the responsibili1ty for monit()ring and.maintaining thQ IQ!itiOJ'lS thatsupport the cessation of train whistling at the crossing(s). ··· Background Uxbridge Train Limt No. of Public ••••• • • Crossing: 17 : 1s,( • • }J. Rail Cc:nridor and f I •• 17 •• !....... J f I • • f : • 18 '1: At-Grade Crossings .~ ....... t ~· York Region: 7 : ~· I * Pn.tlllt' Cl'fi•&Jng 11 ) : r..;s-: City of Markham: 9 4 30 RII~IO(' •t :-irar1• CrOMI"'C (7\ ., I • •. : I ~ TorontoJ et Gf'ade Crn"'"f 11 ..,._do OrE i (jJ 0 lowr H~~rade 1..ro.1~ ···";:, City of Toronto: 1 .:: :•sh.d, Ar~a . ••• .....,14 : r,. • • 11th Awe ~ •• : 1 : ' ···············~lZ . No. of Private I .• .• • ..--. t • ,r)::r t 111 I• . I ...... 71-~- I ·< 7 •" Crossing: 1 f... .• ...... ·• 1-l'..!'/ s . ~~ ,,..'< " 0 --A!~l' ' (at location #4) ....d , :t - /-.1). .q :~;-;;;;.~;~::• . /, ," •...z • f ~ ....... .• ,1 .• ·~-· alii' ••••••• 1 ··'"~ '" •*'II: _! __~~~~~.._L ......._ f'f IIIII ; i! Futur~e Service Phans for the Stc:J~uffvill~e Line • Stouffville Corridor Rail Service Expansion Class EA. (16 km improvement from1 Scarborough Junction to Unionville G() station) - completed 31 • Regional Express Rail (RER) study is underway to provide electrified service with 2-way, 15-minute service from Union to Unionville, and 20- minute service from Union to Lincolnville. 1-his is part of the Province $16; billion investment over th~e next 10 years for transit projects in th~e GTHA. Futur~e Service Plcins for the Sto~uffvill1e Line (c:ont'd) • As part of RER, Metrollinx is undertaking a number of network-wide studie~s: CJ Bail/road grade separation CJ Electrification EAs 32 CJ Electric Equipment Study CJ Future station locations . City of.Toronto is undertal<ing an addendum1 to the Steeles Avenue Grade $eparation Class Environmental Assessment, and will be followe~d up with . Metrolinx and York Re,gion are also funding the EA. Futur~e Service Pl~:tns for tlhe Sto,uffvill~e Line (c:ont'd) a: :::> 0 (!' :I: z :I: z (/) WQ :::> a: Giffi