Metrolinx drops West Diamond appeal

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The Toronto Star is reporting….

In a major victory for Toronto’s Junction community, Metrolinx has agreed to drop its appeal of a decision that limits the amount of noise it can make in the west-end neighborhood.

In December, the CTA ordered GO to limit work hours and use quieter methods at the rail crossing. GO had already implemented quieter technology and shrouds over the pile drivers to try to reduce the noise.

About 85 per cent of the 2,400 piles required have been completed, Thomas said. But the project, which was to have been finished last year, now won’t be done until the end of this year.

link to full story at TS

Thanks to blog reader Helen for bringing to the blogs attention

32 Comments

Of course, this doesn't stop solidarity train drivers from BLASTING THEIR HORNS as they run by our neighborhoods. Talk about vindictive.

It is a safety matter to protect the workers around the site. You don't know what blasting is. Any horns I have heard are mild and brief.

This makes me think:

-Is it taking longer because of all the hold ups from residents? Likely.

-How quick will metrolinx be to finish the bike path now?

Hi Sonny P., can I ask what you mean by "Is it taking longer because of all the hold ups from residents? Likely."? That sounds like you are blaming the residents for something, and judging by your next line probably the bike path not yet being complete. Maybe I'm wrong, but if you are, I'd like to say you are completely and utterly out of line. You have no idea what it has been like for us who have had to live with the pile driving. A bike path? Sorry, but your priorities seem totally out of whack.

Mulocker… I live in the Junction and I am aware of the noise. But it was never a problem for me. I'm home in the day and it was fine for me, I never heard them work past 6PM. I found the noise exceptable in return for the good things that Metrolinx is doing. I'm in favour of the railpath to the airport, something that would benefit me. I'm also heavily in favour of completing the bike path. I don't drive a car so that bike path is my highway to work. It cuts down on my ride to work at least 15 minutes. Would you want to finish the path at your own expense if the community was fighting you every step of the way?

The fact of the metrolinx project is that they likely would have been finished if it wernt for all the hold ups. I see at least some of the holdups as our local politicans looking to get their name in the paper.

I also realize that I live in an area of canada's largest metropolis called "THE JUNCTION" which has been known for its trains for over 100 years. So knowing where I live I don't have a problem with the expansion.

so perhaps YOU are out of line. We all have different opinions of what community issues are important to us as an individual so please refrain from judgment because I'm bringing up points valid to me.

You tell me what my priorities should be. Am I fighting for silence when I live in the hub of the major train lines? What's next for you… reducing Keele st to 2 lanes because it's too busy?

Two more things… without revealing where I live I live a lot closer to the project than Mulock so the noise for me would be worse than what you are experiencing. Somewhere areound where you live is a nasty rubber factory which polutes the whole neighborhood. If I were you I'd jump on that cause which I can guarantee is a lot more hazardous to the health of you and your family then some random clanging.

Read this line from the article:
"In December, the CTA ordered GO to limit work hours and use quieter methods at the rail crossing. GO had already implemented quieter technology and shrouds over the pile drivers to try to reduce the noise."

So you tell me, what would you rather… 48 hours of work spread over 6 8 hour days or 48 hours of work spread over a LIMITED TIME of 12 4 hour days. The same amount of work on the project needs to be completed. I'd rather it be done all at one go rather than limiting the time of day which results in MORE days of work.

When you go to the dentist (which is just as agonizing for you I'm sure) do you schedule your dental work over 5 days or do you go all at once?

Makes sense to just get it done… Guess my priorities are out of "whack"
Can you argue the f

Well said Sonny P.

"You have no idea what it has been like for us who have had to live with the pile driving"….

thats a pretty big assumption Mulocker! Some of us live so close we can spit on the rail line and still don't have a problem with the progress being made or the short term sacrifice needed to benefit the majority (remember those specific terms…. "short term" and "majority").

Theirry / SonnyP…

I'm not sure where you live, but I totally agree with Mulocker.

The pile driving project is literally destroying my house, and since the start of the construction walls have cracked, and brick work that has been here through over a 100 years of rail traffic is now falling apart. People are complaining about health issues that are simular to "shell shock" from the repeated pounding.

Yet by your reasoning, I should let Metrolinx ruin my house that I have invested in and then expect me to fix it at my cost without saying a word or trying to seek damages.

Metrolinx is truly the one out of line here, if they weren't then they would have won their case and not have dropped their appeal.

Sorry, I have to disagree. Hearing the noise vs. feeling it are two quite different things. My house SHOOK steadily throughout the day all through the summer last year and up until the CTA ordered Metrolinx to find quieter and less intrusive means to do their job. I don't know if your house did the same – all you mention is noise. We had intense noise and intense shaking and really, unless you experienced it I don't know if you can understand it. Did you have to go through that? Please know I am very happy about the bike path (we bike as well) but I have to say that watching cracks expand across my walls, windows and glasses vibrating and most of all, the lack of consideration from Metrolinx made me angry and I am glad for the injunction – piece and quiet. I am sad to know they are backed by people who actually live in the community. Sure, you want your bike path sooner but too bad for those residents who have had to deal with the anxiety and stress of the pile driving. We live in the Junction and so therefore they should just take it! They live near factories, so therefore they deserve it! Metrolinx always had the technology to do their work with less impact but they chose the pile-driving methods to save money.

Also, the dentist example – I can't even believe you compared it to what we are talking about.

Sorry Mulocker Sonny P is right. You moved into a neighbourhood with trains passing through, did it not occur to you that they may expand it one day? If you lived next to the airport would you complain about the noise? Know what you're getting yourself into before you buy. I think the delays are directly attributed to the complaints of the winers in the area. Your house shakes, we get it, but are your wishes more important than others? Sonny will benefit from the new line to the airport, should he have his benefit eliminated because you're not happy?

Mulocker, I want to sympathize with you. Really. But I just can't.

1) You live along a rail corridor
2) I have cracks in my walls too. They came from roadwork repairs (jackhammers). Its a part of owning your own home and there are multiple remedies:

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-repair-cracks-in-walls.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2065788_repair-cracked-wall.html

A small crack vs. a rail line to the airport? Sorry, your cracks lose.

Your windows vibrate? Do they vibrate long after the rail pounding stops? No. Short term problem for you and yours to cope with.

What lack of consideration from Metrolinx? Did they not come door to door to plead for your approval of the provincial project? I understand that you want your voice heard, but many, many other people made their voice heard that the rail line to the airport was a must have for a large city such as ours. Again, as I said before, the "majority" have spoken. You are in the minority.

Do you think maybe some of your anxiety and stress are self induced? I know if I spent hours every day fretting over the short-term pounding instead of accepting it as positive progress and moving on with my life, i'd probably be stressed out and anxious all the time too.

And the dentist example is completely point on and relevant. Multiple short bursts of pain, or one long, endured blast of pain to have the work over and done with? I'll take the long blast just to get out of the dentist's chair and on with my life.

NorthJunctionResident:

1) Shell Shock is a mental condition.
2) Cracks can be repaired, both interior and exterior. If there is a cost to you to do so, submit a bill to Metrolinx for repayment. I'm sure they'll happily pay for your justified costs if it allows them to complete their project without further interruption.

From The Star article the anti-Metrolinx proponents love to chirp about:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/article/793045–metrolinx-drops-west-diamond-appeal

"The project, which was to have been finished last year, now won’t be done until the end of this year."

You're prolonging our own self described misery!!! I continue to be baffled by your actions. Accept that its happening and get on with your lives. The banging will soon cease ("About 85 per cent of the 2,400 piles required have been completed") and then you can move on to the next thorn in your collective paw.

Is it wrong to ask that Metrolinx to take precautions by using modern technology and also be responsible for their actions?? When did corporations and governments stop having to do that?

How do you feel about injesting air from the rubber factory every day? Have you looked into the health hazards of that for your family or do you accept it because they were there before you? That should be a very serious issue for you and your family. Read this and then come tell me what the real priority is:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7963614

If you have damage to your home then I can sympathize with that. Thierry has a great point when he suggests talking to a lawyer about that. I sure as hell would if that happened to my place. Take some pictures and video, grab the newspaper articles and talk to your lawyer. Metrolinx will settle something like that I'm sure.

Will your home not continue to be damaged by spreading the project out over more time?

You should sympathize with the project and how it benefits 99% of Toronto with the exclusion being the 1% of people in the junction opposing it. None of my neighbours have experienced more discomfort then the noise and none of us have damage on our 100 year old homes.

Metrolinx extended an olive branch to our area by providing us with an AMAZING bike path at their expense which is used by way more people than those that oppose the airpoirt project. What would be in that area now had they not done that?? Tall fields and graffiti.

Are you concerned with pollution leaking into your ground/drinking water? Talk a walk on Gunns road and into the park beside St. Hellen's meat packers. Now walk down the ravine and look at what colour the creek's water is… that's right… ORANGE.
Does that concern you at all? Or not until it's made the news?

I'm just saying my opinions here which you felt was grounds to attack me. Take a look at the wider picture in our neighbourhood and what's REALLY hazardous to us. If you're fighting the Metrolinx battle but neglecting the other issues then I'd say YOU are the one with your priorities not straight.

There is NOTHING wrong with that at all. The way people are acting though is as if we live in Rolling Green Acres. We live in a big polluted part of the city that we all moved into. Metrolinx is just trying to expand on their own property and providing concessions along the way.

"Metrolinx extended an olive branch to our area by providing us with an AMAZING bike path at their expense which is used by way more people than those that oppose the airpoirt project. What would be in that area now had they not done that?? Tall fields and graffiti."

This is an olive branch? Sure, it is a good thing, but to call it an olive branch is just laughable. It seems what you are saying is that an entire group of people who have had to deal with this are just little babies. We know we don't live in "Rolling Green Acres" and we realize that the area in which we live have other problems besides our century-old houses shaking from the foundation up, but it seems you are saying that we should not try and make a bad situation into something that works for everyone. If Metrolinx had decided to spend the extra money and use the vibrating method earlier in the process instead of being forced to do so then this would not have been an issue. Agreed, the tracks were going to be modernized at some point but it is the way Metrolinx handled (or mishandled) the situation that has brought us here.

Anyhow, we disagree on the issue, and we all have the right to our own opinions, and that’s fine.

Yes we agree to disagree and in your world lung cancer is nowhere near as important as home damage. Breath deep kids….

That's the first I've heard of a bicycle trail to the airport along the corridor. I've only heard that Metrolinx wants to complete the next phase of the Railpath towards Union, unless that's what you meant.

Maybe the wind patterns generally blow the pollution away from Mulock, I don't know. Your point above about creekwater and drinking water is erroneous because drinking water isn't drawn from Lavender Creek. Pile driving is a serious issue for many of those living near it which affected them rather strongly. Large amounts of noise are harmful as many studies have shown, reducing the ability to concentrate and increasing stress. Metrolinx originally did not take satisfactory steps to mitigate their noise.

Plus, in terms of the public benefits of this tunnel, it seems that 99% of the people it accommodates people who have chosen to live outside the city and commute long distances. I don't know why they're treated with so much respect and have so much privilege, and not the people who live here. But it doesn't surprise me that those who live here use their democratic rights to assert their right to dignified living. Anyone in any neighbourhood, not just "Rolling Green Acres" has a right to live in a healthy and safe environment.

Just wanted to correct this point:
"Metrolinx extended an olive branch to our area by providing us with an AMAZING bike path at their expense which is used by way more people than those that oppose the airpoirt project. What would be in that area now had they not done that?? Tall fields and graffiti."

The existing West Toronto Railpath has absolutely nothing to do with Metrolinx. That was purely a City of Toronto parks project, on City of Toronto owned property, in co-operation with residents. It was proposed, planned, and designed before Metrolinx even existed.

The only way that Metrolinx is involved is for any *future* expansion along rail corridors that they own.

Ah A.R., there you are. I for one appreciate your points, but your reply was unconvincing. Im going to take a leap and say you didn't even believe it as you typed it out.

"Maybe the wind patterns…" & "reducing the ability to concentrate …"? If there's a toxic "rubber stink" in the air, no wind will change it. And I'm sorry, can you please share the study where it was proven that lack of concentration and moderately increased stress (because really, how can anyone let themselves get THAT worked up over something so trivial and totally out of their control?) leads to anything more then a headache and irritability?

Also, when you said: "it seems that 99% of the people it accommodates people who have chosen to live outside the city and commute long distances"… I'm not sure I know too many people who commute to the AIRPORT.

I just got back from a week long vacation. The Airport limo, based on the zone I fit into, was 44$ (50$ total), 2 ways. If there was an option to take a rail link to the airport, you bet your bottom dollar myself and a whole hoard of other locals would use the line.

I love the path they are developing along the railway and have used it often on my bike, but I have never seen any mention of Metrolinx on the website. Am I missing something?

NJR: I did, but the flight times were outside regular TTC operating hours and getting to Kipling with luggage via the late night Bloor vomit comet is quite an effort. That is an option though for when I fly during the day.

Without Metrolinx there is no Phase 2 which would run down to Liberty village. They can't even begin to plan out the rest of the path until this rail corridor has been completed.

"3.Metrolinx has agreed to do what they can to make stage 2 happen and in some cases may be of great assistance especially in terms of cleaning the soil. The work that Metrolinx is doing is subject to 2 EA's plus a fair amount of public protest relating to diesel plus the actual reconfiguration and addition of rail lines. Railpath stage 2 may have to wait for all of Metrolinx's stuff to be done before the City can go ahead. That could be a few years."
http://www.junctiontriangle.ca/node/108

More hold ups = longer wait times for the rest of the path.

Theirry and I should operate a dunking booth at this year's Junction Arts fest…. All proceeds go to charity. I think we'd make a few G of that!

In some areas wind patterns blow industrial odours in one direction most of the time, and homeowners rarely experience any issues. As for the health effects of noise, there's a Wikipedia article on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_from_noise

Its citations link to a variety of studies. The stress has different effects.

The airport train is supposed to be a premium service. It was first called "Blue 22" because it was supposed to cost $22 and take 22 minutes to get from Union to the airport. It's not going to be cheap. But your point that the airport train would be useful to locals isn't even relevant to this discussion, because without the tunnel, the airport train could still run. This tunnel is most useful for the massive expansion of passenger train traffic on the GO Georgetown line. This isn't about the airport train.

Hmmm…interesting theory, link. The piledriving didn't seem to bother Kathleen Wynne (Minister of Transportation) either. I wish I had such nerves of steel.

More positive progress reported in today's paps:

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/local/article/506057–feds-province-give-go-transit-16-6m-to-add-bridge-tracks

GO Transit is getting $16.6 million in federal and provincial money to put toward widening bridges in Toronto. The announcement Friday was made by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Ontario Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne.

The ministers say the bridge widening will allow for a fourth track on the Georgetown South corridor, which will hopefully help ease commuter congestion. The $8.3 million in federal money is part of the government’s economic stimulus plan. Wynne said most GO passengers own or have access to a car, but still choose public transit.

“GO trains in the Georgetown South corridor are already operating at capacity,” she said.
“That’s why we need to move forward with this expansion right now.”

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