I'm writing in response to a couple of letters published last week complaining about the incessant train whistles they claim cause them harm.
While I don't live close to the tracks, I often house-sit for a client whose house directly faces the train tracks. Yes, I was woken a few times during the night due to the loud whistles, but I think this is a minuscule price to pay if it means potentially saving someone's life.
The Chilliwack Wellness Centre and other crucial resources for vulnerable people are close to the tracks, so they often serve as pedestrian corridors. Nobody, regardless of their background or current struggles, deserves to be killed being struck by a train.
The loud train whistles are a band-aid that covers up the gaping wound that is a disgraceful lack of mental health care in this province, but nevertheless, the whistles are a necessary harm reduction measure needed to prevent more fatalities. If the whistles bother you that much, consider noise-cancelling headphones and/or developing a bit more empathy.
Thanks,
Andrea Sadowski
