30 July 2004 Study to Ban Train Whistles on Hold Maple Ridge BC - A funding request to hire an independent consultant to see if train whistles could be banned without impacting public safety has been temporarily derailed.   On Tuesday, Maple Ridge council elected to defer the request from district staff to embark on the $32,000 study, a study Transport Canada says must be done before any application to ban whistles from CP Rail trains would be considered.   Council will revisit the issue when it meets at the end of August following their summer break.   Councillor Candace Gordon moved to mothball the study for now after saying the over $30,000 needed to hire a consultant to examine all nine controlled rail crossing is not in the district's budget. Staff was asking council, however, to find the money within its accumulated surplus. But with demand for that cash already high, council seems to be leaning on adding the cost of the study to its 2005 budget, if they decide to move ahead with the whistle ban at all.   "It's not urgent," said Gordon, adding the issue of train whistle noise irritating residents has bubbled to the surface repeatedly over the years.   The district has in the past made noise about trying to have train whistles silenced, but were turned down due to stringent federal government safety regulations.   However, with a revamped Railway Safety Act on the horizon, CP Rail says they are now prepared to consider supporting whistle bans within municipal boundaries.   If council were to support hiring an independent consultant, the study would look at all controlled rail crossings to see if they meet the new safety requirements and for the ones that don't illustrate what upgrades would be needed.   However, Coun. Jon Harris wondered that even with time and money invested in hiring a consultant, what assurances will the district have a whistle ban will be granted.   "We don't have written assurances... we have to have them in writing," Harris said.   Ron Riach, property and risk manager for the district, said in response that it's the federal government that approves the ban and if the Maple Ridge crossings are up to the new safety standards, getting a ban shouldn't be a problem.   "If our crossings meet those standards it would be difficult for CP Rail not to support (the district's application)," Riach said.   With the district holding off on seeking the ban, Coun. Faye Isaac said she'd like to hear more input on banning train whistles from the public and suggested holding meetings in neighbourhoods close to the train tracks.