Lethbridge Alberta - Re:  Railway Industry a Fact of Life for City Residents.
 
I am a resident on 1 Avenue North.
 
My home is my inheritance, left to me by my parents as others in this neighbourhood have inherited their homes from their parents.
 
The house is over 100-years-old and has lived through and survived hundreds of thousands of trains going by.
 
The key phrase here is "going by," travelling somewhere.
 
My questions and concerns (and those of other residents) are to do with a switch that is now being used within the city limits in a residential area.
 
The regulation on the distance of a switch to a residence within city limits, as given by CP to me, is that the switch is to be located a minimum of 200 feet away from any residence.
 
It is currently 95 feet away from my front door.
 
The train whistles are not our biggest concern.
 
However, trains idling for up to 24 hours during the winter months, waiting to be hooked up to other trains going through our city, this is the issue.
 
As a city, we need to be concerned about accidents that can happen, as in Lake Megantic, collisions, rear-ends, derailment, spills of oil, fuel, grain, chemicals, and explosions.
 
The air and noise pollution generated by the engines of these idling trains in residential areas affects not only people, but animals and birds, trees, and grass, and the foundations of our homes and businesses on both sides of the track.
 
There are children, adults of all ages, and animals living much closer than the 200 foot allowance that CP states is their policy.
 
Is it possible for Mayor Spearman or council to contact other communities that are in the same predicament as Lethbridge or are we the only community dealing with this issue in all of Canada?
 
We have been given a CP emergency number to report issues such as the idling, and we use this number to report the times their rules aren't followed.
 
However, the information is not being passed on down the line in a timely manner as the engines continue to idle long past the phone calls.
 
As Mayor Spearman asked in council, "So how are we going to manage smell and the gas emissions from the locomotives. Hopefully they will take some reasonable precautions."
 
If not, what recourse do we have?
 
And who other than CP can we contact to have resolution?
 
Mary Bartel.