This is perfect. Oh so perfect in many different situations.
You know, buying a house, where it is located and what is around. Therefore, it is on you. I purposely didn't buy a house (when hunting years ago) because it was along a train line.
It wasn't just the noise, it was possible derailment that spooked me.
It is also like all those people who buy in a flood plain (aka Calgary) and then are surprised they are flooded every.damn.spring.
I belong to three different Courtice facebook groups. The whining about the trains and the horns gets on my nerves. Now there's this uproar about what kind of noise will residents have to listen to when GO service begins in 2024-ish. One person surmised the reason for so many For Sale signs this past summer was because people didn't want to deal with it. There was also talk of suing realtors for NOT telling buyers that GO trains may travel through south Courtice. I sit on my hands and stare at the keyboard because I have nothing nice to type. Personally, I am THRILLED that I will live less than 2 km north of the Courtice GO station when it opens. THRILLED. Everyone else can get in their cars and go find other neighbourhoods with no transit options to live in. That's where those folks belong. Get the hell out of mine.
I would have thought property values would have gone up? some people just like to complain. I personally like being close to the Go Train, I'm not close enough for it to disrupt my sleep but I can hear the bells and horns from outside. Buyer beware!
Right?! House prices in Courtice are up nearly 22% from Spring 2014 and rising. Houses on Stuart Road listing for over $500K! Townhouses averaging $335K when two years ago, you could buy a townhouse for $275K! My own house is worth $479K and I only bought it in June of 2014 for $347K These homeowners are deluding themselves that transit ruins a neighbourhood. Please. Just move.
CJ, it sounds like your facebook group are NIMBYs. Transit is all well and good and needed, but they need to put it somewhere else. So there.
As far as realtors go, they are there to facilitate a sale and it's the buyers job to find out about the neighborhood and area. Suing them would be a very large and time consuming waste of money. My sister in law has been sued twice as a realtor because the buyer found out about an issue with the neighborhood (that my SIL had no idea about, she doesn't live there) that they were not told about. Both times the case was tossed with costs.
Just think that if the NIMBYs leave, there will be toms of room on the train for you. I live about 2 kms from the Oakville station and we have dependable buses and if I'm forced to drive, it's a short hop away. Heavenly.
Sqiggles, my family were evacuated when we lived along Lakeshore west and the propane cars derailed in 1980(?). We moved shortly after that and just before the interest rates skyrocketed. Dodged two bullets in six months. :)
Thankfully, where I bought, I am close enough to walk to the GO station (in good weather) but far enough away to be safe.
I do understand if people bought before announcements for transit extensions being upset. And public transportation can affect housing prices negatively. But right now, considering how Cobourg and Niagara Falls are considered "commuting distance", the transit will only help.
I live near the end of Fenning Drive which is as south Courtice as you can get. When my neighbour was finally able to move in, it was summer time. She complained for weeks about the noise from the highway and felt she couldn't sit outside. The 401 is about 600-700 metres south of our backyards. When I bought my house, I knew we'd probably hear the traffic. We didn't expect the train noise to be so loud. Especially between 11 pm and 4 am when all the freight service comes through. I'm one of the people who has complained on the Facebook group asking for a bylaw for whistle cessation. I have a friend who lives at 2 and Courtice Road and they hear the train whistles all the way up there. It's loud. It's excessive. I knew about the highway and I accepted it. There is some legit concern about the train whistles. They whistle as they approach Prestonvale Road near Baseline. At that hour of the night, it's not necessary. The lights and are more than enough. Maybe you got used to it, CJ, but I do believe that GO train traffic, especially the buses, will create a traffic nightmare and people will move.
What puts me off, is last summer a bulletin was put out to the CP train crews to be vigilant and to use the whistle only as intended. Basically... don't make excessive noise. It only got worse, and seemingly on purpose.
But, like you said... we bought near the tracks, and we bought there knowing full well they were there.
GO Trains don't use whistles at level crossings if the municipality allows it. In Stouffville they did use the whistle downtown back int he day but I haven't been there in a while so no idea if they still have to do it.
GO always uses the bells to cross level crossings as far as i know and whistles for emergencies or potential emergencies.
Unless a municipal bylaw prohibits whistles/horns, the CROR (Canadian Rail Operating Rules) require a warning horn with the --.- sequence (2 long, 1 short, 1 long) with the final long blast continuing until the train occupies the crossing.
For those who don't want the horns (either any time or just at night), lobby your local council for a bylaw. One caveat: your municipality will have to pay (read: property tax payers will have to pay) for the added liability insurance cost.
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This is perfect. Oh so perfect in many different situations.
ReplyDeleteYou know, buying a house, where it is located and what is around. Therefore, it is on you. I purposely didn't buy a house (when hunting years ago) because it was along a train line.
It wasn't just the noise, it was possible derailment that spooked me.
It is also like all those people who buy in a flood plain (aka Calgary) and then are surprised they are flooded every.damn.spring.
I belong to three different Courtice facebook groups. The whining about the trains and the horns gets on my nerves. Now there's this uproar about what kind of noise will residents have to listen to when GO service begins in 2024-ish. One person surmised the reason for so many For Sale signs this past summer was because people didn't want to deal with it. There was also talk of suing realtors for NOT telling buyers that GO trains may travel through south Courtice. I sit on my hands and stare at the keyboard because I have nothing nice to type.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am THRILLED that I will live less than 2 km north of the Courtice GO station when it opens. THRILLED.
Everyone else can get in their cars and go find other neighbourhoods with no transit options to live in. That's where those folks belong. Get the hell out of mine.
I would have thought property values would have gone up? some people just like to complain. I personally like being close to the Go Train, I'm not close enough for it to disrupt my sleep but I can hear the bells and horns from outside. Buyer beware!
ReplyDeleteRight?! House prices in Courtice are up nearly 22% from Spring 2014 and rising. Houses on Stuart Road listing for over $500K! Townhouses averaging $335K when two years ago, you could buy a townhouse for $275K!
ReplyDeleteMy own house is worth $479K and I only bought it in June of 2014 for $347K
These homeowners are deluding themselves that transit ruins a neighbourhood. Please. Just move.
CJ, it sounds like your facebook group are NIMBYs. Transit is all well and good and needed, but they need to put it somewhere else. So there.
ReplyDeleteAs far as realtors go, they are there to facilitate a sale and it's the buyers job to find out about the neighborhood and area. Suing them would be a very large and time consuming waste of money. My sister in law has been sued twice as a realtor because the buyer found out about an issue with the neighborhood (that my SIL had no idea about, she doesn't live there) that they were not told about. Both times the case was tossed with costs.
Just think that if the NIMBYs leave, there will be toms of room on the train for you. I live about 2 kms from the Oakville station and we have dependable buses and if I'm forced to drive, it's a short hop away. Heavenly.
Sqiggles, my family were evacuated when we lived along Lakeshore west and the propane cars derailed in 1980(?). We moved shortly after that and just before the interest rates skyrocketed. Dodged two bullets in six months. :)
@Ed:
ReplyDeleteObviously the gods have been smiling on you!
Thankfully, where I bought, I am close enough to walk to the GO station (in good weather) but far enough away to be safe.
I do understand if people bought before announcements for transit extensions being upset. And public transportation can affect housing prices negatively. But right now, considering how Cobourg and Niagara Falls are considered "commuting distance", the transit will only help.
I live near the end of Fenning Drive which is as south Courtice as you can get. When my neighbour was finally able to move in, it was summer time. She complained for weeks about the noise from the highway and felt she couldn't sit outside. The 401 is about 600-700 metres south of our backyards. When I bought my house, I knew we'd probably hear the traffic. We didn't expect the train noise to be so loud. Especially between 11 pm and 4 am when all the freight service comes through. I'm one of the people who has complained on the Facebook group asking for a bylaw for whistle cessation. I have a friend who lives at 2 and Courtice Road and they hear the train whistles all the way up there. It's loud. It's excessive.
ReplyDeleteI knew about the highway and I accepted it.
There is some legit concern about the train whistles. They whistle as they approach Prestonvale Road near Baseline. At that hour of the night, it's not necessary. The lights and are more than enough. Maybe you got used to it, CJ, but I do believe that GO train traffic, especially the buses, will create a traffic nightmare and people will move.
^ How did you find my blog? The timing of your comment is interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat puts me off, is last summer a bulletin was put out to the CP train crews to be vigilant and to use the whistle only as intended. Basically... don't make excessive noise. It only got worse, and seemingly on purpose.
ReplyDeleteBut, like you said... we bought near the tracks, and we bought there knowing full well they were there.
GO Trains don't use whistles at level crossings if the municipality allows it. In Stouffville they did use the whistle downtown back int he day but I haven't been there in a while so no idea if they still have to do it.
ReplyDeleteGO always uses the bells to cross level crossings as far as i know and whistles for emergencies or potential emergencies.
Unless a municipal bylaw prohibits whistles/horns, the CROR (Canadian Rail Operating Rules) require a warning horn with the --.- sequence (2 long, 1 short, 1 long) with the final long blast continuing until the train occupies the crossing.
ReplyDeleteFor those who don't want the horns (either any time or just at night), lobby your local council for a bylaw. One caveat: your municipality will have to pay (read: property tax payers will have to pay) for the added liability insurance cost.