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Report To: General Government Committee
Date of Meeting: December 1, 2025 Report Number: PDS-063-25
Authored By: Robert Brezina, Manager, Engineering Design
Submitted By: Kaela Esseghaier, Director of Infrastructure
Darryl Lyons, Deputy CAO, Planning and Infrastructure
Reviewed By: Mary-Anne Dempster, CAO
By-law Number: Resolution Number:
File Number:
Report Subject: Update on Whistle Cessation at CN Grade Level Crossings at Bennett
Road and Cobbledick Road
Recommendations:
1.That Report PDS-063-25, and any related delegations or communication items, be
received;
2.Option A: That Staff be directed to utilize the remaining available funding for Whistle
Cessation Implementation at Bennett Road and Cobbledick Road , up to
$1,468,450.17, for the purposes of installation of fencing and additional anti-trespass
countermeasures along the rail corridor as required by CN; and
3.That the Deputy CAO, Planning and Infrastructure be the delegated authority to
execute any necessary agreements with CN or amendments to existing agreements
with CN that are required to implement whistle cessation.
OR
4.Option B: That staff be directed to not proceed with CN’s requested upgrades which
would result in CN not implementing whistle cessation at the two grade level
crossings; and
5.That all interested parties listed in Report PDS-063-25, be advised of Council’s
decision.
GG-180-25
Municipality of Clarington Page 2
Report PDS-063-25
Report Overview
direct staff to not proceed with CN’s requested upgrades
1. Background
1.1 At a meeting held on June 23, 2025 Council of the Municipality of Clarington approved
Resolution #GG-115-25 declaring that it agrees that whistles on railway equipment
should not be used at the CN Rail grade level crossings of Bennett Road and
Cobbledick Road.
1.2 Canadian National Railway (CN) was notified of the Resolution on July 2, 2025,
triggering the 30-day period within which CN must confirm that whistling has stopped at
the crossings in accordance with the whistle cessation process outlined by Transport
Canada.
1.3 CN responded by expressing concern regarding trespassing within the vicinity of the
Cobbledick Road grade level crossing with persons accessing Wilmot Creek and by
providing the Municipality with two (2) Transportation Safety Board (TSB) reported
incidents in the vicinity of the subject grade level crossings occurring within the last two
(2) years. CN noted that due to these concerns, they could not authorize whistle
cessation as the crossings do not meet the requirements of the Railway Safety Act;
specifically, that the area must not have repeated incidents of unauthorized access
(trespass) to the line of railway.
1.4 From August through October 2025, staff engaged with CN while CN worked to
determine their requirements for additional anti-trespassing countermeasures, which
resulted in the Municipality receiving a letter dated November 12, 2025 (included in
Appendix 1) that outlines the requirements for each crossing. CN also confirmed via e-
mail on November 14, 2025 (included in Appendix 2) that once the prescribed
requirements are met, it is CN’s intention to allow for whistle cessation. Refer to
Appendix 3 for schematics that show the locations of the requirements. A summary of
the requirements is provided below:
Municipality of Clarington Page 3
Report PDS-063-25
Cobbledick Road:
CN advised that CN Police Services have identified that trespassers have been
walking along the rail corridor and crossing the track to access the south side of
the creek crossing to fish. CN stated that the installation of fencing and anti -
trespass panels would mitigate trespassing incidents at this location.
Requirements for installation by the Municipality:
o 1.8-meter-high chain link security fence along the property line on both
sides of the tracks between Cobbledick Road and Toronto Street,
including lockable gates at both grade level crossings (south side) for
CN’s access to its maintenance road (approximately 800 meters per side,
or approximately 1,600 meters total length).
o Installation of anti-trespass panels across the tracks on the east side of
Cobbledick Road and the west side of Toronto Street.
Bennett Road:
CN advised that fencing along the southeasterly property line between the
Waterfront Trail and the tracks would mitigate trespassing incidents where the
public has access directly adjacent to the rail corridor and would close the
remaining gap in the existing fenceline.
Requirements for installation by the Municipality:
o 1.8-meter-high chain link security fence only along the southeast property
line from the crossing, between the Waterfront Trail and the tracks,
extending from the grade level crossing to where the existing fence
terminates (approximately 400 meters in length).
1.5 Should Council direct staff to proceed with CN’s requirements for the installation of
fencing and additional anti-trespass countermeasures, staff would advise CN of the
decision to proceed. CN would draft new grade level crossing agreements specifically
tailored to whistle cessation that outline the above noted safety requirements. CN
advised that these draft agreements would be submitted to the Municipality in
December for review and comment. CN has indicated that the new agreements would
need to be executed before any construction works could be conducted.
1.6 Once the agreements have been executed, and all fencing and trespass
countermeasures have been installed by the Municipality, CN would review the
installed safety measures against the Municipality’s attestation that the crossings and
surrounding areas meet the requirements of the Railway Safety Act and Grade
Crossing Regulations & Standards. Once the crossings are deemed compliant CN
would then respond to Resolution #GG-115-25 stating it agrees that the crossings meet
the requirements for whistle cessation, and they would then begin their internal
procedural change to implement whistle cessation within 30 days of the compliance
notification.
Municipality of Clarington Page 4
Report PDS-063-25
2. Financial Considerations
2.1 At the time of this report expenses for the Bennett Road grade level crossings
improvements total $1,406,066.21 which are being facilitated by the Municipality and
are subject to full Developer recovery. These improvements included the replacement
of the warning system, improvements/widening to the road approaches and crossing
surface, and warning system detection upgrades. Final invoicing from CN for the
Bennett Road improvements has not been received. Note that any further costs related
to the Bennett Road crossing improvements will be fully Developer recoverable. Staff
are working to obtain final invoicing from CN related to the Bennett Road grade level
crossing improvements.
2.2 At the time of this report expenses for the Cobbledick Road grade level crossing
improvements total $817,823.66 and have been fully funded by the Municipality. The
improvements included upgrades to the crossing warning system including modification
to flashing lights, bells, and gates, relocation of the communications bungalow causing
sightline obstruction, warning system detection upgrades, signage and line painting
updates / corrections. Final invoicing from CN for the Cobbledick Road improvements
has not been received; however, any further costs that are the responsibility of the
Municipality are expected to be minor and would be covered by the existing budget.
Staff are working to obtain final invoicing from CN for the Cobbledick Road grade level
crossing improvements.
2.3 The remaining approved budget for whistle cessation at Bennett Road and Cobbledick
Road, barring final invoicing from CN, is $1,468,450.17 which is funded from two
sources: the Rate Stabilization Fund and the Roads Capital Reserve Fund.
2.4 Staff have prepared a high-level cost estimate of approximately $925,000 to implement
the required fencing and additional anti-trespass countermeasures as directed by CN.
These costs include, but may not be limited to, engineering design, review / permits by
CN, construction, railway corridor flagging by CN during construction, contract
administration and inspection, and staff time.
2.5 The implementation of fencing for the Bennett Road grade level crossings would not be
subject to Developer recovery as this would be over and above the requirements in the
Developer’s Subdivision Agreement and would be required to be funded by the
Municipality.
2.6 CN has advised that the installation of the fencing must be performed by the
Municipality, except for the provision of railway flagging during construction of which
costs will be borne by the Municipality. The installation of anti-trespass panels would be
undertaken by CN, however all costs would be charged back to the Municipality.
Municipality of Clarington Page 5
Report PDS-063-25
2.7 Ownership and maintenance of the fencing and anti-trespass panels would be the
Municipality’s responsibility and would be required to be inspected, maintained and
repaired to remain in compliance with CN’s whistle cessation requirements. CN has
noted that should the fence or panels fall into disrepair the decision to stop whistling
could be reverted at CN’s discretion. Furthermore, whistling may resume if, at CN’s
discretion, there is continued unauthorized access to the rail corridor. Staff have
estimated that an annualized operating carry cost for maintenance of the fencing and
anti-trespass panels could be approximately $25,000 and would have to be confirmed
once staff understand the full cost of the additional security measures. Staff will also
look into tracking this infrastructure through the asset management plan.
2.8 A summary of the above information is provided as follows:
Item
Whistle Cessation Budget:
110-50-330-83713-7401
Sub-Total of Budget Spent to Date $ 1,468,450.17
Remaining Budget (after additional safety
measures are implemented) $ 543,450.17
3. Anticipated Timing of Implementation
3.1 Should Council direct implementation of the additional measures, i t is anticipated that
the installation of fencing and anti-trespass panels, and the subsequent acceptance
and implementation of whistle cessation by CN would occur by Q3-2026. This is due to
the time required to retain a consultant to complete the fencing design, receive
approval from CN, tender the project, construct the fence in acceptable weather/ground
conditions (spring/summer), and for CN to facilitate the change in railway corridor
operations.
4. Strategic Plan
Not applicable.
5. Climate Change
Not Applicable.
6. Concurrence
This report has been reviewed by the Acting Deputy CAO Public Services and Deputy
CAO / Treasurer - Finance and Technology Department who concurs with the
recommendations.
Municipality of Clarington Page 6
Report PDS-063-25
7. Conclusion
It is respectfully requested that staff be directed to either utilize the remaining available
funding for Whistle Cessation Implementation at Bennett Road and Cobbledick Road ,
up to $1,468,450.17, for the purposes of installation of fencing and additional anti-
trespass countermeasures along the rail corridor as required by CN and that the Deputy
CAO, Planning and Infrastructure be delegated the authority to execute any necessary
agreements with CN or amendments to existing agreements with CN that are required
for CN to implement whistle cessation, or that staff be directed to not proceed with CN’s
requested upgrades which would result in CN not implementing whistle cessation at the
two grade level crossings.
Staff Contact: Kaela Esseghaier, Director of Infrastructure – Planning & Infrastructure
Services, at KEsseghaier@Clarington.net
Attachments:
Appendix 1 – CN Letter Outlining Required Safety Countermeasures
Appendix 2 – CN E-mail dated November 14, 2025
Appendix 3 – Schematics of Requested Safety Measures for Cobbledick Road and Bennett
Road
Interested Parties:
The following interested parties will be notified of Council’s decision:
Adrian Tena-Russell, Manager of Public Works, East – CN
Umair Naveed, Officer, Public Works – CN
Karen Trembley – President – Wilmot Creek Homeowners’ Association
Dan Pantaleo
Public Works - Engineering Travaux Public - Ingénierie
1 Administration Rd 1 Administration Rd
Concord, ON, Canada Concord, ON, Canada
L4K 1B9 L4K 1B9
11/12/2025
Kaela Esseghaier
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, ON
L1C 3A6
Dear Ms. Esseghaier
The following is further to the recent discussions between CN and the Municipality of Clarington
with regards to the Municipality’s request for whistle cessation at the Bennett Road and Cobbledick
Road grade crossings. In certain circumstances, a particular crossing may be exempted from the
whistling requirements. Section 23.1 of the Railway Safety Act sets out the process which must be
followed to implement whistle cessation within a municipality. Taking into account the requirements
of the Railway Safety Act, CN cannot authorize whistle cessation at this time as the locations in
question do not meet the requirements of the Railway Safety Act. More specifically, the prescribed
requirements, which are outlined in Section 104 of the Grade Crossings Regulations, require that the
area must not have repeated incidents of unauthorized access to the line of railway. As detailed in
our discussions, CN has noted unauthorized access to the railway right of way along with crossing
incidents in the past five years at these locations. CN requires the Municipality to implement and
thereafter maintain at its cost the following mitigation measures:
•At Bennett Rd:
Install approximately 400 metres of security fencing per CN standard along the property line
Southeast of the crossing between the Waterfront Trail and the track, from the roadway to
where the existing fence terminates.
•At Cobbledick Rd:
Install approximately 1,600 metres total of security fencing per CN standard on both sides of
the track between Cobbledick Rd and Toronto St along the property line or where approved
by CN if not possible to install on the property line including lockable access gates at both
crossings on the south side for CN’s access road as well as anti-trespass panels across the
tracks at each of the crossings, East of Cobbledick Rd. and West of Toronto Rd. The final
location of the anti-trespass panels and access gates will be determined at a later date after
consultation with local CN maintenance groups.
Once this is completed, CN will review the Municipality’s attestation that the area meets the
requirements of the Railway Safety Act and of the Grade Crossings Regulations and the Grade
Crossings Standards to implement whistle cessation.
Attachment 1 to Report PDS-063-25
Public Works - Engineering Travaux Public - Ingénierie
1 Administration Rd 1 Administration Rd
Concord, ON, Canada Concord, ON, Canada
L4K 1B9 L4K 1B9
While CN understands that whistling may be an inconvenience at times, CN’s preference is that
whistling at crossings be maintained as CN considers whistling at crossings to be an important
component of crossing safety that alerts motorists and pedestrians to the presence of an
approaching train.
Sincerely,
Adrian Tena-Russell, P.Eng.
Manager Public Works - East
CN
1
Robert Brezina
From:Adrian Tena-russell <Adrian.Tena-russell@cn.ca>
Sent:Friday, November 14, 2025 3:18 PM
To:Kaela Esseghaier
Cc:Robert Brezina; Umair Naveed
Subject:Cobbledick and Bennett Whistle Cessation
Attachments:KNG287.26-289.08 - Cobbledick & Bennett Whistle Cessation (Final).pdf
EXTERNAL
Good a ernoon Kaela,
I’m wri ng to confirm that it is CN’s inten on to allow for whistle cessa on once all the prescribed requirements are met
to CN’s sa sfac on.
I hope this clarifies everything.
Regards,
Adrian Tena-Russell, P.Eng./ing.
Manager, Public Works – East | Directeur, Travaux Publics – Est
Engineering | Ingénierie
Concord, ON | C: 437-446-5743
What's New at CN | Quoi de neuf au CN
Attachment 2 to Report PDS-063-25
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Attachment 3 to Report PDS-063-25
PROPOSED APPROX. 800m OF
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PROPOSED
LOCKABLE GATES
PROPOSED ANTI-TRESPASS
PANELS ACROSS THE TRACKS
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SECURITY CHAINLINK FENCE - 1.8m HIGH
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