经过市民12年的不懈努力，万锦市的火车鸣笛成为历史

记得很久以前就听过这个笑话：加拿大政府做事就像大象交配！ 1、交配需要在高层完成。 2、交配时会咆哮和尖叫。 3、需要两年时间才能生出小象。

I remember this joke from lon0g ago: Getting Things Done Around Here Is Like Mating Elephants! 1. It’s Done At A High Level. 2. It’s Accomplished With A Great Deal Of Roaring And Screaming. 3. It Takes Two Years To Produce Results.

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如果你把政府做事和大象交配挂起钩来，那么你一点没错！确切地说，我今天给你讲的是有些万锦居民要求火车在他们住家附近穿过公路而不必“鸣笛”的故事。这一努力历时12年。由于居民们的不懈努力和专注，此事终于有了成果。

If you guess that it is relating to accomplishing something with the help of government bureaucrats, then you are spot-on! To be exact, I am trying to describe the odyssey of some Markham residents' efforts to “Stop the horn” of passing trains at crossings near to their homes. The journey took 12 years but it finally came to fruition as a result of their relentless campaign and undivided focuses.

2008年，每天只有8列火车在万锦周围的铁轨上行驶。那时火车鸣笛还不那么惹人烦。但是，这还是引起了万锦居民Paul Morrison先生的注意。火车运行的频率在接下来的十年中大大增加。因此他开始尝试效仿多伦多，禁止火车在万锦鸣笛。

Back in 2008, there were only 8 trains a day running on tracks around the (then) town of Markham. The sound from the horns was not too much of a bother. However, it had come to the attention of a local resident (Paul Morrison) that the frequency of the trains would be increasing quite substantially over the next decade and hence he started on his mission to try and have the horns silenced, as they were in the City of Toronto.



让万锦的Go通勤火车不鸣笛并非易事。联邦、安省和市镇，以及拥有通勤火车的Metrolinx都有相关的法律和规定。要停止火车鸣笛，相关部门要请顾问公司研究鸣笛是否必要，且第一条是不鸣笛是否会给交通安全造成隐患。然后要准备了一份清单，列出所有铁路与公路交叉口所需要的改建工作，以符合加拿大交通部的法规。而这只是禁止鸣笛步骤的开始。

Silencing the horns of the Go trains in Markham was no easy process. There were many layers of government that had to be satisfied, starting from the Federal by-laws, down through the province to municipal levels, including Metrolinx. It started with studies by consultants on the necessities for Whistle Cessation and the main priority was to satisfy the liability issues on safety. A list was then prepared for the work that would need to be carried out at all the rail crossings in order to fulfill transport Canada’s rules and regulations to allow for this whistle cessation process.

经过上述步骤后，人们要计算改建交通路口的成本，以及市内各个小镇和Metrolinx如何分摊这些工程的成本。该项目的总成本约为600万元，大部分由约克区政府的保留金支付。一旦工程成本得到认可，路口改建工程就由万锦市招标。

The costs were then calculated and the final account to be shared by the region – for regional crossings; the municipality of Markham – for crossings over municipal roads and also a small amount by Metrolinx. The total cost of the project was about $6Million with the lion share of it coming from the York region's coffers. Once the approvals for spending were agreed upon, the work was then tendered out by Markham.



火车穿过的主要道路，例如7号公路，必须在人行道上安装机械升降栏杆。大部分铁路交叉路口都在人烟稀少的地方，因此，不需要特别复杂的升降栏杆。完成对每个交叉口的改建后，Metrolinx要验收。如果验收通过，Metrolinx将向加拿大运输部申请必要的许可证，最终执行禁止火车在万锦市鸣笛的法律。

Where the trains crossed major roads, such as Highway 7, mechanical arms had to be put in place over the sidewalks. The majority of crossings were over lower trafficked areas and hence maze gates have sufficed. As modification to each crossing was completed, inspections had to be carried out by Metrolinx who would then apply for the necessary permits from Transport Canada to finally allow Markham to pass the by law prohibiting Train Horns in Markham.

2013年，另一位万锦居民Shanta Sundarason加入了Paul Morrison先生的行列。当时Morrison先生和他的团队已经沮丧和精疲力尽，Sundarason给他们注入了新鲜血液。 Sundarason在几个月内敲了一千多家的门，收集了数千个签名，并从居民那里了解到噪声污染对市民的影响。

In 2013, another resident Shanta Sundarason met up with Paul Morrison. Shanta offered to take on an active role as Paul and his group had grown terribly frustrated and exhausted. Shanta started with a group of residents knocking on over a thousand doors over the period of a couple of months, collecting thousands of signatures and learned from residents the impact of this noise pollution throughout Markham.



签名工作之后，推动万锦禁止鸣笛的组织者举行了多个市政厅会议，在当年的自由党省交通运输厅长杜卡的办公室外面集会（杜卡完全无视抗议团体），与Metrolinx会面，游说市长和市政工程师们。万锦市议员们投票不接受组织者的诉求。政府官员以没钱、没有人力资源等理由拒绝介入。反鸣笛的组织的唯一愿望是每个万锦市民都拥有本属于自己的宁静。十二年后，他们成功了，万锦市火车每天鸣笛1600次的现象彻底消失了。

This effort was followed by many City Hall meetings, protests outside then Liberal Provincial Minister for Transportation Del Ducca’s office (who completely ignored the protesting group), meetings with Metrolinx, incessant nagging of the Mayor and the City's Engineer. City Councillors had voted against the by-law. Government officials had ignore their requests, citing insufficient funds, insufficient manpower, insufficient whatever to discourage the group. The group's constant desire was to attain the quiet peace every one is entitled to. Twelve years later, the project is a success and 1600 daily Go train horns stopped.

在数千名居民施加压力之后，万锦市长薛家平最终在2016年选择支持市民禁止火车鸣笛的运动。他既不是这场运动的组织者，也不是这场运动的支持者，但他现在却想捞取禁止鸣笛的功劳。他在这件事从来都是坐眼旁观。当这样的政治投机者企图要对来自市民团体所争取来的权利摘桃子时，这是绝对不能接受的。

Markham's Mayor Frank Scarpitti eventually chose to support this horn stopping initiative in 2016 after pressure from thousands of residents. He wants to take credit for all the work done by the residents now even though he is neither the instigator nor the proponent of this campaign. Frank Scarpitti sat by and watched things unfold instead. This political opportunism to take the glory for Markham being the first municipality in York region to implement whistle cessation is unacceptable to the residents who worked hard for the success of the project.



万锦市居民知道什么是应该坚持的事，即使长途跋涉十二年，他们也没有低头。我们应该感谢他们对左邻右舍的关照。同时坚信，当我们团结一致和坚持不懈时，许多事情是可以改变的。

Markham residents know what is right and will not be dissuaded from following the correct path, even though it took twelve years. They are to be commended for supporting their neighbours and for believing that change is possible when they come together and persevere.

经过12年的努力，小象终于出生了。即使这比大象正常交配后生小象的时间长的多。毫无疑问，在努力生产小象的过程中有过许多噪音和骚动，但万锦事居民终于在本月看到自己的努力成果。

Yes, little elephant dumbo came along after 12 long years. This is a much longer process than mating elephants. Certainly, a lot of noises and commotions were made along the way. The residents are just happy with seeing the fruits of their labour delivered this month.