Wikipedia
The wikipedia entry over at Tamarack keeps on getting the train reference removed thanks to someone named Boss1696. Bet s/he works for one of the builders or Dundee. I’m getting a little bored of adding it back in, so if someone else wants to keep an eye on that page, that would be great.
CN Rail and the Hypothetical Control Arm
Over a month and CN rail still has not returned my query about whether a crossing arm (as some builders are asserting) is going to be built or not. This is one of the biggest problems with make enquiries of CN — they are very slow to respond. I’ll try another contact e-mail address, I guess.
Summerhill and the Engineers
Still waiting on a quote from the engineering group (to do a vibration study). Will let everyone know when that comes in.
Despite the strong response with the petition I am still getting more negative comments from some of the ‘nice’ people in our subdivision who don’t bother to read the entire blog and there’s simply not enough people who seem concerned enough with this issue.
quite the statement, clearly you assume we have not read the whole blog, which i have, reading most items more than once, and therefore concluding you only focus on the most negative aspect you can come up with becaus u made the mistake of purchasing a home without research, and if no research could be done, you could have bought somewhere else, .
i am sure you will give some reason in an email when u tell me u wont let this post go through like my first one, just wanted to say that thanbk god u stop updating this and just give up already. if you wont let both sides make the blog , then wats the point. i like hearing the trains, its a part of living in canada. my parents live down south, they live closer to a set of track without dirt in between, no foundation problems, no noise concerns, part o living in canada, if youre foundation is cracking, its the builders problem and go after them , not CN. you got a warranty with youre home did u not? i know i did.
also, everytime i have checked the wikipedia, it has stated the noise disturbance from the trains, even though i find it very minimal and enjoyable, and so stating that it keeps getting removed may not be the whole truth..
Joost
In regards to the wikipedia– what are you talking about? Just look at the history. You’ll see that it has been removed twice.
Secondly, I asked in a previous comment for you or the other poster to explain what kinds of research we could have done? There was no subdivision when we bought and no way to find out how close to the train we were going to be.
Finally, the point of this blog (as opposed to the petition) is to focus on the train vibration and the lack of honesty from the builders.
Does your house shake? The noise is annoying but bearable. The shaking is not.
Did the person selling you your house lie about the train line? Did you try contacting CN to find out if the train line was being discontinued and had to wait *several months* for a reply?
Just curious.
I won’t accept any further of your posts until you start answering some of the questions I have bounced back to you. Because you never actually answer questions, just throw insults, you’re not actually representing a ‘side’.
Hi I hope you are still checking the website because id like to talk with you.
I currently have a lot on hold with summerhill and just stumbled upon this web site and it disturbs me. I do not want to feel the trains. I didnt even know that there was a train there! was not told at all! love the lot (large pie) but trains? I also have a lot on hold in summerside and have to make a choice. avi is the builder in summerside but I love the home by summerhill. you have my email please contact me if you can.
talk with you soon.
Joe
The shaking is (probably) going to depend on how close you are to the track. If you are right alongside the track, like all the condos are, you will definitely feel it. If you are in any of the rear-detached garage homes near the track you will probably feel it. If you are further away, I’m not sure.
Ultimately what I suggest before making the final decision is to talk to neighbours who are living near where your lot will be and ask them about the shaking. Talk to more than one because some people in this neighbourhood want to sell their homes and get out of here and I know some of them are probably not being entirely honest about the lack of shaking. This subdivision has a high turn-over/vacancy rate. Many homes near the track are being rented out because the original owners can’t sell them.
Let me know how this and what you decide (or better yet, post a comment to the website).
Best of luck,
- Brent
I am a new home buyer in Tamarack. Before decided to buy a house plus lot, your blog information have been quite bothering me. No person wanna make a mistake and regret.
So later on we did some simple researching to contact some neighbors and asking a home builder sales manager. They were both honestly told us can hear a whistle from a train very few times only, never have any disturbing sound and shaking a home. After that, we were quite often to back Tamarack in different period of time .. the result is pretty quite and calm.
At the end we decided to buy it even we knows have a train track, it is because Tamarack have a lot of potential to grow and very reasonable price in a whole Edmonton city.
I completely understand u believe yourself is a innocent person.
But may I ask u have u ever using Google via Yahoo map.. to search a location u are going to buy ? It just simple .. switch to satellite setting can see clearly certain area have a train track even without a road to go thru it??
Becoming a new Tamarack resident and other existing resident.. i can tell u honestly that your blog is not a good way to protect your living community.
Your “unlucky” experience.. is your own business.. but how the way you solving your problem.. becoming selfish.. it is how I feel
I think any person left a comment.. is sharing how tell feel from your msg.. If you think ppl left a msg is” negative”.. vise versa.. your Blog content also “negative” for a lot buyer already..
Indeed, I truly hope u can solve your housing problem but isn’t using a “Tamarack Train Protest”.. is unwise..
How can make ur neighbor supporting u???
Judie
I hope you have better experience than us. By the way did you read the petition comments? There’s a lot of people (not just us) who have problems with the train.
As for the satellite map, that’s useless when there is no subdivision. Our address did not ‘show up’ in the map when we tried that. We knew there was a train ‘in the area’ but there’s a HUGE difference between being near a train track and being RIGHT BESIDE a train track.
Please also keep in mind that the subdivision was built closer to the train line than CN Rail recommened (see other blog post). Regardless, if not us, someone would have had to live in this house and all the other houses that shake. That’s the City of Edmonton’s fault.
As for this not being the best way to improve the community, what would you suggest? Say nothing and then sell my house as quickly and dishonestly as possibly, like so many others, to get out of the subdivision?
I don’t want to do that? I want to to be part of the subdivision as it grows and have my kids go to school here, and so on.
I also want my house to stop shaking.
That’s not going to happen by me doing nothing. In fact by doing this protest we are already starting to see some improvements, of which I’ll be commenting more. By putting pressure on the home builders (Summerhill, Lincolnberg) and the developer Dundee, we actually have a chance to get them to help us make this a more livable subdivision.
So with all respect, I completely disagree with you. Things don’t change unless you make them change.
We have decided to go with Summerhill. The lot is a pie lot close to the new school. I will have the row of duplex’s and a second row of rear detached between our house and the trains. so im hoping no vibrations. I think the housing will cut the noise down.
I have to somewhat agree with Judie that the site can make a buyer worried as well as potentially hurt property values.
At the same time I also agree that this sight is needed as there is clearly a problem if your house shakes.
We are choosing to build knowing the train is there. we love everything about the community (train excluded) so I cannot complain about train noise. However I will be upset about vibrations if I experience them but do not think that I will have the same problem.
Your situation is very unfortunate and from what I gather unique. I do not hear many comments about other houses with the same issue. I asked a few people I saw around my lot if they feel the trains and the all said no. but there is no real way of telling unless I feel them for myself. I can never seem to be there when a train is going through.
I hope this problem does get solved for you as it cannot be pleasant to have your home shake
Hi Brent,
I just have a number of comments about your posts & comments here that I would like to address:
- “This subdivision has a high turn-over/vacancy rate. Many homes near the track are being rented out because the original owners can’t sell them.”
MY RESPONSE: I have lived in this neighborhood for a while now, and see neither a high turnover rate nor a high vacancy rate. Perhaps that is your perception? Compared to many new neighborhoods, there are very few “For Sale” signs and sales postings. In addition, many people who rent out homes (even here) are in it simply for the investment (especially good if they bought early in the development process). I don’t think it’s accurate to lump, perhaps, a couple of “original homeowners” you may know of into a collective and say such a thing. It is simply not the case.
- “As for the satellite map, that’s useless when there is no subdivision. Our address did not ’show up’ in the map when we tried that. We knew there was a train ‘in the area’ but there’s a HUGE difference between being near a train track and being RIGHT BESIDE a train track.”
MY RESPONSE: Satellite maps are extremely useful, even with no subdivision. You do not have to look for a specific address, though that DOES make it easier to find a specific location. Simply zoom in and use reference points to verify where you are looking. The train has been here a long time and I believe any original satellite maps would have shown a train track cutting through a field (train tracks are highly visible from the air, similar to road and utility rights-of-way). By simply superimposing that map with one of the development would have given you a fairly good idea as to where train tracks would have been in relation to your house. Also, I am sure you could have found an older map from the city (or an aerial map from the city or developer) when you were doing your “research” into the neighborhood. I do not want to judge you on this, but from my own perspective (what I would have done if I could not drive into the neighborhood when buying my home), you did not do your due diligence when you bought your house. (FYI: My address STILL does not show up when I do an address search, and the subdivision is definitely here!)
- “Please also keep in mind that the subdivision was built closer to the train line than CN Rail recommended (see other blog post).”
MY RESPONSE: I read all of your previous posts, and I did not find a specific distance CN Rail had recommended (as you suggest). I did find the vibration limits that CN Rail suggests (14 mm per sec versus the original Dundee measurement of 16 mm per sec). It should be noted that the vibrational difference measured is VERY hard to be perceived by humans – though I agree track loads may have changed since the original study was done (hence a change in vibration).
- “As for this not being the best way to improve the community, what would you suggest? Say nothing and then sell my house as quickly and dishonestly as possibly, like so many others, to get out of the subdivision?”
MY RESPONSE: I simply find this comment RUDE. People do not have to LIE to sell their houses – even when they love near trains! – and it is ignorant that you would imply that people who want to move quickly would do so. This shows me that you do not actually respect your current and former neighbors. With this comment, you have essentially told someone that her opinion is useless, simply because she shared HER experience and you disagree with it. Very mature!
I have indeed read all of your posts in this blog, and all attachments. I made a very informed decision when I bought my house. It took months of research to determine that Tamarack was the neighborhood for me, and I love it! I am also VERY close to the tracks and the vibrations DO NOT bother me in the least. Yes, there is some slight vibration when some trains pass. No, it does not affect my quality of life. In any case, such vibrations will not damage a foundation. Your foundation actually feels the LEAST amount of vibration! Have you been in your basement when a train has gone by? If you (or anyone, for that matter) told me it vibrated, I would severely dispute that. Vibrational amplitude increases the further from the base of a building an object is, since the base is where the vibration starts. At the base of a building – especially in a basement, where the foundation is located – such a vibrational energy will be virtually undetectable without instrumentation.
In general, the trains do not bother me, but I can see how they may bother some people. I do see the tracks themselves as more of an issue for those who, like you, may have bought their homes at the very start of the neighborhood development, when you could not drive into the neighborhood. Could you WALK the neighborhood, though? Were you not allowed to do this? It is hard for me to believe that this is so, as long as you were with a builder’s or developer’s representative. Could you not have contacted someone to do this, or did you even TRY to do this? Unfortunately, it sounds that though you did not do everything in your power to find out more about where you were building.
I also wanted to comment on the SOUND from the trains.
Regarding Train Horns: At what crossing are the control arms you mentioned proposed to be installed? The only crossing in the vicinity of this neighborhood is on 17th Street, about a block north of the Whitemud. Is this the crossing?
Regarding Train Noise: Noise from trains comes from their wheels on the tracks. It is not actually the HEIGHT of the trains that make them louder, so to suggest that simply because a train is taller or “stacked”, the noise berm is rendered useless is simply NOT TRUE. It is the LOAD (at speed) on each trailer that determines the overall noise from the train in that instant (more weight pressing onto the wheels – and therefore more friction on the track – creates more noise). For example, a non-stacked train car may be just as loud as a stacked train car (at the same speed) because the loads are the same. Does that make sense?
I also wanted to point out that my builder – SUMMERHILL HOMES – has been fantastic, right from Step 1. I DO NOT feel I was mislead or lied to in ANY way by my salesperson. I was NEVER told service would be ending on the local railway track. I was NEVER told it is only operated twice a day. I was NEVER told that it only operated during daylight hours. Did you ever go back to your original salesperson and ask him or her why he or she would say such a thing to you? Perhaps he or she was truly misinformed when they were selling you your home. Have you thought of this? …That such a thing could be an honest mistake and that you weren’t intentionally mislead? Have you only ever thought the worst of this person, or did you look at alternative perspectives regarding this? Again, ALL MY EXPERIENCES WITH SUMMERHILL HOMES HAVE BEEN POSITIVE. I think it is important to show both sides of a genuine debate, not simply negatives.
The more of your comments I read, especially the emotionally-charged negative responses to the opinions that do not agree with yours, the less I respect your judgment and concern for the neighborhood. Even IF I agreed with your petition, I would not sign it, simply because you have presented yourself unprofessionally when responding to those who oppose your views.
I would appreciate the opportunity to share this post in its entirety with others, both because there are questions I have asked you specifically and because I think I have stated valid facts and relative opinions.
Even if you don’t agree with my opinions here, I hope you can respect them for what they are – my opinions, my perspectives, and my knowledge.
Thank you,
Amber
RE: RUDENESS
You may feel the comment was rude, and perhaps it was overstated. But the number of people who come on and say “You should have known better” is extremely frustrating. They are offering no solutions. What is the harm of this blog other than the possiblity that it will affect RESALE values of home. (At least one person who was posting here was selling their home and thought the blog was going to cause damage to their resale value).
And the potential benefits are huge and benefit everybody in the subdivsion.
RE: BASEMENT SHAKING
Very very rarely (Perhaps twice) I can feel shaking in the basement (i.e., the bed itself shakes slightly). You are right, it is not common. But it has happened.
RE: SATMAP AND WALKING
We were never given any kind of document with actual distances from major arterties that we could have down any kind of overlay to figure out where our house was in relation to the track. That was our mistake and we should have fought to try and get something like that.
Walking wouldn’t have helped really either, again because we had no ‘distances from reference points’ on any map. (We knew there was a track nearby, just never realized how ‘near’ it was).
Does that make sense?
RE: SOUND
The control arm was just mentioned to me by e-mail by a woman who said she was going to buy in Tamarack because the salesperson told her a control arm was being installed. She did not mention where and she has never replied to further email.
I have e-mailed all the builders and CN about this hypothetical control arm, but never received a reply.
And yes, your comment about the load makes sense. I’ve just noticed a bit of a correlation between tall trains and heavy loads, but you’re right, it doesn’t have to be that way.
RE: SUMMERHILL
The salesperson denied every saying any of those things. We were offered a consulation with them and their manager, but it is simply a case of ‘he said, she said’. But reading the petition you’ll have noticed that others also receive similiar false instruction from their salespeople, so we are not alone in this.
I respect your view of my opinions and you have some useful information, hence I’m allowing this comment.
But the title of this blog is Tamarack Train protest. That is the point of this blog, so people shouldn’t be shocked that I am presenting one side of the view rather strongly here.
There are plenty of other sites puffing Tamarack out.
I am glad you have had a more positive experience, though I suspect the radical change in the real estate market might have a little to do with that (and it sounds like you have a good salesperson, which we did when we built our first home in Terwillegar — a much better experience!).
When we built our home im Tamarack it was at the peak of the real estate market. Lots were being sold the moment they became available. There were no perks being offered. We literally were told we have a couple minutes to decide else the lot would go to the next person.
As for being concerned about the subdivision, I don’t see the point you are trying to make. I am spending time and money to decrease noise and vibration in the Tamarack subdivision.
That benefits everyone.
The mistake I have made is even allowing the non-constructive, negative comments to be posted, because you are right, I have perhaps gotten a little rude in my replies.
The only posts I’ll allow on this blog from now on are ones that contain useful information.
Thanks,
Brent
Hi Brent,
I have to say that I definitely feel for your plight esp. with respect to your sales process. I bought my first home just before that same boom, and it is really frustrating to feel the “buy now or lose it forever” pressure that kind of situation creates.
I do agree with you that the vibration issues you have been fighting for will, in the end, help the neighborhood as a whole – even for those of us who don’t mind or don’t feel as affected by the trains.
I appreciate your respectful reply and the constructive (and time-consuming) work you have done to get answers from the major players here (ie. CN, Dundee, various builders). In the end, I hope something beneficial happens for those who are affected most, even though I am not one of those people.
Thanks again,
Amber
I am sorry to say that perhaps worse for the community then the train might be the fighting amongst the community members. My family has been considering buying home in Tamarack, and have been doing community research. We weren’t sure how noisy the train would be, but it may be irrelevant after reading this blog. I understand there may be disagreements on the issues, but they have been discussed so harshly here, I am not sure we are willing to buy a home where there is clearly so much animosity. If you are worried about your property values, stop fighting in a public forum. A simple google check brought me here, and may have made my decision an easy one.