23 March 2005
1,476 Signatures Fail
to Sway Council Over
Mackenzie Crossing
They walked into last week's
Council meeting with high hopes, but residents who gathered 1,476 signatures on a petition they
hoped would derail plans for a nighttime closure at the CPR Mackenzie crossing walked out bitterly
disappointed.
Councillors listened stonily as Glen O'Reilly brandished a copy of the petition and chastised them for
failing to heed neighbourhood sensibilities and what he said was city-wide support for
their demand that the crossing be kept open 24/7.
About 25 CPR Hill residents jammed into the Council chamber hoping Council would backtrack on its plan
to close the crossing from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. each night and to erect a six-foot
chain-link security fence along the CP Rail tracks. "I understand that politicians
are sometimes called upon to make difficult decisions - but this one was irresponsible," he said
as he brandished a copy of the petition.
O'Reilly told councillors they should pay attention to the petition that, he said, carried far more
weight than an earlier 76-signature petition that had been signed by local business
owners who wanted train whistles silenced. Their failure to take the petition seriously could hurt
them at the polls during the municipal election in November. "I've noticed that one thing that
can bring a politician down is arrogance - when you think you know more than the people,"
O'Reilly said.
While this petition might, at first glance, appear to have demonstrated that there are deep divisions
in the city over the fate of the crossing. It may, in fact, have done little more than muddy the
waters.
The petition also demands that instead of erecting a security fence the City install "crossing
arms" at the crossing.
Mark McKee said the City is already in negotiation with Transport Canada and CP Rail about installing
a full-protection system at the crossing and he has even driven to Vancouver for talks
with federal officials.
The mayor was clearly frustrated and said that federal regulations require a security fence at a
controlled crossing so the fence would have to stay. He also said that if approved by Transport Canada
a full-protection system would be built with the federal government paying for 80 percent
of the cost and the City and CP Rail paying for the balance. The fence would count towards the City's
portion of the total cost, he said.
In a later interview McKee also noted that the full-protection system now in place at the
Pearson crossing was originally intended to be installed at the Mackenzie one until a Transport
Canada official unilaterally decided it should be installed at Pearson. "Personally, I think we
bent over backwards to get what people wanted," McKee told the petitioners.
He also said later in order for Transport Canada to accede to the City's wishes it must be convinced
that there is a safety at issue at stake at the crossing. It's not likely to do that as long as people
focus on the issue of whistling.
As if passions weren't already inflamed enough over the crossing issue, Councillor Terrence O'Hagan
added fuel to the fire when he tossed out some personal comments during the meeting. "We're
trying to make this more than just a railway town," he told the delegation - many of whom are
current or retired CP Rail employees.
O'Hagan's words clearly hit the delegates hard. Many of them were so angry that after they left the
chamber they could barely respond without bitterness. "He was out of line," CP Rail employee
and Teamsters Canada representative Gary Starling said later. "I was so angry I couldn't make a
rational response. It's hard to believe it has come to this."
For his part O'Reilly said he was disappointed that Council "would dismiss a petition of this
many names so quickly." "If they're trying to get funding from Transport Canada, as they
claim, then they should realize we've given them a leveraging tool," he said later. "They
can show it to the feds and say "we have almost 1,500 people that disapprove of our solution and
would rather have crossing arms, can we somehow fast track this funding? "As for Councillor
O'Hagan's remarks, he owes every railway worker in town an apology for saying that we have worked hard
to lift ourselves above a railroad community to the status of tourist community. It's the railway that
brought this country together and there is a lot of history and pride associated with the
railway."
O'Hagan has tried to allay public anger about his remarks in a letter published on page A7 in this issue of The
Times Review.
As for using O'Reilly's idea about using the petition as leverage in his discussions with Transport
Canada McKee said he would consider the idea.
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