21 November 2006
Traffic Lights Needed at Deadly Intersection
Lacombe Alberta - The tragic accident last week at a
dangerous intersection that claimed the life of a 14-year-old girl and sent her brother, 16, to hospital with serious
injuries, has only highlighted the urgent need for traffic lights.
But they may not be going up anytime soon.
"Even though funding for the traffic lights has been approved by council and Alberta Transportation, lights can't be installed
until equipment to synchronize them with the rail crossing safety features are approved by Transport Canada," said Paul Deleske
spokesperson for the town.
The town received $275,000 in grant funding from Alberta Transportation last August to install traffic lights at the intersection of
Hwy 2A and Woodland/Wolf Creek Dr.
But the town is waiting for Transport Canada to approve $200,000 in funding for the railway lights at the intersection to be
synchronized to the traffic lights. The application, under Transport Canada's Grade Crossing Improvement Program, would see the
federal government paying 80 percent of the railway safety improvements with the town kicking in 12 percent and the railway eight
percent. The safety improvements include two short arm gates and a constant warning device installed.
The constant warning device would, "give the same amount of warning time to motorists regardless of the speed of the train
approaching," said Andrea Rudniski, spokesperson for Transport Canada in Winnipeg in a phone interview last Wednesday.
"It is not there now," she added.
Rudniski said the town and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) do not have to wait for the approved funding from Transport Canada and
could go ahead with the safety improvements themselves.
She says there are 40,000 such railway crossings in Canada and Transport Canada pays 80 percent of the costs of these improvements at
approximately 80 to 100 railway crossings annually.
"We don't fund every single crossing," she said. "Railway or road authorities can undertake safety improvements on
their own."
CPR spokesperson Ed Greenberg said updating safety at the crossing is not just a railway issue.
"We recognize that we have responsibility but there are other stakeholders and we want to sit down and look at what we can
do," said Greenberg in a phone interview from his Calgary office. "But we don't have authority over the road
situation."
Rudniski said this past summer Transport Canada announced which projects they would fund in 2006-07 and Lacombe was not
on the list.
"We will be looking at making another announcement for the 2007-08 projects," she said. "(Lacombe) will be
considered for funding within our next round."
She said funds are allocated based on site safety enhancements that would be most beneficial to the public.
"Definitely one thing we look at is the safety history at the crossing. That is a tragic accident. It's definitely one element
that we will consider when we determine which crossings will receive funding in the coming year.
"This road has been identified as a priority project within our region," added Rudniski.
But if Transport Canada rejects the application, it is the town's responsibility to pay for the improvements.
"If we can't get grant funding we will have to find money elsewhere in the capital budget," said Deleske.
Even if Lacombe was in line for funding from Transport Canada, it may still take years.
Whether the town decides to go ahead with the project and pay for the upgrade is something council will discuss, says Mayor Judy
Gordon.
"We were able to garnish some funding from the Alberta government for the traffic lights and we are working with Transport
Canada and CPR to establish funding for what is needed on the rail side of the equation.
"We identified a long time ago that traffic lights were needed. Since that point Lacombe has grown and there is more traffic.
Today, those traffic lights and the changes to that intersection are needed more than ever.
"We have been dealing with this for approximately five years," she added. "This is ridiculous. It's time we deal with
it and we will. We will pursue whatever is necessary to get this done."
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