24 August 2007
Rail Crossing Realignment Planned
Blairmore Alberta - Canadian Pacific Railway has served
notice to the Municipality that it plans to perform construction on the level crossing at 112 Street in Blairmore.
The work, consisting of track realignment and subsequent relocation of the level crossing and warning systems, is set to commence at
the beginning of September.
The project itself will consist of moving the railway track and associated crossing approximately 20 feet from its current location.
This work is being done to facilitate a new bridge the railway is building over the Crowsnest River, immediately west of 112 Street.
Section 8 of the Railway Safety Act dictates that a railway must give notice to a community that is affected by railway construction,
and provide an opportunity to file objections if such work compromises personal or property safety. The act calls for a period of 60
days in which to file an objection with the railway and the Minister of Transportation, but this time period had elapsed by the time
the notice, dated 18 Jun 2007, was finally put forward to council.
An objection, according to Councillor Gail Sygutek, would have been pointless, considering the Municipality's history of locking horns
with the CPR. "We have fought and fought with the CPR," Councillor Sygutek commented. "Why should we object? We won't
get anywhere with them." She added that battling CPR would end up being a waste of taxpayers' money.
Councillor Nestor Chorney expressed interest in exploring the possibility of constructing a pedestrian path underneath the new bridge.
During an inspection of the site, he noticed that the bridge abutments were considerably higher than the old bridge and could easily
accommodate a path. Such a path would allow residents of York Creek Lodge to cross the rail line without having to endure an uneven
and sometimes treacherous level crossing.
Mayor John Irwin suggested that the new crossing would be more level than the current one, and that elderly residents should have an
easier time crossing when the work is completed.
The construction will not only mean periodic closures of 112 Street, but mandatory slow-speed orders for trains as they
pass through construction zones. As the trains that regularly pass through the Crowsnest Pass are usually several hundred cars long,
this will result in longer-than-usual delays at any of the several level crossings in the community.
Troy Linderman, director of Crowsnest Pass EMS, has expressed concern about the construction affecting emergency response times to York
Creek Lodge. "It's probably going to add anywhere from four to six minutes to our response time," Linderman commented. Using
another route to get to York Creek Lodge, according to Linderman, presents other safety concerns.
These issues include traffic on 20 Avenue, passing through school and playground zones, and responding through residential areas with
lights and sirens activated. Responding to an emergency call is a challenge when a town is split in two by an active railway line. If a
train is impeding access to a call, the only solution available to ambulance crews is to try and go around the train, according to
Linderman.
A motion to accept the CPR track realignment passed unanimously.
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