11 September 2007
Time for Railway Relocation
Regina Saskatchewan - On the night of
29 Aug 2007, I was driving east from the Regina Qu'Appelle Valley constituency in northwest Regina. Not far into my
journey, I was stopped at the Sherwood Drive railway crossing for 20 minutes, watching a train slowly pass.
As the end of the train drew near, the occupants of the approximately 50 automobiles breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, the train stopped in front of us.
Utterly disappointed, we spent five minutes watching the train move slowly in the opposite direction.
Most of us sought another route and were again dejected to find the connecting roads all the way north to Rochdale blocked by the same
train.
My concern with the state of the train system within Regina is two-fold.
- First, the safety of the citizens of northwest Regina is compromised whenever a blockage like this takes place. Police, medical
or fire service is seriously delayed. The delay may be mere minutes, but in an emergency this could be the difference between life
and death;
- Second, the train system in our city is aesthetically unappealing. I am referring to the eyesore that is the downtown container
terminal between Dewdney Avenue and the downtown. Whenever I look north from the office tower in which I work, I wonder how long it
will take for the Queen City to move the terminal outside the city limits. This project would improve traffic flow and the city's
aesthetic appeal.
I can envision a day when that view from my office window will not be visually polluted and will consist of beautiful green space
connecting the downtown to Dewdney Avenue.
We could host a farmer's market, go for a walk and lunch over on Dewdney, or maybe have a downtown outdoor swimming pool. There are
many possibilities for our fair city.
Whether it is northwest Regina blockades, dangerous crossings on the Ring Road, or beautifying our downtown, trains should pass outside
of the city limits in the near future. We have talked about this for a long time. It's time to walk the talk.
Michael Huber - Regina
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