Vancouver British Columbia - To the editor:
 
Re:  "CP Explores Options on Arbutus Line," 9 May 2014.
 
It's been 12 years and 345 days since the last train ran on the Marpole Spur, lifting two empty hopper cars from the Labatt's Brewery.
 
I've been waiting ever since to hear that horn blow again.
 
Now it looks like that might actually happen, and I will be standing trackside with a big Welcome Back banner.
 
With the clear cutting of the CPR right-of-way, you'd think that the railway has crafted plans in a distant boardroom to either send in the track maintenance machines or force a decision on the decade long impasse between it and City Hall regarding future ownership and use of the corridor.
 
Good on them.
 
Even though the industrial landscape in Kitsilano has been almost entirely scathed out of existence with nary a thought to heritage preservation, the rail line remains the one link indicating that this part of town was once home to a vibrant and productive manufacturing district.
 
A little train once in a while would remind us of what's been lost over the years.
 
The Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners' Association shouldn't be too hasty decrying the proposed rail operations.
 
Their complaints about negative impacts come across as puissant NIMBY grousing rather than constructive criticism.
 
I, for one, will be happy to move my strawberry patch to a new location before I get that letter from CPR reminding me that my garden is in fact trespassing on private property.
 
Abe Van Oeveren.