Tottenham Ontario - There are growing concerns about a shortcut students are taking in order to get to school faster.
 
New Tecumseth is working on getting CP Rail to close off two sections of fence in Tottenham that have been cut open to give pedestrians a quicker route between Eastern Avenue and McGahey Street.
 
Tottenham Coun. Chris Ross recently asked town staff to look into the matter after a couple of parents brought the problem to his attention.
 
"Kids can actually get down into the CP rail track area, either across the tracks to get to Eastern, or in a lot of cases if they go to St. Thomas Aquinas, they walk north along the tracks to the high school," he said.
 
Sheila Basso's son uses the trail to get to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School from their McCurdy Drive home.
 
While she tells him to not use the shortcut, she said the path saves him 20 minutes each way on his walk.
 
Without the shortcut, she said he would have to walk all the way down Tottenham Road and then head across Mill Street in order to get to their east-end home.
 
To better connect the two sides of the community, Basso said the town should consider putting in another pedestrian tunnel, similar to the one south of Mill Street that links The Boulevard with Tottenham Public School.
 
"If they had this adjoining our subdivision to Eastern Park, then the kids could safely get to school," she said.
 
She said it's more than just students who use the path.
 
"I see people using it all the time, whether they are going to F&P, or going to get coffee, or whatever, they are just scooting through there," she said.
 
Ross asked the town's engineering department about the possibility of building a pedestrian tunnel in the area, but was told the rail line would be unlikely to support such a proposal.
 
While the fence is owned by CP Rail, in the past, the town has stepped in to repair it.
 
However, Ross said it doesn't take long for the holes to return.
 
"We all feel it's a dangerous issue," he said.
 
Ross said the town has yet to hear when CP Rail will fix the fences.

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