Kamloops British Columbia - Rail police will be paying extra attention to Kamloops' downtown track crossings during the week of 24 Apr 2017.
 
CP Police Service Const. Michael Mallais said officers will be partnering with CN Police and local RCMP officers at high-issue crossings along the rail line for Rail Safety Week.
 
In Kamloops, efforts will focus on the corridor between Riverside Park and Overlanders Bridge.
 
"We have a street-entrenched population that use that as a corridor for transportation to and from the homeless shelters, so that's one of our main problem areas," Mallais said.
 
Police will also be at the city's two flat crossings at Second and Third avenues, where police have in the past had issues with drivers and pedestrians ignoring the flashing lights and lowering arms, which signal an oncoming train, as well as the high volume of traffic pouring through the area after Sandman Centre events.
 
The city and CP have struggled over the Third Avenue crossing.
 
After the rail company complained to Transport Canada in 2015, the city was briefly forced to post round-the-clock traffic flaggers at the crossing.
 
It also announced all pedestrians, except those with mobility issues, would need to start using its pedestrian overpass to cross the tracks while attending Kamloops Blazers game, to public backlash.
 
Since then, Mallais said, both CP and the city's bylaw officers are more present at the crossings.
 
So far, there have been no incidents at the crossing in 2017, he said.
 
Mallais said constables are aiming to promote safety, but will also hand out tickets, which range from $172 for interfering with a train to $115 for trespassing, which can also carry criminal fines of up to $10,000 or jail time.
 
Mallais said train collisions and stoppages don't only harm one person or community, but can echo throughout the region as the lines become backed up.
 
"You could have trains blocking traffic in Chase as well, so emergency vehicles can't get where they need to go," he said.
 
"That happens with fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars in other communities."
 
Andrea Klassen.