Dear Editor,
[Re: City won’t fund new underpass, The News, April 21]
CP needs the Harris Road underpass to ensure rail operations do not violate Transport Canada’s Grade Crossing Regulations.
The Port of Vancouver and CP proposed an underpass at Harris Road not to help our community with “horrible traffic problems” but because CP railway operations are restricted by Transport Canada’s Railway Safety Act – Grade Crossing Regulations section 97(2) which states: “It is prohibited for railway equipment to be left standing on a crossing surface, or for switching operations to be conducted, in a manner that obstructs a public grade crossing – including by the activation of the gate of a warning system – for more than five minutes when vehicular or pedestrian traffic is waiting to cross it.”
Switching operations refers to the process of making up and breaking up trains. This is what happens over Harris Road when CP is building or breaking up trains as a result of operations at their intermodal facility in Pitt Meadows.
CP is in violation of the regulations every time they build trains and block the crossing for more than five minutes when vehicles or pedestrians are waiting to cross. We all know this happens on a regular basis and leads to much frustration.
These regulations are misunderstood by many. People seem to think that the train needs to be stopped for more than five minutes and that if it moves slightly the clock starts ticking again. This is not the case when it comes to “switching operations” being conducted. The maximum time the crossing can be blocked for switching operations is five minutes if vehicles or pedestrians are waiting to cross.
It is important for our community to understand these regulations and how CP is violating them. It is only then that CP will be held accountable for resolving the issue in a manner that protects our community. Pitt Meadows residents should not be required to fund infrastructure that CP requires to be compliant with federal regulations.
Heather Anderson, Pitt Meadows
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• READ MORE: Pitt Meadows residents vocal about new $50 million underpass price tag
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