Rocky View County council turned down two requests to close 75 metres of railway crossing.
During a public hearing Dec. 4, the closure of 55 metres of railway crossing on Range Road 252 and 20 metres of crossing on Range Road 281 near Conrich to facilitate train movements in and out of the CN Rail Logistics Park was up for discussion.
In total, two letters of support and 12 letters of opposition were presented to council for consideration. As well, three people spoke in favour of closing the crossings, including two CN representatives and five spoke against the closure.
“To be safe and efficient, the best solution is to close the crossings,” said Kevin Meleskie, a real estate and business development analyst with CN.
He said through the Canadian Transportation Agency CN is not allowed to block a crossing for longer than five to six minutes with a train but added the company is in the process of getting that timeframe extended to 10 minutes.
Meleskie said the stretch of track near both crossings will be used to build and break trains apart and bring them into the yard, which requires a lot of back-and-forth movement on the tracks. He said some trains will be two miles long and building them requires them to move forward, switch tracks, connect to a car, then back up and start again.
“In order to efficiently service the logistics park, there will be trains doubling over and the crossings will be blocked for so long (drivers will) have to back up and go another way around,” he said.
Councillor Earl Solberg questioned whether there was an option to do this operation further away from the crossing so it wouldn’t disrupt traffic flow for local residents. He also asked whether flashing arms and lights could be installed.
Meleskie said even with the arms, people could chance sneaking through. He said relocating the operations would only move the problem and would cause more delays for CN.
He explained a gate-and-pass system would be created for local farmers so they can access the gate and cross the tracks when the crossing is clear.
Jorie McKenzie, project delivery specialist for the County, said CN would be required to create adequate cul-de-sacs so drivers could turn around if they approached the crossing and realized they wouldn’t be able to get through.
Area resident Ralph Poffenroth said he sometimes travels with a tractor, drill and a couple of tanks.
“What happens when I get up there and it’s blocked? I can’t back that up,” he noted.
He said the alternate route requires drivers to travel to Highway 564 and head east before turning south down Highway 791.
“Highway 564 is getting busier and busier,” he said, adding the road is narrow and when he travels down it, he has one side of his farm equipment in the ditch and the other side on the road.
“There is less and less respect for farmers on that road … if it’s (the crossing) is closed, it’s going to contribute to more accidents on that road,” he said.
Ken Newman, another area farmer, said the closure of the crossing would require him to take an 8.5-kilometre detour.
“Alternate crossings are miles away. It’s not practical,” he said.
His sister, Karen Massey, who lives adjacent to Newman, said the gate and pass would be useless if it’s always blocked. She also questioned who would be liable if the gate was left open and there was an accident, adding it would limit ambulance and fire and result in longer bus rides for kids.
“This is far more than an inconvenience,” she said.
Councillor Solberg made the motion to approve first reading. He said he wanted to create a committee consisting of council members and staff to try and find solutions to the residents’ issues prior to second reading.
Deputy Reeve Paul McLean was in favour.
“If we allow the process to start, we can have further conversation with the land owners and CN,” he said.
Councillor Lois Habberfield said she wouldn’t support the motion. She said the logistics park can start without the crossings being closed and if it needs to be closed later, council can revisit the decision.
“I would like to see how often it is closed,” she said. “If it’s only for 10 or 15 minutes, I think people would rather wait (then have the crossing closed),” she said.
The expansion of the logistics park is expected to open in January, and as Habberfield pointed out, the closure is to facilitate future growth but the facility can work as is.
Before other council members could express their view points, Reeve Rolly Ashdown said discussion isn’t allowed when voting on first reading.
“If we have a public hearing and at the end we can’t discuss (it), we have a major disconnect,” said Councillor Al Sacuta.
Council agreed and asked staff to review the guidelines but was told by Nona Housenga, manager of legislative services it wasn’t policy to discuss their reasons when voting for first reading.
Ashdown, McLean and Solberg voted in favour of first reading. The rest of council voted against. The bylaw was defeated.
Warren Chandler, CN’s senior manager for public affairs, said company representatives were disappointed with the decision. He said CN staff will review all of their options before determining the next step, but wouldn’t comment on what those options are.
Jorie McKenzie, project delivery specialist for the County, said CN can reapply at anytime. He said the County’s key message for CN will be to continue to work with the community to try to solve some of the problems voiced by residents during the public hearing.
Solberg said he plans to suggest creating an ad-hoc committee made up of representatives from the County, the public and CN to resolve the issue.
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