Arbutus corridor remains public safety issue: city
Railway plans to use tracks near communal gardens
A plan by Canadian Pacific Railway to run trains along the Arbutus corridor means it will be riskier for children learning about plant biodiversity in a communal garden in the area, an organizer said.
“The biggest thing would be safety,” said Tricia Sedgwick, executive director of The World In A Garden, which teaches Vancouver students about farming and food, as well as the environmental impacts of their food choices and the many cultural celebrations connected to food.
“We’re going to have to make sure the kids are safe no matter what. But this is something else to be cautious of.”
Sedgwick, whose urban farm is along the Arbutus corridor north of 57th Avenue, was reacting to a CPR letter sent to residents living near the corridor in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, warning them that trains will begin rolling down the tracks for the first time in 15 years.
“We will commence transporting and storing rail cars on the tracks in the coming weeks,” states the letter from CPR. “Should you need to cross the tracks, do so only at marked crossings.”
CPR refused further comment Tuesday on the letter.
The City of Vancouver, which has been fighting to stop CPR from reactivating its long-disused Arbutus spur line, is critical of the plan.
“I remain fully opposed to the reactivation of trains on the Arbutus corridor, after more than 15 years of inactivity on the route,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson in a statement. “The City of Vancouver has a wide variety of significant public safety concerns about CP’s course of action, and city staff have thoroughly communicated those concerns to Transport Canada.
“The population density along the track is significant; there is a lack of upgraded crossing infrastructure on a short corridor with nearly 50 level crossings that include every major eastwest arterial in Vancouver. The grade on the corridor is some of the steepest of any rail line in all of British Columbia, and the City of Vancouver has not been permitted to accompany officials for their safety inspection of the track.
“We continue to be available to CP should they wish to return to talks with the city on the future of the corridor, but Vancouver will not be bullied, and we will not accept seeing our neighbourhoods and families along the corridor having their safety put at risk.”
In January, B.C. Supreme Court dismissed the city’s application for an injunction to prevent the railway from ripping up encroaching gardens to reestablish the line for the storage of railway cars.
The judge ruled the city has no claims to the 11-kilometre route and cannot make any claims on behalf of residents who have built gardens and other structures along the line.
But the judge did not let CPR entirely off the hook, ruling the city has raised legitimate questions about whether the company de facto abandoned the railway after it stopped running trains on it in 2001.
Vancouver has offered to buy the land for $20 million, but CPR believes it is worth more than $100 million.
One of The World In A Garden’s urban educational farm projects along the corridor, built along with Vancouver Montessori School, was destroyed — along with many other gardens — by work crews hired by CPR. While the garden built with the Montessori school was totally on CPR land, Sedgwick said their farm near 57th Avenue was only partly on CPR land and only partly destroyed. It is still operating on city land beside the CPR line.
“We were prepared for it and removed everything from their land. At the end of the day, it’s their land and what can we do? But it sucks for our education programs.”
Sedgwick said she wants to get more information about CPR’s plan to run trains along the corridor. She’s particularly concerned about the railway using pesticides or herbicides, which might mean they won’t grow any more food.
“It’s their land and do I think it’s a great idea? No. I don’t know what their business proposal is or why they’re running the trains.”