City ordered to address railway-crossing safety
It seems the City of Abbotsford can’t deal with a simple rail crossing in the city and is hiring flaggers at a cost of $500 a day to control the railway crossing. This is something reminiscent of 1820’s England where a man on a horse waving a red flag had to precede early trains.
My first question is, who are the flaggers and what are their relationships with Abbotsford City Hall? My second question is, why not install a simple stopAi??light at the intersection?
The Vye Road rail intersectionAi??is a CPR and a Southern R.R. of BC crossing, consisting of just two tracks, just North of a CPR/SRR of BC interchange yard. I understand part of the problem has to do with switching at the yard, as there can’t be many daily rail services along this line.
An overpass, would certainly address the situation and with the ‘Gateway project’ throwing billions of dollars around for railway overpasses along the Supperport railway, maybe some money should be thrown at the Vye Street railway crossing. As for Rail for the Valley’s take on all this, a railway overpass over the former interurban route is just one less rail crossing to worry about for a reinstated interurban service.
In the end, just how many times a day do trains cross Vye St. and does it warrant upgraded, grade crossing protection? I do not know the answer for the first question, but the answer to the second is obviously yes.
City ordered to address railway-crossing safety
By Kevin Mills – Abbotsford News
Published: May 01, 2012Abbotsford will now provide flag people at the Vye Road railway crossing.
The move comes after Transport Canada issued an order to the city to maintain a flagging crew there until public safety can be ensured.
The city received the notice on April 19, which indicated a risk to public safety due to excessive road traffic, ineffective traffic control and traffic ignoring posted stop signs. The order states Abbotsford must either provide traffic safety measures at the crossing through traffic control flagging, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or completely close the crossing during the same time period.
City manager Frank Pizzuto said the flagging crew costs the city $500 per day.
ai???Flagging it is a really short-term solution,ai??? he said.
A more cost-effective solution is being sought, including the installation of railway crossing arms which would alleviate many safety concerns.
Pizzuto said there is a cost-sharing program for railway arms which the city has applied for.
The Vye Road crossing has been an ongoing concern for years. A proposed overpass has been on the cityai??i??s priority projects list for years, but funding has never become available.
Pizzuto said another option being discussed for the future is to open up McConnell Road, by Costco, north of Vye Road. Railway arms could be placed on both roads and, potentially, one road could be open if the other was closed.
ai???The railway intersection would have to be reworked.ai???
I googled the street view of the grade crossing……….
http://g.co/maps/ddrdb
…………and I found that the two level crossings are protected by a stop sign, which also indicates that there is two tracks. What is wrong with stopping ant the stop sign, look both ways and and if safe to cross, then cross?
Mind you, in BC, many drivers ignore stop signs and view them as a nuisance. What is the difference between a stop sign at Vye Rd. railway crossing and Vye Road and Riverside Road, 200 metres to the West which looks like a major intersection protected by a four-way stop and no flaggers in place?
http://g.co/maps/ame6h
Having worked for BC Hydro when it had the Rail Division, and hearing stories from the Division’s Safety Manager, as I was the Editor of the Corporation’s weekly newsletter for employees, I had to wonder how intelligent many drivers were as, in the case of Vye Road, there were always drivers who felt that their timetable was more important than anything in the world…and they had to cross the tracks to get to the highway regardless of the shunting going on.
There is also the issue that the road was apparently there first. I think it is an issue of business getting it’s way vs the people. The thing with that crossing is they tie up a lot of traffic when they start switching, so I am sure when people get a chance to cross they want to do it before they start blocking it again. It’s an issue of should the large business pay, or the people of Abbotsford. Of course with our former mayor he would be more then happy to bend over backwards for business if he could, perhaps our new mayor isn’t so flexible. I’ve never seen trains crossing there that aren’t being switched and moving very slow, so I don’t think thru trains are an issue, it is only during switching.
Yes people should stop for stop signs. But I think this is an issue of the rail road wanting the city to put in an overpass for them, like they get in Langley, so they can push through more trains.
That’s fine, but why should the people of Abbotsford pay for it?
Zweisystem replies: I would wager that the railway came before the road.
A wretched state of affairs, I despair of the selfishness of some drivers which makes this sort of provision neccessary. The authority should install some traffic cameras at the crossing, once the fines are being issued news should get arround that jumping a crossing is detrimental to your licence & wallet.
When I looked into SRR BC crossings a while back, I thought the Vye Road crossing was light & bell protected?
I could be at the wrong location.
It has just stop signs. Why is my last comment still awaiting moderation? Because you disagree with it? I am for proper transit infrastructure. I am against big business (like freight trains) getting hand outs at the public expense.
Zwei replies: I was away yesterday and didn’t get to the posts until this morning.
Sorry Zwei, thought it was held, since Cardinal posted after mine and it appeared. Anyways, in response to your reply, according to other articles I read, the road came first.
Zwei replies: The first railway was built in 1907 and if Vye Road existed, it would have been nothing more than a dirt road.
http://www3.telus.net/wrdixon/mr/vnvroutehist.html#VWY