By Greg Nikkel
The Queen Street rail crossing near Highway 39 is recommended to be closed, according to a report compiled by consultants on Weyburn’s eight railway crossings since Transport Canada adopted stricter new regulations two years ago.
City council heard the reports on Monday evening, receiving them as information at this time, with the requirement that the city has five years to comply with the federal regulations.
For the other seven crossings, minor upgrades are required, mostly involving the signage at the crossings, with the Queen Street crossing the sole exception, as it is ranked 65th in Canada as one of the worst crossings of the 21,115 crossings across Canada that are rated for risk by Transport Canada.
The recommended closure of the crossing had some councillors concerned, with the proximity of three businesses immediately near the crossing, and additional businesses in the vicinity of Queen Street.
Coun. Dick Michel said he was not in favour of this as this would reroute truck traffic through the intersection of Highways 13 and 39, “one of the worst intersections in Saskatchewan.”
City engineer Sean Abram pointed out there was a recent incident, on Sept. 14, at this crossing where a train had to apply emergency brakes in order not to hit a B-train unit on the crossing. This incident occurred while the consultants were conducting the assessment of the crossing.
The crossing currently is rated as a “passive crossing” as there are no warning arms. The new regulations stipulate this crossing would have to be upgraded with a warning system of flashing lights.
According to city records, there have been six accidents at this crossing since 1988, five of them occurring between April 2010 and October 2014, along with numerous unreported near misses. From the accidents, there was one injury and no deaths. CP Rail indicates there are 16 freight trains daily on the Soo Line.
Coun. Winston Bailey noted that previous councils have discussed closing this crossing in the past, and said council should consider what their options are, noting this would affect the accessability for the businesses in that vicinity.
Coun. Brad Wheeler said for his work he has crossed the tracks there many times, and commented visibility could be greatly improved if the trees and brush along the railway could be cleared.
Abram noted the primary reasons for this recommendation is not only visibility, but the short distance between Highway 39 and the railway tracks, so if a long truck is unable to cross due to traffic, the trailer or tractor unit would block the tracks.
“The reality is, you’re not going to move Highway 39 further south or the rail line further north. We have until 2021 to enact the closure,” said Abram, noting this is according to the new federal regulations. “If council chooses not to close it, I’m not sure how Transport Canada is going to view that.”
City manager Bob Smith noted that anytime an accident occurs at this crossing, there are questions to the city, including from local, provincial and national media, about what is going to be done about the crossing.
A suggestion was made to hold an open house to put forward the information in the reports to the city, including what the costs of any upgrades would be, and find out from the public and from the businesses involved what their views would be about the crossing.
“I agree, an open house is a good idea. We have to come up with a solution here,” said Coun. Mel Van Betuw.
City council will not endorse a proposal by the Department of Highway to reroute Highway 39 south around Weyburn.
The Department of Highways had sent an outline of the proposed rerouting as part of the plans for twinning Highway 6 and 39 between Regina and North Portal, and asked for council’s endorsement of the plan.
“I for one cannot support this endorsement, as there are many unanswered questions, such as the type of access to the city and the time-line,” said Coun. Van Betuw, and Coun. Jeff Richards agreed.
“I also will not support a commitment for something that’s 25-30 years down the road. It would be irresponsible of me,” added Coun. Bailey, noting the department has to come up with many more details about what would be involved for the city. Council agreed the best course at this time is to send a letter to the department that they will not endorse the plan.
