24 November 2004 Crossing Committee Makes its Call Revelstoke - After a year of hearings and public meetings the Mackenzie Avenue Railway Crossing Committee is finally ready to make a double-barrelled recommendation to City Council.   In an anti-climactic meeting last Wednesday the committee agreed to recommend that the City continue to negotiate with the Canadian Pacific Railway and Transport Canada regarding the installation of a full-protection system at the crossing. If those negotiations are fruitful the committee recommends that Council hire a consultant to produce a detailed cost estimate for such a system. If the negotiations turn sour Council should then choose between permanent closure and nighttime closure, the committee recommended.   This complex turn of events occurred after CPR Senior Vice-President Neil Foot sent a letter to committee Maureen Weddell saying that the company declined to consider a proposal last month that the crossing issue could be resolved by moving the crew change location from the station to the crossing. He said that what "at first seems a relatively simple solution, in reality is not that simple and will have a negative impact on public safety while increasing railway costs by approximately half a million dollars per year."   In an addendum to his letter Foot provided a list of 20 reasons for not proceeding with the proposed change, which had appeared to be tentatively endorsed by a Transport Canada official who had attended last month's committee meeting. Foots reasons ranged from the distance that east and westbound trains would have to stop short of the crossing to problems involving trains that might carry dangerous or hazardous goods to costs and, ultimately, what he said was the fact it would contravene Canadian Railway Operating Rules.   "The safest and preferred long-term options, of which the City of Revelstoke must decide, is 1) either close the crossing permanently or during certain times of the day or 2) install the grade crossing signal system required for the elimination of train whistles," Foot wrote. "Several other intermediate options might still be explored, such as wayside crossing whistles, time-based whistling, radio-controlled crossing protection, etc. In closing the CPR is committed to continuing efforts with the community officials to find a solution that is equally satisfactory to both parties."   While a full-protection system had been the preferred option of many committee members and Council members, the CPR had repeatedly appeared to rule that out by upwardly revising its cost estimates from $250,000 to as much as $900,000. Its officials had consistently said the company was not prepared to spend that kind of money to appease local displeasure with train whistles.   However, the committee recommends that Council alter its approach in the next round of talks with the CPR and Transport Canada and that it ask for a full-protection system on safety grounds - not whistling.   If the safety premise is accepted by Transport Canada and the CPR then the federal government will pick up a substantial portion of the cost - perhaps as much as 20 percent.   "Transport Canada and the CPR don't do full-protection for whistling but they might entertain it for safety reasons," said Rick Poznikoff, CPR public affairs manager and one of the company's two representatives on the committee.   The question, now, is whether they really will entertain those discussions.   If not then the City will have to make an unpalatable choice between permanent and nighttime closure.   Maureen Weddell said she thought "most but not all Clearview Heights residents could live with a night closure if the Eastern Access Road was fixed up," but that poses problems, too. The unpaved stretch of road from the north end of the Eastern Access overpass to East Track Street is actually a CPR access road and, despite a tradition of use by area residents, could actually be closed to all non-CPR traffic at any time. However, Mayor Mark McKee said that's unlikely. "We've got really good relations with the CPR and I don?t see anything happening with that road," he told the committee. "It's one of those things you're better off leaving alone."