25 February 2006
New Roads or More Blackberries?
Is $14.2 million a good deal for the city in its 13-acre purchase of part of the
Canadian Pacific Railway spur?
It's a question some may be asking following a court ruling on another CP Rail line. The company wants the right to develop its line on
the now-dormant Arbutus corridor, but Canada's highest court has upheld a City of Vancouver bylaw deeming the tracks a
greenway and car-free transportation corridor. It also ruled that CP Rail is not entitled to any compensation.
That may lead some to suggest that the price of rail corridors just got devalued. But in Vancouver, folks will be happy if the corridor
just turns into blackberry bushes. In Richmond, the city had a choice - either watch the blackberries grow or use the land for new
roads. Since the latter was the case, the land is useful and, as a result, there was a price to pay.
|
