7 March 2008
Rail Neighbours Feel Dumped On
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Darlene Mercer is framed by a vandalized fence next to the
railroad tracks in Pitt Meadows. The area is full of garbage, she says.
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Pitt Meadows British Columbia - Shopping carts, spray cans,
pylons, computer parts, an umbrella, a discarded wallet, carpeting, and other garbage are strewn along the Canadian Pacific Railway
property that cuts through Pitt Meadows, and at least one resident is fed up with the mess and worried about gaping holes in the fence
along the tracks.
"It's just not acceptable," said Darlene Mercer, who lives within walking distance of the overpass. "If it doesn't get
cleaned up, it'll just get worse."
A well-worn path crosses the tracks under the pedestrian overpass between Davie Jones and Edith McDermott elementary
schools, where the fence has been forced open on both sides.
Mercer said she's worried about kids coming onto the tracks as well as hazardous items, for example, drug paraphernalia in the bushes
around the tracks.
With the fence wide open, a family pet, a child, or a homeless person could wander onto the tracks and get hit by a train, she said.
Mercer has made numerous calls to CP Rail and the City of Pitt Meadows, but she said she hasn't seen any improvement.
"It just keeps getting worse," Mercer said. "I've done everything - jumped up and down. It certainly does nothing for
the area."
A spokesperson for CP Rail said they are concerned about safety on their tracks but part of the responsibility lies with the city as
well.
"Obviously the railroad is very concerned about trespassing," said Breanne Feigel, spokesperson for CP Rail. She said she
plans to bring the "dangerous" matter to the attention of the CP police. But cleaning the area is a joint responsibility of
the city and CP Rail, Feigel said.
"We do not condone (the mess) and it's not something we like to see," she said.
Cleaning up the tracks has been "trying" at times because the city can't get onto CP property without a CP crew on site, said
Ike de Boer, with city engineering services.
"I'll be honest - it hasn't been easy getting the coordination from CP," he said.
If there's debris from a boxcar or if debris is on the tracks, CP cleans it up quickly. But when it's in the bushes and isn't a
hindrance to their operations, they won't do anything about it, de Boer said.
"The only reason we do it is because they refuse to do it," de Boer said.
Both Councillor Deb Walters and de Boer said they think people are dumping things over the side of the overpass.
"This is an area we've harped on with CP for a long time," Walters said. But littering and vandalism are
"frustrating" problems for the city, she added.
"It's the same as tagging - you get the same people who do graffiti around town," Walters said. "How do you stop people
from littering?"
Cleanup crews are sent out into the municipality based on complaints, de Boer said, and if they're made aware there's a hole in the
fence, they'll fix it as soon as possible.
"If we know about it, we'll do something," he said. But, he added, the city doesn't go looking for problems with the tracks.
Raising the fence on the overpass so that it's too high for dumping garbage onto the tracks is a solution Mercer would like the city to
look at.
Feigel said CP Rail can be notified about safety issues at their Community Connect Line at
1-800-766-7912.
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