10 June 2008
Citizens Rail at Rail Plan
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Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) near one CPR crossing potentially
affected by floodway work.
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Winnipeg Manitoba - Several Transcona residents complain
major neighbourhood streets will become a chaotic parking lot a few times a day for nearly a year because of CP Rail's plan to hold
trains in the district.
Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) said yesterday his constituents have good reason to be outraged after a city hall committee gave a green
light to the plan.
"They have 18 trains a day there," Wyatt said of the plan by CPR and the Manitoba Floodway Authority to allow trains to in
effect park across several key arteries intermittently beginning in September.
The city's permission would permit CPR "to use a section of my ward as a train yard" with Panet Road, Plessis Road, Grassie
Boulevard, and Molson Street traffic coming to a standstill far more frequently because of the province's construction of a bridge as
part of a $660-million expansion of the Red River Floodway.
TRAIN STAGING
The city's public works committee voted 3-1 to allow the train staging, which the floodway authority has said is needed to
avoid constructing an additional $19-million rail bridge in the area.
"The city is going to do whatever they damn well please," Kildonan Meadows resident Cindy Petric said, noting her home has
one small street for access to Plessis. "And if there are trains blocking both ways, we can't even get out of the area. It could
be a problem. It could get bad."
Councillors Bill Clement (Charleswood-Tuxedo), Lillian Thomas (Elmwood-East Kildonan), and Harry Lazarenko
(Mynarski) expressed satisfaction with the Doer government's new plan to set up a temporary $1.3-million
fire-paramedic station on Plessis Road to avoid obstacles for emergency crews.
Only Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) backed Wyatt.
"There's a historic divide in this city. The north and northwest versus the south and southwest," Wyatt said. "And this
is symptomatic of that."
Katz, however, said Wyatt's fire safety concerns have been addressed in the agreement to cover the station's costs. And the mayor
denied Wyatt's suggestion he's caving in to pressure from Premier Gary Doer.
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