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4 January 2009

Pipe Dream or Possibility?

 
Realigning the railway tracks in Greater Sudbury so they don't run through high traffic urban areas is a costly proposition - running into the tens of millions of dollars at least.
 
 
Sudbury Ontario - For decades, it has been dismissed by many, if not most, Sudburians as a pipe dream.
 
Virtually everyone agrees that removing the 52-acre CP Rail corridor from the city's downtown would spur massive economic and community development. According to conventional wisdom, however, the prohibitive cost to taxpayers makes such a venture unrealistic at best and mere fantasy at worst. That is why, for so long, the rail yard's relocation has amounted to nothing but fanciful contemplation, doubters say.
 
Even the staunchest proponents of relocating the downtown rail lines acknowledge there's no way local taxpayers can afford the cost, which would run into the tens of millions of dollars.
 
So why is a group of volunteers dubbed Imagine Sudbury promoting anew the lofty concept of a rail-free downtown? Because, they say, experience in other mid-sized Canadian cities demonstrates it can happen.
 
"Other communities have undertaken this," notes Susan Thompson, a founder of the loosely knit volunteer group that includes business people, academics, and retirees.
 
"We have yet to develop a plan to remove the rail yards from our downtown," says Thompson. "We only want to let people know that we are taking a serious look at this project because we think it is a good idea for the city."
 
Imagine Sudbury members don't sugarcoat the enormity of the challenges of relocating rail lines that have run through the city for more than a century. But the fact that such hurdles have been overcome by other communities provides reason to pursue their ambitious vision.
 
As it forges ahead with its campaign, Imagine Sudbury can point to a number of successful railway-relocation projects in Canada. Recent examples include projects in Niagara Falls and Regina, Sask., both of which provide a template of the essential components of a successful rail yard relocation.
 
In late 2001, city council in Niagara Falls (population 82,000) voted by a narrow margin to buy a 10-kilometre strip of CP Rail land running through the heart of the community.
 
The purchase price was $40 million.
 
In Regina (population 205,000), government and CP Rail officials are pursuing the relocation of downtown rail lines as part of a $93-million project.
 
In such cases, the project's success hinges on meeting key, common conditions, says Thompson. These elements include political and public support, significant funding from various levels of government, the railway's willingness to relocate its lines, and huge private and/or public development as the economic "catalyst" that justifies the entire project.
 
"It definitely has to be private-sector partnerships with all three levels of government," she says. "I don't think we'd even consider it if we weren't looking at multiple partnerships.
 
"The underpinning of the economic model has to make sense."
 
In Niagara Falls, the economic catalyst came in the form of a $1-billion casino-resort development, launched in 2001 and completed in 2004. Before the casino construction began, the Ontario government struck a deal with the city to subsidize most of the cost of purchasing the downtown CP Rail line.
 
The agreement saw the province's gaming authority and the operator of the new casino contribute $22.5 million toward the cost of buying the railway property, leaving the city to cover the remaining $17 million.
 
The City of Niagara Falls has since repaid its $17 million share of the purchase price, thanks in part to $2.6 million annually it receives from casino revenue-sharing and millions more received in grants in lieu of casino property taxes.
 
So I don't think they're surprised that we want to look at this, but at this point it's not something that they've prioritized."
 
Susan Thompson of Imagine Sudbury
 
In Regina, the proposed relocation of the downtown rail yards stems from a $93 million plan to create a new transportation hub west of the city that would connect rail lines to major highways and the city airport. The federal government already has committed $27 million to the plan, which would feature an intermodal container yard with massive warehouses. The development could create hundreds if not thousands of new jobs, proponents say.
 
Thompson says she is confident that, over time, a rail-free downtown Sudbury could attract tens of millions of dollars in public and private investment, for commercial, institutional, cultural, and residential development.
 
But it remains to be seen if the redevelopment potential exceeds the costs of acquiring and rehabilitating land subjected to industrial use for more than a century, she cautions.
 
"It's assessing the highest and best use of the land. We basically see it as under-utilized right now."
 
As for the willingness of CP Rail to relocate its downtown Sudbury rail yard, before that issue is broached, several other pieces of the puzzle will have to fall into place, Thompson says.
 
Preliminary discussions have been held with CP representatives, who have indicated "it's not necessarily in their plans to look at Sudbury right now," she says.
 
However, "they want to be kept in the loop" regarding the progress of Imagine Sudbury's efforts, she adds.
 
"It's a common problem in cities across Canada and North America, where cities have grown up around industrial rail lands. So I don't think they're surprised that we want to look at this, but at this point it's not something that they've prioritized."
 
In coming weeks and months, Imagine Sudbury's volunteers will be consulting with a variety of local groups, business people and others to determine if their vision can continue to build momentum in the community, Thompson said.
 
If the day comes when circumstances appear to warrant a formal bid to rid Sudbury of its downtown rail lines, city officials should jump at the opportunity, says Niagara Falls Mayor Ted Salci.
 
"If you think you can do it, certainly take advantage of it, because it's not going to become any cheaper," says Salci, who was not the mayor when Niagara Falls council narrowly voted to buy its downtown rail lands in 2001.
 
With the benefit of hindsight, he says he believes most city residents view the $17 million they spent as "an exceptional investment," even if there has been no development on the former rail corridor in the ensuing seven years.
 
For much of the last decade, community leaders in Niagara Falls promoted the potential of using the railway corridor for massive development that would include a $300 million monorail linking the downtown with the city's major tourist attractions. However, that project appears to finally have been abandoned, with the latest proposal calling for a new, three-kilometre bus route.
 
The Niagara Falls experience demonstrates that purchasing downtown rail lands is only the first step in a long-term commitment and challenge to securing viable development on such property, Salci says. He says he is optimistic his city's former rail corridor will attract major investment and development.
 
"It connects our downtown core to our tourist core, so I believe in years to come it will be a very valuable asset to have under our control."
 
 
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