22 January 2009
Downtown Rail Not So Bad
Sudbury Ontario - Re: Pipe dream or possibility?
Getting rid of Sudbury's downtown railway tracks - 3 Jan 2009.
Any group that tries to improve our community is to be commended. I do, however, have some reservations about the proposal to have the
CPR tracks removed from downtown Sudbury.
Since the arrival of the big-box stores in their clusters, along with the spreading housing developments formally part of
the city but nowhere near the centre, do we really have a downtown? Good for the people who are trying to create one, but people like
to shop where parking is free.
Citing from the article: First, "Virtually everyone agrees that removing the 52-acre CP Rail corridor from the
city's downtown would spur massive economic and community development." Was there a census or petition? I did not see it and I do
not agree.
Second, looking at the communities cited that have accomplished railway removal: Niagara Falls is a sort of Disneyland north
trying to suck in tourist money. It has built a casino on the land that is paying for the change and more. Is that what we want?
Regina's planned transportation hub development is a good idea. Is Sudbury really in a geographical location for such a thing?
A railway line through a city is not necessarily a bad thing. There was a time within living memory, when people could get to both
small towns and big cities by train, cheaply. The station was easily accessible, usually inside the main part of the city. This still
happens in Europe. Now that we are trying to be responsible about using energy and producing so much carbon dioxide, maybe we will
eventually be intelligent enough as a society to make more use of the railroad, and not just for passengers.
Consider the huge use of transport trucks on our highways, which not only use so much oil, but also must be very hard on the roads;
not to mention their numerous accidents. Some commercial transport is now being carried out by rail, but imagine how much better it
could be. Goods could be sent by rail and downloaded onto transport for local delivery.
At this time, we have the facility for both convenient passenger and freight service to Sudbury. If the facility is still existing, if
and when we can overcome the obstacles, such as the power of the trucking industries, it will be ready.
If the tracks were removed, ideally, we could have our centre for the performing arts there and a community meeting place. We could
have a hiking trail. We could have a community co-op garden. But no one who has witnessed the Sudbury mindset will
believe it possible, even if one could cite it as a major tourist attraction: plays, concerts, sports events, as a package along
with Science North and the underground experience and the lake.
The most likely scenario will be that developers will be ready to swoop in and start building highrise condos, which will bring in
taxes, but also cost the taxpayers more in roads, sewers, water, and garbage/recycling services.
Joan Pella - Sudbury.
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