MONTREAL- A trespassing problem is pitting the City of Montreal against the railroad giant, Canadian Pacific.
Montreal wants the Canadian Transportation Agency to force CP to build six level grade pedestrian crossings along two sets of tracks running next to Van Horne Avenue in the Plateau.
City officials insist hundreds of people illegally cross the tracks everyday.
Man made holes in metal fences have been cut allowing people access to the tracks. The city is worried it could be just a matter of time before someone is hit and killed by an on-coming freight train.
But, a spokesperson for CP insists level grade crossings won’t improve safety.
Ed Greenberg told Global News that building a pedestrian bridge over the tracks or improving existing automobile overpasses is a better solution.
“We want to work in voluntary collaboration with the city for safer solutions,” Greenberg said from the CP Minneapolis office.
Greenberg says within the last two years a female pedestrian was injured crossing the tracks.
There are several level grade pedestrian crossings on Canadian National tracks in the South shore town of Boucherville.
People living there say they’re perfectly safe. And some insist what’s being done there could easily be applied along the CP lines and stop the illegal crossings dead in their tracks.
Here is a map of the proposed crossings:
Map of pedestrian crossings by
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