It could cost anywhere from $560,000 to $610,000 to improve safety standards at the Benson Road crossing of CN’s tracks, indicates a study commissioned by the District of Houston.
The District commissioned the study last year from WSP Consulting in preparation for new Transport Canada safety crossing requirements to come into effect in November 2021.
The study alone cost $150,000 with half coming from a District surplus account and half from a grant program specifically tailored by Transport Canada to investigate improvements that will be needed at level crossings in Canada.
“In order to meet [new] requirements, the crossing will need to be upgraded from the current active warning system of flashing lights and bells to a flashing lights, bells and gate system,” the study noted.
“The issue of trespassing must also be resolved by extending and installing new fences along with the installation of No Trespassing signs,” the study added.
People crossing tracks on foot come from the residential development to the north of the crossing and while a fence exists along the south edge of the tracks, there is no fence for the north side of the track.
“Moreover, the south side fence will require extension to prohibit and discourage trespassing,” the study continued.
Council agreed to accept the report as information. Proposed expenditures for the project are not included in the District’s current five-year financial plan.
There have been no safety incidents reported at the crossing in the last five years.
An overview of the incoming safety regulations did note that safety is a shared responsibility of both railway companies and jurisdictions responsible for the roads that cross railway tracks.
The WSP study, through a site visit conducted last October, also noted sightlines don’t meet minimum requirements because of trees, shrubs, vegetation and a unit containing the current operating system.
And even though the current crossing does have flashing lights which are activated when a train passes, study authors concluded users of the northbound approach to the close by the heritage Anglican church parking lot may not be able to “adequately see the flashing lights”.
“Although the lights are visible, the church parking lot is not marked or an entrance/exit delineated, thereby making it difficult to assume where drivers may enter or exit the space.”
Of the projected cost items in a breakdown of what’s needed, WSP identified gate installation as the most expensive at $400,000.
Better lighting on both approaches to the crossing could cost between $58,000 and $107,500 while installing more fencing could cost $86,000.