THE railway crossing connecting the Low Level Road to Neptune and Cargill terminals has seen more than its share of crashes and complaints this year.
There have been two collisions involving trains at the crossing - one in March and the latest on July 18, when a truck driver drove in front of a slow-moving train that hit the trailer and turned the vehicle on its side. The truck driver escaped with minor injuries.
By comparison, the last 10 years have seen between 18 and 33 similar train-vehicle collisions annually across the whole province.
While Transport Canada declined to release exactly how many complaints had been received regarding the crossing, spokeswoman Sara Hof agreed the number was above average, especially in the last year.
The safety factor is one of the arguments made by proponents of the Low Level Road Improvement Project that would eliminate the crossing and replace it with an overpass. In particular, complaints focus on trains that block the crossing for up to half an hour, parked trains that trigger the flashing light even when they're not on the intersection itself, and trains blocking access for emergency vehicles.
For workers like Joe Santelli, though, the statistics have a human face. Santelli was working at Neptune several years ago when he collapsed and his belly began to blow up like a balloon. An ambulance was called and rushed to the scene, at least as far as the Low Level Road. There it sat for half an hour waiting for a train to pass the crossing to Neptune, in full view of Santelli but helpless to aid him.
"I'm inside our ambulance on the inside, and they keep telling me 'Hold on, hold on, the ambulance is here,'" he said. "It didn't mean nothing to me when we can see it on the other side; it's blaring its lights and it took it almost a half-hour to get in."
He lists a plethora of near misses and collisions that have taken place in the 33 years since he started working on the North Shore. Most recently, he watched a woman pull up to the crossing just as the lights began to flash.
"She booted it and she
went across that track at like Warp 9," he said, shaking his head. "Why would you argue with something that weighs over 100 tonnes?"
Aside from safety, complaints ranged to the long lineups that sometimes pop up in the early mornings as workers arrive on the job site. Workers can show up 15 minutes early and still find themselves late, said Santelli. While Neptune president Jim Belsheim focused his comments on safety, he also said many employees don't leave for lunch because they don't know if they'll be able to get back.
He said the crossings also lead to backups on Low Level Road, which can cause accidents and frustrations with through-traffic.
"The waiting can be frustrating. Crews want to get into work on time, crews want to get home. It's frustrating," he said. The late arrivals add up to lost time for the company, too - and that costs money.
CN Rail spokeswoman Kelli Svendsen said she's aware of problems at that crossing, in particular with drivers running the light. She said there's no excuse for crossing when the light is flashing, even if it appears the train isn't moving.
"What they need to understand is they can't do that. If it's flashing then it's unsafe to cross," she said.
She admitted trains do sometimes trip the lights when they're parked, but she suggested drivers phone CN using the emergency number listed on the crossing rather than take a chance.
The proposed Low Level Road improvement project, led by Port Metro Vancouver, would include a new overpass over the rail tracks to connect to Neptune and Cargill terminals, as well as at St. Patrick's Avenue, something all the users of the crossing strongly support.
Yet the project has also attracted controversy from nearby residents, who say a higher road will impact their properties. City council voted to kill the project in June, but agreed to revive the project in July, and spend $1 million in city money on detailed design work.
