The District of Squamish is closing a gravel section of Bailey Street, citing a longstanding agreement with CN Rail.
On March 8, the municipality said it will be installing gates on the gravel section of Bailey Street in the near future, north of the downtown area, closing the road except for emergency purposes.The stretch of Bailey that’s being closed is the dirt road leading to the rail crossing all the way up to the entrance of Spit Road.
Access to the Westbarr Road/Squamish Estuary Trails will remain open to the public.“The road is being closed to fulfill a long-standing agreement with CN Railways dating back to 1979 that has allowed the District to use Bailey Street as an emergency access route,” reads a release from a District spokesperson.
“However, the agreement required that the two rail crossings be gated to allow for emergency traffic only, a condition of which has not been met since the original agreement was signed. Due to noticeable deterioration of the rail crossings from increased public use, the gates are now required by the historical agreement.”The road will still be available and the gates opened in times of an emergency, and all emergency services responders will have keys in order to be able to use the road as needed, the release said.The District said future use requires the designing of crossings with CN and an application to Transport Canada for approval as a public crossing, including associated costs for upgrades.
In its release, the municipality acknowledged a need for a second access to the downtown area.“A second access is planned from the new Clarke Drive intersection off Highway 99, which will extend along Laurelwood Road to a Pemberton Avenue bridge. This plan is still a few years away pending population growth and funding. The District is very active with the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to this end,” the spokesperson said.
