THE District of Squamish and CN have worked together to improve rail safety awareness and placed 28 bright-yellow thermal decals at nine at-grade rail crossings throughout the community. The initiative aims to remind pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers to slow down, obey signals, and watch for trains. These are the locations where the decals have been placed as a reminder to people: Cleveland Avenue; Pedestrian Crossing (Buckley Ave.) across from Squamish Elementary School; Amble Path (Pedestrian/bicycles); Amble Path entrance (near Mamquam Elementary School); Lekis crossing; Depot Road; and Government Road (Brackendale – near Brackendale Elementary & Don Ross Middle School).
“The decals are a great reminder to all road users, but especially kids and young people, to be alert when they’re approaching or crossing the railroad tracks,” said Constable Bart MacMillan, Community Services Officer with CN Police.
‘See Tracks? THINK TRAIN’ is a railway industry safety awareness campaign, led by Operation Lifesaver, about risky pedestrian and driver behaviour at railroad tracks. CN Police are working with communities across the CN network to help spread the message as part of our ongoing rail safety education efforts. The first decals were hand-painted on sidewalks by CN police in Indiana earlier this year.
The District of Squamish is also working with CN and Transport Canada on detailed field assessments to upgrade 21 rail crossings within the municipality through a multiyear project, said district spokesperson Christina Moore.. Installing the decals is an interim measure to help bring awareness to rail safety, she added.
CN Police visited local schools in the spring to talk about rail safety, and the district strongly encourages parents to talk to their kids about rail safety, she said. In 2015, in Canada, there were 53 trespasser accidents that resulted in 31 fatalities and 18 serious injuries. In the same year, there were 164 crossing accidents in the country, resulting in 14 fatalities and 18 serious injuries, all tragedies that can be prevented by being aware and obeying the crossing signals, said Kate Fenske, media relations for CN Rail.
