District of Squamish has closed the Bailey Street and installed gates on both ends.
“The closure of the gravel section of Bailey Street, north of the downtown area is in effect,” district said.
The road, however, is still available and the gates will be opened in times of an emergency.
However, access to the Westbarr Road and estuary trails will remain open to the public.
The road is being closed to fulfill a long-standing agreement with CN Railways that has allowed the district to use Bailey Street as an emergency access route.
However, this 1979 agreement required that the two rail crossings be gated to allow for emergency traffic only, a condition which the district has now met.
District says for the last four years, it has also been working with CN to upgrade all 21 rail crossings in the community.
The district has now applied for federal grant funding annually to help fund this work, but has been unsuccessful due to several municipalities applying for this funding.
However, in conjunction with CN, minor improvements have been made to ensure that most of the crossings meet current standards.
One notable exception is the Cleveland Avenue crossing, which the District is working with CN to plan for upgrades to in the near future.
Local citizens can call CN Railways with feedback or comment.
Please contact Daniel Suh, Public Works Officer, at 604.589.6522 or by email Daniel.Suh@cn.ca.
Tyler Banick, Manager Public Affairs, can be contacted at 780.643.7632, or via email at Tyler.Banick@cn.ca
