The prospect of building a pedestrian overpass above CN’s rail yard which runs through the middle of the city is much stronger when viewed as more than a method to reduce trespassing over the tracks.
Proper fencing with regular maintenance to repair any holes cut by trespassers will largely take care of access to the rail yard.
But in the far broader picture an overpass should be considered as a needed method of foot and cyclist transit to better connect what is now a divided city.
Save for the sidewalks of the Sande Overpass, at the far western end of the rail yard, and constituting a significant journey for those on foot or on a bike, there is now no access between the southside and the northside of the city for the long stretch from the Sande Overpass to the area of Walmart.
It’s a significant omission for southside residents who deserve the opportunity of access to the majority of the city’s recreational, shopping and other services on the northside.
Consider the large amount of social and low income housing on the southside in the area east of Mills Memorial Hospital to near Walmart – which could soon be bolstered should a Ksan House Society apartment building be constructed in that neighbourhood – and the need for a pedestrian and cyclist overpass is even more obvious.
Of all the needs facing the city, this is one of the more doable.
