There are no plans to permanently close additional Guelph streets at railway crossings, city and Metrolinx officials confirm.
That decision comes about 18 months after Dublin Street was shut down at the rail crossing north of Waterloo Avenue when it was realized the crossing no longer met Transport Canada regulations.
“Metrolinx recently informed the public and the city that they have no current plans to close further level rail crossings in the city,” said Terry Gayman, the city’s general manager of engineering, in an email response to questions from GuelphToday.
“The city does not want to see closures of the level rail crossings because community connectivity is important to us.”
Additional street closures were being considered as several other crossings were reviewed for compliance with safety regulations.
Metrolinx, which is responsible for GO Transit, and the city closed off Dublin Street to all vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians at the rail crossing during the summer of 2020. Fencing was installed and cement barriers put in place to prevent anyone from going over the tracks.
The decision not to close other crossings is welcome news for the Guelph Coalition of Active Transportation.
“Any sort of a barrier to active transportation that blocks people’s routes … it’s a disincentive to actually take your bike or walk somewhere,” said Mike Darmon, president. “Once people have to start having to go longer distances for walking and stuff like that, they decide to take a car.”
There may be short-term closures in the future for some crossings in the city, noted Metrolinx spokesperson James Wattie. Those would likely last a day or two at a time.
“Metrolinx will upgrade at-grade crossings above and beyond the crossing standard defined by Transport Canada by 2025,” Wattie said in an email.
Improvements to the Dublin Street crossing would have required flattening of the area and moving train signals, explained Gayman.
“This would require the city to expropriate land and houses, and close large portions of upper and lower Kent Street, making this work unfeasible,” he wrote, noting there are no beautification plans in place for the blunted roadway.
