Skateboarders and pedestrians who want to cross the train tracks might have to walk around them in the near future.
The Yorkton Business Improvement District (YBID) is looking to build a chainlink fence running along the train tracks near the skate park. The fence would start at Broadway Street and extend down to Independent Street.
“It’s a fair stretch of chainlink fence,” said Phil Devos, YBID Executive Director.
YBID started the project two years ago when they heard complaints from Yorktonites and railroad operators that people at the skate park had a tendency to “play chicken” with oncoming trains. Engineers are forced to slam their brakes when they see people on the tracks, which brings the trains to a halt in the middle of Broadway Street, clogging up vehicle and foot traffic.
“That causes a lot of people a lot of inconvenience,” Devos said.
YBID brainstormed a possible solution to the problem and they settled on a fence. There won’t be direct access from the skate park to the tracks; people will have to walk around it. The hope is the fence will be enough of an obstacle to discourage any rash decisions to jump onto the tracks.
“It’s a safety issue,” Devos said. “It’s 100 per cent about keeping kids from stopping trains or somebody really getting hurt.”
YBID parntered with CN Railway and the City of Yorkton for the project. The City and the rail company are currently hashing out a maintenance agreement regarding who will tend to the grass near the fence. According to Mayor Bob Maloney, once an agreement is reached, tenders will be sent out to build the fence.
Once the fence is in place, Devos hopes to transform it from cold steel to an art installation. YBID is considering allowing people to decorate the fence.
“As you’re walking along the sidewalk, you can look at people who’ve done their Picasso or what have you,” he said. “That would be phase two.
“Right now phase one is [about getting]...that fence put in and [taking] it from there.”
Devos would like to see the fence completed this year, although he understands everyone has a lot on their plates these days.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” he said. “Fences aren’t built in a day.
“It will get done.”
