It was unthinkable. The July 6 tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, where a runaway train rolled down a steep slope into town, derailed and exploded, leaving 47 dead and flattening the core of a community, seemed like something out of a horror movie.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Canadian communities are nestled up against rail lines. That is how Canada was built, and it is still how a vast amount of cargo gets transported throughout the country. Crude oil, chemicals, propane, sulphuric acid - these are just some of the toxic and dangerous cargo that travel by train.
New Westminster is not unique in having a railroad tucked against a residential neighbourhood, just yards away from a bustling downtown community. It is the price of densification in urban areas.Vancouver is in the same position, as are many of the Fraser Valley communities.
But, for the most part, we have come to accept that rail yards are not high-risk areas. We hear the rail cars shunting noisily, but we seldom think that anything is going to explode or catch fire.
In fact, there have been derailments over the years, though, to date, there have been no serious accidents.
But, after seeing the tragedy in Lac-Megantic, one views those rail cars filled with dangerous goods a bit differently.
And so we should.
In today's front-page story, Quayside Community Board chair Brian Allen speaks up about his neighbourhood's concerns about rail yard safety.
As Allen puts it, the group is looking for the city to "man up" on the issue of hazardous goods, because it's a political issue that's too large for the residents to handle alone.
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr says the issue will be addressed with the city's newly formed citizens' advisory panel.
We're glad to hear it. And we hope that, together, the railway companies, residents and city can come up with positive plans to address the concerns.
The safety of our city is something that shouldn't be left to chance.
