Update: Asked about this, Staff Sgt. Gareth Bradley of the Sea to Sky RCMP (Squamish) said RCMP officers aren't generally watching for people on tracks.
"CN Rail was up in the area over the past few weeks doing enforcement in areas they control. I cannot speak to this direct incident; however, we generally do not have time to sit and watch the tracks, as we are out taking calls for service."
Recently, I was just finishing my usual circuit of the Squamish Estuary trail when I came upon a police cruiser parked on the trail just before the final railroad crossing. The officer stepped out of the car and told me I could not cross the railroad line because it was private property with no established pedestrian crossing, and thus illegal to cross and to do so, I would be liable to a fine.
At the same time, a group of women were just entering the trail from the other end and paused to see what the problem was. One of them approached the officer and received the same information.
We couldn’t believe such a foolish barrier was to be enforced by the police. The estuary is one of Squamish’s most popular and most easily accessed trails, used by many people every day. Surely the police have more serious matters to which they could devote their time. If the railroad insists on a pedestrian crossing, the solution is for them to install one.
Sheila Hart
Squamish
Editor’s note: As it states on the CN website, walking over or along railways where there is no official crossing is trespassing and illegal. “Railway tracks should only be crossed at designated, authorized crossings. Crossing tracks at any other location is considered trespassing, which is both illegal and dangerous,” the www.cn.ca site reads.
