BootsOnTheGround
CameraAtTheReadyVille
Stephen Rees took a walk along the line between King Ed and Broadway yesterday and has the photographic evidence to prove that there is no way that CP is going to start running trains on the track again anytime soon.
So what's really going?
Mr. Rees offers up this opinion:
...CP are simply sabre rattling in an ongoing real estate negotiation with the City. The revelations are that the City has made an offer of “fair market value” based on an independent assessment – and that CP has not responded. CP had hoped to make a financial killing by selling the land for development. The City won a case that went to the Supreme Court that they have the right to determine that the line remain a transportation corridor. Obviously the value as a route for a bike/pedestrian route – and potential LRT line – is lot lower than the price it might achieve if there were to be little houses where the track rots now. But since the City has determined that is not going to happen, the CP letters going to people along the route about removing their gardens are simply a bargaining tactic – and not a very smart one. CP’s Public Relations people have to be grinding their teeth...
Hard to argue with him, I reckon.
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And as a side bonus...In addition to the condo-dwelling farmers and public transportation supporters, here's hoping that CP has made at least a few denizens of Creme-Ville see red as well...Common cause and all that...
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Funny stuff and animal crackers
9 minutes ago
8 comments:
Go over the bridge into Richmond from YVR and just before Rona store the rail is gone and a road in its place. All in past year.
Anon--
Ya.
Some kind of YVR Mall or something...
Wreaks havoc with bike ride out to Iona.
Thanks.
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Whoops.
Wrong bridge and wrong end... But I know whereof you speak.
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Chances are that Vancouver is offering "fair market value" based on the land staying as a greenway or transportation corridor while CP is looking for value based on what they would have received if it could be zoned for development.
Don't really see this going anywhere soon.
CPR was "given" all that land (and the land across the country) so they could build their fucking railway and scoop up ALL the money! We should just take it back!
It's called expropriation and it's do-able!
CPR was paid to build a railway from Lake Superior to a terminus in Vancouver. They were GIVEN 20 miles of land/resources on each side of the rail line from there to here.
The original deal for the Colony of British Columbia to enter Confederation was for the western terminus being Esquimalt, via Bute Inlet......was accepted by the House of Commons, REJECTED by the Senate.
Enough is enough CPR
The railway was always greedy corp. guess they think this is still sometime in the 1800s when politicians would give them anything they want. The City of Vancouver might just want to exporiate the land and be done with it. They can pay them "fair market value" and the railroad can get lost.
of course they wanted to build condos over the space. Just think how lovely that would have been and the view. Go up 6 stories and it would have been wonderful. Could have sold the joints for couple of mill apiece, if not more. to bad, so sad, even mayor moonbeam knows this isn't going to fly with the westside citizens. this area ought to be kept as green space. of course when the citizens of the area didn't want rapid transit going through their neighbourhood, I guess they thought that would be about the worst that could happen. It isn't and it won't be. The rail road isn't finished with this yet.
Mr. Rees has it right. There is nowhere for any freight trains to run to. Molson won't be using it, the land at each end of the corridor is now controlled by Musqueam, the economic demographic of the Kits/ Granville Island area has become residential/retail meaning there are no customers for CP. In short the Arbutus corridor is a railway to nowhere. Anyone with even a basic understanding of freight rail operations knows that CPs vague insinuations of re-activating the line without any timeline whatsoever are utterly inane.
CPR's form letter response to any inquiries is that they have no intention of developing the land. Of course not, they're a freight rail company. Their wholly owned subsidiary Marathon Realty on the other hand...
They wanted to get lots of money. They won't get it and they are stooping to blackmailing the people who used the space along the line in good faith in hopes that they will force the City to buy at CP's price. Not going to happen.
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