Looming closure of key crossing between Inglewood and Ramsay leaves some residents feeling 'trapped'

One of the few roads connecting Inglewood and Ramsay is closing permanently on Jan. 15 — a closure that has some residents complaining they'll be cut off by the loss of a key link between the southeast Calgary communities.

On Jan. 15, Canadian Pacific Railway will permanently shut the level crossing at Eighth Street and Ninth Avenue S.E. to all vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.

The railway has the right to shut down the crossing under a century-old deal it made with the city.

Canadian Pacific has said it has concerns about safety as population density increases in the area.

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said discussions regarding whether CP needed to close the Eighth Street crossing four years ago concluded with the railway saying they did not.

"And I said, 'That's not going to last.' And sure enough, it did not last," he said. "Two years later, CP Rail said, 'You know what, second thought, we need it.'"

Carra said, as a result, in the meantime, the city had done a huge amount of public consultation about how the Green Line was going to impact the communities of Inglewood and Ramsay without addressing the issue of the crossing being closed because it was thought it wasn't an issue.

The planned Green Line LRT will also cross Eighth Street, which when combined with CP rail traffic, would have created additional delays for vehicle traffic crossing all three tracks.

In a release, the city says closing the level crossing is also connected to land negotiations for the Green Line project.

The closure is one of over 20 "enabling works" being completed ahead of construction of the first stage of the light rail line between 16th Avenue North and 126th Avenue S.E.

Regardless of the reasons for the closure, resident Ann Silbernagel says it's a new inconvenience.

A southeast Calgary resident says she's dreading the closure next week of the key link between Ramsay and Inglewood.

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"The train has always been an issue, trying to get around it, but the crossing being permanently blocked off is quite the hassle," she said.

"I live just around the corner, so for me getting to work is going to be an extra 20 minute walk in the cold. To go all the way around it is going to be a bit of a pain."

Another major route also closed

Another complication is the ongoing construction of the new Ninth Avenue bridge. To accommodate the temporary crossing, the underpass at Seventh Street S.E. after it curves north from 12th Avenue S.E. along the Elbow River has been closed — shutting off yet another way to circulate between Inglewood and Ramsay and another route into Inglewood.

Carra says it's most likely that route will remain closed to vehicle traffic for the long run as that portion of Seventh Street is incorporated into the next phase of the river walk.

"Right now we feel kind of trapped in the community because there are only a couple of ways out," Silbernagel said.

"If there is an emergency, there is just no way out."

Pedestrians and cyclists are encouraged to use the Elbow River Pathway once the crossing closes.

Motorists can use MacDonald Avenue S.E. bridge to get in and out of Ramsay, and 12th Street S.E. to cross between Ramsay and Inglewood.