High speed rail markings spark concerns for rural residents
Hala Ghonaim | CBC News | Posted: November 29, 2017 10:00 AM | Last Updated: November 29, 2017
Yellow chevron markings could be seen popping up across Thames Centre and surrounding areas
Residents living in rural areas east of London are raising concerns about some bright yellow signs of a high speed rail line cutting through their towns.
Kelly Elliot, a ward councillor in Thames Centre, organized an information session Tuesday for rural residents after she said the Ministry of Transportation painted yellow chevron markings across town. Markings, she figured, that signaled possible locations for high speed tracks.
"There are some real negative impacts that could happen in the rural communities," said Elliot – who said that there would be no over or under passes in rural areas to get around the potential tracks.
"People just want those concerns heard that when we start moving on to planning phases that their concerns aren't a hindsight."
A representative from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation said in a statement to CBC News that the markings were part of an environmental assessment and no decisions for the route have been made.
"The yellow chevrons are part of aerial photography used for mapping purposes. The chevrons mark known coordinate points on the ground to help position the aerial shots to ensure that the resulting maps are accurate," read the statement.
"They are only to facilitate the aerial photography and serve no other purpose."
The representative added that "the aerial photography is for base mapping between London and Kitchener."
Farms, municipality, cut in half
Elliot said concerns grew after Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the formation of a planning advisory board, made up of high tech and engineering experts to guide the project.
For about three decades, the province discussed building a rail link between Toronto and Windsor, with high speed rail stops across southwestern Ontario, including London.
"There are no crossings for these high speed rail tracks so when it comes to our rural roads, our back gravel roads, without crossings there. It's literally cutting our municipality in half. It's cutting farms in half," said Elliot.
She is hoping that high speed rail officials will attend tonight's meeting, as well as local MPPs, to hear from both opponents and proponents.
Elliot understands the potential economic advantages of high speed rail but also said concerns of residents must be heard.
The information session was held at the Taylor Auction Barn in Thorndale Ontario.