A hearing will be held before a judge at Ballston Town Hall on Wednesday, March 28, that’s aimed at figuring out what will happen with three railroad crossings in the town.
In October of 2010, Canadian Pacific Railway sent a letter tothe Town of Ballston stating it wanted to close three railroad crossings at Connolly Road, Saunders Lane and White Beach Road, all off of Route 50.
Approximately 75 homes would be affected if the crossings close, potentially stranding some homeowners. Roads affected by potential closings include those named above, as well as Fairview Road, Glen Ridge Road, Hampton Road, Lake Shore Road, Manning Road, Powers Lane, Waverly Road, according tothe town’s building inspector, Thomas Johnson.
Town Supervisor Patti Southworth was not available for comment.
“We’ve had somevery good discussions with all of the various parties involved and we’ve beenvery pleased with the collaborative approach that has taken place with local residents, the town and New York State Department of Transportation. It’s been a very productive and positive experience,” said Ed Greenberg, a spokesman for Canadian Pacific.
“At this time we’ve reached a conceptual agreement pending a judge’s decision on twoof the three crossings. …The Saunders Lane crossing will be closed and theWhite’s Beach crossing would be turned into a full public crossing. It would beupgraded to include safety devices like gates, bells and flashing lights,” continued Greenberg.
A solution for the Connolly Road crossing is still being worked out, according to Greenberg, and will be discussed at the hearing.
“CP’s main concern is safety and the Connolly Road crossing remains a safety concern for our company and our position is still that it isan unsafe location,” added Greenberg.
Cost for one crossing to be equipped with lights and a gate is approximately $250,000, said Johnson.
The New York State Department of Transportation declined to comment on the situation.
Talks about the three crossings have been going on or about thelast three years. The railroad lies in the state’s proposed high speed rail corridor, meaning that in the future trains could be traveling those tracks at faster speeds than the cars that travel them now, making the crossings a safety issue.
“We operate through more than 1,100 communities across the United States and Canada and being part of the community is an important part of our company. Our concern is that these crossings were safety concerns but at the same time we wanted to work with local residents, local officials and the Department of Transportation to find some workable solution. We didn’t want tohave any residents …landlocked,” said Greenberg.
“It’s been a process… We recognize that sometimes discussions around important matters like this do take time. We’re pleased we’ve come this far in terms of the two crossings with just that one last crossing that remains for further discussion,” said Greenberg.
A representative for Canadian Pacific will be in attendance atthe hearing.
Thehearing will take place in Community Room 323 at the Town Hall on March 28 beginning at 9 a.m
