VIA puts policy before protocol

Look just beyond the homes of Pineglen Crescent, and you could swear a train had run through there.

Tree limbs dangle from mature maples, a soil-filled ditch lies where grass and shrubs once grew.

Not to mention the track, which reaches farther than the eye can see.

A train does run behind those homes, but it's not what caused this damage.

"There was this huge equipment that was basically ripping the trees and vegetation and chipping them," said Nardin Ghahary, who has lived at 79 Pineglen Cres. for 27 years.

Her house used to back onto a thick barrier of trees and plants, but, since VIA Rail cut down the trees, all she sees is a dull-looking track and some metal poles that will soon support a security fence.

Because the trees also blocked noise, Ghahary must now deal with what sounds like a train running through her house every few hours.

One of her neighbours recorded the loudest train at 92 decibels in his home, which is as loud as a lawnmower running by, 10 times a day.

Ghahary is also concerned about the beauty of her neighbourhood, which she described as "very quiet" with a "country-like atmosphere."

"Now, the place looks like a bomb hit it," she said on Friday, four days after the unearthing of vegetation began.

Fencing the "right-of-way," or the train track, is a common safety precaution, especially near neighbourhoods, VIA spokesman Malcolm Andrews said.

"In built-up residential areas, more and more, that has been the custom over the last number of years," he said. "We put up safety fencing to prevent, to the extent possible, trespassing."

Ghahary is a member of the Glens community association, which includes people living on Pineglen and Grenfell Crescents, both of which border the train track.

She says she and her neighbours were not notified about the fence building project until after VIA's hired contractors chopped down the trees that separated her backyard from the rail.

VIA has apologized for this error.

"The letters didn't go out as soon as they should have, so we apologize to people for not giving them quite as much advance notice as we could have," Andrews said.

Gord Hunter, councillor for Knoxdale-Merivale ward, said the city was not consulted about this work, but that he could not argue with VIA's safety reasons for installing a fence. He added that two young people had died on the line in question in the past 25 years.

Pierre Poilièvre, MP for Nepean-Carleton, was also disappointed that he and his constituents had not been informed of the project, but said he accepted VIA's apology and a commitment that future notifications would be provided before any work was done.

Poilièvre agreed that fencing is needed near railways to keep the public safe.

"For teenagers who might be wearing headsets, or people who are hearing impaired, or children who have not developed their sense of safety, it can lead to tragedies," he said. "Trespassing has led to fatalities in this region."

Andrews explained that there could be a considerable amount of brush growing beside the track that must be removed before a fence could be installed.

Ghahary worried that the destruction of trees would harm local wildlife, which she said flourished in her neighbourhood.

Andrews said an environmental assessment was not required for the area. While birds may have lived very temporarily in the trees that were cut down, they likely did not nest there for long because of loud sounds and vibrations from the trains, he said.

Ghahary's other major concern is that her water quality will be contaminated when a chemical spray is used on the track to prevent growth of weeds and plants.

The homes in her area rely on wells and septic tanks.

Andrews said railways had always sprayed along the tracks, so spraying should not cause a problem.

"Railways do spray from time to time beside the tracks," Andrews said, "basically to ensure safe operation and reasonable visibility, and to ensure that there isn't undue incursion of plant growth along the rail line in question."

Since 2003, there have been five trespassing incidents on the rail line between Smiths Falls and Ottawa, the Railway Association of Canada said.

The RAC could not confirm how many instances of trespassing resulted in death.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada counted 52 trespassing fatalities nationwide in 2009, compared to an average of 59 trespassing fatalities between 2004 and 2008.

By Danna Zabrovsky, The Ottawa Citizen