Renewed calls for a safe alternative to illegal train crossings at Montreal’s Mile End – Montreal | The Canadian News

There are calls for heightened security following the death of a woman who was hit by a train at a popular illegal crossing on Thursday.

This illegal crossing is a popular shortcut between the Mile End neighborhood of Plateau Mont-Royal and the Rosemont district.

“About two hundred people every morning cross this passage, so it’s a lot,” said Axel Lelaquet, who often uses the crossing.

According to the Montreal Police (SPVM), a 31-year-old woman was struck and killed by a train on Thursday afternoon.

Although the circumstances surrounding his death are still under investigation, the incident has reignited calls for a safe, permanent pedestrian crossing to be built between Montreal’s Mile End neighborhood and Rosemont.

“Having a simple cross up can basically save a lot of danger,” Lelaquet said.

A group of citizens has been asking Canadian Pacific (CP), the company that owns the rails, to install a safe passage for pedestrians for more than a decade.

They say this latest accident is a wake-up call for CP.

“People will continue to put holes in the fence and cross illegally and unsafely because the city and the infrastructure around these train tracks has not adapted to the reality of our neighborhoods today,” said Mistaya Hemingway, a member of the Colectivo por el Level crossing.

Efforts have also been made to secure passage at the federal level.

In 2016, the NDP introduced a bill that would give the federal government powers to mandate pedestrian crossings on rail tracks, but it did not pass.

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Alexandre Boulerice has been part of the efforts and is a deputy for the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie area.

“It’s sad, but not surprising,” Boulerice said of the woman’s death. “I hope that there will be a reaction in Ottawa to change the legislation.”

Boulerice says the combined efforts of members of his party and the city of Montreal to convince CP to build a safe crossing have also failed.

“CP is not really listening,” Boulerice said.

Parc-Extension residents experienced a similar problem at the Parc commuter rail station located on Ogilvy Avenue.

Neighbors and the city advocated for years for the installation of a pedestrian crossing, which was finally inaugurated last December.

Pedestrians in the area say it has made their lives easier and safer, as the barriers are lowered whenever a train is ready to pass and raised when it is safe to cross.

“It’s safer, safer,” said Roxanne Langevin.

Langevin says he also saves 20 minutes by crossing the railway on the way to the park, instead of going around it.

In a statement to Global News, Plateau-Mont-Royal Mayor Luc Rabouin called the woman’s death “an extremely sad event.”

“My thoughts are with the loved ones and family of this young woman,” Rabouin said.

“It is a sad reminder that illegal crossings are a very real danger to the safety of citizens. We are ready to collaborate and put ourselves in solution mode with CP to quickly find a permanent and safe solution to regularize the crossing of several hundred citizens per day”.

Stacy Patenaude, manager of government affairs and communications for CP, wrote in an email to Global News that “CP police continue to investigate the incident in collaboration with Montreal police” but did not address requests to install a crosswalk. In the area.