HawthorneVillager.com

For anyone interested, I've just posted some information to my blog regarding truck traffic and wait times for the Brampton Intermodal Facility (BIT) to help put things into perspective as far as what we might be able to expect with a new intermodal facility in Milton.

I will look more closely at CN's plans for the facility in Milton once the information centre opens and ask questions to determine if they have taken these truck traffic issues into account to prevent trucks waiting in line from spilling out onto regional and local roads in the area and inconveniencing local residents. My sole purpose was to help provide some perspective on the type of truck traffic and road congestion that these types of facilities can bring into the area for anyone unfamiliar with these types of facilities. Interpret these images as you wish. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

http://johnp.ca/blog/perspective-truck- ... l-terminal

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John Pollard
Town Councillor (Ward 6)
ward6@johnp.ca
(647)921-2583
http://johnp.ca

Those are some telling pictures John.

You should post it to this facebook group.

https://www.facebook.com/miltonsaysno/timeline

http://www.miltonsaysno.com/

The new escarpment view, say goodbye to sixteen mile creek....

http://www.railpictures.ca/wp-content/u ... anMofo.jpg

http://www.railpictures.ca/wp-content/u ... anMofo.jpg

Planning in advance to build an industrial complex with constant flow of dangerous goods in the middle of residential housing is asking for another Lac Megantic.

Sunrise Propane is another example of where industrial and hazardous activities should have never been permitted or allowed to continue once it was full residential surrounding the property.

Yes truck traffic, noise and light pollution are all concerns, however my greatest concern is the less than stellar safety records of CN and of rail safety/truck safety in general and the known risk being proposed for our community. We need less rail traffic and hazardous goods coming through Milton, not more.

Is the truck entry point different from the truck exit point?

Thank you John for the pictures.

Yes those pictures do show what can happen at CN BIT on a bad day, especially when the gate machines/computers go down. Drivers can sometimes spend a few hours waiting to get in. Luckily this is not an everyday occurrence, now it’s about once a week on average. Most drivers if they have done their pre check in will only be held for a few short minutes at the gate. I too will be looking forward to the public information session. As I want to see if CN will plan the gate entrance far into the facility as possible and not close to the street (to plan for one of “ those days” when the gate machines go down. CN BIT does not allow much room for this but with Milton having all this extra space, CN should be able to allow for a 1 km internal driveway prior to the gate.

opie

Could you perhaps explain where the reference to dangerous goods came from? I would not think that containers would be suitable for dangerous goods, but more for manufactured goods.

CN does haul dangerous goods...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e23414472/

https://www.cn.ca/en/delivering-respons ... rous-goods

http://globalnews.ca/news/1348782/cn-ra ... ds-safety/

I understand CN hauls a variety of different loads across their network. But the original comment, and my question, were focused on dangerous goods as it relates to the proposed new intermodal facility.

CN rail does bring dangerous goods thru Milton as far as we know...

I guess this might provide a clue... http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/ ... to-milton/

Not my direct concern but one could say the traffic of these goods could greatly swell in numbers and they are now also hauled between trains and trucks using Milton local roads rather than a quick pass by trains as we see today.... Maybe the OP point is we now see greater risk but this is debatable...

1) DG goods can load in containers, and there are numerous DG goods moving on CN line everyday.
2) more handling of DG containers (on/off railcars, on/off trucks) instead of just passing through.
3) containers will sit at terminal for some time before being picked up (time varies for each shipment).
4) more trucks pass through local roads thus higher accident rates and spills in the area. One can argue still same amount of trucks on the road overall, but its just a lot more in the area which is close to residents.

That is the point. Intermodal looks after containers, not tank cars loaded with liquid type cargos, unless of course this is also going to be a marshalling yard where trains are assembled for different destinations. The environmental group don't want to move oil in pipelines as it is proposed to do with a gas line coming from the west, so where does that leave the transport of oil except through tank cars. There is an awful amount of simpleton logic in this debate. The issue with those who fear property values decreasing because of their recent purchase on HV South may well have had a buyer beware concern before their decision to buy. In my opinion, the builder may have had prior knowledge of CN's decision and decide to release the more southerly lots first in order to avoid lowering prices.

I'm on board with everyone who's against this - but CN is not some ma and pa freight mover. They'd know what they are shipping and how to safely handle it.

I think it would be a stretch to assume that CN does not employ DG specialists who would be required to pass yearly training to remain certified.

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Just wondering if anyone that has recently purchased one of the homes in Hawthorne Village South considered getting out of the purchase? All sales are supposed to be firm, nowever given that this facility can potentially pose an environmental hazard to the community, and was not disclosed to the buyer at the time of purchase, whether the buyer can back out of the purchase...thoughts?