City of Vancouver taking CP Rail to court over the Arbutus corridor
Posted October 3, 2014 3:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The City of Vancouver is bringing Canadian Pacific to court over the company’s plans to reactivate the railway on the Arbutus corridor.
The City hopes the lawsuit blocks further construction, demolition or clearing of gardens along the corridor, and is also requesting the courts block the company from using herbicides along that route.
Mayor Gregor Robertson says this legal action is a move to protect the corridor as a greenway for the benefit of Vancouverites. “The work that will be done through these legal arguments will be in advancing the city’s case that we don’t want to see destruction along that corridor and the long-term interests should prevail — that this should be preserved as a greenway,” says Robertson.
“So this again is another step that we’re taking as a city to ensure the citizens are represented and the long-term interests of the city, which are consistent with all of our citizen feedback, to maintain the Arbutus corridor as a greenway,” says Robertson.
The City has had conversations with Canadian Pacific over buying the lands along the corridor but the sides are tens of millions of dollars apart when it comes to the land’s valuation.
Those talks recently broke off, with the company beginning work to clear the corridor with the intention of using the railway once again.
