Allie speaks up: rough tracks!

Allie Speaks Up

September 2014

Photo submitted.

Have you noticed that there are no trains going through Hantsport these days?  Fundy Gypsum has been closed over a year and I understand that the latest news is they are not returning in the future.

However, the Town is left with multiple train tracks making access difficult to get to the river and parts of the Town.

I don’t know from personal experience whether the tracks are hard on cars, but I can tell you from my own personal experience that those tracks are extremely awkward for those of us using wheelchairs.  I think it’s also hard on people using bicycles, strollers, children’s wagons, skateboards, scooters and anything with small wheels.

I have only been really stuck once when the front wheels of my motorized wheelchair dropped in the spaces between the tracks and I had to call for help from a local business.  Trust me!  Getting stuck on a train track is very scary and can be dangerous.  When I got stuck the trains were still running.

Since that time, I have been very cautious and will never cross the tracks by myself.

Here’s a question to think about!  How hard would it be to either take the tracks out completely or if that’s not possible could the spaces between the tracks be filled in?     

In my opinion, anything we can do to make the Town easier to move around in for everyone is worth thinking about - especially since we are in the middle of an election!

Alison McQueen