Sydney road over tracks could soon be open

A two-year-old road in Sydney that has never been open to traffic may finally open, if a dispute can be resolved with the owner of the train tracks the road must cross.

The road runs across the remediated Sydney coke ovens site and connects the main thoroughfare of Victoria Road with the Sydney Port Access Road (SPAR) at Lingan Road.

It is seen as crucial to redevelopment of the coke ovens property.

The road never opened, though, because it must cross tracks owned by Genesee and Wyoming railroad before meeting with the SPAR.

The railway has denied a permit to cross, citing liability issues. No more than two trains a year travel the tracks.

Donnie Burke, the executive director of Nova Scotia Lands, which owns the coke ovens property, said a possible solution is to use a manual flagging system on those rare occasions when a train needs to cross the new road.

With a flagger on the tracks, "the train would stop, the conductor would get out and make sure the area is clear and then bring the train across," Burke said.

"What we propose is to go one step further, if possible, and actually flag the vehicles going through there as well."

Burke said NSL would cover the cost of the flagger.

Source of frustration

The unopened road has been a source of frustration since it was built in 2013. Concrete barriers on either side of the tracks completely block access, and until now, the railway has not shown much will to negotiate a solution.

Genesee and Wyoming owns all of the Cape Breton rail line and has applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to abandon it.

The flagging solution was proposed to NSL by a consultant it hired to figure a way out of the impasse.

Cape Breton Regional Mayor Cecil Clarke is among those hoping the recommendation will be accepted, because he believes development will naturally follow the new traffic pattern.

"If you look at the success of the SPAR Road itself, and opening Ferry Street and Lingan Road and the access points out of Whitney Pier now, this would just add to that connectivity," he said.

If Genesee and Wyoming accepts the flagging proposal, the road could be open by the end of the year.