About

Many community ‘Advocates for Rail Relocation’ have contributed in many different ways over the past six years. Many also have been good enough to write opinion pieces for the local newspapers. We are thankful to you all. We will add your name to the list of ‘contributors, if you should so wish, if you would be so good as to be in contact with us through the contact page on the index bar, for this website.

Major Contributors:

Craig Harrold has been a prime behind-the-scene advocate for the BNSF Rail Relocation over the past six years. His career education/experience has been first, consulting civil/structural engineering and project management; second, real estate consulting to BC based pension funds, and third, business case/capital management work with a BC Crown Corporation. He expects to become more vocal and public about the need for relocation, during 2021 and 2022, as well as serve as the advocate administrator of this website. More detail about his business and volunteer activities, over the years, can be found on his ‘mediation and facilitation’ website; see www.charrold.com

Erik Seiz, former President of the Crescent Beach Property Owners Association and advocate for using metrics to advance rail safety and transportation planning. Erik is using technology to shift centralized public and private services to models that allow wider stakeholder participation; he has been a continuing prime advocate for the BNSF Rail Safety on the Semiahmoo Peninsula over the past seven years. Documentation of ‘undesired emergencies [UDE’s]’ and ‘soil slide occurrences’ along the coastal west side hillside have received paramount attention. Focused efforts also to extend the existing swing bridge ‘slow speed boundary’ further to the south of Crescent Beach, in order to mitigate safety concerns, have produced high awareness among all stakeholders. More recently, Erik has been able to elevate safety discussions to the highest levels of the City of Surrey, BNSF, and the Pacific Region of Transport Canada. Erik’s and Craig’s work have been parallel and complimentary initiatives over the past seven years. Each support short-term safety improvements and long-term relocation.

Mary-Jane Bennett, transportation consultant and journalist, has assisted us professionally since 2014; her contributions are mentioned in many places on this website, and her reports are highlighted in the ‘references’ section of the ‘index’ for this website. We honor her contribution in so many ways as she has been a leading light for all of us. She has had a 40 year legal career in both Manitoba and British Columbia. In private practice, she was involved in several constitutional cases and twice appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1998, she was appointed to the Canadian Transportation Agency [CTA], and remained a board member for 9 years until 2007. For all our readers, please note that there are many references to the fact that the ‘expanded mayors group’ may well take seek approval and funding directly to the CTA, which makes her knowledge of this agency of utmost importance. Her involvement in 2021 and beyond may become dependent on paid consultancy contracts by public stakeholders.

 

Second Tier Contributors:

Whom? … to be obtained by folks contacting us through the contact page

Opinion Pieces:

Whom? … to be obtained by folks contacting us through the contact page

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