11th Street S.W. train delays irk Calgary commuters

The11thStreet southwest train crossingin downtown Calgary has been causing some headachesfor commuters in the area.

Michael Petchhas lived in the area for 18 yearsand says trains stopping on or near the crossingis a weekly occurrence.

He let his camera roll for 15 minutes on Tuesdayto capture how a train, which wasn't even blocking the crossing,can causesome serious traffic congestion. Some pedestrians even risked crossing the tracks despite the warning bells.

"So everybody hereis stopped for a train that is going nowhere," Petchsays in theYouTube video.

Canadian Pacific (CP) Railwayapologized for thedelay, butcalledit an isolated incident caused byhuman error.

But CP isalso remindingCalgariansthat crossing tracks even when a train is stopped and the arms are downis both dangerous and illegal.

Underpass being considered

"I'd like to see something done where they either get rid of this roadway or put it underneath,"said Petch.

The area councillor agrees.

Coun. Evan Woolley saysat least 5,000 cars and as many pedestrians travel over thetracks every day.

He says the congestion will onlyget worse as more people move into the area.

"The density is moving to the westside of downtownwestend and to Connaught here onthe other side," he said."We've got 7,000 people moving to the Beltline in the next five years. We've got to figure out way to move these people across this track."

Woolley says talks of an underpass are already underway.He estimates the cost will be more than $20million.

"We need toand the conversations are happeningto put this road below these tracks,not unlike the rest of downtown," he said.

Google Maps: Train crossing location