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Originally Posted by jeremy_haak
I don't know, actually, although the HTA would likely apply at least in part due to the portions along King and other streets.
I imagine the MTO could claim jurisdiction since it is crossing a public roadway; however, I wouldn't be surprised if there are no relevant regulations since this scenario hasn't really arisen yet in Ontario.
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No relevant regulations, HA, there are always regulations!
Actually though, I know of no rapid transit in Canada that has a level crossing that isn't already street running (and therefore under the HTA or local equivalent). Calgary and Edmonton might though, I'm not terribly familiar with their systems.
What we are dealing with though are Railways, and in that sense our laws and governing is very similar to the United States, since we have a very intertwined rail system and history. In the US, I know of rapid transit systems that do all sorts of crazy things, but for a basic example the St. Louis Metro has multiple grade crossings (which it handles at very high speeds for what you'd expect).
In the US, the FRA, part of the DOT handles rail lines. In Canada, Transport Canada regulates all inter provincial and inter country railways, along with railways that are "owned, controlled, leased or operated by a person who operates a railway that is within the jurisdiction of parliament". They make it clear on their
website that "Urban Transit Infrastructure" is a Provincial and Municipal affair. Here in Ottawa, the Capital Railway (legal name for the O-Train) is a federally regulated system, because it runs on tracks shared with other, inter provincial railways. It does however operate under a waiver, since the European trains are not crash rated (which is ridiculous, but I won't get into it) and have only one operator. They also have signalling backups (the Indusi system) and can't share the line when the trains are running.
The issue of compliance and jurisdiction came up recently in the US, involving SMART, the commuter rail system being built north of San Francisco, the one that GO is piggybacking off of for it's UPX DMU's. Those DMU's are FRA compliant, meaning they run (or can be run) in mixed traffic with freight within the existing rules and regulations. This came up recently because the FRA rules state that the train's horn must be sounded in advance of a level crossing, something the locals wouldn't like very much with frequent, peak hour trains. The discussion brought up by the noise debate is why SMART chose to be FRA compliant in the first place, instead of running under a waiver like the CR. This would allow them to buy cheaper trains as well, since there is minimal freight on the line.
Other commenters on the SMART system were discussing what would happen if they decided to drop their FRA operations and run completely separately, like most metro/light rail systems. This then puts them under other jurisdictions, I believe the Surface Transport Board and other local bodies in California, potentially creating an entirely different set of ridiculous rules to follow. In Ontario, I'm not sure what provincial regulations cover non TC regulated railways, but I don't think it's under the purview of the MTO.
In terms of a grade crossing, I don't see it being a big deal either way. Under the HTA, a railway would be a railway, regardless of if it is TC regulated or not. I do not believe that regular rail crossings are the jurisdiction of the MTO, since railways occupy a space above cars in the law. What would make the difference is insurance, since I'm sure the city's premiums would climb if there is a grade crossing on a busy stretch like crossing Iris.
Where crossings become more interesting in the future would be along Strandherd and Chapman Mills Dr. in Barrhaven. There would be quite a few crossings there, and it may be that in that case the trains fall under the HTA and are considered to be in mixed traffic with separate signals, like the segregated streetcar ROWs in Toronto. That is quite a way into the future, but one of the reasons the city went with low floor "trams" that can be used in mixed traffic.
As for the parking lot crossing near Marketplace, it's outside of the HTA, and blowing the stop sign (like any private stop sign) carries no penalties under the law. Where it does hurt is if you are in an accident, you can still be found at fault, as a different set of rules exists for that. The city could also have a By-Law that covers all or just their own private stop signs, but it could only carry a fine, no demerit points or other consequences. I checked that exact thing a few weeks ago, and to the best of my knowledge no such law exists in Ottawa covering private property, although the Transitway may be different. The stop signs thing can also be enforced in other ways, for instance the Carleton University Act (1942) allows them special privileges, and they have a $35 fine for not stopping under their parking regulations. However, the only way they have to enforce that is by threatening to ban either you or your vehicle from campus in the future. Considering buses regularly blow though the stop signs on campus, I'd like to see the students revolt if OC Transpo is ever fined and banned from campus
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