PRRD to ask for "Community Rail"

The Peace River Regional District is hoping to make BC’s carbon footprint a little lighter—not with new technology, but with rail.

Members of the PRRD will join representatives of other communities in the province at a Union of BC Municipalities Conference in Penticton later this month. The PRRD hopes to pass a resolution at the conference to endorse what it calls “community rail.”

The resolution would see BC cities push for rail to be used as a “green” alternative to trucking, with a specific focus on consumer goods transportation between communities. If the resolution passes, it would require the UBCM to lobby the provincial government, as well as CN and CP Rail, to design and develop the system of inter-community routes.

Although the verdict on the resolution won’t be known until later this month, the UBCM Resolutions Committee has recommended Union members approve the resolution.