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Gorge RR getting serious again

 
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2003 8:46 pm    Post subject: Gorge RR getting serious again Reply with quote

Gorge visitors and locals should be aware the railroads are in their snit
phase again. Victor and friends were chased out of an eastern spot recently
because they had to walk across the tracks to access it. They were lucky to
get away without prosecution this time; it can include a federal felony rap,
some very significant fines, and legal fees well into six figures.

When asked about their policy, the RR responded with this:

<<I received your note inquiring about access across our tracks to the
Columbia River for to get to the best
windsurfing around.

My first thought was, is there a public crossing [meaning lights, bells,
whistles, signs authorizing public access, overpass/underpass, etc] for you
to cross at this location or are you trespassing? I understand now that
there is a railroad access road nearby, but no crossing. This is a private
roadway owned and in use for railroad personnel only. There is no legal
access to the beach.

What you and others have been doing is trespassing onto private property in
order to access the river. It is not legal or safe to continue to park your
cars along SH 14 [which runs along the entire sailable Washington shore of
Da River] to and cross the tracks unless you are at a designated public
crossing or at a crossing such as Dougs Beach where you have active warning
lights and gates. The practice of trespassing across our tracks MUST STOP
NOW before someone gets hurt and/or killed. Passenger trains run at 70 mph,
freight trains at 60 mph in this area.

To obtain legal access, find a local agency with some $$$, construct an
overpass under BNSF review and approval, with all the safeguards such as
parallel fencing, similar to Dougs Beach. There will be NO at grade
crossings for pedestrians permitted along our mainline tracks. If you do
find the $$$ see if we can grade separate Dougs Beach as well.

If anyone is seen and/or caught trespassing across BNSF tracks they will be
immediately escorted off of the property and/or prosecuted to the fullest
extent of the law.

PASS THE WORD TO YOUR FELLOW SURFERS

BE SAFE, CROSS AT DESIGNATED PUBLIC CROSSINGS!!

thanks. >>

Watch out.

Mike \m/
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saltweb



Joined: 12 Jun 2000
Posts: 316

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2003 8:30 am    Post subject: RE: Gorge RR getting serious again Reply with quote

Wow, they sound serious, what can be done about it? Who would ever fund overpasses?
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carl



Joined: 25 Feb 1997
Posts: 2674
Location: SF bay area

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2003 12:34 am    Post subject: RE: Gorge RR getting serious again Reply with quote

Mike,
Does the RR own the property all the way down to the river? If not it would seem someone would have an easement to get to their property. Maybe you guys could work a deal with them with a fee-per-visit.
Damn railroads....
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2003 3:07 am    Post subject: RE: Gorge RR getting serious again Reply with quote

It takes bucks and clout to sway the RRs. Dougs Beach is now an official crossing, thanks to the Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association we in this area should all support. The problem is at least threefold:
1. The RRs bribed the congress a century ago, so Im told, to acquire permanent lordship over both shores of the Columbia.
2. People nationwide die by the thousands on RR tracks.
3. Juries sometimes award their families millions of dollars. The RRs are thus justifiably paranoid. Many Gorge sailing sites have been closed over the last 5-6 years because if this.

Some updates/corrections: It is now only a state-by-state issue; federal RR trespass laws are on the way but not in effect yet. OTOH, the states are doing just fine without federal clout; one guy caught carrying gear across the tracks in WA has lost tens of thousands of dollars in cash, lost business and legal expenses (the rap cost him his right to practice his business -- law, if I recall correctly -- for months at a time). I get the impression hes almost afraid to even LOOK across the tracks now.

Mike \m/

************************
Wow, they sound serious, what can be done about it? Who would ever fund overpasses?
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saltweb



Joined: 12 Jun 2000
Posts: 316

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2003 11:54 am    Post subject: RE: Gorge RR getting serious again Reply with quote

Somehow this all seems nuts. I mean, that cant be constitutionally fair or just that the RR has complete control over access to the shoreline of the river. As a navigable, fishing, and recreation waterway, isnt there some federal jurisdiction that requires public access. Shouldnt the federal government be requiring the RR to provide access, as they have blocked access to this vital public waterway? Maybe they have a right of way, or lots of linear property ownership, but they are preventing access to a public place: the water.

OK, Ill calm down. Hey, I havent even been to the Gorge, I have just read about it for years and am dying to go. This just reminds me of a recent dilema at our local harbor - a popular sailing spot in the area. The town decided they didnt like the jet skis (Im not into them either, but thats another story) so they found an age old ordinance that prevented something that they could generally apply to all small watercraft and so ultimately (because the police didnt want to get involved) the local animal control officer was sent out on a mission to rid the shores of every jet ski, windsurfer, kayak, or anything else that he felt he had jurisdiction over (over and above dogs). What a joke! The animal control officer took his new duties very seriously, and for a short period of time, all the sailors were giving him a very wide berth. Imagine the normal rigging scramble being pumped up by the fact that we were living in windsurfing prohibition. PUMP! PUMP! Here come the cops! In the end, a group of sailors confronted the town (in a tactfull way) with the fact that within X feet of the tide line, the property was owned by the state, and the town was WAY overstepping their bounds, so it all blew over. The bottom line was that the commercial fisherman, who moor in the harbor, wanted to get rid of the jet skis, they have alot of town clout, and the sailors were just some other useless flotsam and jetsum that they wanted to erradicate.

I say get the feds to force the RR to GIVE THE RIVER BACK TO THE PEOPLE! Maybe the local native americans could help out. Fight the power.
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