More billboards along Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY) and revenue from them got the all-clear from city council Monday.
The city will change its Sign Bylaw to allow poster panels signs, or billboards, along the BCRY corridor on all city-owned land there, and grandfather existing signs. Barrie’s Sign Bylaw prohibits signs on or over municipal land, other than official city signs.
Coun. Clare Riepma tried to change the motion to give council greater direct control of the new billboard sites. He asked that any new or replacement signs along the BCRY corridor be considered by council on a site-by-site basis.
“Make no mistake, I’m still opposed to billboards in this area but I’m looking to find a middle ground here,” said Riepma, a former corridor control manager for Ontario’s Transportation Ministry. “Yes, we are short on money on this line to the tune of about $700,000 (annually).”
“I’m expecting that we will end up in a break-even situation here and be able to give our industries much-needed support. Seems to me this gives us the best of both worlds.”
Only Coun. Mike McCann spoke against the amendment, saying the billboards could affect development, including new housing.
“I do believe this is going to slow the machine down,” he said.
Riepma’s amendment lost on a 6-4 recorded vote.
City staff have told Barrie councillors that a maximum of three new signs on the BCRY corridor would come from the city issuing a request for proposals. The city now receives revenues of approximately $36,000 a year for two traditional signs on the rail corridor.
But some locations, with proximity to Highway 400, could generate $60,000 to $80,000 for each sign.
Revenues can also depend on the number of cars shipped on the line, and whether or not rail cars are stored on the line.
The BCRY line has operated, at times, at break-even - but more recently at a deficit.
BCRY is a short-line railway purchased from CN Rail in the 1990s by Barrie and Collingwood. The city owns, operates and maintains 35 kilometres of active rail within Innisfil, Barrie and Essa Township. Four industrial customers use BCRY services, shipping bulk clays, chemicals, industrial products and oversized structures.
This rail service facilitates transportation of goods across Canada and the United States, seamlessly feeding into trunk networks of the major railway, Canadian Pacific.
