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Show West Bountiful protests opening of 'Ogden ' tracks By MICHELLE EMERY WEST BOUNTIFUL Many West Bountiful residents are furious about the reopening of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Co.'s "Ogden Line" and they came to the city council meeting with over 145 petition signatures to prove it. The petition read: ' We the undersigned, being individuals living liv-ing andor owning property near the railroad tracks which run from Woods .Cross, Utah, and continue through West Bountiful between 800 W. and 900 W., hereby protest the planned use of these tracks for rail traffic. We note that the area near the tracks as described above has become a residential area with additional properties currently being be-ing developed as residential. We SEE TRACKS A-3 ?. .. ' :". - . - -" V -r v-v.. ,jf,,:; A-,, , ? ' "A v..-;-V' v . , -- - -' - v , ' ' - ,''r v - - , - v. :-- - , i ; ;.- ' - . - - . , - . :. t ; W ... - '" wr -- '. ' r. -i :;- C ' "" ' 1 A -w ; v- - ;. , ..,.": -ry- " - ... - ,, - - . 5 I . -. . . -? . - . . 7v - - r - - - "... The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad plans to open and begin using the railroad tracks between 800 North and 900 North in West Bountiful by July 1991, and many homeowners are very angry. The tracks, called "the Ogden line," have not been used for seven years because of decreased business and flooding. The tracks in this picture, located in Clinton at 1800 N., have been paved over as have several crossings in Davis County. This and other reasons led many homeowners to believe that the tracks were "dead" and would not be used again. angry citizen. Davis said that anyone who called the railroad was told that it was possible the tracks would be activated ac-tivated again in the future. But one citizen said she called the railroad and was told that the tracks were dead and that she could put her fears to rest because they would not be used again. The railroad plans to put back all the fences in the same or better condition than they were when the tracks were used before. The fences are only meant to keep out sheep and cattle, though, and will not stop children from getting through. The residents were very concerned concern-ed about this problem, but Davis said the railroad is not responsible for putting up better fencing. Davis said that the railroad has a program called Operation Lifesaver, which can be seen in schools to show children what the dangers of railroads really are. The West Bountiful City Council members said they will do what they can to help the residents but aside from passing an ordinance to help future buyers and residents, there isn't much they can do. There are at least three places in Davis County where the tracks are actually paved over showing that many people had the misunderstanding misunder-standing that the tracks would not be put to use again. As of now, though, D&RG Railroad plans to reopen the tracks in July 1991. TRACKS CONT. FROM A-l firmly believe that an active railway in a residential area is a nuisance and a safety hazard and will have a negative impact on the character of our community. The railroad plans to reopen the tracks because the tracks they are using now, which belong to Union Pacific, have become overcrowded, leaving many trains to wait hours before continuing to their destinations. destina-tions. Over 25 residents came Tuesday, Aug. 21, to talk with council members and Mike B. Davis of D&RG railroad and to present the city council and Davis with the petition. peti-tion. Aside from the reasons cited above in the petition, the residents also said that many of them were told by their real estate agents that the tracks were 'dead," meaning that they would not be used in the future. "I can't believe that all these realtors would lie," said one |