Something about the rail crossing at Hazel Avenue bothers me. It has nothing to do with CN or the trains themselves.

It’s not the fact that I have to wait for trains – I know I can go around if I’m in a rush, otherwise I appreciate a few quiet minutes alone with my thoughts. 

And I’m not upset at all about the pedestrian underpass project. In fact, it seems like a pretty decent idea to me.

What bugs me is the unnecessary idling that takes place there.

Fair enough, it’s cold. And after feeling the frosty temperatures Jasper has to offer, I can’t blame anyone for keeping their car running in the winter.

But there is no reason in warm weather to keep those engines going, especially with the cyclists and pedestrians out to do something good for their body, who wind up breathing in all that lovely exhaust.

Rolled-down windows provide sufficient air flow to keep vehicle occupants cool on even Jasper’s hottest days. If not, there’s always the option for drivers and passengers to get out for a leg-stretch while the train rolls by.

So why do I bring this up now? In the midst of on-going discussions regarding the pedestrian underpass project, it’s been mentioned a few times that a vehicle underpass would make more sense, especially in light of the town’s relatively new anti-idling bylaw.

Here’s a simpler solution to the whole idling thing: turn the key and shut the engine off.

But it’s easy enough for people to pull up, put their vehicles in park and let them run without a second thought. And visitors to the town may not be aware of the anti-idling bylaw.

How would they know? There is a sign near the tracks that says no idling, but it’s not much larger than a standard playing card and is quite out-of-the-way.

In a perfect world, a large sign would inform drivers of the bylaw and ask them to turn off their cars. Designing the board could potentially be an art project for an ambitious art class. In fact, I would gladly supply the plywood for an interested group.

For the number of trains that go by in a day, a bigger anti-idling sign near the tracks might be enough to open some drivers’ eyes, and give waiting pedestrians and cyclists a breath of fresh air.