Comments on: Near Bandemer Park

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:31:02 +0000

Does the railroad own the land it’s on or is it simply provided an easement or right of way?

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:12:24 +0000

I’m all in favor of providing safe ways to cross the tracks. The problem here is that there was a safe, legal crossing of North Main over both the tracks and the river for nearly a hundred years. It was removed in the early 1960s so a freeway could be put in. No alternate was supplied until just a few years ago when the path along the river was built to Lakeshore Drive, and that’s completely inadequate as it’s only usable in summer.

Farther south, where these tickets were issued, there is just no good way to get from North Main to Argo dam. A bridge or tunnel is needed here, and has been discussed, but I’m not holding my breath.

Contrast this 50 year wait for North Main to be restored to the few weeks that were required to restore the freeway bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis and you start to realize how screwed up our priorities are.

By: Duane Collicott

Duane Collicott — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:12:27 +0000

I’m just staying on-topic. Trespassing involves private property. It’s not important to me, but it is apparently an important issue for the land owner. Here’s where you can contact them: http://www.nscorp.com.

By: rodii

rodii — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:21:59 +0000

I don’t see why you keep coming back to private property as the definitive issue here, but it seems to be important to you. That must be why we have cops out writing $500 tickets for trespassing everywhere, I guess.

By: Duane Collicott

Duane Collicott — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:32:44 +0000

It was one of the commenters who refernced MCL 462.27, not the original posting. However, it did mention a “trespassing abatement” program, so I’m guessing these were trespassing violations,not violations of MCL 462.27.

@rodii – jaywalking doesn’t involve private property. They’re very different situations.

By: patrick

patrick — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:46:40 +0000

Where do they get the $500 fine part?

“(5) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or by a fine of not more than $100.00, or both.”

By: rodii

rodii — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:09:23 +0000

Duane: I still don’t see how this is different from jaywalking, which is a risky and (in some places, though not Ann Arbor?) illegal activity which is usually not punished with a $500 fine. Not everything that is illegal is enforced with the same degree of vigor. So here we have a case where an activity which is very common (who hasn’t crossed or walked along railroad tracks?), and which carries a fairly low level of risk (but a high degree of impact!), is suddenly and selectively being enforced with a very punitive fine. It’s more like a speed trap than ordinary enforcement. So I’m not disputing the illegality, I just think the amount of the fine is disproportionate.

It’s interesting to me that one of the exceptions in the law is for farmers crossing tracks between two halves of their fields. It’s no less dangerous for them than it is for Bandemer Park users, so why is it OK? The answer is obviously that the economic hardship of not crossing has been weighed against the risk of crossing and economics wins. So it’s not just a safety issue. My guess is that this burst of enforcement is primarily about liability exposure–periodically showing the flag lets them argue in court that they did their due diligence and therefore it’s the victim’s fault (which it is, not disputing that).

Anyway, I didn’t mean to be argumentative. I understand the point you’re making.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:46:44 +0000

>BTW it is a well worn path I follow. There is no sign.

Not to mention the connection from HRD to Bandemer actually has a constructed wooden path over a wet/rocky area… there’s really nothing indicating that it’s not a maintained/sanctioned path.

By: Karen Moorhead

Karen Moorhead — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:31:42 +0000

I cross over a path which is over the RR tracks to get from the B2B from Huron River Drive which seems much safer than the bike ride on Main to cross to B2B. I could get one of these hefty tickets, I guess. Good to know.

I won’t go that way anymore. BTW it is a well worn path I follow. There is no sign.

By: Duane Collicott

Duane Collicott — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:05:02 +0000

>By that logic, anything that endangers one person should be stopped. This includes flying, driving and bathing.

Well, if the plane, car or pool was being used without permission and against the owner’s wishes, then that would be a comparable scenario to this one, and the law should be enforced.