Residents worried about losing access road in CN property sale
October 2, 2026 at 4:52 AM
Residents on Stevensville Road in Fort Erie are looking for information about what will happen to an access road if surplus railway land is sold.
Carolyn Kett spoke on behalf of a group of residents about a property at 2437 Stevensville Road. Its owner, Canadian National Railway Co. (CN), is asking the town to remove a holding provision on what it deems surplus land before selling it.
“We request that council defer this bylaw and direct staff to co-ordinate a meeting with the neighbours, CN, the prospective purchaser (and) town and regional staff to review CN’s exact intentions for these lands,” Kett said in her address to council Monday.
Canadian National Railway Co. submitted a bylaw amendment to remove a holding provision on surplus property on Stevensville Road in Fort Erie before selling it. Residents asked council to defer their decision in favour of further discussion as neighbours use it as an access road. Credit: Laura Barton | MetrolandThe potential removal of the holding provision has brought up many questions about the land, which includes what Kett referred to as a “historical access road” neighbours in the area have used for decades.
She said if the holding provision is removed and something else is built on that access road, several residents will lose access to their driveways, homes and storage buildings. This includes a home that has reportedly been there since the mid-1800s.
That property owner, she said, “will be forced to build a driveway next to an active rail line.”
“It appears that (CN is) going to sever the front portion, which would be right on the road, and then that would block…access for sure,” she said.
The residents’ goal in having council’s decision on the bylaw delayed is to have a collaborative discussion with CN and the property buyer in order to understand what the intentions are and find a solution.
Neighbours attempted to have conversations with CN and a buyer about five years ago, she said, but that didn’t bring about further discussion.
“I appreciate where you’re coming from, and I sympathize with this,” said Ward 2 Councillor Nick Dubanow.
He had a series of questions for Anamika Dilwaria, Fort Erie’s director of planning, building and development services, about what the process looks like if the holding provision were to be removed versus if it were to remain.
Dilwaria confirmed removing a holding provision is the first step in the process of doing something with the lot, which would be followed by a consent application and would then lead to construction.
While she said a consent application is required in any situation, if for some reason there wasn’t one, a minor variance application would likely be needed because of the size of the property.
Despite this need for applications before a property owner would be able to move forward with any plans, council voted in favour of deferring the decision on removing the holding provision until October’s regular council meeting.
“In all good conscience, we can’t really not try to solve the problem before we move this project forward,” said Ward 6 Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes.
Stand up paddleboards, kayaks to be allowed on Bay Beach permanently
Development aims to make General Cruikshank house a ‘focal point’
Fort Erie council votes in favour of rodent control rebate program
About The Author
Laura Barton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Laura Barton is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at Niagara This Week. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government and allows her to report on stories about the communities of Fort Erie and Port Colborne.
Stay Informed