What will be done with Mattawa’s train station on Park Street?
The issue – which Councillor Mathew Gardiner admitted comes up every couple of years – recently returned to council via a letter from Eugene Blake, a lifelong visitor to Mattawa.
“It is definitely a historical landmark with a long history tied to Mattawa,” Blake said of the old station, built in the 1890s, adding the building “cannot be left in its current state.” He suggested the town look into how it could fix the building, “restoring it to its former glory.”
Once remodelled, “current and future generations can know of, experience, and benefit from its impact on the community.” Essentially, Blake urged the council to take “an active role in working towards saving the Mattawa Train Station.”
The council detailed two main issues that make saving the station difficult. Although the station is located within the Municipality, the Canadian Pacific Railway owns the station. The second issue is money – Councillor Gardiner suggested it would be much cheaper to build anew than try to remodel the station.
As for the CP Rail, “They haven’t done anything to preserve it,” Councillor Laura Ross said. Although “it would be wonderful to see the train station saved,” she knows the station “is in horrible shape, it has been for years, and it continues to get worse.”
Councillor Gardiner suggested it was time to take a firmer stance on the issue – “From the town’s perspective, what are we doing with this building?” After all, the station stands in Mattawa, and there are property standards by-laws designed to ensure buildings are kept in good shape.
“How are we not pushing CP to make a decision on this,” Gardiner questioned. “It’s going to become a safety hazard” and “I’ve heard from multiple people that there are people living inside of it or have been off and on throughout the years.
“It’s going to come to the point where we’re putting people at risk by letting it stand.”
He suggested the town consider using the property standards by-law to help move the issue along, and council was not averse to the idea. The topic will return, and options concerning the station’s future will be discussed at an upcoming meeting.
“Something needs to be done with the building,” Gardiner concluded.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
