Ryan's Way

It was a sombre ceremony as family and friends of Ryan McKay gathered with city and ONR officials to mark the opening of “Ryan’s Way” Saturday morning.

Two years ago 18-year-old Ryan McKay was crossing the tracks just off Wallace Road when he was struck by an ONTC, sadly due to his injuries he died in hospital a short while after.

“We cannot imagine the loss suffered that day,” says Steve Carmichael, President and CEO, Ontario Northland.

The tragedy prompted both the City of North Bay and Ontario Northland to work together and address the situation for the safety of the public. The answer was to develop two pedestrian crossings under the overpass on Trout Lake Road that allow pedestrians to safely cross the railway tracks.

With the crossings Carmichael was quick to point out that is never safe to walk along the tracks and that everyone must continue to stay vigilant when it comes to rail safety.

“If you do your part for rail safety we will honour Ryan’s memory.”

Mayor Victor Fedeli says the city has an ongoing program that looks at safe crossings because they never know where kids will look for the next short cut. He says the new crossing is designed like a maze and forces pedestrians to look both ways before crossing.

“It is important for us to continue to look for community safety for our kids,” states Fedeli.

“We know people are going to cross there whether we like it or not.”