(a) Whenever any railroad, railway or interurban line or portion thereof is abandoned and service no longer rendered thereover, upon written notice from the Mayor or Chief of Police to do so, the company so abandoning and ceasing operation thereof shall cause the rails, ties, wires, signals and other structures maintained or installed for operation of such railroad, railway or interurban line in, over or upon any crossing of such abandoned line over any street or highway within the City to be removed and the roadway thereat to be restored as nearly as practicable to the same condition as to grade, base, pavement and surface as the street or highway on each side of such crossing.
Such removal and restoration shall be commenced within thirty days following the receipt by such company of the written notice referred to above and shall be done and performed under the supervision of and to reasonable specifications established by the Director which specifications shall be generally the same as those required of contractors performing similar work for the City. Such removal and restoration shall be accomplished with as little interference with traffic upon such street or highway and shall be completed within such reasonable time as may be prescribed by the Mayor or Chief of Police.
(b) No person shall remove any ties, rails or other installations in or upon a street or highway at any crossing mentioned in subsection (a) hereof or otherwise excavate in, open or disturb the surface or pavement of any street or highway at such crossing without first securing a permit and posting a cash deposit or bond in accordance with the applicable ordinances of the City.
(c) In addition to the penalties provided by other ordinances of the City or otherwise provided by law, any person, firm or corporation failing or refusing to comply with the provisions of this section shall be liable to the City for any damages resulting to the City from such failure or refusal and to the extent obligated by this or other ordinances of the City for the cost and expense of removal of the rails, ties, signals, structures or installations from the street or highway at any crossing mentioned in subsection (a) hereof and the restoration of the same in accordance with the provisions of this section and other applicable ordinances of the City.
Such damages, cost and expense may be recovered by civil action instituted and prosecuted in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction. For the purposes of this section and any suit or proceeding instituted or maintained pursuant to this or any other applicable ordinances of the City, the violation of any provision of this or any other applicable ordinances as to each crossing of the character specified in subsection (a) hereof shall constitute a separate offense or cause of action as the case may be.
(Ord. 99-1958. Passed 11-10-58; Ord. 61-1985. Passed 5-28-85.)