The first time I noticed this coal yard was this summer, after I moved into the neighborhood of Paristown. I find it both interesting and bizarre that this coal yard still remains in the middle of the city. It sits beside a railroad track, which is most likely the reason for it's original placement, but do trains still run on coal? I haven't seen many steam engines around in a while.
I guess it wouldn't be there if there wasn't a need for it.
It's easy to forget how much we depend on coal as a resource for energy, however, I don't know if it's worth destroying mountains that are over 400 million years old.