PANORAMA CITY : Fence to Block Students From Crossing Track

Bowing to the safety concerns of neighboring residents, Metrolink on Thursday fenced off access to a potentially hazardous railroad crossing often used as a shortcut by Panorama City schoolchildren.

“Something had to be done,” said Rae Sheffield, who spearheaded the neighborhood effort to fence off the track south of Blythe Street traversed by the students. “I’m happy because they’re going to be safe going to and from school.”

The 600-foot-long chain-link fence erected by Metrolink at the south end of Willis Avenue marked the culmination of a three-month crusade by Sheffield.

“We can’t get things done without people like her in the community,” Francisco Oaxaca, Metrolink public affairs manager, said of Sheffield. “If we don’t have anybody from the community pointing out these things to us, we probably would never find out about it until there was a serious accident.”

During the school year, about 50 students were using the crossing on their way to and from Valerio Street Elementary and Fulton Junior High schools. Three of the students were Sheffield’s grandchildren. The site has no crossing arms and the Metrolink races by the spot daily on its way to and from downtown Los Angeles.

Oaxaca had promised his help in April at the first community meeting on the crossing, which was attended by Sheffield and about 50 other concerned parents. But efforts were stalled until Metrolink could get agreement to build the fence on an easement owned by Southern Pacific railroad, Oaxaca said.

The fence, which will be rented, will be monitored as a pilot project to determine its effectiveness, Oaxaca said. The students may be given rides to school this fall under a plan being considered by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which operates 40% of Metrolink.

“We’re hoping that this is a step in the right direction,” Oaxaca said. “We know it’s going to cut off a path they used for a long time, but there are more important issues here than convenience.”