Cameras Trained on Public

They’ve tried median barriers, flashing lights and bells, heavy gates and a strong appeal to common sense.

Now Metrolink officials are turning to surveillance cameras to keep people from endangering themselves. And they’re using the railroad crossing on Chestnut Avenue in Santa Ana near Grand Avenue as a test case in Orange County.

Motorists who get caught running the red light at that crossing after April 1 will be issued a $104 ticket.

“People die and people get hurt,” said David Solow, Metrolink’s executive director. “We don’t get a lot of damage to the train. Maybe if someone gets a ticket in the mail and it costs them a lot of money, they’ll think about it the next time they’re tempted.”

The $150,000 test project is the first in Orange County and the third in the Metrolink system. Two cameras installed in the San Fernando Valley in June are credited with reducing violations by 54% at a rail crossing in Glendale and 36% at one in Pacoima.

Five people in Orange County have been killed in their cars by Metrolink trains since commuter service began in March 1994. Although none of those deaths occurred at the Chestnut Avenue site, Metrolink officials said the location, near a curve in the tracks, has a history of close calls. In a recent three-week period, Metrolink officials recorded 145 violations at the crossing.

“The numbers blew us away,” Solow said, who added that many of the violations were blatant last-second dodges leaving the driver only moments to spare.

Those who dodge the train at Chestnut Avenue before April will receive a warning notice in the mail that emphasizes the upcoming fines.

Train officials said they are distressed by the continued willingness of drivers to risk their lives to save a few minutes. Safety officials for the agency estimate there are half a dozen near-collisions each day throughout the Metrolink system.

An average Metrolink train weighs 450 tons and travels up to 79 mph, taking three seconds to go the length of three football fields. An engineer needs about a third of a mile to bring the train to a stop.

“I think it’s a lack of knowledge about just how fast a train can go and just how long it takes the brakes to slow down,” said Sarah L. Catz, a board member of Metrolink and the Orange County Transportation Authority. “In Southern California we just aren’t used to trains rolling down the tracks. I think we have to use a little bit of everything to keep our rail lines as safe as possible.”

The camera-monitored crossing in Santa Ana is marked with signs warning motorists that “Photo Enforcement Is in Use.” The Orange County test is scheduled to run for six months. Metrolink officials said if they see a significant reduction in violations, they will consider expanding the program to other intersections.

John Standiford, OCTA spokesman, said finding alternatives to street-level train crossings in the county is a priority.

“It’s not an error when you consider the stakes,” he said of those who try to dodge train crossings. “It is just so dangerous.”

The transit agency has considered improving both safety and traffic flow by either lowering the tracks through tunnels or elevating them. But, Standiford said, any such changes are costly. For example, altering a 10-mile stretch of tracks along the Orangethorpe corridor between Yorba Linda and Fullerton would cost $200 million to $400 million.

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Training Drivers to Act Safely

A six-month test project at the Chestnut Avenue Metrolink crossing in Santa Ana will photograph drivers who deliberately ignore flashing warning lights and dodge oncoming trains. Beginning April 1, violators caught on film will receive a $104 ticket in the mail. How the “photo enforcement” system works:

1) Vehicle trips first sensor, camera photographs license plate

2) Second sensor triggers photo of driver’s face

3) Final photo catches vehicle crossing railroad tracks

Camera mounted on 20-foot pole

Source: Edward Pederson, Metrolink safety manager

Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD / Los Angeles Times