Passenger Trains > SMART updates: Z-Gates, another pedestrian mooshed

This week, Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) installed pedestrian "Z-Gates" at the
Golf Course Drive crossing in Rohnert Park where two persons were fatally struck by SMART
trains on consecutive days. 

Pressdemocrat.com image showing one of the new gates is attached. 

The new gates will hopefully prevent incidents such as the second fatality, where a bicyclist
with his head down, covered by a hood, and listening to music on headphones, rode into
the path of a SMART train.  Whether they would have prevented a meth-head from arrogantly
challenging an oncoming train, resulting in her death, is questionable. 

Meanwhile, SMART Train 34(09JUL), the last northbound of the day, has struck a
pedestrian in northern Santa Rosa, CA.  No further details yet.



 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/19 23:15 by GenePoon.

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Most bicyclists ride on the road, not the sidewalk. The only way you will prevent getting killed, is to have gates like in Europe, all the way to the ground, all spots on the roadway, all sides. You can not fix stupid

On the other hand, there's a bike path along the east side of the tracks, and the rider who was struck wanted to go west on the road. The logical way to do that was to use the sidewalk to ride across the tracks, as opposed to veering across three/four lanes of traffic and potentially crossing the tracks obliquely--and risking getting a tire caught on the rails. There was no crossing protection device in his path of travel. Seems like a poor design for a bike path--but ulltimately it's still his fault for being (apparently) oblivious to the oncoming train.

Screen grab from Google.

Bike advocates deal with these problems all the time. There are a lot of poorly designed bike trails that abruptly or awkwardly end at major thoroughfares. In this case a bike trail that was convenient to build along the tracks, but it seems little thought was given to how it would intersect Golf Course Dr.

 

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

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The trail is part of the SMART system, funded by the same mechanisms.  The second ballot measure authorizing SMART (the first one failed) enlisted the support of bicyclists and the pedestrian/bicycle trail was promised.  As the photo shows, there was nowhere ele to put it. However, Z-gates of a slightly different design were installed at the next crossing to the south before trains began revenue service.  It handles more cross traffic than this one does.  More Z-gates have already been authorized; this intersection got moved up on the list after the two fatalities, apparently to squelch critics and one clueless City Council member who suggested that the trains be slowed down.

BTW, a single TRACK, not tracks, is shown. A track consists of two travelling rails only.

That looks like the pedestrian cattle chutes that UTA installed at most crossing near where I live. It was part of the crossing upgrades to make the entire line a quiet zone. UTA still has to ring the bell for each crossing, but headphones could drowned that at. Personal responsibility and awareness of one’s surroundings seem to be old fashioned these days.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

atsf121 Wrote:
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> Personal responsibility and
> awareness of one’s surroundings seem to be old
> fashioned these days.

==============================

It occurred to me that maybe those who lack personal responsibility are viewed by that clueless City Council member as potential voters toward helping retain incumbency.

Posted from Android

CPRR Wrote:
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> Most bicyclists ride on the road, not the
> sidewalk. The only way you will prevent getting
> killed, is to have gates like in Europe, all the
> way to the ground, all spots on the roadway, all
> sides. You can not fix stupid



Here in SoCal where most bike riders are either illegal aliens or crackheads, they usually ride on the sidewalk or on the street going the wrong direction. Dangerous, but they think it's safer.

Spandex-wearing tri-athalon types usually ride their $1000 bikes on the street on the right side, but they are a minority.

Here in California, bicyclists are supposed to ride in the direction of traffic...on the right side. Traffic control devices and bike lanes are set up that way.

Posted from Android

Duna Wrote:
> Spandex-wearing tri-athalon types usually ride
> their $1000 bikes on the street on the right side,
> but they are a minority.

No triathlete worth his or her spandex would ride a $1,000 bike. Junk.