OKLAHOMA CITY -
There are growing
safety concerns at one metro railroad crossing as two women die in a crash with
a train.
Those who live near the crossing say something needs to be done
before it happens again. The crash happened
at a crossing near Britton and Western, where there are no warning gates to
stop traffic.
People in the area
say they're needed because so many drivers try to beat the train there, but there are no plans at this point to make that crossing any
safer.
Drivers pass
through Britton and Western Thursday where railroad tracks cross a busy
intersection; Busy enough, under
federal guidelines, to have these safety arms that come down when a train is
coming.
But just down the
street, there's another crossing. It only has flashing lights. That's where a
train collided with a car early Saturday morning, killing a 44-year-old woman
and her mother.
2/16/2013 Related Story: Two Women Killed As Train Collides With Car In OKC
"We can't really
say if they attempted to beat the train, or if they were not aware of the
flashing lights," OKC Capt. Nate Tarver says, "they are not the traffic arms
that come down."
Nearby businesses
say they see too many people trying to beat the train, and they want to see
more safety measures put in place.
"A lot of people
go into the residential neighborhood to avoid the major crossing there at
Britton and Western," Britton Lumber employee, Russell Scott, says, "it's a
pretty common thing that happens. Almost every day we say that here, it's an
unfortunate thing."
It's unfortunate
and confusing.
The city tells
News 9 it gets complaints about railroad crossings often, but it's up to ODOT
to pay for these warning gates.
Then, the railroad
company would have to install and maintain them..
Those with ODOT
say they look at a number of factors, including traffic, in order to spend
federal funding for safety improvements, but that particular crossing doesn't
qualify.
ODOT spends about
$8 million a year on safety upgrades around railroads. It will review the
crossings again later this year.
Drivers pass through Britton and Western Thursday where railroad tracks cross a busy intersection; Busy enough, under federal guidelines, to have these safety arms that come down when a train is coming.
