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MNRR/Yet another grade crossing close call !


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 09 March 2015 - 02:18 AM

WABC-TV, ABC-7 in New York, NY, 3/8/15:

 


Close call at Metro North crossing after driver gets stuck between gates in Chappaqua

 

CHAPPAQUA (WABC) -- There was a close call on Sunday at a Metro North crossing in Westchester County.

Stop, look, and listen to this.



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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 10 March 2015 - 06:26 AM

Chappaqua (NY) Daily Voice, 3/7:
 

Vehicle Gets Stuck At Roaring Brook Road Train Crossing In Chappaqua

 

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CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- A vehicle became stuck at a Chappaqua railroad grade crossing on Saturday and was able to get out after breaking the gate, New Castle Supervisor Rob Greenstein announced.

 

The incident came just days after New Castle town officials and two members of Congress gathered near the same intersection to push for federal legislation to help with crossing safety.

 

The driver, identified as a woman, was under a gate when it came down and as a train was coming, Greenstein said, adding that she backed the vehicle up and the gate broke off.

 

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#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 10 March 2015 - 06:31 AM

Chappaqua (NY) Daily Voice, 3/8:
 

Woman Issued Summons After Car Gets Stuck At Crossing In Chappaqua

 

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- A Mount Kisco woman was issued a summons after her car got stuck on the railroad tracks at a Chappaqua railroad crossing Saturday morning.

 

Cynthia Parent, 67, was issued the summons for obstructing a highway railroad/grade crossing by Metropolitan Transit Authority Police.

 

SNIP

 

Arena said Parent did the right thing by getting off the railroad tracks. MTA Police directed traffic until the gate was repaired at 1 p.m. Police also handled out 150 pamphlets on railroad safety, Arena said.

 

While police were directing traffic, two motorists did not stop and were also issued summons for a highway railroad/grade crossing,   .   .   .

 

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#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 March 2015 - 08:26 PM

One more time!

 

The Journal News, White Plains, NY, posted 3/30:
 

Driver snaps Chappaqua railroad crossing gate

Officials have said drivers should wait behind the gates until they are certain they can clear the tracks without stopping.

 

CHAPPAQUA – There was another incident at a troublesome grade crossing on Monday morning.

 

New Castle police said a motorist heading eastbound struck and broke the crossing arm at Roaring Brook Road and kept going. Police closed the crossing for about half an hour while a Metro-North crew replaced the crossing arm.

 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the incident was reported by an engineer at 8:21 a.m. and that the repairs were complete by 8:50.

 

During that time, she said, trains operated in "stop and warn" mode, meaning they came to a stop, used the horn and made sure the tracks were clear before passing the crossing. Trains were delayed a few minutes in the area.

 

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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 12:07 AM

If the driver had found himself or herself trapped in between the gates as a train was coming, then proceeding and breaking the gates was the correct alternative as opposed to a fiery and fatal accident as happened in Valhalla.  Of course we don't know if that is true, or whether this driver was just inattentive and crashed into the first gate in front of him or her.



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#6 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 04:45 PM

I've spent some time looking at pubished photos and Google Streetview of this grade crossing.  It is protected by 2 gates; which block only the "entrance" to the crossing; there is no gate preventing a vehicle from completing the crossing.  There is a median (of sorts) that would inhibit, but not prevent, going around the gates.

 

At least one vehicle reportedly broke a gate backing off of the crossing to prevent a collision.  Apparently, people are just not stopping when they should!  Traffic apparently backs up heavily in this area.  I suspect drivers are simply not staying "situationally aware" ensuring they stop before the gates unless they can clear the grade crossing.

 

Note:  Google Streetview has 2 photos.

 

-Ross



#7 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 04:50 PM

Chappaqua-Mt. Kisco Patch, 3/31:

 
Lowey Back at the Grade Crossing at Roaring Brook Road Today This time she brought the head of the Federal Railroad Administration for a noon press conference.

Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey brought Federal Railroad Administration’s Acting Administrator, Sarah Feinberg, to the Metro-North crossing at Roaring Brook Road in Chappaqua today to talk about the danger posed by grade crossings.

 

The FRA is the federal agency charged with enabling safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people on our nation’s railways, and is working on a multi-faceted campaign to promote grade crossing safety, including efforts with law enforcement agencies.

 

Since the Harlem Line tragedy in February, Lowey has called for immediate action to improve rail grade crossing safety for residents, businesses, and communities in the Lower Hudson Valley.

 

New Castle officials have called on state or federal officials to build a bridge specifically at Roaring Brook Road.

 

 

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#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 04:54 PM

Mount Pleasant (NY) Daily Voice, 4/1:
 

Tickets At Metro-North Railroad Crossings Already Surpass Last Year's Total

 

MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -- Metropolitan Transportation Authority police have written more summonses for driving violations during the first three months of 2015 than all of last year at railroad crossings, according to a spokesman for the MTA.

 

SNIP

 

Since officials held their first press conference in early March, there have been two serious safety incidents at the Chappaqua grade crossing. The first involved a driver who got stuck and clipped a gate by backing out, while the second involved a van that crashed into the gate. The first driver was issued a summons for stopping, while the second driver got away.

 

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#9 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 04:57 PM

Chappaqua (NY) Daily Voice, 3/31:
 

Rail Crossing Education, Enforcement Urged In Chappaqua

 

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- For the second time in less than a month, local and regional officials gathered by the grade railroad crossing in Chappaqua to push for improved safety.

 

Officials particularly emphasized stepping up traffic enforcement and education to reduce dangerous incidents.

 

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#10 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 05:01 PM

This story is getting "national play:"

 

AP via The News Tribune, 3/31:

Federal rail chief says ticketing important to rail safety

 

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. — At a troublesome rail crossing on the road to a public high school, the head of the Federal Railroad Administration stumped Tuesday for increased education and enforcement of safety regulations at railway crossings.

 

Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg was promoting the agency's safety campaign — prompted by fatal crashes in New York and California — which calls for increased police patrols and ticketing.

 

"If you're ticketed for trying to beat a train, you're much less likely to ever try that again," she said.

Feinberg, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., and other officials gathered at the Metro-North Railroad crossing on Roaring Brook Road in Chappaqua, just a few miles up the line from a crossing in Valhalla, where six people died in February when a train slammed into an SUV on the tracks.

 

Local officials have called the crossing dangerous, with two close calls in recent weeks, and Lowey invited Feinberg to come up from Washington to see for herself. The crossing, like the one in Valhalla, is just yards from a busy highway and traffic often backs up at the crossing during rush hour. The driver in the Valhalla crash was in traffic and stopped on the tracks when the warning gates came down.

 

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