New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority on June 17 announced a $250,000 railroad grade crossing campaign with nonprofit advocacy group Operation Lifesaver Inc.
The campaign includes advertising in media outlets at movie theaters and revolves around education, engineering and enforcement, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast told reporters at MTA headquarters, where he signed a resource-sharing agreement with Operation Lifesaver president Joyce Rose.
On Feb. 3, a Metro-North Railroad commuter train collided with a sport utility vehicle at a grade crossing in Valhalla, N.Y., north of New York City, killing six passengers and the SUV driver. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
Metro-North is a unit of the MTA, a large municipal issuer with about $35 billion in debt. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident.
"When you have a crash as horrific as that, it raised it to another level of sensitivity," said Prendergast.
The engineering component, said Prendergast, includes limiting as many obstructions as possible, improving geometric crossing angles - perpendicular, he said, is better than angular - and partnerships such as Metro-North teaming with the state Department of Transportation to finalize upgrades to the Roaring Brook Road grade crossing in Chappaqua.
