TASK
FORCE IN HENRY COUNTY TRACKS HAZARDOUS CROSSINGS
Cresent News
February 25, 2001
Napoleon -
Trains are a vital part of today's economy and are key in
the transportation of goods as well as people across the
country. Their presence is seen, heard and felt daily in
northwest Ohio.
But while this massive
network of transportation is utilized to take care of the
needs of Americans, the safety needs overall are not met
for those driving or walking over the thousands of track
crossings.
Train accidents
in rural areas is a serious problem that needs to be addressed
in Henry County as well as nationwide. Yet the cost to maintain
and upgrade railroad crossings is extremely high, which is
why half of all the railroad crossings in Henry County, outside
the villages and city, are simply marked with crossbuck signs.
To combat the hazards
of unsafe railroad crossings, county commissioners appointed
13 people last October to serve on a railroad safety task
force. The group, which is made up of township trustees along
with county Engineer Randy Germann, Sheriff John Nye, Commissioner
Richard Bennett, and county EMS representatives Nancy Hatfield
and Tim Phillips, recently started meeting to decide what
steps they will take to determine which railroad crossings
are in need of the most attention and how the problems will
be fixed.
"Eventually,
every county will have to set up a (railroad safety) task
force," said Germann, chairman of the task force.
Just days before
commissioners set up their task force, Senate Bill 207 that
directly relates to railroad crossing safety took effect.
The bill "creates new offenses and imposes a mandatory
fine of $l,000 for railroads that obstruct streets and requires
those fines to be paid to the county or city where the offense
occurred. The bill also requires each board of county commissioners
to establish a railroad grade crossing improvement fund."
This fund, Germann
said, is what the county will be able to use to improve and
upgrade crossings around the county. But before these funds
can be used, there are some things that must take place.
One is surveying
and studying the county's 77 railroad crossings to determine
which ones are in need of the most repair or upgrades. There
are some crossings that are blocked by the overgrowth of
brush and foliage; other crossings have gates that do not
work properly.
That is where the
railroad safety task force comes into play. While members
are still learning about their duties, they have a vision
for what they can, and would like to, accomplish.
Germann said one
of the major problems in the county of which he is aware
is the blockage of crossings, where one train has to sit
and wait for another train to go by. "This causes delays
and it is also a hazard for emergency vehicles," Germann
said.
Unsure of the difficulties
railroads are facing these days, Germann thought maybe cars
on a long train could be detached so the train cars do not
block crossings and allow traffic to go by.
"We are looking
at getting more lights and gates," he said.
Hatfield, Henry
County EMS chairman, said she is ready to get to work. "I
think this is a great thing we are doing. We can save so
many lives."
Being an EMT for
the county and having been on many emergency rescue runs
in the past 20 years, Hatfield has experienced firsthand
the extreme frustration of blocked railroad crossings.
"When you're waiting for a train, five minutes is an hour
when your loved one is waiting for an ambulance."
Hatfield is also
eager to get more warning lights and gates installed around
the county. Of the car-train accidents she could remember,
she couldn't think of one that was at an intersection that
was equipped with either of these warning devices.
Hatfield said she
will "find it very interesting to really look at the
crossings: to find out what they are really like. When crossing
them on a regular basis, "you don't always notice the
dangers."
The safety of the
children in Henry County is also a priority of Hatfield's.
She said there have been many times when trains have been
stopped in town before and after school hours, at least preventing
some students from getting to classes on time.
So they aren't late, "Kids
crawl under them," Hatfield said. "How many lives
are we going to have to lose before something is done? Everything
is on a schedule. Why can't they schedule times for the trains
to not be on the tracks? Hatfield asked.
Living and working
in Hamler, Phillips, county EMS board chairman, said train
traffic "has better than tripled when they (the railroads)
set up a second track a year ago." He expects traffic
to increase even more in the near future.
Phillips sees problems
with gates and signals that need to be corrected. "I
want everything working as safely as possible·And
we need the railroads to be more responsible by not blocking
the roadways."
Since the railroad
safety task force committee is made up of volunteers, Germann
expects it will take up to two years for the committee to
complete all of its studies, which will include watching
the train and vehicle traffic, monitoring trains speeds and
checking conditions at the crossings.
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