ON
THE RIGHT TRACK - LAKE, OTHERS 'SIGNAL' FOR HELP
The Sun Journal
By: Olivia Rasul - Staff Writer
In the time it takes
to watch an average movie, someone's life has been changed
at the crossings of a railroad track.
In fact, every hour
and a half there is a train-on-motor vehicle accident or
incident in the United States. Over 50% of the accidents
and fatalities are at unprotected crossings, according to
published studies.
Lake Township officials
are taking the first step to making sure all railroad crossings
in the township are equipped with lights and gates.
Township Trustee
Norm Martin hopes the safety improvements will save lives,
prevent injuries and reduce traffic-related accidents. Dennis
and Vicky Moore of Canal Fulton know too well the importance
of installing safety upgrades at railroad crossings to prevent
these tragedies
On
March 25, it will be six years since their son was killed
in a train on car collision. "The pain I feel in my heart is as strong
as the day he died," said Vicky Moore. The Moores' 16-year-old
son, Ryan, died in 1995 when a Conrail train slammed into
their car at a crossing that had no warning lights or gates.
"My son would
be alive today if people who were responsible for taking
care of crossings did what they were supposed to do," said
Moore. "It didn't become a priority until my son was
killed·it was too late for my family. "So many
people have to die before a railroad crossing gets on the
list for safety improvements. There are days I wished I didn't
know so many people who have had to go through the same experience."
Two other teenagers
died in that accident - Alyson Ley, 16, of Clinton, and Joshua
White, 17, of Canal Fulton. Ryan's brother, Jason, and passengers
Jennifer Helms and Rebecca White were injured in the accident
on Deerfield Avenue on the Stark-Wayne county line. Moore
said the accident that killed her son could have been prevented.
Moore is pleased
that Lake Township officials are working in the right direction
of preventing accidents and hope that other municipalities
follow the lead.
Since the accident,
the Moore's launched an effort to increase awareness that
warning devices can save lives and warn drivers of oncoming
trains.
Lake Township officials
are hoping The Angels on Track Foundation - founded by the
Moores - will soon be giving a helping hand in their efforts.
The Moores established
The Angels on Track Foundation with the punitive damages
money they received from a lawsuit against Conrail. Moore
said they received $5.4 million, after attorney fees.
The Angels on Track
Foundation will award reimbursement grants to local highway
authorities for railroad grade crossing safety upgrades representing
up to 30% of the Public Share under the State Funded Program,
not to exceed $40,000 for each upgrade project.
The standard apportionment
for an active warning device project is a 90/10 split to
the local highway authority and the railroad, respectively.
Moore said a requirement
for possible grant funding is the establishment of County
Railroad Safety Task Forces to identify and locally prioritize
all grade crossings for safety.
Locally, the Stark
County Railroad Task Force ranks the potential hazardous
crossings.
According to Ken
Groves, a member of the Stark County Railroad Safety Task
Force and a traffic-engineering technician for the City of
Canton, the task force reviews applications for the Public
Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which oversees railroad
safety funding.
The Angels on Track
Foundation then reviews applications and decides which municipalities
to refund their local share of upgrading safety features.
"It's the local
level choosing which are the most dangerous crossings," said
Moore.
Groves said the
task force realizes some local municipalities do not have
the funding to provide their share.
On the other hand,
Lake Township Trustee Don Myers said at the Feb. 12 board
meeting that funding for the township's local share for Wheeling
and Lake Erie railroad crossing at Nimishillen Church Road
would be made available.
Moore said The Angels
on Track Foundation recently reimbursed Jackson Township
for the upgrades at the railroad crossing on Forty Corners
Street.
According to Moore,
80 percent of crossings in the United States do not have
gates and lights.
Moore said she is
hoping the hard work pays off to upgrade safety signals at
all unmarked crossings.
According to Groves,
the task force identifies and locally prioritizes all grade
crossings for safety. Groves said the railroad crossings
are classified using a formula that takes into consideration
the following: the amount of train and vehicle traffic, accidents
at the crossings, visibility and clear lines of sight at
railroad crossings and existing safety devices.
Groves
said Stark County has the most public railroad crossings
- 234 - in any county in Ohio. Groves noted that 93 crossings
are unprotected or "passive". "Our job is
to get those crossings with gates and lights, Groves said.
The
Stark County Railroad Task Force ranks the top 20 potential
hazardous railroad crossings. Groves said after safety
improvements are made, that particular crossing drops down
to the last number on the list. "It's a rotating ranking list," he
said.
RANKING THE RAILS
(The top 20 potentially most dangerous railroad crossings
in Stark County)
- Price Street,
located in Lexington Township
- Wooster Avenue
(Fohl Road), located in Bethlehem Township
- Burden Road,
located in Lexington Township (note - upgrades have been
completed and it will likely be dropped from the 20 most
dangerous railroad crossing list)
- Eshelman Avenue,
located in Nimishillen Township
- Battlesburg
Road, located in Pike Township
- German Church
Street, located in Lexington Township
- Forty Corners
Street, located in Jackson Township (note - upgrades have
been completed and it will likely be dropped from the 20
most dangerous railroad crossing list)
- Spring Avenue
NE, located in the City of Canton
- Navarre Road
SW, located in Perry Township
- Tuscarawas Street
East, located in the City of Canton
- Easton Street
NE, located in Plain Township
- Faircrest Street
SE, located in Canton Township
- Martindale Road
NE, located in Plain Township
- 19th Street
NE, located in the City of Canton
- 12th Street
NE, located in the City of Canton
- Raff Road SW,
located in Canton Township
- 5th Street NE,
located in the City of Canton
- 16th Street
SE, located in the City of Massillon
- Nimishillen
Church Road, located in Lake Township
- 3rd Street NE,
located in the City of Canton
(Source: The Stark
County Railroad Safety Task Force. December 2000 survey)
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