Houston appears on track for 40 crashes in first year

Houston Chronicle ^ | January 28, 2004 | LUCAS WALL

[Dog Gone]

Rail collisions worrisome

The crash rate between MetroRail trains and vehicles has far exceeded that of other cities with new rail lines, prompting Metro officials Tuesday to consider more safety modifications.

Since Friday, there have been three crashes involving Metropolitan Transit Authority light rail trains, including incidents Monday and Tuesday where drivers made illegal left turns.

A collision Tuesday marked the 10th wreck since testing began in the fall. Five occurred during the testing phase and five more have taken place since passenger service commenced Jan. 1.

Those numbers are much higher than recent experiences in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, the two cities before Houston to open light rail segments.

In Los Angeles, there have been two crashes since the Gold Line between downtown and Pasadena opened in June, said Ed Scannell, a spokesman for that county's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In Salt Lake City, there was one crash involving a TRAX train and a vehicle during the testing phase of the Medical Center extension and zero incidents since passenger service began in September, said Marti Money, a Utah Transit Authority spokeswoman.

It is difficult to compare light rail systems among cities because they have different lengths, number of intersections crossed and traffic conditions. But it does appear Houston is on its way to eclipsing other cities when it comes to the number of cars hitting trains.

At this pace, the Bayou City is on track for 40 light rail collisions in the first year of the 7 1/2-mile Main Street line. That would match the total of the Blue Line that connects Los Angeles and Long Beach, which has averaged 42 collisions between trains and vehicles during 13 years of operation. The Blue Line, however, is three times as long as the Main Street line here.

In Dallas, the only other Texas city with a light rail transit system, there were 19 crashes involving trains for the first year and a half after Dallas Area Rapid Transit opened its first line in June 1996. Morgan Lyons, Dallas Area Rapid Transit spokesman, said his system experienced 17 collisions between trains and vehicles last year.

Denver averages about 20 vehicles hitting light rail trains per year, according to statistics provided by the Regional Transportation District.

Some Houston drivers are concerned about the escalating numbers here.

"I am terrified of the thing," said Philip Brown. "It's dangerous. I am extra careful driving around this."

Brown, who used the drive-through Tuesday afternoon at Whitney bank near Fannin and Southmore, said he's worked in the area for more than 20 years and isn't used to trains coming down the street. He was surprised there's no standard railroad-crossing gate at the bank's driveway onto Fannin, only a sign that lights up when a train approaches and two yellow lights that blink.

Monday's collision occurred at Fannin and Southmore, which is in the Museum District. A video aboard the Metro train shows Traci Champine turning left from the center lane of Fannin onto Southmore, smacking into the train. A sign at that intersection lights up indicating no left turns are permitted when trains are approaching.

Transit officials say nothing could have prevented Tuesday's crash. Not only did Quyen Lu ignore two "no left turn" signs, said Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert, he failed to yield while making the turn and drove straight into the train's path.

Lambert and other transit authority executives said, however, they have asked their engineers to examine signals in the Museum District, where turns are generally permitted except when signs illuminate. Several drivers complained Tuesday that the illuminated signs can be hard to see, especially when the sun is shining bright. Also, the signs are positioned over the center lane, not the left lane where motorists are supposed to turn from.

John Sedlak, Metro's vice president in charge of engineering, said his staff will consider modifying the signal system to turn traffic signals red in every direction when a train approaches. Engineers did not set the system that way because they wanted to keep traffic moving, he said. But, Sedlak added, a change might be necessary to alleviate some of the safety concerns.

Drivers might respond better to a red light than an illuminated "no left turn" sign, he said. A decision on any signal changes is expected within a week.

"We were looking to make sure we were balancing traffic movements with transit movements," he said. "It may be that we need to give transit an additional priority because of these illegal movements that continue to occur."

With some 100,000 Super Bowl visitors descending on the city this week, some Houstonians are concerned about the impact train crashes will have on the city's image. Metro is installing a pedestrian barricade to safeguard Super Bowl partiers from the trains in the Main Event zone downtown this weekend and there is a plan to turn trains back if crowds compromise the ability to safely operate.

Since the first train-car crash Nov. 19, the transit authority has added additional signs along the rail line, put yellow reflectors next to the train tracks, and run TV commercials promoting safety, among other measures.

Matt Noll of Clear Lake, buying flowers with his fiancee, Donna Bright, Tuesday in the Museum District, said relatives in Pennsylvania have mentioned hearing about the light rail troubles in Super Bowl news reports.

Noll said Metro should install a guardrail between the train tracks and traffic lanes. Only small white humps mark the barrier now.

Bright said simply assuming all drivers will pay proper attention to the new transit mode is presumptuous. She acknowledged just having inadvertently made an illegal left turn herself while trying to find the Flower Garden.

"I mean, gosh, I turned right in here and I wasn't supposed to," she said. "If you live right here, then sure you could pay more attention, but if you don't, then you don't know any better."

[discostu]

Trains that are in the road are more of a traffic hinderance than busses ever could be, as these accidents clearly demonstrates. The tracks are omni-present, in order to keep the tracks clear for the train they have to change traffic laws and basically leave that former lane completely useless to cars. Even when busses get a dedicated lane they can cohabitate with existing traffic and don't need to rewrite laws. Trains suck, that's all there is to it, they cost a lot, don't get the ridership necessary to make themselves a good investment, and they're ugly. Trains were replaced by cars, trying to make them the traffic solution of the future is going backwards.

[af_vet_rr]

I've driven in Houston a lot (as much as I hate to) and this does not suprise me. Seen lots of illegal left turns. The difference is, other cars are more agile than a train. Anybody who manages to hit a train pulling an illegal left turn is an idiot. It's a train for God's sake, how hard is it to not hit one.

[discostu]

More than likely those left turns weren't illegal before the train.

[Dog Gone]

I believe these lefthand turns are illegal only when a train is coming. I have yet to visit Main Street and see the Death Train in operation.

[Guvmint_Cheese]

If you want to address the environmental argument, either run them on natural gas or biodiesel. In terms of maintenance, trains might need maintenance less often, but does the maintenance savings offset the overall cost to the point of being less expensive than a bus?

As for being a traffic hinderance, if you put one bus out there that can seat 50 people, you've potentially removed 50 other traffic hinderances from the system.

[N. Theknow]

I believe these lefthand turns are illegal only when a train is coming. I have yet to visit Main Street and see the Death Train in operation.

Oh. The Darwin Award Finals for "Hey, I can make that crossing before the train gets there."

Granddaddy was an engineer for the old Atlantic Coast Line, used to call them coupler grease idiots.

[blabs]

Opportunity comes in many forms, you just have to know when to take advantage of it.

Many "family" neighborhoods have had their streets zoned to commercial because of the high amount of traffic. The people who were smart converted their properties to businesses, or sold for a higher cost. It's called higher and better use. It happens all over the country, including your neighborhood.

It doesn't necessarily enrich the few. It enriches the few who seize the opportunity.

[thackney]

"Wham Bam, thank you Tram" bump

[hopespringseternal]

The only thing left to do is stack the freeways, or run commuter rail. How many more billions will we invest in concrete?

Figure up how much we would need to spend on concrete to meet traffic needs, then figure up how much would need to be spent on light rail at $68,000/ft.

Light rail is a joke that is irrelevant to traffic. Anyone who has any concern for traffic will spend money someplace other than light rail.

[blabs]

If commuter rail were first to be laid down in houston, the light rail would still be built. It only makes sense to connect the Med Center and Downtown. The Medical center has over 250,000 visitors per day. It is exploding with growth. A new Bio-Technology area is currently being developed, which will house 26 different bio-tech and pharmaceuticals, bringing more than 70,000 jobs to Houston in the next ten years.

Where do you go for culture in this city? Plays, Opera, Symphony, Concerts, Sporting Events, Museums, Conventions? All of it is in the downtown area. In fact, what else is there to do in the city besides eating?

Properly placed commuter rails will take advantage of what this rail line has to offer.

[Your Nightmare]

I work in the Med Center and you are right. The left-hand turn lanes are on the tracks! The left-hand turn is only illegal when a train is coming and the electric signs they have to notify people when a train is coming are so confusing they just add to the problem. Many people are so confused they try turning left from the center lane, blocking traffic.

It seems to me that METRO has set up a confusing system here and are blaming drivers when they can't figure it out. Maybe they should look in the mirror.

Rail on this route was a mistake. Nothing but a gamble on getting the Olympics that we crapped out on.

[Your Nightmare]

The Medical center has over 250,000 visitors per day.

But those 250,000 visitors aren't coming from downtown.

[Guvmint_Cheese]

Are you suggesting use of existing heavy rail lines or the construction of new ones? If existing, you are going to have to get permission from the owners to share the track. If new, where would you find the right-of-way to run commuter rail? You're going to have an Environmental Justice issue to deal with if you plan on tearing down existing homes.

[kaktuskid]

Any body that puts a trolley line down the center of a major street is an idjit..that was the reason the tracks were taken out of the streets back in the 50s!

[Squawk 8888]

I can understand your point, rail involves huge capital outlay but can be worthwhile at high passenger volumes. A 40-foot bus will comfortably carry about 50 passengers, but here in Toronto the standard streetcars hold ~100 and the articulated streetcars hold ~175. From an enviro standpoint anything electric is more eco-friendly than buses, especially if a substantial percentage of the power in hydro or nuclear.

What I don't quite fathom is why they even considered running trains that share the road with other traffic- what were they thinking? Streetcars are cheaper and tend to get along better with cars.

[Dog Gone]

It's surprising that these trains haven't killed anyone yet. But it's inevitable.

[discostu]

The key phrase there is "at high passenger volumes". A lot of the problems rail has in America is cultural. In many place the public transportation system is a joke (like most of the cities west of the Mississippi) and people avoid using it as much as possible. I know if somebody waved a magic wand today and made Tucson's public transportation system actually useful I still wouldn't use it, because I've spent most of my life here and the idea that our public transportation (bus really, there's a trolley in the hippie part of town which I avoided at all costs long before the trolley) is completely worthless is deeply engrained in my mind and it will take years of that situation not being true for me to stop thinking it's true.

The key to if a city would be a good fit for a rail system is the bus system. For one thing that's how most passengers will be getting to the train so if the bus system is no good the train won't be used. But also it's the barometer for how much the people of that area use public transportation, if nobody is riding a city's busses nobody is gonna ride the train. The public transportation lobbyists in America have gotten totally hooked on trains though, so nobody is beefing up the bus systems to try to make trains a good idea in the many places they are a bad idea.

[Guvmint_Cheese]

That's the problem. The way Houston has developed, there isn't enough ROW to do anything without taking out existing lanes or existing houses. If you try to take out property, you end up with a slew of eminent domain suits delaying or killing a project. Do it in the wrong neighborhood, you get an entire community out there with torches and pitchforks.

[Teacher317]

Houston just looooooves to spend tax money! Their OLDEST pro stadium was built in 2000... The Texans and the Rockets both have newer facilities than the Astros!

[Guvmint_Cheese]

I agree. Culture does play a part in it. I'm not against rail as a concept. I used to live in Montreal, which has an incredible Metro system. I've also experienced Toronto's system, which I think is great. If I had a commute (I'm currently a six-minute walk from work), I'd rather take a bus or a train. I don't want to deal with the rest of Houston trying to get to work.

It's not that rail is bad, it's just not right for Houston. There's a city planning "guru" named Peter Calthorpe, who pretty much said that a transit system is effective if you have a residential density of at least 10 units per acre. Houston has 4-5 per acre on average.

I'm just not convinced that it's going to work here.