This week, new safety measures were installed at the crossing where the two crashes happened, and public safety campaigns have begun to help educate the public.
On Monday, delineators were installed at the W-H Jackson Street crossing to help prevent drivers from going around the gate arms when they’re down.
City council members discussed on Tuesday what else can be done to help protect the public.
“I’m very excited and happy with the delineators,” said City of Melbourne Vice Mayor Yvonne Minus. “That is great. That is a temporary fix. But I think definitely the Quad Gates, when all four gates are down. It would alleviate a lot of the problems we have.”
A Quad Gate is when gates block all lanes on both sides of the crossing. It’s something Mayor Paul Alfrey wants to see everywhere in the city.
“One thing that I did stress is that I do want Quad Gates on the five that we don’t have,” he said.
Brightline also plans to add cameras to certain crossings. They would snap a picture if a driver crosses the tracks when the arms are down and could result in a warning or citation. According to the Melbourne City Manager Jenni Lamb, that should start in the next three to four weeks.
We know that Brightline will also receive grants from the state and the federal government to help with future safety measures.
According to the city manager, $10 million is coming from FDOT, $25 million is coming from U.S.DOT, and Brightline will be adding $10 Million more dollars of their own.
While all the council members unanimously agreed that safety must be a top priority, one member was concerned about how some of those will be paid for.
“I still have a hard time understanding why taxpayers, federal government and state government, FDOT, because those are our tax dollars, they’re not anybody else’s dollars, are having to pay for safety procedures for a private equity company,” said Council Member Mark LaRusso.
The city also plans to add more signage to warn people not to cross the tracks. They are working on several kinds of public safety campaigns, hoping to target everyone, including young drivers.
“What happened with these deaths is tragic,” said Council Member Tim Thomas. “But God forbid we have a teenager or a younger child that gets killed by one of these trains.”
“I think this is a time to act to resolve these issues,” said Mayor Alfrey.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
A Brightline train struck an SUV that was on the railroad tracks Friday afternoon, killing one person -- just two days after a Brightline train crashed into another vehicle on the tracks at the same crossing, the Melbourne Police Department said.
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