Agencies move forward with walker-friendly train crossing
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

The morning commute may get a little easier for Metrolink riders who catch the train at the Camarillo train station on Lewis Road.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission announced recently they are working with Union Pacific Railroad officials to install a walkerfriendly pedestrian crossing at the local Metrolink station.

Samia Maximus, a project manager for the county commission, said her agency is waiting to hear back from Union Pacific on the project's total cost and when construction will begin.

Since the station's completion in November, Maximus said hundreds of commuters have complained to both the city and county that the current pedestrian over crossing, which spans two pairs of railroad, is too long and steep for train passengers- especially for those with luggage or in wheelchairs.

Camarillo City Councilmember Kevin Kildee, who sits on the commission's board, said the city supports the new crossing and that the steep over crossing has "been an issue for those who commute on a daily basis."

With rising gas prices, the number of nearly 100 daily commuters who take the trains is expected to increase in the coming months.

Ginger Gherardi, the commission's executive director, wrote in a recent letter to board members that the new crossing will be at ground-level, similar to those used at the Chatsworth and Burbank train stations.

"In those locations, there are plates across the tracks to guide where pedestrians walk over while flashing lights and bells warn them not to cross if a train is approaching," Gherardi wrote in the letter.

Gherardi said the commission is moving forward with the crossing despite initial resistance from Union Pacific officials.

According to Gherardi, Union Pacific agreed to the new crossing after it received numerous complaints from commuters, prompting a field visit to the site by a Union Pacific official.

Union Pacific officials are concerned, however, that a secondary train track needs removal to allow for the new pedestrian crossing. Secondary tracks are used as turnouts by slower-moving freight trains to allow faster passenger trains to pass.

"This is a valid concern as the lack of sidings on the mainly singletrack Coast Main Line between Moorpark and Oxnard is continually a problem," Gherardi said.

To solve the problem, a new secondary track would have to be built. Because the secondary tracks must be long enough to accommodate a freight train, which can be up to a mile long, Gherardi said a "lightly used" road crossing would need to be closed to accommodate the proposed secondary track. Maximus said the transportation commission has not decided which road crossing will be closed.

The county will now ask the California Public Utilities Commission to approve the secondary track in order to move forward with the proposed pedestrian track.