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Promoting safety awareness to deter trespassers and encouraging transparency in property sales and zoning for communities built around railroads.
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Public Safety Awareness & Property Sale TransparencyNational Association of Counties Rail ConferenceNaperville, Illinois – April 2011
Public Safety is Job #1 for Railroads Every three hours, a person or vehicle is hit by a train • Railroads therefore invest heavily in efforts to reduce grade crossing collisions and trespass incidents • Operation Lifesaver is the Washington-based non-profit dedicated to addressing rail safety awareness • In 1972, when OL was created, were over 12,000 train/motor vehicle collisions each year – by 2009, that number had declined by 84% to about 1,900 • According to USDOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), people in the 18-34 age group comprise over 40 percent of all the rail-related pedestrian casualties
Promoting Safety Awareness to Deter Trespassers CSX Public Safety Awareness Campaign Billboard:
State/Local Partnerships Drive Targeted Messages Example of Ads Placed in Washington Metro Stations
Launch of “Common Sense” Campaign • In partnership with USDOT and major railroad companies, in July 2009 Operation Lifesaver launched “Common Sense” public awareness safety campaign to reduce train-related pedestrian deaths and injuries among this demographic • Common Sense website video: • http://www.commonsenseuseit.com/media/ • “Where’s the Best Man” video from OL website: • http://vimeo.com/18400749
Transparency in Property Sales & Zoning • Communities across America have built up around railroads • Presents real challenges when mixing railroad industrial use with commercial or residential • Railroads getting more proactive in identifying conflicts BEFORE they occur
Case Study: Baltimore • Baltimore is home to the oldest railroad in America – the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) • Port / industrial complex increasingly being replaced by commercial and residential – e.g. Camden Yards, Inner Harbor, etc. • Railroads seeking full disclosure in property sale contracts as to railroad and industrial activities in order to address, pro-actively and preemptively, the juxtaposition of industrial, railroad and residential uses
Conclusion • Railroads impact communities and increasingly try to address issues “head on” with creative solutions • Activities around railroad tracks present inherent risks, and railroads need state/local officials’ support to encourage safety • Where new commercial / industrial developments are proposed adjacent to railroad tracks, we want to be engaged