Train Accidents Decline in Pilot Program
Thursday, December 18, 2008 12:55 PM
In the past 30 days, there have been no car/rail accidents caused by cars turning left downtown in front of a train.
That safety record is the result of a pilot program that ends this week and is a result of three factors, says Assistant Police Chief Tim Kelly of MPD.
"Education - the media attention to this effort helped to educate the driving public. Engineering - the signal timing changes implemented by the city of Houston. Enforcement - the dedicated police officers at six downtown intersections," explained Kelly. "It is a combination of these three, and no one factor can be attributed solely to this accident reduction."
Earlier, we wrote about how the city has worked closely with MPD to adjust the timing of traffic signals along the Red Line. The six test locations along Main Street are: St. Joseph, Franklin, Texas, Prairie, Preston and Congress.
The re-signaling has meant that METRORail gets a green light first, a few seconds before drivers get a green light to proceed. This permits the train to travel ahead of regular traffic at these intersections. Westbound and eastbound traffic has not been affected.
So far, this three-pronged approach is working.
By the end of this week, the police officers who have been deployed at the six downtown intersections will be reassigned, but "there will be continue to be dedicated police enforcement along Main Street to reinforce the positive changes we have made," said Kelly.
The new signal timing will stay in place. The city and METRO will work closely together to determine if more traffic lights need to be adjusted to benefit the rest of the Red Line.
"All in all, this has been a very successful joint effort between the city and METRO to enhance public safety along the Red Line corridor," said Kelly.