Penngrove gets new train gates

The new technology will help protect one of the county’s most dangerous crossings.|

Although a vocal group of Penngrove residents lobbied SMART for the latest technology to enhance safety at the town’s train crossing, this year’s Fourth of July parade will still require decidedly low-tech protection in the form of flaggers to signal when trains are approaching.

Penngrove has one of the most complicated train crossings in SMART’s 43-mile line from Santa Rosa to San Rafael. The tracks cross downtown Penngrove’s Main Street at a 45 degree angle and right at the spot where Woodward Avenue meets the main road. A slight curve in the tracks and several buildings makes it difficult to see oncoming trains for motorists on the heavily trafficked street.

Making matters more dicey, Sonoma County is in the process of implementing quiet zones at all crossings in the unincorporated area, meaning residents will be spared the blare of the train horn, but drivers will have one less warning of oncoming locomotives.

“It’s one of the toughest crossings we have in the system,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, a SMART board member. “Our fear is that something tragic would happen.”

After Rabbitt heard from a group of Penngrove residents, he got the county to install quad gates and queue cutters, equipment meant to keep cars off the tracks. The equipment will cost $2.6 million, Rabbitt said.

“This was all county money,” he said. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Quad gates are crossing guard arms that lower across both sides of the tracks in both directions of vehicle travel. They are designed to prevent motorists from driving around a lowered gate.

Currently, the crossing has one gate on each side of the tracks and a median divider to prevent gate jumping. The median is made of plastic pylons, an upgrade that SMART added after residents complained the cement barrier they originally installed impeded traffic.

Queue cutters are special traffic signals that turn yellow and red when trains approach. When the intersection is clear, the light turns green and motorists can proceed. The queue cutters will be installed within the next month, and the quad gates will be added within a few months, Rabbitt said.

After all of the work is complete, the intersection will be considered quiet zone-ready and the median barriers will be removed, Rabbitt said.

Panngrove resident Lyndi Brown said that the safety improvements are the result of a grassroots effort.

“People got together and made a lot of noise and said that something needs to be done to prevent people from driving on the tracks,” she said. “David Rabbitt has been very helpful with that.”

SMART hopes to have commuter rail service up and running by late June, meaning that this year’s Penngrove July 4th parade will be the first to navigate active trains. The parade will happen on Sunday, July 2, a light weekend schedule for the SMART trains, but could potentially disrupt the event as the route heads down Main Street and across the tracks.

Kim Hanson, owner of JavAmore Cafe and a parade organizer, said she has been in touch with SMART officials about the community’s plans. She said people with flags will monitor the tracks and halt parade marchers when trains are approaching.

Of special concern are the horses that traditionally participate in the parade. The animals could become spooked by closing train gates or by noisy trains, she said.

“Flaggers will give us a warning when a train is coming,” she said. “Horses are a definite concern.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)

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