Discussion

The City of Santa Paula (City) proposes to construct a new at-grade pedestrian-rail crossing across the International Paper spur track of the Ventura County Transportation Commission's (VCTC) Santa Paula Branch Line, as part of the Santa Paula Branch Line Recreational Trail Project (also referred to in the application as Santa Paula Branch Bike Trail Project.)

The Santa Paula Branch Line Trail is proposed to run a total of 32 miles, from Rancho Camulos on the east near the Los Angeles County line, to the Montalvo community near San Buenaventura, on the west. The trail would largely follow the VCTC Santa Paula Branch Line, however the trail would deviate from the rail right-of-way at various locations, where the trail will follow existing roadways before rejoining the rail right-of-way. The trail was contemplated to be constructed under several options, including one large project implemented by VCTC or a number of smaller projects undertaken by the local jurisdictions through which the proposed trail passes.

The goals of the project are to provide a new east-west pedestrian/bike trail to provide recreational and commuter opportunities, as well as improve safety along VCTC's tracks. The dedicated, separate pedestrian/bike path along VCTC's Santa Paula Branch Line right-of-way is designed with fencing to channel the pedestrians and bike riders to at-grade pedestrian-rail crossings, where there will be appropriate railroad warning devices, signage, striping and other trail facilities.

The City of Santa Paula has acquired some funding and chooses to undertake a portion of the project within its jurisdiction at this time. The City seeks the new pedestrian-rail crossing and associated fencing to increase railroad safety in the vicinity of the Glen City School and to address a serious trespassing problem with children walking or biking to school, following the existing railroad right-of-way along Main Street and crossing the VCTC tracks haphazardly.

The proposed trail through Santa Paula primarily runs parallel to the VCTC Santa Paula Branch Line. The International Paper spur track crosses the trail where the spur track cuts off the mainline leading to the customer property. The proposed railroad crossing would serve as a single, controlled access across the spur tracks for pedestrians and bike riders. Bike riders and pedestrians would travel on an eight foot wide paved pathway over the single set of railroad tracks at this location. The crossing approaches would be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. The crossing would be known as the International Paper Pedestrian crossing.

In addition to Fillmore and Western Railway (FWRY) passenger excursion trains, the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) operates freight trains, over the VCTC line. Approximately one (1) passenger train per month at a maximum speed of 15 MPH and up to three (3) freight trains per week at a maximum speed of at 10 MPH operate over this portion of the Santa Paula Branch Line, with only UPRR operating on the international Paper spur track. All trains operate during daylight hours.

The crossing is located on the north side of Main Street, between Dean Drive and Palm Avenue at mile post 413.85 of VCTC's Santa Paula Branch Line International Paper spur track. The proposed new CPUC Crossing Number would be 001BE-413.85-CD. The nearest crossing to the west is the highway-rail crossing of Dean Drive (CPUC Crossing No 001BE-412.60) and the nearest crossing to the east is the crossing of Palm Avenue (CPUC Crossing No 001BE-413.90).

Proposed treatments for the at-grade crossing include manual lockout gates that will block access to the trail and crossing during train movements. The manual lockout gates will be set and monitored at all times during railroad movements on the spur track by an on-the-ground railroad employee. Notification signs posted on the gates that read "Expect Short Delay While Gate Is Across Trail" would be displayed to any trail users blocked by the gates. Maintenance of the manual lockout gates will be the responsibility of the City.

The procedure to move rail cars into and out of the International Paper track spur is expected to take ten minutes. The railroad operators will conduct the following procedures during the utilization of the manual lockout gates to ensure clearance of pathway users:

1. Train approaches the International Paper spur and the conductor/brakeman drops off and unlocks the plant gate that blocks the spur track into paper plant;

2. Conductor/brakeman observes that bike trail is clear of pedestrian traffic;

3. When clear, the conductor/brakeman opens the south gate panel 180° to the south and latches it to the fence post closing the pedestrian/bike trail on the west end;

4. Conductor/brakeman proceeds to the switch stand and confirms that pedestrian/bike trail is still clear of pedestrian traffic;

5. Conductor/brakeman closes and latches dedicated gate to fence post closing bike trail on the east end;

6. Train crew changes out railcars on the spur and train returns to main track;

7. Once the International Paper track spur is clear of the train, the conductor/brakeman opens the dedicated gate on the east end of bike trail;

8. Conductor/brakeman closes south gate panel back 180° to the north, unblocking the trail on the west end, and locks the plant spur track gate;

9. Train departs on mainline track.

The proposed at-grade crossing would cross one set of tracks and will be constructed with the following features:

o CPUC Commission Standard 1-D sign, "PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE ONLY" at each approach to the crossing;

o California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) R15-8 ("LOOK") sign at each approach to the crossing;

o CA MUTCD R1-1 "STOP" sign on both west and east gate facing each approach to the crossing, when closed for train movements;

o CA MUTCD W10-12 (Skewed Railroad Crossing) sign at each approach to the crossing;

o Cast-in-place concrete panel crossing surface;

o Right-of-way fencing on either side of the tracks to preclude pedestrian circumvention of warning devices on both approaches to crossing; and

o Install ADA compliant standard detectable warning consisting of yellow tactile strips on both approaches to the crossing.

o Install lighting on both approaches to the crossing, including an additional light adjacent to the manual lockout gates, to improve visibility and safety.