All seven railroad crossings in St. Lucie Village need major safety upgrades to accommodate Virgin Trains USA’s higher-speed passenger rail service, Mayor Bill Thiess said Friday.
Virgin Trains, St. Lucie County and town officials also must figure out how to deal with traffic on Old Dixie Highway, the village’s main road, which runs alongside the tracks, Thiess said.
In addition, train, county and town officials must figure out a safe way for westbound trailered boats and tractor trailers to cross the railroad tracks and Old Dixie Highway, Thiess said. It is as little as 25 feet from the Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way to Old Dixie Highway near some crossings in St. Lucie Village, records show. And it’s less than 4/10th of a mile from the railroad tracks to the Indian River Lagoon in the widest part of the three-mile-long town.
Virgin Trains plans to start construction in 2020 on a second track and railroad crossing improvements on the Treasure Coast in anticipation of starting passenger service between Orlando and West Palm Beach in 2022.
Plans call for 32 passenger trains traveling at 110 mph to join 20 freight trains per day traveling less than half that speed on the FECR tracks. Virgin Trains started passenger service between Miami and West Palm Beach in May 2018.
But many safety initiatives must be undertaken in St. Lucie Village to reduce the danger the train poses to the town’s 600 residents, Thiess said. “I don’t think they’ve restricted access to the tracks enough,” Thiess said. “The tracks are open to pedestrians even at some of the intersections.”
A single railroad crossing gate for each lane is all that separates vehicles and pedestrians from the train tracks at most of the railroad crossings in the town, Thiess said.
Virgin Trains officials have vowed to install four quad gates at all two-way railroad crossings to keep vehicles off the tracks when trains are coming.
“Virgin Trains continues to work closely with FDOT and FRA to ensure our designs comply with all regulations and achieve the highest level of safety,” said Virgin Trains spokesman Michael Hicks.
Virgin Trains officials have repeatedly said they are committed to operating safely.
In addition to the four quad gates for vehicles, Thiess called for the installation of pedestrian gates the block the sidewalks and paths at the town’s railroad crossings when trains zoom through. The railroad crossing at Chamberlain Boulevard is an example of a residential street where pedestrian gates should be installed, Thiess said.
“Where the sidewalk ends, people are walking, kids are playing and dogs are running around, there’s no separation between pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk and 110 mph train going down the track,” Thiess said. “There’s no barrier whatsoever. That’s the worst case I can think of, but there’s so much exposure to the tracks.”
The proximity of Old Dixie Highway to the FECR right-of-way is likely to cause backups for vehicles waiting to turn onto a railroad crossing while a train is coming through, Thiess said. Town officials are working with St. Lucie County officials to determine whether installing traffic signals at Dixie Highway’s intersections with the seven road that cross the railroad tracks would improve traffic flow, Thiess said.
St. Lucie Lane and Milton Road are two streets where trucks pulling trailers and tractor trailers could get stuck on the tracks while waiting to turn onto Old Dixie Highway, Thiess said.
“If I’m pulling out of St. Lucie Lane, when I get to where (railroad) crossing arm is now, I can’t see the northbound traffic (on Old Dixie Highway),” Thiess said. “So I’ve got to pull across the tracks to Old Dixie to look at the northbound traffic to see if I can go. When I’m out there at the stop sign at Old Dixie, my boat is on the tracks.”
Another safety issue in St. Lucie Village is absence of barriers to the tracks along Old Dixie Highway, Thiess said.
“Mostly it’s just mowed grass and then there’s the tracks,” Thiess said. “I’ve seen some residents ride motorcycles and 4-wheelers down the tracks. I would hope they stop doing that because it’s a very unsafe thing to do.”
