Denise wrote with a question about railroad track crossings where bicycle accidents were happening:

Q. Hello,
In Harrisonburg, VA, we are having many bicycle accidents at two sites where train tracks ntersect the roadway at very skewed angles and travel along the roadway. We are looking into installing a bulb-out solution, but one of the sites does not have the room for this so we are looking into flangeway filler.

We want to find a company that makes a product that fills all or most of the flange gap so that riders can ride across these places.  Can you recommend something?

Thanks,
Denise Martin
(bicycle advocate)
Broadway, VA

I wrote back and asked what kind of rail traffic was using the crossing. It’s a lot easier to deal with such rail settings than, say, a through route that has trains going faster. I also asked about the roadway’s lanes — how many, what widths? I thought there might be an opportunity to narrow some travel lanes to create some space for a more perpendicular crossing for bikes.

Denise responded: 

…the trains using the crossings in question were freight trains, probably often hauling grain. At one of the crossings, the rail line comes from the south, follows the road and crosses it over a LONG crossing and then follows along the other side of the road.  It is a 5-lane road (one middle turning lane).  The City wants to find a way to make a smooth crossing to benefit all if possible.  Rerouting the road or rail line is completely out of the picture because no one wants to spend that kind of money.  So is placing a bridge over the rails, which I threw in just to make everything else sound less expensive.  Norfolk Southen (the rail company) says the crossings meet “minimum requirements” and if the City wants “upgrades,” they pay.  I say the fix is much cheaper than the medical bills and certainly much less than the cost of a law suit!  Point: Cost IS an issue.  I don’t think anyone would blink about it though if that many motor vehicles were having accidents at a spot. 

The other crossing is on Country Club Road.  This heavily traveled 2 lane road tracks parallel to Route 33.  This is another long, skewed crossing.  Unfortunately the road and trains also go underneath Interstate 81 at the place of the accidents, so there is no room to widen the road or do much else because of the interstate bridge supports on either side of the crossing.I think once they tried to “twist” the road ever so slightly and installed a narrow rubber filler (leaving the 2.5″ inner flange openings.)

We have had quite a few accidents and even broken bones at these places.  Within the past couple weeks a wrist was broken on the Route 11 crossing.  I know of at least 4 very recent accidents there. The local TV weatherman just wrecked his bicycle there and a Harrisonburg police officer wiped out on his police motorcycle!!!  Neither road has a “shoulder” to speak of either.

We wanted to use a compressible flangeway filler to fill the flange gaps.  One company (Polycorp) told me this is not allowed on public crossings (per American Assoc. of RR Engineer’s standards which require the 2.5″ inner flange opening)  I have a few other flangeway filler companies looking into it.  I just discovered HiRail crossings.  They have a pede-STRAIL that is a rubber crossing for pedestrians and cyclists.  The pede-STRAIL rep is on vacation though, so I don’t know if this will fulfill all our needs.  The person I spoke with was not sure it was made to be placed in the roadway.  Their regular crossing is designed for the roadway and could be helpful, but I don’t know if it will eliminate the accidents.

I asked a follow-up question. Denise had mentioned that the crossings are “long,” which suggests a very
shallow crossing angle. I asked if she had any idea at what angle these tracks cross the roadway?

Her response:

Yes, the angle is very unusual on the crossing, but I don’t know that anyone has measured it.  I’ll ask the City engineer about this.  The rails travel mostly parallel to the road and then
gradually cross the road from Left to Right.  The trains then continue on the other side of the road.  A cyclist needs to use up 2-3 lanes on Rte 11 to swing out to make a perpendicular crossing.  Because the road is so busy, cyclists often fail to obtain this much roadway.  On Country Club Road, the cyclist must actually swing out into oncoming traffic to make a perpendicular crossing.  Those that realize this walk or are technically skilled enough to ride it.  However, some of those eventually fall too. Signs warn “Skewed Crossing, Cyclists Use Caution.”  This is a very weak warning in my opinion since most skewed crossings are only slightly skewed.  I have urged the City to put up more strongly worded signs, and they are working on it.  I think they need to acknowledge it for what it is, unfit for a safe
bicycle crossing.

Denise sent some air photos, and gave me some coordinates for Google Earth, which allowed me to zoom in and look around a bit. The angle of the tracks to the roadway did indeed look amazingly shallow. She also told me that she was speaking with the engineer at the rail company, and several meetings had occurred where cyclists, the RR people, and the City had gathered to discuss the situation. THis sounded like it was heading in the right direction.

She added this information:

On the site I had my accident at each rail line has two rails.  The second rail after the flange gap is what bicycle tires seem to push against and suddenly divert left.  This metal rail will be replaced by rubber filler.  “Bulb out” shoulder improvements are supposed to be placed that will allow the cyclist to zigzag across the tracks. (turn right, cross, turn left, remerge).  The turns might be a bit sharp, but the City people wanted to keep the cyclists in the sight line of motor traffic. 

I responded by sending section of the Wisconsin DOT bike facility guide, which does have more details than many of the other guides available. I pointed to images in that guide, one from Seattle where the  rubberized surface is only used toward the right edge of the lane(s). The panels come in sections (4 ft?) and they were able to save some money by only using them where they needed them.  Denise wrote that the WI DOT materials were the single most concise piece she had read yet, and that it tied a lot of info together beautifully. She said she had forwarded the materials I attached on to the city engineers because they were working on finishing the designs. 

And finally came this note from Denise:
Improvements are actually going to be done in the next couple months!!!!  I can’t believe it. I have had quite an education in RR tracks and crossings.  I spent whole days researching solutions and RR products/crossings, so if any info can be passed along, I would love to do this. 

We all learned from this one, Denise! Sometimes the key is that someone takes on the challenge and keeps pushing unitl officials, elected officials, and others recognize the problem and start looking for solutions.

Cheers,
John W.

I’ve lived in Missoula, Montana, for two-and-a-half decades, so I take a big interest in what’s going on that can affect bicycling and walking in this community. I wrote the note below to Linda McCarthy, head of the Missoula Downtown Association, encouraging her group to get behind the notion of adding some back-in diagonal parking. Maybe you’ll find portions of this letter that you can take to your own community leaders and get them to consider this parking innovation:

Dear Ms. McCarthy:

During my 26 years in Missoula, I’ve considered the Downtown the city’s best place to shop, eat, and attend events. I also worked downtown for 20 years until health problems dictated my working at home. Even so, I drive downtown frequently and my wife works downtown. We often meet for lunch or I drop her off in the morning before going off on an errand.

 

As a result, I’ve found myself using the diagonal parking spaces frequently, especially those on Main and Spruce. And I hate them. Historically, I hadn’t had a big problem with diagonal parking. It gives merchants more on-street parking for customers and that’s vital to the Downtown’s survival. However, the problem I encounter more and more frequently is this:

 

I end up having to park on the downstream side of a large SUV or pickup. Or, I find a space with a shorter car upstream but that car leaves and is replaced by one of the behemoths. For this reason, backing out of a space is often like flying blind. Since I drive a modest sized Subaru wagon, my view typically consists of the passenger side door handle of an adjacent SUV.

 

I back out very very slowly, inching my way along until I can actually see oncoming traffic, at which time I stop and wait until it’s clear. I suppose I could ask a pedestrian to help me get out of a space but that’s just a burden on those of us who want to patronize Downtown — without buying and driving a big gas hog.

 

Oddly enough, many drivers seem oblivious to the potential danger of such a situation. They whiz past the rear end of my car at 25-30mph. Unfortunately, a backing-out motorist who collides with — or is hit by — an oncoming car is generally considered at fault.

 

Since many Missoulians and (lots of our town’s visitors) drive smaller cars, it behooves the City and the Downtown Association to do something about this. As it is, one could assume the City and Downtown Assn. give preference to people who arrive in 10-foot tall Gas Guzzlers.

 

What’s the solution? Well, walking and biking downtown is certainly a good option. I’ve often done that over the years. However, it doesn’t always work for me and there are folks who need to drive their smaller cars downtown.

 

One fairly simple solution would be to join the 21st Century and start putting in “back-in” diagonal parking. I know there are plenty of parochial folks in town who will say “You can’t do that! It’s <dangerous>!” Or maybe “That’s one of those kooky West Coast ideas.” Or something equally stupid. These comments are especially easy to make if someone has no direct experience with such parking. The bottom line is this: back-in spaces give the motorist — even one in a shorter car — a better view of what’s coming down the road than do traditional back-in spaces. And that’s good for everyone’s safety.

 

Having seen some of the early drawings of a Higgins Ave. improvement project, I was thrilled to see back-in diagonal parking spaces in the perspective illustrations. However, I have also been told that the City is backing away from this design because of potential controversy. I have one thing to say to that: Those involved in downtown projects like this need to stand up and do the safe thing for the community. Install back-in diagonal parking and give those of  us with short cars a break!

Sincerely,

John Williams

Below are links to two additional resources on back-in diagonal parking, the first done by John Nawn, P.E., PTOE as well as an item from Salt Lake City.

http://www.pspe.org/delco/nawn.pdf

http://www.slcgov.com/transportation/Parking/RAP.htm

JW