THE INDUSTRY STANDARD SHOULD BE SAFETY FIRST

 http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/investigation-continues-into-fatal-accident-at-umsl-metrolink-crossing/article_9743980d-0a35-5e2b-93ea-afa672301c66.html

From the above article, a Metro spokesperson commenting on the crosswalk where the woman died:

There is no signal or gate at the crossing, or at any of Metro’s other pedestrian crossings.

“Per the industry standard, we only have signals at street grade crossings,” Beck said. “If we had gates at pedestrian access crossings, people would just walk around them.”

I especially love the editorial on "people would just walk around them."  Really? Are you sure?  Maybe SOME people would.  Maybe the girl that died would have waited for the signal or gate.  But you don't know, do you?  That's just your low opinion of your rider's, right out there in the open.

There is a pretty serious lack of commitment to safety on the part of Metro.  The lack of coordination with street services on sidewalk and street maintenance near bus stops is obvious.  But the Metrolink has a lot of problems, not just at the crossings.

The Maplewood Metrolink is one of the most badly designed and unsafe stations I have ever seen.  There is no crosswalk at the street, to the bus stop.  The eastbound buses have to make a right turn out of the station and go down a Manchester a quarter mile, turn around, and come back up, because there were too many problems with oncoming traffic.

There is a naturally occurring blindspot for eastbound traffic at the curve in Manchester just before the Metrolink station.

That's just one of the most obvious examples.  You see, the people that do the planning and development and construction don't ride the train and buses.  They don't build the stations with an organic understanding of the flow of rider foot traffic.

It looks okay, and it follows the "industry standard".  They collect their paychecks and go home in their cars.  If there is a problem, it is never found until everything is built.  Like the traffic accidents that plagued the Maplewood station before Metro re-routed the buses to make right turns out of the bus depot.

Their should be more safety at rail crossings.  And there should be more safety from the rider's point of view built in to new structures.

Two people have died at this crossing.  What is it going to take Metro?

EDIT: There is no story or news link posted about the fatality on Metro's website.