Some LIRR crossings getting security cameras to boost safety
A view of the LIRR crossing at School Street in Westbury on Saturday, March 5, 2016. Credit: Danielle Finkelstein
The Long Island Rail Road plans to install security cameras at some grade crossings to deter motorists trying to beat approaching trains through the dangerous intersections.
At a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s LIRR Committee Monday, railroad president Patrick Nowakowski said, going forward, the agency will install cameras at any crossings undergoing other improvements.
That includes crossings between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, where the LIRR is constructing a second track; between Speonk and Montauk, where the LIRR plans to install new signals; and between Floral Park and Hicksville, where the LIRR wants to build a third track.
MTA officials indicated the cameras would record the license plates of cars illegally going through active crossings — like those installed at some traffic intersections to catch red light violators in the act.
However, unlike with the red light cameras, Nowakowski said the LIRR does not have the legal authority to issue summonses based solely on the recording of a violation. A bill allowing summonses for recorded violations has been considered by the State Legislature, but not acted upon.
“That will not result in fines or anything like that because the bill was not passed. But the bill didn’t say we couldn’t put up cameras,” Nowakowski said. “It is my intent, on a case-by-case basis, to install cameras at crossings.”
MTA board members suggested that, even without the ability to send out summonses, the LIRR should send warning letters to motorists caught driving through lowering crossing gates.
“Even if all you do is get a letter indicating, ‘We saw you,’ . . . one would hope it would change your process the next time you come to a grade crossing,” said committee chairman Mitchell Pally of Stony Brook.
The plan to put more eyes on the LIRR’s approximately 300 grade crossings comes as accidents at crossings are on the rise. According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics, there were 12 LIRR grade crossing incidents in 2015, up from four in 2014.
LIRR Chief Safety Officer Loretta Ebbighausen said the majority of crossing incidents “are cars going around the crossing protection.”
The MTA stepped up safety protocols at crossings after Feb. 3, 2015, when a Metro-North train struck a sport utility vehicle at a crossing in Valhalla, killing the car’s driver and five train passengers. MTA Police issued 127 summonses at grade crossings so far this year, compared to 149 for the same period last year, according to Chief Michael Coan.
Earlier this month, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a plan to eliminate seven grade crossings as part of the LIRR’s plan to construct a third track on its Main Line between Floral Park and Hicksville. The state and LIRR have eliminated just two crossings on Long Island since 1998, either by elevating tracks or sinking roads underneath them.
The LIRR on Monday also proposed putting out to bid a contract to design and purchase 160 new electric train cars. The new trains would bolster the railroad’s fleet in time for its planned connection to Grand Central Terminal by 2022 as part of East Side Access.
The new “M-9A” cars, which would be purchased using federal funds, are in addition to 92 new “M-9” electric cars already ordered and being designed.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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