(The following story by Joe Ferguson appeared on the Arizona Daily Sun website on March 5, 2010.)
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Now that the train horns have been silenced, BNSF Railway wants the city of Flagstaff to consider installing cameras at the five at-grade crossings.
The aim is to deter drivers and pedestrians from trying to beat the trains at the crossings, thus reducing accidents. The images from the cameras, similar to those used at traffic intersections in the Valley, would be used in issuing tickets to violators.
City Manager Kevin Burke said the city is in the early stages of evaluating the request. He said city staffers need to assess the potential impact of the cameras on the workloads of the police department, the city court, city prosecutors and even the city’s information technology department.
Flagstaff does not employ cameras at traffic intersections to catch red-light runners.
BNSF cited a pilot camera project in Illinois that reduced the number of train-related accidents by more than 80 percent.
The railway has contracted with Redflex Traffic Systems, which provides traffic control cameras to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, to conduct a preliminary survey of the five intersections, Burke said.
If the survey can demonstrate an increase in safety from the cameras without a net cost to the city, Burke said he will bring the proposal to the city council.
A call to a BNSF project manager for comment was not immediately returned Thursday.
Several people have been killed by trains in the last few years in Flagstaff. Last year, a 49 year-old-man was killed after reportedly ducking under a barricade moments before a train passed through the crossing.