RICHMOND — According to the Contra Costa Times, the California Public Utilities Commission agreed Monday night to revisit its decision to place the city’s historic wigwags on a priority upgrade list.
In addition, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway will consider holding off replacing the antique devices with modern crossing gates until the commission direction is made more clear.
The agreement was reached at a meeting of Richmond, PUC and railroad officials at the Richmond office of Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley.
The step represents a tentative victory for residents who have protested a railroad determination that the wigwags no longer adequately warn traffic and pedestrians of oncoming trains.
With a flashing red light, a rocking arm and a chipper clang, Richmond’s historic wigwags bracket the tracks at the edge of town, right outside the equally historic Richmond Plunge swimming pool. In the Bay Area, only Pittsburg has another working wigwag.
Monday afternoon, about 100 Point Richmond neighbors and several City Council members braved a chilly drizzle to rally for the wigwags they love.
As the crowd waved signs and periodically chanted “Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Richmond wigwags gotta stay,” speakers waxed poetic about the wigwags and their importance to the city’s historic neighborhood.
“The wigwags and the Plunge are the two things that represent our personality and our identity,” said resident David Dolberg. “And the community is not going to sit still while they take away our identity.”
Others challenged the railroad’s contention that the devices have outlived their useful life and present a threat to public safety. Richmond’s tracks are used solely for switching, and train speeds rarely exceed 5 mph, said former mayor Rosemary Corbin.
“There is never a fast train, there is never a fast car, and there has never been an accident between a car and a train; this is insanity,” Corbin said.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe officials have said that they plan to donate the wigwags to a local museum and that PUC officials ordered the upgrade, leaving the railroad no latitude to negotiate.
However, the PUC has never voted on or presented a ruling regarding Richmond’s wigwags, said Trina Horner, interim director of the PUC’s rail safety and carrier division.
In the early ’90s, commission staff members placed the Richmond crossings on an annual priority list of sites deemed “deserving, worthy and eligible” to receive Caltrans funding to upgrade warning equipment, Horner said.
Although funding is available, the ultimate decision to replace the wigwags rests with the railroad, Horner said.
“The PUC has not acted on this matter,” Horner said. “Our staff does agree that the wigwag is probably not the safest way to protect this crossing.”
Railroad spokeswoman Lena Kent said the PUC’s staff recommendation, in essence, amounted to an order to upgrade.
“What’s the difference?” Kent said. “If anyone were hit on that crossing after the PUC put it on the priority list and made money available, we would be in some serious trouble. This is a safety issue.”
Last week, railroad crews laid underground cables and prepared a foundation for the new electronic arm. Work was halted Monday morning pending the outcome of the evening meeting, Kent said.
Monday’s rally was organized and hosted by City Councilman Tom Butt, who introduced himself as a staunch defender of Point Richmond interests.
Butt is involved in another issue some residents believe threatens neighborhood integrity. His architectural firm, Interactive Resources, owns a share of the building recently leased to Starbucks, the area’s first chain store.
Butt said Starbucks and the wigwags are incomparable community concerns.
“There’s nothing historic about that building or that issue,” Butt said. “The vast majority of people here want to see the business district in Point Richmond invigorated, and they want to see empty buildings occupied.”