(The following story by Alicia Robinson appeared on The Press-Enterprise website on September 2, 2009.)
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Riverside will launch a 12-month campaign to educate the public about train safety, after a local teen was killed by a train earlier this year.
The city will work in partnership with Operation Lifesaver Inc., a nonprofit rail safety group, to get information to local schools and the public through presentations, public service announcements and a Web site.
The City Council voted Tuesday to form the partnership with Operation Lifesaver, spend $7,290 on the campaign and designate September as rail safety month.
California led the nation last year with 59 train-related pedestrian deaths, said Councilman Chris Mac Arthur, who helped organize the safety campaign.
Working with Operation Lifesaver “improves our ability to bring the message of rail safety to all our residents, especially our schoolchildren,” he said.
The rail safety campaign is a response to the April 23 accident at the Jackson Street railroad crossing. Samuel Sung-Jae Shin, 14, was on his way to Arlington High School when he waited for a westbound Metrolink train to pass before starting across the tracks.
As he crossed, he was struck by an eastbound train. In May, the city began installing signs at 25 street-level crossings that warn pedestrians to look both directions for trains before crossing the tracks.
The city’s campaign will instruct volunteers to give free safety talks to community groups, businesses, school bus drivers and others, with an initial focus on schools. About 60 Riverside schools are within a mile of railroad tracks, according to a city report.
Other components will be rolled out through February 2010.