Quiet zones at SMART crossings under new federal scrutiny amid series of deaths

Federal rail officials have launched reviews of two SMART train crossings in Sonoma County after deaths at each location this year, including the Rohnert Park intersection where five people were struck and killed in collisions with the passenger train in just over a year, the most recent death coming in September.

As part of a nationwide probe, the Federal Railroad Administration initiated an audit earlier this month of all safety equipment at the ground-level crossing over Golf Course Drive in Rohnert Park near Commerce Boulevard after being alerted to the death of a 30-year-old woman at the intersection in June. The agency that oversees the country’s railroads also contacted Santa Rosa over plans to inspect its crossing at San Miguel Avenue, where a ?66-year-old man died in July in an incident that police ruled a suicide.

The railroad administration’s chief safety officer sent letters last week to Sonoma County’s director of transportation and Santa Rosa’s deputy director of traffic engineering informing them of the review of quiet zones, where SMART trains operate under specified noise limits.

If on-site surveys of either crossing show inadequate maintenance or insufficient consideration of risk in light of the deaths, it could lead to elimination of the quiet zones and return of regular train horns at the intersections to increase safety.

“What we’ve done is identified locations where an accident may have a bearing on the quiet zone remaining in place unless steps are taken and in place to mitigate additional risk,” said Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. “The letters are going to the communities that established the quiet zones. They’re the ones signing on the dotted line.”

Before the North Bay’s commuter rail system started operating in August 2017, cities along Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit’s current 43-mile line pursued and received the federal agency’s permission for the noise reductions, which bar engineer-conductors from sounding the train horn unless there is an emergency.

To obtain approval, the city or county making the request must install accepted safety upgrades, such as enhanced crossing arms, to make up for the lack of the horn, which the federal agency considers one of the train’s primary safety devices.

Santa Rosa and Petaluma applied individually, and Sonoma County government took the lead for unincorporated areas of the county, plus the cities of Rohnert Park and Cotati in a joint application. Marin County and the cities of San Rafael and Novato also filed for their own quiet zone approvals. Together, the moves made SMART the country’s first commuter rail line operating with quiet zones across nearly its full system, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

But a string of deaths at SMART crossings - seven have occurred this year, and 11 have been recorded since service began two years ago - has fueled new scrutiny around public safety for the taxpayer-supported transit system.

Following the September death of a 41-year-old woman at the same Rohnert Park crossing - a suicide, according to police - the City Council elected to spend $66,000 for an outside consultant study of the city’s three crossings. The recommended actions are due in the spring.

Led by Mayor Gina Belforte, the Rohnert Park City Council also mulled formally asking SMART to drop the train speeds through the busy Golf Course Drive intersection. The council’s majority instead opted to wait on results of the commissioned study before taking further action.

For Belforte, the new federal review only bolsters her position that further changes should be made at the intersection to increase public safety.

“It just validates the concern that it is a problematic crossing,” she said. “It made it all the way to the top. So something has gone up the chain that has had the Federal Railroad Administration take pause and say, ‘Wow, we need to go check out what’s going on over here.’ I wish they would not only look at sound, but also the speed going through that intersection.”

This past summer, SMART added more signs and spent $500,000 to install additional sidewalk fencing at 30 of the system’s crossings, including at the Rohnert Park location now being reexamined.

SMART did not receive copies of the railroad administration’s letters and agency staff has not reviewed them, according to a SMART spokeswoman. SMART officials have said that the issue rests with cities that secured quiet zones and federal regulators.

Rohnert Park City Manager Darrin Jenkins said he will work with federal officials when they come out to ensure the city is in compliance with all quiet zone requirements. Jason Nutt, Santa Rosa’s assistant city manager and director of transportation, said no major changes have been made to the San Miguel Avenue crossing since the federal agency first authorized the area for a quiet zone. He said he welcomed additional input.

The scrutiny surrounding quiet zones comes on the heels of the latest death at a SMART crossing. Jacob Flynn, 41, of Santa Rosa, died Nov. 13 after colliding on his motorcyle with a southbound train headed for its 4 p.m. stop at the Santa Rosa North station just off Guerneville Road.

Flynn was heading east aboard a 2002 Honda motorcycle and appears to have run a red light at the nearby intersection at North Dutton Avenue while riding at an “unsafe speed,” according to Santa Rosa police. Vehicles were backed up along the road because the crossing gate arms were down to allow the train to pass through the intersection. Somewhere between the stoplight and a median on Guerneville Road approaching the train tracks, Flynn crossed over to the westbound lanes while riding east and struck the middle of the rear train car as it passed through the intersection, said police Lt. John Snetsinger.

Police and SMART confirmed all crossing safety equipment was operating properly at the time of the incident. The collision caused minor exterior damage to the train car that will keep it out of service for about 3 months while repairs estimated at $50,000 are made, according to Farhad Mansourian, SMART’s general manager.

Based on physical evidence and witness statements, Flynn made no attempt to stop before striking the train, which was pulling into the station at about 10 mph, police said.

“The cause of the collision is going to be speed, because the safe speed when the train is going across the road is zero,” Snetsinger said. “We know we had a collision, we just don’t know why the collision happened or if there was an intent behind it. We will probably never know, just because we don’t have enough information.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.