MELBOURNE, Fla. – After three deaths in motor vehicles and three deaths from people walking onto the railroad tracks, a city councilman wants to add another safety improvement where Brightline trains pass through Melbourne around 70 or 80 miles per hour.
Safety poles and a camera were installed last month at the crossing on W.H. Jackson Street, where the two car crashes happened.
Then, during Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mark LaRusso said he’d like fencing to be placed along the back of Ascension Catholic School’s property that faces the tracks.
“We’ve got a lot of children behind us,” LaRusso said. “Kids come out, and the kids go by so we’re going to be fighting for fencing along here.”
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Brightline installed fencing going east to west on its route from Miami to Orlando International Airport between Cocoa and the airport.
“The reason for the fencing along 528 is to keep the wildlife and the cattle from roaming on,” LaRusso said. “Let’s do the same thing for our children. Let’s make sure our children don’t wander onto the tracks out of curiosity.”
Last week, the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization’s executive director Georganna Gillette told News 6 reporter James Sparvero that a U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grant could pay for more fences and other short-term improvements.
“That involves fencing in some locations along the whole corridor, as well as delineators, suicide hotline signage, as well,” Gillette said. “So those are improvements that will be happening much sooner.”
Gillette said they could be installed within months.
In addition to the proposal to build a fence, Ascension Catholic said it has its own plans to protect its students.
The school said it’s going to build a concrete wall between its parking lot and the tracks.
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