This could be a real steaming pile!
Will Del-Mar take full responsibility if a trespasser gets injured or killed

DEL MAR — The Del Mar City Council is calling on the North County Transit District to ease off its recent crackdown on people illegally crossing railroad tracks along the coast.

The agency started its strict enforcement throughout the region last month saying it has an obligation to keep the tracks safe and people off its property. Council members said there are better ways to meet those objectives without issuing dozens of tickets to unsuspecting people, including educating the public and providing safe access routes to the beach.

“I’m disappointed that NCTD has taken this approach,” said Councilman Terry Sinnott. “It’s not going to work.”

The council voted unanimously on Tuesday to formally ask the agency to stop ticketing people unless those individuals are doing something dangerous, such as crossing when a train is coming. The council also formed a subcommittee, made up of council members Dwight Worden and Mayor Sherryl Parks, to look at short and long term solutions to provide better beach access.

In Del Mar, the railroad tracks run just west of the coastline over a coastal bluff with no pedestrian access to the beach south of 15th Street. Residents in the area also use trails along to bluff to walk, jog and bike for recreation.

Since the enforcement began, dozens of people have been ticketed or been given a warnings by Sheriff’s deputies assigned to work with the transit district. In the first 15 days of the enforcement that began Aug. 1, officers issued 84 citations and 158 warnings, according to NCTD.

Dahvia Lynch, NCTD’s chief planning officer, said the agency simply can’t stop issuing citations but said it can work with the city to find more permanent solutions that reduce the need for enforcement.

“Our endgame is to protect people,” Lynch said. “If we can use those other tools to get there, then enforcement becomes a lesser option.”

Lynch said the agency is required by federal regulations “to take all reasonable steps to limit and stop fatalities and injuries.”

There have been 19 fatalities, and 15 injuries in the last 24 months along the coastal tracks and Sprinter line, according to the agency. Many of the fatalities are suicides but officials say it’s difficult to know exactly how many of them are people taking their own lives.

About 20 people spoke during Tuesday’s council meeting in Del Mar all of them opposing the increased ticketing.

“The bluff access is not causing accidents, it’s not causing suicides, it’s not causing deaths and NCTD needs to have a light hand here,” said David Druker, a former Del Mar city councilman.

Other residents have started a petition signed by about 500 people asking NCTD to stop issuing tickets and designate more crossing sites.

The council’s subcommittee plans to explore where other crossing sites can be built, including bridges, underpasses or grade-level crossings. But each of those options have problems and would likely take years to complete, officials said.

An underpass could undermine the bluff, a bridge would need to been accessible to people with disabilities making it large and expensive and grade-level pedestrian crossings are considered too unsafe by regulatory agencies.

One other possible solution is moving the tracks further east, possibly by building a tunnel. That option is being considered by NCTD due to erosion of the bluff but it is likely to cost over $1 billion and could be decades away from being built.

Several residents said they plan to attend NCTD’s board of directors meeting next week to express their concerns over the increased enforcement.

[www.sandiegouniontribune.com]