According to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Point Defiance Bypass Environmental Assessment (Appendix F: Traffic and Transportation Discipline Report, p.83), “None of the individual crossings are predicted to experience accidents more frequently than one in every 10 years.”
This to save an estimated 10 minutes of Amtrak travel time from Seattle to Portland, and this in spite of proposed safety upgrades.
In March of 2013, Lakewood sued WSDOT to stop the Point Defiance Bypass project which would reroute Amtrak trains through local neighborhoods.
“The state has proposed moving trains from a waterfront rail line around Point Defiance to an inland route passing through DuPont, Lakewood and South Tacoma. The move would mean trains traveling as fast as 79 mph through seven at-grade rail crossings in urban and residential neighborhoods in Lakewood. Trains would not make passenger stops in the city.”
One year later, March of 2014, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Katherine M. Stolz ruled against Lakewood.
Lakewood cited safety among its concerns specifically with regards the Tillicum community.
“The Tillicum community would be directly impacted by the rerouted trains,” wrote reporter Brynn Grimley in the Tacoma News Tribune, January 8, 2014.
Lakewood’s lawsuit described Tillicum, together with its cross-I-5 neighbor Woodbrook, as comprising a total of 4,754 people with but one way, in the case of Tillicum, in and out of town: across the railroad tracks.
“The Point Defiance Bypass Project threatens to destroy progress made in this neighborhood,” said Lakewood.
In its lawsuit, Lakewood charged WSDOT with “arbitrary and capricious conduct,” and inadequate mitigation. “No meaningful mitigation is proposed,” read the city’s complaint.
Though David Smelser, WSDOT’s high-speed rail program manager, said in Grimley’s May 5, 2014 article that “the state has made changes to intersection upgrades and is working with the city,” Lakewood evidently believes it’s not enough.
At its recent City Council Retreat, October 11, Lakewood placed on its legislative agenda a request for “$3 million to fund rail safety improvements.”
WSDOT’s take on safety is based on statistics from October 2006 through September 2011 during which time, WSDOT claimed, “only three at-grade crossing collisions occurred between roadway vehicles and trains on the Bypass Route and one on the Puget Sound Route.”
One (of three on the Bypass Route) was in Lakewood and involved injuries. Evidently WSDOT was referencing the headline of March 26, 2010 that read “Two injured when car hits train in Lakewood.” This was subtitled “Two people were injured early today after their car hit a cargo train at a Lakewood railroad crossing.”
“Along the Puget Sound Route,” according to WSDOT, “only two accidents occurred and both involved fatalities: one at the Sunnyside Beach pedestrian crossing; and one at the Steilacoom/Union Ferry Terminal crossing.”
However, headlines covering that same period indicate “an 85-year-old woman using a walker was struck and killed by a train as she tried to cross to Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom” (Oct. 26, 2008); “a 20-year-old woman was killed by an Amtrak train at Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom” (March 23, 2010); “an 18-year-old woman was killed and her male companion injured when they were struck by a southbound Amtrak Train near Titlow Beach” (August 8, 2010); “car-train crash on Tacoma tide flats injures one person” (February 4, 2011); and two more were killed by trains in a 24-hour period, one a pedestrian in Steilacoom (August 5, 2011).
Of course this doesn’t include a host of others that died in neighboring jurisdictions; nor the nine train deaths in one year alone (2005) in Pierce County; nor “the dozens of pedestrians killed over the last decade on ribbons of track that twist through South King and Pierce counties.”
That “someone in America is hit by a train about every 115 minutes,” is not at issue here, evidently, as WSDOT concerned itself only with accident statistics within the boundaries of its project.
And may have missed some of those, WSDOT’s report apparently having focused only on accidents at street-level crossings.
So, the bypass route is a good thing. As you mentioned, Steilacoom is a real problem spot. Think of all the pedestrians who now won’t die crossing tracks in Steilacoom anymore. Since nobody walks in Tillicum (do they even have a sidewalk?) problem solved.
It seems obvious that the person who made the above comment is a resident of Steilacoom and it is also
obvious that he or she has no clue as to what Tillicum has pertaining public safety; especially pedestrian
safety. FYI we do have sidewalks along 75 to 80 % of our streets and every street is paved. Also, there
are curbs and gutters along many of our streets. Also, FYI there are residences and businesses along
Union Ave. that abut the railroad track an if an accident involving a high speed train would occur in this
area, who knows how many people would be killed or injured. This is why we are concerned.
Jim Taylor Vice. Pres. Tillicum-Woodbrook Neighborhood Association.
The author is missing a critical point in the pedestrian statistics that he cites. Nearly all of the people killed were trespassing on BNSF property. They died either out of ignorance, a moment of thrill seeking or intentional suicide. The trains themselves are not the danger. It’s the intent of the person who was killed that is the deciding factor..
The problems with the trespassing argument Art, are at least two-fold.
For one, the actual problem with the statistical analysis is the rather false representation WSDOT used in its Environmental Assessment by which to satisfy safety protocols.
Secondly, the Amtrak passenger trains that are being rerouted from the relatively far more remote Puget Sound waterfront where, in your words, “nearly all of the people killed were trespassing on BNSF property,” will now pass through Lakewood and adjoining communities: inarguably far more highly life-congested than where folks are presently ‘ignorant, thrill seeking and/or committing intentional suicide.’
It is therefore logical to suggest that more trains at heretofore unheard of speeds (see below) in these communities will result in a higher number of those you rather cavalierly described.
To add insult to injury (literally) at its recent City Council Retreat, October 11, (link to document number 7 in the original article, p.8) “with the development of the Point Defiance Bypass project, and in increasing demands on freight rail,” guess who wants a piece of the action?
“We learned,” (council retreat) “that Tacoma Rail has an interest in increasing its freight traffic from two days a week to five days a week during the evenings.” Currently 10 cars long at 40 MPH, freight would haul through Tillicum, etc. at 40 cars and two locomotives.
Aside from the fright freight would bring, Amtrak will blast through with hardly a whisper of sound – until it’s too late for the ‘ignorant’ – at twice the speed of current cargo trains.
Get off the track?
Yes. My point exactly.
The Amtrak trains.
You sir are acting quite foolishly and illogically. Trains are required to blow their horn and ring the bell several minutes before coming into the crossing. I do not get morons like you. Trains do not swerve and run people over! People go in front of the train and are hit due to their stupidity.
Mr. Anderson,
I am more aware than most regarding the awful impact on everyone when a train-vehicle or train-pedestrian collision occurs. That being said, the responsibility for these unfortunate incidents rests first with the pedestrian or driver who violates common sense when they enter the area of the train track without yielding the right-of-way to the train.
If a pedestrian trespasses on the I-5 Freeway while walking to the other side and is struck by a car doing 60 mph, should we blame the car driver, car manufacturer or the State of Washington for building the freeway? Should we reduce the speed on I-5 by 10 mph? I think not.
The first step to reduce and eliminate train collisions will begin when we start taking personal responsibility for our own actions. Then we can stop blaming and suing others.
Joseph Boyle
Joe, in response, see my comment to Art.
I encourage those of you who think this is a “trespassing” issue to take a trip to Tillicum, the Ponder’s Corner area, or Lakeview and count pedestrians. These areas will be in the path of rerouted Amtrak and the proposed freight line. What you will observe is that many citizens are on foot, not for physical exercise, but because they do not have access to a vehicle. Tillicum has no street access to Lakewood- pedestrians have a choice of walking on the I-5 shoulder, or alongside the railroad tracks; it is almost daily that I witness folks using the railroad tracks as a walking path. Additionally, as far as I know, Amtrak is not planning any grade-separation crossings (which would greatly increase safety) for Lakewood. So, for those of you who think that the train-fatality issue is trespassing related, think to the high number of innocent citizens who have no alternative but to traverse the tracks just to get around town. Unfortunately, Lakewood’s disadvantaged citizens will bear the brunt of Amtrak’s callous regard for this community.
The trains are coming and somehow people are going to have to adapt. I attended every meeting and open house and there was never a realistic belief by any intelligent person, that the RR could be stopped. It was and is a pipedream. Tacoma Rail wanting to increase traffic is a new twist however. Tacoma Rail and BNSF are the trains that rattle your house and blow their horns outside your bedroom at 1:00am. They are also the trains that sit in the crossings and go have lunch, blocking traffic.
WSDOT, an incompetent department of Washington government, was given federal money and therefore, the trains must roll. If you think the citizens of Lakewood, Tillicum, Dupont, matter ….. I should have sold you my house.
Figure out how you are going to deal with it, because the trains ARE going to come rolling through.
Years ago our family took Amtrak from Tacoma to Portland. The ride along the edge of Puget Sound was the best part. Going fast through suburbia won’t create memories to last a lifetime. Remember it is the journey, not just getting to the destination quickly–otherwise fly down.