| Caltrain is poised to pay nearly $3 million for | | | | Mateo and San Francisco counties, already has |
| fencing to keep people from crossing its tracks | | | | erected barriers along a few segments of track. |
| illegally. | | | | They include the spots in Burlingame and |
| A total of about 10 miles of chain-link, metal and | | | | Redwood City, where 13- year-old Fatih Kuc and |
| wire mesh will go up at strategic points along the | | | | 19-year-old Jose Alvarez were killed in separate |
| 52-mile line from San Francisco to San Jose as | | | | accidents in April 2006, Weinberg said. |
| part of a bid the agency is expected to award | | | | Since the new fences will go up only on one side |
| Thursday. | | | | of the tracks, they will likely do little to stem |
| The fence project is part of a safety campaign | | | | suicides, which account for the majority of |
| that Caltrain launched last year in response to a | | | | Caltrain deaths. |
| rash of pedestrian fatalities. It won't put a stop to | | | | "If somebody's determined to get up on the |
| suicides, but officials believe it could prevent some | | | | tracks, they're going to, and fencing on either side |
| accidents by closing off heavily used shortcuts | | | | isn't going to stop them," Weinberg said. He |
| across the tracks. | | | | pointed out that people kill themselves on BART, |
| Eight people have died on the tracks this year, | | | | even though that line is almost entirely inaccessible |
| with at least two of the deaths believed to be | | | | to pedestrians. |
| accidents -- including one in which a train hit a car | | | | Menlo Park City Councilwoman Kelly Fergusson, |
| in Palo Alto in June, said Caltrain spokesman Jonah | | | | who has been pushing for safety improvements |
| Weinberg. That's down from 16 deaths and as | | | | on Caltrain, said she welcomes new fencing in her |
| many as eight accidents last year. | | | | city. Several stretches south of Encinal Avenue |
| Stretches of the commuter line's right-of-way are | | | | are to be blocked off as part of the project. |
| already fenced, whether by private property | | | | "Every fatality is too many," Fergusson said. |
| owners or by Caltrain's predecessor, Southern | | | | "Every safety improvement will reduce the risk of |
| Pacific. Always strapped for cash, Caltrain will build | | | | tragedy." |
| new fences such as fence manufacturers,steel | | | | Some new fences have sparked complaints from |
| fence post,wire fence,portable fence only in | | | | neighbors who say they are unsightly and divide |
| places that are easily accessible to pedestrians | | | | neighborhoods. But several residents south of San |
| and lack barriers on either side. | | | | Mateo's Hayward Park station said they are |
| "We worked with the cities to find areas where | | | | pleased with the heavy-duty fencing Caltrain |
| additional fencing might be a real deterrent" to | | | | installed along the west side of the tracks there |
| crossing, Weinberg said. "For example, in an area | | | | recently. |
| where it would be faster to cross the train tracks | | | | "You'd see kids messing around right there by the |
| to get to a 7-Eleven" rather than walking down | | | | tracks, and there's nothing at all between them |
| the block to a legal crossing. | | | | and these trains," said Cathy Lewis, who lives |
| Caltrain, a partnership between Santa Clara, San | | | | near South B Street and 14th Avenue. |