TRAX has become a good means of commuting in and out of Salt Lake City. But like all good things, there are bugs that need to be worked out.
A short time ago, there was a tragic fatal accident involving TRAX.For those of us who were at the front of that train, we experienced the trauma of feeling and hearing death. Those who were on the platform saw what was happening. The driver experienced the total inability to do anything about it. The family will never forget the devastation they are experiencing. The sad truth is that this will happen again.
There is a cost-effective, fairly easy way to overcome the problem that exists. The trains coming into the stations are traveling at a high rate of speed, which cannot be judged by those people who are trying to cross the tracks to the platform.
If the gates on the south end of the stations with parking on the east side of the tracks were closed with a fence across them, and the gates on the north end of the stations with the parking on the west side of the tracks were closed with a fence across them, the main problem would be eliminated. There would need to be a way of keeping wheelchairs from trying to cross on the fenced-off crossing. If their wheels got down into the grooves for the train wheels, they would not be able to get them out. Bars or a fence on the platform side would also be necessary. Sure, that would slightly inconvenience a few people. But better inconvenience than meeting a violent death.
Barbara Pease
Taylorsville