Gloucester declares emergency after train crossing arms hit cars
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
GLOUCESTER - Changes are coming to a Gloucester railroad crossing after nearly 30 people told the city the crossing arms fell on their cars.
"As they proceeded across the tracks, the crossing gate closed on top of their car," said Gloucester resident Steve Aiello while describing his family's incident, "Train was approaching 30-feet away."
The issue is happening at several locations, but the busy commuter rail stop near Washington Street has the city council's attention.
Keolis claims the arms aren't broken, and that they are supposed to go up when a train is at the nearby station stop to allow traffic to pass as passengers get off and on the train. This increases traffic flow and deters people from going around the arms. These changes were made when train service returned in May of this year.
At times the arms can be spotted dropping earlier than normal, and at others, drivers caught video of the arms getting stuck in position.
The Gloucester City Council reached out to state senators for help, but the issues continued. They recently took action by declaring an emergency.
"We asked Keolis, until they get this resolved, to have flag men here, or fund it for traffic control officers," tells Gloucester Town Council member Tony Gross.
Keolis responded by changing the crossing patterns at the Washington Street crossing. There were crews on site on Thursday attending to the location. In a statement, Keolis outlined the new pattern.
"At the request of local officials, Keolis and the MBTA conducted a thorough evaluation of an alternative crossing design and have adjusted the crossing at Washington Street in Gloucester so that the crossing arms stay engaged for the duration of time while the train is in the station. Crossing gates are there to protect everyone, train passengers and crews, pedestrians, motorists, and all road users. We urge everyone to use caution, and always make sure you have the space to completely clear the crossing gate area before you enter it."
Gross says the City Council is not in favor of this plan. He believes keeping the arms down for that long will increase traffic, and slow down first responders.
"We told them that was not an acceptable solution," adds Gross. "We said why are you holding up traffic here for all that time for the people to embark and disembark the train?"