BNSF News

BNSF Works with Fresno Coalition for Fresh Approach to Rail Safety

2012-03-26

A coalition of education, city, state and federal agencies and the rail industry in Fresno, Calif., recently tried a new, successful approach to rail safety education: walking the neighborhood.

Often, when grade crossing safety events are held, information about rail safety is distributed at railroad tracks as motorists and pedestrians pass through the area. Bob Alexander, a Field Safety Support coordinator, represented BNSF at this Fresno Coalition event that instead involved "walking the neighborhood" and visiting businesses, restaurants and other facilities.

Coalition members visited businesses to talk with area residents and business owners as they handed out rail safety literature and placed posters in businesses' windows. Places visited included:

• Central Fish Market
• Greyhound Bus Station
• Fresno Fire Department headquarters
• Fresno Rescue Mission
• Poverello House, a large homeless shelter with a separate meal site, located adjacent to railroad tracks

"We received positive feedback from the people in the restaurants and local businesses, along with their clientele," Alexander wrote in a report to the coalition. In general, their feedback asked for even more safety information, recognizing its importance. "We were asked to come back with bigger posters to hang up. The school asked for a presentation, and the fire department is asking for a Rail Safety for Emergency Responder class."

The coalition's purpose is to provide a way for cities in the Fresno area and the Northern California Rail Safety Team to work together more efficiently. In addition to BNSF, members of the Fresno Coalition include Fresno Unified School District, California Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Railroad Administration, the city of Fresno, Union Pacific and San Joaquin Valley Railroad.

Note: Bob Alexander passed away not long after this event occurred. He served as chair of the Fresno Coalition and was a significant contributor to rail safety education at BNSF. His team misses him as a co-worker and as a friend.

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