Dakota News Now: SDDOT gathers input on Sioux Falls railroad crossing safety study
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The South Dakota Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback on its railroad crossing safety study, with an open house scheduled for Wednesday night at the Sioux Falls City Center from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The regional study is looking at railroads in the area to determine how to make them safer and more efficient for people. The study aims to evaluate all 130 railroad crossings in the Sioux Falls MPO. Its official title is the Sioux Falls Railroad Corridor Analysis and Crossing Safety Study, but it encompasses parts of Crooks, Harrisburg, and Brandon.
Through the open house and continuing feedback, the DOT hopes to gain more information from residents on blocked intersections and close calls for accidents.
“While they were on that site inspection, they looked at ‘When you’re driving on that road or street, you know, how visible is it, the track, and how far down the track can you see the train coming, and what type of crossing it is,’” said Steve Gramm, SDDOT Planning Squad Leader. “We’ll gather that data, and then we’ll take that with what the public has provided us, and we’ll merge them together, and they’ll come up with a top list of crossings that’ll get targeted for some sort of improvement.”
One crossing that can affect traffic and businesses is the railroad at Eighth Street and Weber Avenue downtown.
Owners of Roots of Brazil said they struggled over the summer because of construction, but the constant trains can still have an impact.
“We were probably down, oh gosh, I would say at least 50, maybe 55% from our previous summers in revenue,” said Mark Gillespie, Roots of Brazil co-owner. “I would say weekly or more, you know, that train passes multiple times a day. If you don’t choose your route carefully, yeah, you can definitely get stuck behind it. Downtown’s congested, whether you head north and go up Sixth Street, but you know, then the train’s there too. It seems like they try to combat it there, so I do think that they are doing their best to alleviate the problem.”
People who cannot attend the meeting in person can still find information here. Written comments can be submitted online until Nov. 30.