Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 1: Guidebook (2022)

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2022 T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP RESEARCH REPORT 233 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subject Areas Public Transportation • Railroads • Safety and Human Factors Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way Volume 1: Guidebook Jeffery E. Warner Dahye Lee Amber B. Trueblood James C. Cline, Jr. Neal A. Johnson Andrew Christjoy Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System College Station, TX

TCRP RESEARCH REPORT 233, VOLUME 1 Project A-44 ISSN 2572-3782 ISBN 978-0-309-68696-9 © 2022 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trade- marks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, NHTSA, or TDC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. 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C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S CRP STAFF FOR TCRP RESEARCH REPORT 233, VOLUME 1 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Lori L. Sundstrom, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Gwen Chisholm Smith, Manager, Transit Cooperative Research Program Mariela Garcia-Colberg, Senior Program Officer Emily Griswold, Program Coordinator Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications Kami Cabral, Editor TCRP PROJECT A-44 Field of Operations David C. Wilcock, VHB, Boston, MA (Chair) Sarah A. Kline, Operation Lifesaver, Inc., Washington, DC Rodney P. Massman, Missouri Public Service Commission, Columbia, MO Michael J. Moore, Sr., LA Metro (retired), Altadena, CA Jahmal M. Pullen, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh, NC Ian P. Savage, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL Justin R. Vonashek, MTA Metro North Railroad, New York, NY Kurt Wilkinson, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District, Portland, OR George Good, FTA Liaison Steven Schuster, FTA Liaison Brian Thomas Alberts, APTA Liaison The research reported herein was performed under TCRP Project A-44 by the Texas A&M Transporta- tion Institute (TTI), part of The Texas A&M University System. Jeffery E. Warner, TTI associate research scientist, was the principal investigator. The other authors of this report were Dahye Lee, Amber Trueblood, Jim Cline, Neal Johnson, and Andrew Christjoy. The work was performed under the general supervision of Mr. Warner. The authors wish to acknowledge the many agencies and individuals that contributed to this research by participating in the online surveys and case study meetings, assisting with the proposal, and providing resources or information throughout the project; and the TTI personnel who contributed throughout the project. The online survey agencies, including 22 U.S. agencies and 14 non-U.S. agencies, are individually identified in the research overview. Case study meetings were held at the following agencies and with the following participants: • Maryland Transit Administration – Douglas “Chase” Aiken-Brown – Eric Bowser – George Brooks – William Brown – Catrice Davis – Dean Del Peschio – Linda Edy – Royland Fraser – Forrest Freeland – Michael Gilhooly – Steve Gladstone – Dale Green-Worrell – Wesley Hackley – Jeff McCormack – Joshua McCormack – Tim Tyran – Wilson Wallace AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metro-North Railroad – Ed Cassese – John Kesich – John Longobardi – Deidre Mitchell – Matthew Mitchell – Matthew Peloso – Chuck Pisanelli – Bruce Pollack – Jami Spordone – Christopher Taft – Maureen Taylor • Utah Transit Authority – Carolyn Anderson – Tina Bartholomew – Martin Cocker – Ron Kendell – Travis King – Sheldon Shaw • Dallas Area Rapid Transit – Paul Bourzikas – Tammy Doran – Anthony Fuller – Kris Gandham – Bonnie Murphy – Jessica Powers – Jerry Reynolds – Megan Tang • Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Jennifer Arndt – Rachel Barlow – Jonetta Burnette – Jacqueline Gonzalez – Vijay Khawani – Stephen Lino – Susan Walker • ProRail, the Netherlands – Roald van der Valk • Transport for London, London Underground – Simon Abernethy • Secondary case studies – Karl Meyer and Rachael Bishop, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Long Island Rail Road – Michelle Jennings, Amtrak – Ed Abel, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority – Luke Chisenhall, Texas Department of Transportation The following provided proposal and project assistance: • Emani Lee-Odai, American Public Transportation Association • Israel Herevia, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Austin) • Carolyn Cook, Federal Railroad Administration • Frank Frey, Federal Railroad Administration • Michail Grizkewitsch, Federal Railroad Administration • Monica Shaw, Federal Railroad Administration • Lieutenant Cheryl Southwell, Houston Police Department • Joshua Katz, Illinois Department of Transportation • Grigore Havârneanu, PhD, International Union of Railways • Jessica Devorsky, Texas Operation Lifesaver • Jodi Godfrey, University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research • Lisa Staes, University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research • Bruce Cardon, Utah Transit Authority • Scott Gabree, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center • Joyce Rose, WSP USA The following TTI researchers provided support (non-authors): • Bjorn Birgisson, PhD • Kay Fitzpatrick, PhD • Brianne Glover, JD • Nicole Katsikides, PhD • Curtis Morgan • Leonard Ruback • Allan Rutter • Mike Vickich • Michael Walk AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (Continued)

TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Com- muter Rail Rights-of-Way describes the techniques and treatments that transit agencies deploy to address trespasser issues and provides strategies to deter trespassing on rail transit and commuter rail exclusive and semi-exclusive rights-of-way, including within station areas outside designated pedestrian crossings. This work will provide proven trespasser prevention strategies to both transportation agencies and regulatory bodies for consistent implementation. The report, guidebook, and interactive spreadsheet will be of immediate use to designers of new rail systems, existing rail transit and commuter rail agencies, plan- ning groups, local development firms, local municipalities, and other stakeholder entities that influence the rail system and local land development adjacent to the rail transit and commuter rail right-of-way. The final deliverables also include a summary video that high- lights the importance of using all the available tools to counteract trespassing. The rail transit and commuter rail industries face a continuing problem with trespass- ing incidents that occur on systems throughout the United States. Trespassers are at great risk of being struck and fatally injured or severely hurt while on the rights-of-way. Most of these accidents and deaths are preventable, and rail transit and commuter rail agencies have deployed a variety of techniques and treatments to address the trespasser issue. These techniques and treatments have ranged from physical barriers to public outreach and edu- cation with varying levels of success. The goal of this research was to catalog ways to deter trespassing on rail transit and com- muter rail rights-of-way. The research had four main objectives: review research on current trespasser mitigation strategies; catalog current approaches to preventing trespassing on the rights-of-way; analyze trespasser mitigation strategies to ascertain overall outcomes and effectiveness and make recommendations; and document best practices. The final deliverables for TCRP Project A-44, “Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way,” include a guidebook, published as TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Com- muter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 1: Guidebook, the contractor’s final report, published as TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 2: Research Overview, an interactive spreadsheet, and a summary video. Volume 1 presents the guidebook, including six chapters and two appendices. Appendix A contains the countermeasure summary matrix, and Appendix B contains instructions for the interactive spreadsheet. Volume 2 presents the research activities conducted to produce the guidebook and the interactive spreadsheet. The report F O R E W O R D By Mariela Garcia-Colberg Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

is organized into seven chapters; the initial chapters include a review of relevant literature, an explanation of trespassing characteristics, and a description of trespassing counter- measure strategies and current practices. Subsequent chapters review the existing guidelines, make recommendations for addressing trespassing issues, and highlight case studies. The report concludes with summations of the research findings and the guidebook. An inter- active spreadsheet and a summary video were also prepared as part of this research. All these deliverables are available on the National Academies Press website (www.nap.edu) by searching for TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way.

1 Summary 6 Chapter 1 Introduction 6 Definitions of Trespassing 7 Scope of the Guidebook 8 Organization of the Guidebook 9 Chapter 2 Trespassing on the U.S. Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Systems 13 Chapter 3 Decision-Making Guidance 13 Federal Transit Administration 14 Federal Railroad Administration 14 American Public Transportation Association 15 RESTRAIL Problem-Solving Model 17 Chapter 4 Causes, Consequences, and Risks of Trespassing 17 Identifying Problem Areas 17 Monitoring and Evaluating Risks 21 Root Causes of Trespassing 25 Locations of Trespassing 27 Consequences of Trespassing 29 Chapter 5 Applying Countermeasures to Reduce Trespassing Risks 30 Engineering and Physical Measures 51 Education and Engagement 63 Enforcement 65 Chapter 6 Making the Case for Implementation 65 Ease of Implementation 66 Matrix and Spreadsheet Selection Tools 70 Acronyms 71 References and Other Resources A-1 Appendix A Countermeasure Summary Matrix B-1 Appendix B Instructions for Interactive Spreadsheet C O N T E N T S