Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
• 2018-2019
• Agency Response
Response to:
Railway Fatalities in Santa Barbara County
Received Aug 2 9 2019 City of S.b. Superior Court Figueroa Mail Room August 20, 2019 The Honorable Michael J. Carrozzo*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
Eighty five percent of railroad - related deaths occurring in Santa Barbara County were pedestrian trespasser incidents that occurred in the High Fatality Zone One from Ortega Hill in Summerland to Milpas Street in Santa Barbara and High Fatality Zone Two from Patterson Avenue to Glen Annie Road in Goleta. Response to Finding 1: The City of Goleta partially disagrees with this finding. Two of the fatalities attributed to Goleta (W. Main Street and 500 Ninos Drive) are not located in the Goleta area. There is no Main Street in or near the City of Goleta, and 500 Ninos Drive is located in the City of Santa Barbara.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
That the Cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the County of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County Association of Governments meet regularly with Union Pacific Railroad to create a safety plan to reduce trespasser deaths in High Fatality Zones.
F2
A sealed corridor has been used effectively to enhance railroad safety. Response to Finding 2: The City of Goleta agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
That the Cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the County of Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara County Association of Governments collaborate with Union Pacific Railroad to develop a sealed corridor from Ortega Hill in Summerland to Glen Annie Road in Goleta.
F3
There is a need for increased security presence to reduce trespassing within the High Fatality Zones, and in other communities this has been achieved through Memoranda of Understanding between Union Pacific Railroad and local law enforcement. CITY OF GOLETA 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, CA 93117 p 805.961.7500 F 805.685.2635 www.cityofgoleta.org Response to Finding 3: The City of Goleta agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff and City of Santa Barbara Police Department negotiate Memoranda of Understanding with Union Pacific Railroad to provide enhanced security within their respective High Fatality Zones.
F4
Fencing along the railroad right-of-way in the High Fatality Zones is inadequate or nonexistent. Response to Finding 4: The City of Goleta partially agrees with this finding. There are areas within the UPRR ROW where fencing is adequate.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
That the Cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the County of Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara County Association of Governments collaborate with Union Pacific Railroad to repair and install fencing, to prevent easy access to the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way in the High Fatality Zones.
F5
Overgrown foliage and trees provide a natural shelter for homeless encampments. Response to Finding 5: The City of Goleta agrees with this finding. CITY OF GOLETA 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, CA 93117 P 805.961.7500 F 805.685.2635 www.cityofgoleta.org
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
That the County of Santa Barbara and the Cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta encourage Union Pacific Railroad to cut back or remove overgrown trees and foliage within the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way in the High Fatality Zones.
F6
Video surveillance cameras provide increased observation of activity by pedestrian trespassers and homeless encampments within the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way. Response to Finding 6: The City of Goleta agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (2)
R6a
That the Cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the County of Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara County Association of Governments encourage Union Pacific Railroad to install and monitor video surveillance cameras on poles every mile within the High Fatality Zone.
R6b
That County of Santa Barbara and the Cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta, together with Union Pacific Railroad, establish a schedule to monitor the video surveillance cameras between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.