Metrolinx will be installing anti-trespass panels (ATPs) at 18 high-risk crossings on the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West corridors to reduce pedestrian trespassing incidents.
ATPs were successfully piloted at three locations last year where pedestrians were known to illegally and unsafely traverse tracks. The specialized hard rubber panels proved effective, according to a blog the agency recently published.
The blog quoted Metrolinx Manager of Track Infrastructure Robert Netopilik as saying, “Almost immediately we noticed a distinct drop in the number of pedestrians in the railway corridor.”
Metrolinx notes there is only one slight difference between the ATPs used in the pilot project and the ones to be installed on the Lakeshore corridors: the new ATPs have been made even more difficult to walk across due to a design change to their peaks. The pilot project used ATPs with pointed peaks and the ones on the Lakeshore corridors will use rounded peaks.
“The goal of the ATPs is to minimize delays, increase the safety for the public and to better secure Metrolinx’s owned corridors,” the agency noted in its blog.
Last summer, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a technical report on ATPs and found they were effective at the evaluated locations, but FRA noted additional study would be needed before it made wider recommendations on the use of ATPs.
To read Metrolinx's full blog is available on its website.