Old Elk Grove rail crossing traps two police cars - Shouldn't the mayor address people's, not zoo animals needs?
An Elk Grove News reader shared the photo above, which was taken around 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 24.
Our reader was traveling in the vehicle on westbound Sheldon Road and was caught by the Union Pacific crossing that is just west of Elk Grove-Florin Road.
Interestingly, stopped by the train in front of our reader's vehicle were two Elk Grove Police cruisers, presumably on duty. As is typical for this rail crossing, traffic was stopped on Sheldon Road for about five minutes.
Thankfully, the patrol units didn't have to respond to nearby emergency calls as they patiently waited for the train to pass along with other pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.
Had a public safety emergency happened just on the other side of the tracks, say in the Camden neighborhood, just feet from the other side of the track, they would have had to cross over medians and take the long route to the south entrance of the Camden neighborhood.
Naturally, other nearby units could have responded. Regardless, response time would have been delayed by minutes, and in a public safety emergency, much less a medical emergency for a stroke or heart attack, every minute matters.
As we have shown for the last several years, "old" Elk Grove—the area east of Highway 99, and more specifically, east of the north-south Union Pacific—is severely affected by frequent trains and increasingly stopped trains that block crossings for extended periods (see videos below). While police units are mobile and spread throughout the city, emergency medical services from the Cosumnes Fire Department operate from fixed locations.
For people east of the Union Pacific track, there are three stations that could respond to medical emergencies—one of which is east of the tracks (see map below). A person suffering a heart attack, stroke, or severe vehicular accident could have all three stations blocked by trains on Bond Road, Elk Grove Boulevard, Elk Grove-Florin Road and Sheldon Road, thus, at minimum, delaying response time.
Furthermore, if a medical emergency happens east of the track, and say paramedics from station 73 responds, they could be caught by the rail crossing as they transfer a patient to an emergency room, all of which are west of the Union Pacific tracks.
Minutes matter.
So as Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her city council hobnob with bigwig Washington DC types, pose for selfies, and kiss the ring of the Sacramento Zoological Society with over $200 million taxpayer dollars, remember this. If you are genuinely committed to improving the lives of your citizens, start laying plans for at least one rail under/overpass in "old" Elk Grove.
People, not zoo animals, should be priority one!
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2 comments
This will eventually cost some citizen their life. This is Rod Brewer's district and I haven't heard a peep from him about this volatile safety issue.
Mr. Brewer????
If it doesn't start with a Z or end with an O, Brewer and most of the city council won't hear it!
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