Officials, public mull increased safety features at Railyard

Mar. 30—The Railyard took years to develop, and years longer to become popular. Now that it's a hub of activity in Santa Fe for commerce, events and train travel, officials say more safety precautions are needed to prevent an accident from happening.

"It's a matter of time, everybody," Santa Fe Southern Railway operations manager Janice Convery said last week during a community meeting to discuss potential upgrades in the area.

At the meeting, Convery described a 2022 incident in which a woman walked under the gates in front of a parked Sky Railway engine while a Rail Runner Express train was traveling on the other track. She narrowly avoided being struck.

"We've all seen such close calls," she said, referring to train operators.

City officials say the conversation about a need for increased safety features started after a visit from the Federal Railway Administration about 18 months ago. Sam Burnett, facilities division director of Santa Fe's Public Works Department, described the visit as "a wake-up call" for the city.

In an interview, he said train operators, including Santa Fe Southern and the Rail Runner Express, also have raise concerns.

A representative from the state Department of Transportation was present at the meeting but declined to comment. A department spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment late last week.

To date, officials say there have been no reported accidents at the Railyard between pedestrians or drivers and a train, noting safety discussions are intended to be proactive.

"We want to prevent anything before it happens," Railyard CEO Christine Robertson said in an interview.

Robertson, who also sits on the board of railroad safety nonprofit New Mexico Operation Lifesaver, said she reminds people to get off the train tracks "all the time."

"Sometimes when the gates are down longer than when people's patiences run, they try to walk over the tracks," she said.

Only residents within a several-block radius of the Railyard were notified of the March 27 meeting. However, Burnett said it was the first step in a wider community conversation about what safety measures could be put in place.

Some participants expressed skepticism about the scope of the problem, including several representatives of the Santa Fe Farmer's Market — particularly since city officials could not point to exact data about the reported dangers.

Burnett said the city considered putting cameras along the rail lines but ultimately wasn't comfortable doing so.

However, "we've seen a real dramatic increase in activity that's unsafe for the public," he said, often people walking across the train tracks at locations other than the designated crossings.

During large events the city has sent out observers who reported "dozens of people jumping the post and cable fencing and walking directly across the tracks," as well as people stepping in front of parked trains when another train they couldn't see was coming.

When the Railyard was first designed, only the Santa Fe Southern Railway and a small amount of freight were going through the Railyard, Burnett said in an interview. Increased train activity, including the Rail Runner, has created a logistical conundrum.

Farmer's Market board member Henry Grosman said about a year ago the board learned the city was planning to put a four-foot-tall fence along the train tracks throughout the Railyard.

Grosman said the plan included little community engagement and was "very ill-conceived." After receiving criticism from a number of community members, he said the city postponed the plan and he hadn't heard anything else about it until a notice was sent out about the community meeting.

The fence provoked strong feelings from some residents. Grosman said his concerns stemmed from the fact it would be visually intrusive and change the character of the Railyard, which he described as a "gem" of recent development in the city.

Others were more pointed.

"A one-size-fits-all fence that puts a Berlin Wall in the middle of this public space should be off the table," said architect Anthony Guida.

Burnett at the meeting acknowledged issues with the city's earlier proposal, adding a fence is far down on the list of options being considered.

Potential safety upgrades discussed included additional pedestrian crossings along the rail line, additional signage with both visual and auditory elements, anti-trespassing architecture at entry points to the rail corridor and a potential closure of the portion of Alcaldesa Street southeast of Market Street to vehicular traffic.

The conversation is "a testament to the success of the Railyard," Burnett said. With the area's increased vibrancy, "having an active rail line right in the middle of all of that creates some risk issues for the public and the city."

Grosman and others described themselves as cautiously optimistic following the meeting. Guida said he was most excited about a proposed idea to temporarily close Alcaldesa Street to vehicle traffic, which some meeting attendees suggested could be a permanent closure.

"If we take cars out of the equation I think it could be a much more orderly scenario," he said of the streets along the train tracks.

As Above So Below distillery founder Caley Shoemaker said she was very supportive of the options being considered.

"We're extremely committed to safe alcohol service but with multiple breweries and a distillery and Tomasita's here, people might have a couple drinks," she said at the meeting. "And I think beefing up safety to make sure a drunk person doesn't fall onto the train tracks is something that's really important to all of us."

Tim Farrell, a property development manager for the city of Santa Fe, said this will be the first of a number of conversations.

"It's really important to us the community feels a strong sense of buy-in for the things we do in the Railyard," he said.