RTD Flaggers Must Stay Until Technology Is Fixed
DENVER (CBS4) - State leaders say the flaggers at Regional Transportation District train crossings need to stay because of problems with gate timing.
The flaggers have been there for five months.
RTD still hasn't met the rail staff's safety standards to be able to relieve them.
In April, the agency experienced glitches which caused train crossing gates to open and close at the wrong time. Station flaggers were hired as a safety precaution.
The Public Utilities Commission's decision to deny the request has as much to do with their distrust in the drivers as it does their distrust in the technology.
RTD has since come up with the solution of adding an additional 30 second buffer to the gate opening and closing.
The PUC says that buffer adds unnecessary time for drivers to wait.
They fear many might get impatient and go around the guards.
RTD says they're confident in their state-of-the-art technology and hopes commuters will bear with them while they get this resolved.
"We're doing our best to get this through as quickly as possible. We hope that everybody sees this is not an easy process to go through," says Nate Reed, spokesperson for RTD, "We are working night and day to get this thing done. We are just as anxious to get those cranes up and running through Wheat Ridge and Arvada and quiet everywhere else."
The gate problems put a delay on the highly anticipated G-Line, which was supposed to start servicing commuters living in Wheat Ridge and Arvada last fall.
It's not clear when RTD could make the request to the PUC again.
Fines still continue for Denver commuters, they will continue to pay for those flaggers until RTD can prove the system is safe.
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