New campaign seeks to stop pedestrian-related light rail crashes in Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS — Metro Transit light rail operators are hoping you'll take a second to pause and give them a second look this week.

It's part of a safety campaign raising awareness about a lack of awareness.

The METRO Green Line on the University of Minnesota campus is one of the busiest, and train operators say it's all too common for people to walk by with headphones on, or worse, with their heads in their phones.

"I'm not going to lie, I've caught myself just looking down at my phone sometimes and not even looking. I just kind of go with the crowd," said freshman Nathali Dominguez. "I've had the train honk at me a couple of times."

Metro Transit says it's rare to see a train hit a person walking, biking or driving, but the numbers are trending in the wrong direction. Collisions this year have already surpassed last year's amount, which was up over the previous year.

"Our operators do a tremendous job of actually seeing and avoiding and stopping," said Andrew Brody, Metro Transit's director of safety. "Unfortunately we do have collisions, we have pedestrian collisions. Unfortunately, some of those have injuries, and unfortunately, fatalities as well."

Officials are hoping a campaign this week, featuring billboards and stickers literally on the ground near platforms, will be enough to get your attention and make you look up for an oncoming train.

Train operators like Brandon Brown say this campaign couldn't have come at a better time.

"It's an everyday thing, to be honest with you. It's an everyday thing," Brown said. "This can get really busy. This area can get really busy. Unfortunately, when you have an area that can get really busy like this, not everyone is aware that there's a train sitting here at the station."

Fatal light rail-pedestrian collisions still occur more than once a year. Metro Transit says the leading cause is due to someone outside the train not paying attention to a traffic signal.