Safety
Safety is Valley Metro’s priority. The system was designed with safety in mind and continues to work towards a high safety record.
Discussions with other rail authorities and cities influenced the design of the Valley Metro light rail system to make it safer and more street-friendly. Observing and researching similar light rail systems around the country proved to be invaluable in determining appropriate system enhancements.
U.S. cities with similar light rail systems include Houston, TX; San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; and Minneapolis, MN, among others. All of these cities have light rail operating within their streets (semi-exclusive alignments).
The most common light rail vehicle accident types for on-street systems are:
- Left and right-turning vehicles crossing illegally and in front of light rail vehicle
- Red light running
- Pedestrians walking in front of moving light rail vehicle
To improve traffic operations and minimize these and other common collision types, the following features were incorporated into the planning, design, and/or construction of the Valley Metro light rail system:
- Protected left and right-turn lanes
- Longer left-turn lanes
- Light rail vehicle cameras
- Controlled track crossings
- Countdown pedestrian signals
- Nonstop crossings for pedestrians
- Specially designed pedestrian access signals
- Pedestrian fencing
- School zones
- Neighborhood protection from park-and-ride traffic
- New frontage roads
- Safer light rail vehicle front end
- Public education campaigns