It's week two of commuter rail service and Capital Metro and the City of Austin say drivers still need a big safety lesson.
The city added new safety measures at 51st Street and Airport because drivers were stopping on the tracks.
City crews installed white barrier poles and signs in the area to stop drivers from turning off Clarkson Avenue unto the tracks. Northbound drivers on Clarkson can no longer turn right, southbound drivers can no longer turn left.
The city implemented the traffic changes over the weekend, but drivers are not obeying the new rules. Several vehicles simply drove around the white barrier posts and ignored the posted signs.
Carolyn Fazl lives near the tracks, and she said the neighborhood expected problems long before the commuter rail began service.
“This is a tough thing to figure out when you are driving along, I don’t know if giving tickets will change it much because it could be all different people every day,” said Fazl.
Austin police officers monitor the tracks when the commuter line runs and give tickets to people who break the law. They plan to enforce the rules with regular patrols for at least the first two weeks of service.
