Metrolinx will be installing anti-trespass panels (ATPs) at 18 high-risk crossings on the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West corridors to reduce pedestrian trespassing incidents.
ATPs were successfully piloted at three locations last year where pedestrians were known to illegally and unsafely traverse tracks. The specialized hard rubber panels proved effective, according to a blog the agency recently published.
The blog quoted Metrolinx Manager of Track Infrastructure Robert Netopilik as saying, “Almost immediately we noticed a distinct drop in the number of pedestrians in the railway corridor.”
Metrolinx notes there is only one slight difference between the ATPs used in the pilot project and the ones to be installed on the Lakeshore corridors: the new ATPs have been made even more difficult to walk across due to a design change to their peaks. The pilot project used ATPs with pointed peaks and the ones on the Lakeshore corridors will use rounded peaks.
“The goal of the ATPs is to minimize delays, increase the safety for the public and to better secure Metrolinx’s owned corridors,” the agency noted in its blog.
Last summer, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a technical report on ATPs and found they were effective at the evaluated locations, but FRA noted additional study would be needed before it made wider recommendations on the use of ATPs.
To read Metrolinx's full blog is available on its website.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
