Train crossing gates came down as they should have, but they didn't go back up, causing confusion for drivers and train conductors in Valhalla.
The gates came down at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Lakeview Avenue crossing to warn of a coming Metro-North train. Once the train passed, the gates didn't lift, leaving drivers backed up to the Taconic State Parkway. Trains also stopped before proceeding to ensure that no vehicles were stopped on the tracks.
One driver quipped that it would be worse if the gates didn't go down at the right time.
The mechanical problem was fixed by the evening commute.
The Lakeview Avenue crossing is about a half mile from the scene of a deadly Feb. 3 Metro-North accident involving a vehicle and a train at Commerce Street. Ellen Brody, of Edgemont, had begun to drive through the train crossing when a crossing gate came down on her car. She stopped, got out, inspected the damage and then, for some reason, instead of backing up, she drove forward onto the tracks and into the path of a commuter train.
The collision killed Brody and five people in the first car of the train.
On March 7, a crossing gate also came down on a vehicle driven by a Mount Kisco woman. She backed up before the train arrived at the Roaring Brook Road crossing in Chappaqua.
As a result of this spate of incidents at rail crossings, lawmakers are calling for safety changes.