HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Getting across railroad tracks safely has been on the mind of many Hillsborough County residents after the recent deadly crash in Plant City. 

There are a lot of railroad crossings in Hillsborough, particularly along Broadway Avenue.

What You Need To Know

Longtime resident Casey Weed drives along Broadway Avenue every day. He drives over several railroad crossings, including one at East Tampa Boulevard, which he says can be hard to see for drivers.

“If you’re coming from downtown Tampa, down Broadway, you may not even see that there’s train tracks there,” Weed said.

The crossing at Broadway Avenue and East Tampa Boulevard saw a serious crash in July when an Amtrak train going 70 mph crashed with a car.

Thankfully, everyone ended up being OK in that crash. But Weed said he wasn’t surprised to hear about it.

“My biggest concern is someone not seeing the signs and ending up on the tracks or hitting the gates as the train is coming,” Weed said.

Weed pointed out a knocked over railroad crossing sign as part of the problem there. Hillsborough County crews went out and fixed that after Spectrum News asked about the sign maintenance there.

But Weed is also concerned with some of the trees and overgrown brush near crossings, like at Broadway Avenue and Williams Road, that can make the signs or tracks hard to see until you’re right there.  

“If they could clean up some signage and clean up some rail crossings, it would help. If there’s any overgrowth, make sure it’s nice and clear for cars that pull up to it,” Weed said.

Hillsborough County officials say they are responsible for crossing signs and foliage on county land. CSX is responsible for maintenance on their property.

County commissioners are also considering other safety fixes at crossings that don’t have crossing arms or lights.

The county encourages residents to notify them of issues near railroad tracks or any other roads. Crews can usually get them fixed quickly. To do that, you can use their service portal.