Residents in Del Mar want safer access to the beach without having to cross railroad tracks. This comes after a woman, and her dog were hit and killed by a train Wednesday night.
If you're heading to the beach from 11sth street you have to cross the train tracks.
"I'm like a little kid," said Mike Demko. "You look left, you look right, and I vocally say, 'no train coming.'"
He walks there with his dog all the time. Wednesday night's fatal accident hits close to home for him.
"I'm hypersensitive to this because I think there's been four or five fatalities in the last couple years, and it's just tragic."
Crossing the tracks is considered trespassing, but that doesn't stop everyone.
"I said to the cop, I said, 'there's 75 people surfing today, are you going to ticket every single one that comes up? It’s a $400 ticket.'"
Being distracted can put you in more danger.
"They just like to get that selfie shot on the tracks or the sunset shot."
Sometimes he doesn't hear it coming.
There it is," said Demko. "It's evidence of how quiet that train really is. We just stopped chatting, turn around, and the next thing you know it's right in view passing at 50 mph."
Trains are required to blow their horns even less in designated quiet zones.
"Every time I see that, you see how people could be surprised by that train, and obviously it has horrible consequences if you're not safe. So yea, it's tricky."
Some trains are now equipped with new technology to help prevent collisions and speeding. The rest of the North County Transit trains will get the new system by the end of 2018.
