Since operations began on the Long Beach Blue Line in 1990, there have been 425 serious accidents resulting in death and injury. There have been no accidental deaths on the Red Line which has no at-grade crossings. Both state and federal policy call for the elimination of at-grade crossings in the 21st century.
Some accidents occur when motorists attempt to beat the crossing gates.
Most others occur when vehicles have become trapped in a traffic jam behind the crossing gates or stall on the tracks. The severe congestion and the lack of storage space at the grade crossings at Glenarm, California and Del Mar are just the kind of conditions that contribute to these kinds of accidents. Protection of pedestrians and motorists was not extended by City Officials to citizens living and working south of Old Pasadena. The opening of the Santa Fe Intermodal Transportation Center at Del Mar will attract many more people to the area and the hazards to pedestrians south of Old Pasadena will increase commensurately. These hazards have been minimized by Blue Line advocates because the cost of dealing with them by putting the Blue Line below grade threatened to derail the project.