SacRT is in the process of installing new higher platforms, extending half the length of the stations, to accommodate the new low-floor rail cars on stations that serve the Gold Line. There are several flaws in these platforms that must be fixed before they are safe. The lack of attention to detail on the platforms is indicative of the lack of attention to riders on the entire light rail modernization project.

At 39th Street Station, rocks are used as a detectable warning for the end of the platform. This is an egregious violation of ADA guidelines. Not only are the rocks not a valid detectable warning, they are a trip hazard.

At 49th Street Station, the railings were not designed to keep people from falling off the end edges of the platforms. They could have been designed to be safe, but they were not. In the first photo, a vertical delineator is used to mark the step down at the end of the platform. Delineators are not acceptable ADA detectable warnings. The railing could have been extended to fill this gap, but it was not.

In the second 49th Street Station photo, the railing was not extended even close to the edge of the platform, leaving an even larger gap at the step down. Two vertical delineators instead of one! Still not even remotely ADA compliant.

These kind of design flaws are prevalent throughout the project. It is the kind of design that any high school student would be ashamed of. But these platforms were designed by either SacRT staff or SacRT contract engineers. They are unacceptable. They are dangerous. They are not compliant with ADA or FTA standards. They must be corrected.

• SacRT light rail modernization