PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The Southwest Corridor of Colorado includes four cities: Denver, Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan. This region is currently experiencing a period of rapid growth, resulting in a wide variety of multi-modal construction projects. These projects include highway improvements, new building construction, and light rail expansion. The Denver light rail system began an enormous program of expansion into the Southwest Rail Corridor in the summer of 2000. This expansion will present significant changes and safety challenges to the communities of the Southwest Corridor.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The primary goal of the Southwest Corridor Safety Symposium, presented in 1998, is to assure the safety of all residents of the rail corridor communities. Specific program objectives include:

• Forming partnerships with all government agencies affected by the expansion of the Denver light rail system into their jurisdictions
• Educating the public, law enforcement and emergency responders about the new safety hazards being introduced to the Southwest Corridor
• Assisting local communities with Safe Communities planning issues and training

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Southwest Corridor Safety Symposium was conceived as a joint collaborative effort between government, community and private agencies. Partnerships were formed between the Union Pacific Railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Regional Transportation District (RTD) Light Rail, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carriers (OMC), the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and the Southwest Corridor communities served by rail.

These partners envisioned the development of a seminar or forum to exchange information on safety/security issues affecting the communities between Denver and Littleton on the Southwest Rail Corridor. These issues include trespassing safety, increased traffic on the rail line and emergency response to rail incidents. Specific activities associated with the seminar included:

• Establishing a steering committee to direct symposium planning
• Empowering the group and community to address preplanning and response issues
• Developing a plan to identify and implement prevention strategies
• Assessing future community-based injury prevention and training needs
• Encouraging the development of Safe Communities programs in Littleton and Sheridan, cities that currently lack these coalitions
• Assuring adequate community, transportation and public safety preparation for the implementation of the light rail in the summer of 2000

RESULTS
The Southwest Corridor Safety Symposium was held on March 12, 1999, and was hosted by the coalition partners. Information shared during the formal presentations and discussions, as well as during the informal networking opportunities, led to the identification of additional issues and hazards to be addressed. For example, participants identified the need for an emergency response plan for law enforcement and firefighters responding to rail incidents. Specialized groups were selected whose expertise and influence directly relate to the present and potential hazards. These sub-groups meet on a regular basis to develop actions plans to address these safety issues.

SUMMER 1999