(A) No railroad company shall obstruct, permit, or cause to be obstructed a public street, road, or highway by permitting a railroad car, locomotive, or other obstruction to remain upon or across a public street, road or highway for longer than five minutes to the hinderance or inconvenience of travelers or a person passing along or upon such street, road, or highway. No railroad company shall fail, at the end of each five-minute period of obstruction of a public street, road, or highway, to cause such a railroad, car, locomotive, or other obstruction to be removed for sufficient time, not less than three minutes, to allow the passage of persons and vehicles waiting to cross.
(B) This section does not apply to obstruction of a public street, road, or highway by a continuously moving through train or caused by circumstances wholly beyond the control of the railroad company. This section, however, applies to other obstructions, including, without limitation, those caused by stopped trains and trains engaged in switching, loading, or unloading operations. For purposes of this section, an obstruction shall include those occurrences where a railroad car or locomotive is stopped either short of or beyond a crossing but within sufficient proximity thereof so as to cause the crossing signals to be activated, in which case, such railroad company shall provide sufficient personnel to assist with traffic control.
(C) Upon the filing of an affidavit or complaint for a violation of this section, summons shall be issued to the railroad company pursuant to R.C. § 2935.10(B), which summons shall be served on the regular ticket or freight agent of the railroad company in the village, county, or the designated statutory agent of the railroad company, the Secretary of State when standing as the agent of the railroad company, or the appropriate persons listed in R.C. § 2703.10.
(Ord. 97-15, passed 10-14-1997) Penalty, see § 110.99