By: Emma Wheeler | WCTV Eyewitness News 

HAHIRA, Ga. (WCTV) – A controversial railroad crossing in Hahira has been the topic of discussion for years among community members. On Thursday the City Council postponed a decision to close the crossing permanently.

The railroad crossing is on Lawson Street near downtown Hahira. Three lives were lost there over the last 12 years, the most recent, a South Carolina man who died in February when a train collided with his truck.

On Thursday, the city council held a public hearing on whether to permanently close it. With a packed house of concerned community members at the meeting, not one person spoke in favor of closing it.

Instead, community members are asking to add signals, like crossing arms or lights. The council decided to go back to the Department of Transportation to find out if there are more options.

Norfolk Southern, the company that owns the railroad, requested the closure, offering a $40,000 incentive to the city to do so. If the council denies the request, the company said it will formally petition to the DOT, which ultimately makes the decision, and the incentive will be off the table.

During Thursday’s public hearing, community members proposed another option. They asked to take signals from Stanfill Street, a crossing just one block away, and install those on Lawson Street in order to keep it open.

“I think the city of Hahira, with the growth that’s coming, is making a terrible mistake by closing any road, not just that road, but especially that one,” said Tim Coombs, a resident of Hahira.

“I do not want them to close that track, please don’t. Because there will be a march in Hahira again if that railroad crossing gets closed,” said Ouida Lane, another resident who spoke during the meeting.

The council will now get more information from the DOT on relocating those signals to Lawson Street, and what that would mean for Stanfill Street.

Lawson Street remains closed. The road near the tracks has been torn up. The council said it will remain closed until they make a final decision.

When asked about installing brand new signals on Lawson Street, city staff said that would cost about $300,000, funding that would need to come from the DOT.

The council plans to take the matter back up next month.

(WCTV)