CHICAGO — A Chicago resident has started an online petition asking Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority to install calming blue lights at all train stations as a way to prevent train suicides.
The Care2 petition cites a study in Japan that reports blue lights in subway stations led to an 84 percent decrease in the number of suicides by train.
The study notes that it’s still unproven whether blue lights are an effective way to prevent suicide. But that hasn’t stopped more than 14,000 people from signing the petition.
The petition’s creator says it’s the “cheapest and simplest way” to calm travelers and possibly prevent them from taking their own lives.
The Federal Railroad Administration reports there were 28 suicides on Illinois railroad tracks last year.
