AUSTIN (KXAN) – From her downtown office, Jessica Tunon has the perfect view of the train track trespassers.

“I see people carrying their bicycles over the track,” she said. “And it’s a frightening thing to see.”

It is why Tunon sends an email with photos every Monday morning to the city and to Union Pacific Railroad, which acknowledged the issue is an important safety concern.

KXAN counted five people crossing the tracks illegally in a 15-minute period Wednesday morning.

“I’m worried someone’s going to get hurt, and someone’s going to unnecessarily maybe die,” she said.

KXAN first reported this story a year ago, when the city and railroad agreed to install a fence to keep people from hopping the tracks. But the problem persists.

“We have been working with Union Pacific on these improvements for probably at least five years,” said Fred Evins, a redevelopment project manager with the City of Austin.

The city began putting up the chain link fence last year but was unable to finish, because Union Pacific has the right-of-way and final word. Evins said the railroad first wanted to replace nearby railroad ties, among other repairs before construction began on the fence.

“They asked us to hold off until they’ve completed that work, so it wasn’t in their way,” Evins said, adding that the fence project should resume “within a month or so.”

“After that, we should have it up in a few weeks,” he said.

Once complete, the $22,000 fence will divide downtown just north of Lady Bird Lake – starting on the west side of the Seaholm Power Plant, traveling along the railroad, up over Lamar Boulevard, and just past the Amtrak station. It will create a barrier nearly 1,800 feet long.

Until she sees people staying off the tracks, Tunon said she will continue firing off her weekly emails.

“The city saying that or the Union Pacific Railroad saying that,” she said. “I just don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

In the meantime, the city has improved sidewalks lining the Lamar underpass, so people will have a more convenient route.

The city is also planning an at-grade railroad crossing for pedestrians on the west side of Lamar. The design phase should be complete in February 2013, but the railroad would still need to approve the plan before construction begins.

Evins said a more distant project is a pedestrian underpass or tunnel. It would start near Bowie and 3rd Streets and end near the Gables apartments across from the lake. However, this is still at least two years away.