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(a) It is hereby declared to be unlawful for any railway company, or any officer, employee or agent of any railway company operating, aiding, abetting or assisting in the operation of any railway train or other appliances upon, over and across any railway track, to place, keep, permit or allow any such car, cars, engine, locomotive, railway train or other appliances to remain standing on or obstruct the passage over any part of any street, avenue or alley crossing for a longer period than five minutes at any one time, except that a moving train composed of more than fifty cars may obstruct the passage over any part of any street for a period not longer than eight minutes at any one time. This section shall have no application in situations where such standing or obstruction was unavoidable; the railroad company shall have the burden of showing that such standing or obstruction was unavoidable.

(b) No railroad company shall be found guilty of violating the foregoing solely by reason of the fact that it owns such engines, cars or other appliances, or the roadbed or tracks upon which such trains, locomotives, engines, cars or other appliances are traveling; however, that any railroad company owning such equipment, roadbed or tracks, upon receipt of a complaint and notice to appear for violation of this section, shall have an affirmative duty to notify the clerk of the municipal court of the name of the railroad company or companies operating or having control over the operation of the train involved in the alleged violation. When such notification is made to the satisfaction of the court clerk, the ticketed railroad company shall be relieved of the obligation to defend such complaint and notice to appear, and an additional complaint and notice to appear shall be issued to the railroad company or companies operating or having control over the operation of the train involved in the alleged violation. Failure to notify the court clerk within five days of receipt of such complaint and notice to appear shall be deemed an admission by the railroad company of responsibility for the alleged violating train.

(c) Violation of any provision of this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor and any railroad company, or any officer, employee or agent thereof, violating any of such provisions shall be punished by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for the first offense and by a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for the second offense and by a fine of not less than One Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) for a third offense and by a fine of not less than Two Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for each succeeding offense. Each occurrence of blocked crossing shall constitute a separate offense, punishable as a single violation of the provisions of this section, except that not more than one such offense shall be found to have occurred in any one-hour period. (Ord. 909 § 1, 1979.)