It's a problem that many cyclists have to deal with on a regular basis, all around the country. Few things are more dangerous than having to cross railroad tracks. With the upcoming increase in train travel and train improvements in the city of Columbus and throughout Ohio, this situation may become more prevalent than it is now, even.
The common wisdom, of course, is to cross them at as nearly a perpendicular angle as possible. The less chance we have of slipping into the groove to the side of the tracks, the safer we'll be when we ride.
Seattle has a situation where one of their bike lanes crosses a train track at a nearly parallel angle, though. There's not much way around it for cyclists, who didn't want to have to veer out into traffic to make the crossing safely. But the city of Seattle came up with a solution using a sharrow-like set of instructions that is almost impossible to miss. Check out this video from Streetfilms and see their simple answer.
For more info: Streetfilms, Bike Commuting in Columbus
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