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 Among the challenges presented by Greensboro's growing downtown night life scene: security, loitering; noise, litter ... and not having your car crushed by a locomotive.

Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Ed Wolverton says patrons of the Lotus Lounge and Club Rain, both on West Lewis Street, have flirted with tragedy by parking on a railroad spur near the club.

They apparently believe the tracks are not active. They are. And the illegal parking there literally is a train wreck waiting to happen.

Police actually have had to reroute approaching trains to allow tow trucks time to remove illegally parked cars. Wolverton says that scenario has occurred "at least twice, maybe three times" in recent weeks.

The tracks are located between two downtown night spots -- the Lotus Lounge on one side and Club Rain on the other. Greensboro Police Capt. Wayne Scott recalls the night of the June 19 SuperJam concert at the nearby Greensboro Coliseum.

"We dealt with several cars that night," Scott says.

Some people drive their cars alongside the tracks from Lee Street, Scott says, then park where West Lewis Street crosses the tracks. In one instance, a car's tires became so tightly wedged between the rails that the driver could not move it. A tow truck struggled and finally succeeded in pulling the car loose.

Because the spur is not as active as a main line, some people obviously mistake it as being dormant. There are, after all, patches of weeds between the rails and wooden ties.

But even active tracks can contain some overgrowth. Scott said at least one train passes that way every 24 hours.

Of course, nighttime revelers aren't the likeliest people to conduct close inspections of railroad tracks. And the area is dimly lit at night.

By law, cars are not allowed to park within 25 feet of railroad tracks. But rerouting trains while towing cars is neither safe nor efficient -- nor the best use of city police officers, who have plenty to occupy them elsewhere.

Adding to the problem is the total absence of warning signs. On the side of the track nearest Club Rain, there is a "No trespassing" sign tacked to a telephone pole.

There also are signs warning that unauthorized cars parked on the premises of neighboring businesses, including the Lotus Lounge, will be towed.

Yet not one single sign warns against parking on the railroad tracks.

Does the solution to this problem seem dramatically obvious?

Someone should post prominent warning and no-parking signs in the area. Logically, that would seem to be Norfolk Southern, which owns the railroad right-of-way. But additional signs posted by the city and neighboring businesses wouldn't hurt.

When contacted last week, a Norfolk Southern spokeswoman said she would look into the situation, though she wondered whether this was "a policing matter,"

What this is, is a common-sense matter.

Last year, North Carolina saw 60 vehicle collisions involving trains, though none were fatal. But we are pressing our luck in Greensboro.

Coincidentally, Club Rain has had other problems at or near its premises, including a stabbing and two shootings, the most recent one fatal. No need to add a train wreck to the list.

Two weeks ago the club lost its liquor license, so "the population is greatly diminished," Scott said. For now. Nightclubs go and nightclubs come in the center city. Club Rain was once Club Remix was once The Flying Anvil.

Better to address this problem now before a tragedy demands that it be addressed.