Earlier this year, District 2 councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez filed a request asking city staff to look into the feasibility of a real-time notification system for trains approaching or stopped at railroad crossings.
The objective is to give drivers in San Antonio the ability to change their route or leave sooner to avoid getting stuck, waiting for a train to pass, or dealing with an emergency on the tracks.
After months of research, city staffers concluded it appears possible, but the city would need to assemble a team to build it.
Staffers shared their findings to council members during a transportation and infrastructure committee meeting.
They told attendees there is currently no single publicly available technology that can detect trains on the tracks, their speed, and their length, and then share that information with a road navigation app like Apple or Google in real time.
In addition, staffers informed the committee, railroad companies are not willing to share their tracking information due to security risks.
To fill the void, staffers recommended creating a pilot detection system with the help of the Southwest Research Institute, right here in San Antonio.
They touted that the institute has developed and owns Activision technology, an AI-based camera detection system that can already detect, for example, wrong-way drivers and pedestrians. However, it would need to be programmed to detect trains.
Once the detection piece is achieved, the ability to share the information on apps or city websites would need to be worked out.
Staffers said they will look into the feasibility and likelihood of collaborating with the Florida Department of Transportation, which has its own data exchange communication system and has shared its technology with outside agencies in the past.
Council members at the meeting, including McKee-Rodriguez, voted in favor of moving forward with staffers’ recommendation to create a pilot, which is estimated to take several months.
A progress report and initial cost analysis are tentatively due by the end of the year.
Read also:
