APPENDIX A

Questionnaire

SURVEY LETTER

Subject: Electronic Surveillance of Railroad-Highway Crossings for Collision Avoidance – Survey of Agencies and Practitioners

AAAJ LLC is conducting a synthesis research project sponsored by the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) to develop a State of the Practice on Electronic Surveillance of Railroad-Highway Crossings for Collision Avoidance. The project focus is on rail crossings within the rights-of-way of commuter rail, light rail, and heavy rail.

As part of this project, we are collecting and collating information regarding various electronic surveillance systems and technologies used by rail transit agencies to avoid collisions and improve safety at rail crossings on existing rights-of-way. We are conducting an online survey to obtain this information. If you are willing to participate, please complete the short survey.

If another person in your agency is more suitable for this effort, we seek your help in forwarding the survey to that individual. We designed the survey so your response time is minimal. We would like your response by May 31, 2023.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me via email or phone. If you have general questions about the research project you can contact Mariela Garcia-Colberg, Esq., TCRP Senior Program Officer.

Additional information about the TCRP Synthesis J-07/Topic SA-59 project is available at: https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5370

Sincerely,

Amiy Varma, Ph.D., PR, AICP, PTOE

President

AAAJ LLC

Web-Based Survey Questions

INTRO PAGE TEXT:

Dear Practitioners/Professionals involved in Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Agencies,

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this survey. The primary goal of this project is to develop a State of the Practice Report on Electronic Surveillance of Railroad Highway Crossings for Collision Avoidance within the context of commuter rail, light rail, and heavy rail in the US. The report will include, at a minimum:

• Review of systems, components, configurations, and related technologies used for electronic surveillance at rail crossings
• Data collection and analysis methodologies
• Data applications
• Capital and operating costs
• Funding sources
• Challenges and constraints (legal, institutional, technological)
• Measures of Effectiveness
• Case Examples

As part of this project, we are seeking to understand the current state of the practice in transit agencies across the US and globally regarding electronic surveillance of rail crossings. We are conducting an online survey to obtain this information and seek your participation.

If you have questions about the survey, please contact me as AAAJ’s Principal Investigator via email or phone. If you have general questions about the research project, contact Mariela Garcia-Colberg, Esq., TCRP Senior Program Officer.

Additional information about the TCRP Synthesis J-07/Topic SA-59 project is available at: https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5370

We would like your response by May 31, 2023.

(CONTINUE BUTTON)

PART 1: PERSPECTIVES ON ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE AT RAIL CROSSINGS

Q1. Please describe your affiliation/background (Select all that apply).

• Commuter rail agency (1)
• Light rail transit agency (2)
• Heavy rail transit agency (3)
• Agency which operates two or more types of rail service (4)
• Previously worked for rail transit and/or commuter rail agency (5)
• Rail surveillance technology vendor (6)
• Rail safety consultant (7)
• Academic researcher (8)
• Other (please specify) (9)_____________________________________________

Q2. What are the reasons for using electronic surveillance at rail crossings? (Select all that apply).

• Increase vehicular compliance/reduce violations (1)
• Avoid train collisions with vehicles and pedestrians (2)
• Prevent trespassing (3)
• Alert vehicular traffic/reduce blockage on surface streets (4)
• Alert train operator/operations center of a potential collision (5)
• Collect safety data (6)
• Video analytics of crossing safety (7)
• Other (please specify) (8)_____________________________________________

Q3. What are the decision criteria used in adopting electronic surveillance at rail crossings? (Select all that apply).

• Understand and prevent driver unsafe behaviors (1)
• Understand and prevent pedestrian unsafe behaviors (2)
• Prevent trespassing and suicides – crashes and injuries saved (3)
• Operational efficiency/delay reductions on surfac e streets (4)
• Improves rail operations (5)
• Safety metrics – crash frequency, near misses (6)
• Availability of champion/trained staff (7)
• Cost (8)
• Ease of implementation (9)
• Effectiveness (10)
• Other (please specify) (11)_____________________________________________

Q4. What are the barriers, challenges, and constraints? (Select all that apply).

• Complexity (1)
• Cost (2)
• Legal (3)
• Funding (4)
• Institutional (5)
• Technological (6)
• Other (please specify) (7)_____________________________________________

Q5. What are the measures of effectiveness? (Select all that apply).

• Rate of compliance/violation (1)
• Number of collisions avoided (2)
• Number of trespassers avoided (3)
• Number of instances and duration of blockage on surface streets (4)
• Crash frequencies (5)
• Other (please specify) (6)_____________________________________________

Q6. What are the sources of funding for purchase and installation? (Select all that apply).

• Federal (1)
• State (2)
• Local (3)
• Private (4)
• Public-private partnerships (5)
• Internal (6)
• Other (please specify) (7)_____________________________________________

Q7. What are the reasons for success? (Select all that apply).

• Champion (1)
• Trained Staff (2)
• Multiple and diverse applications (3)
• Availability of funding (4)

• Relevant institutional support (5)
• Video Analytics providing safety performance measures (6)
• Maintained and updated well (7)
• Data and analysis helpful in decision-making (8)
• Other (please specify) (9)_____________________________________________

Q8. What are the reasons for failure? (Select all that apply).

• Lack of institutional support (1)
• Lack of or turnover of trained staff (2)
• Lack of technical resources (3)
• Used for a single instance/purpose (4)
• Technology became obsolete (5)
• Not maintained or updated (6)
• Legal hurdles (7)
• Other (please specify) (8)_____________________________________________

PART 2: QUESTIONS ON THE INSTALLED SYSTEM

Q9. Have you installed electronic surveillance at rail crossings or have experience with it?

• Yes (1)
• No (2)

Q10. If yes to Q9, do you share the information you collect with law enforcement?

• No (1)
• Yes, but not in real-time (2)
• Yes, in real-time (3)

Q11. If yes to Q9, what was the cost to set up a system at one location or per location?

• 10,000 or less (1)
• 10,001 to $50,000 (2)
• 50,001 to $100,000 (3)
• Over $100,000 (4)
• Not known (5)
• Other (please specify) (6)_____________________________________________

Q12. If yes to Q9, what is the recurring annual cost to operate the setup at one location or per location?

• 10,000 or less (1)
• 10,001 to $50,000 (2)
• 50,001 to $100,000 (3)
• Over $100,000 (4)
• Not known (5)
• Other (please specify) (6)_____________________________________________

Q13. If yes to Q9, briefly describe the system’s characteristics, components, and technologies.

Q14. If yes to Q9, briefly describe the different applications of the system.

Q15. If yes to Q9, briefly describe the costs involved.

Q16. If yes to Q9, briefly describe the challenges, constraints, and barriers involved.

Q17. If yes to Q9, briefly describe the funding sources.

Q18. If yes to Q9, briefly describe how effective was the system setup.

Q19. Are there any topics we have missed in our questions? Or is there something you wish to add? (Please note if you want this response to remain anonymous).

Q20. Contact Information (complete as much as you are comfortable with)

• Name: (1) ________________________________________________
• Title: (2) ________________________________________________
• Agency: (3) ________________________________________________
• Phone: (4) ________________________________________________
• E-Mail: (5) ________________________________________________
• Name of rail transit or commuter rail system (6)______________________________

Q21. Please provide your location information to help us look at potential regional differences.

• City (1) ________________________________________________
• State/Province (2) ________________________________________________
• Country (3) ________________________________________________

Q22. We greatly appreciate you completing this survey. Would you be willing to assist with our research efforts further (e.g., follow-up questions, case study)?

• Yes (1)
• Maybe (2)
• No (3)

Q23. Please provide documentation that reflects your agency’s rail crossing electronic surveillance practices via email after completing this survey. Please note down the email before completing the survey. This may include technical memorandums, specifications, contract documents, agency reports, technology-related manuals (guidelines), policies, research reports, etc. Please provide as much information as possible to capture your agency’s practice accurately.