Community: City of Plymouth
Population: 2,500-9,999
To help meet the goal in our strategic plan that gives priority to technology improvements, The City of Plymouth entered into a partnership with a private organization to develop an app that gives users automatic notifications when a train is blocking a crossing in the city.
The app allows users to select the time(s) of day they would like to receive notifications, so their phone isn’t buzzing throughout the day and night. In addition, the app calculates the approximate number of minutes the train will be blocking the road. To increase the app’s usefulness, an algorithm was used to project the likelihood of a blocked crossing at any given time, and the average wait time during that time period.
City of Plymouth staff members installed wireless internet and cameras onsite to improve access and provide real time video of the crossing.
Replicability:
The City of Plymouth is always open to exploring public-private partnership opportunities when a proposed project is beneficial to our residents and visitors. Communities willing to think outside the box and work with private enterprise to corral their expertise and problem-solving capabilities should be able to replicate this program and others like it.
Creativity and Originality:
We are aware of apps in which users can notify other users about train crossings. Our app, however, doesn’t require any user participation. Notifications are completely automatic during the times of day the user pre-selects. Our staff worked closely with the app creators to determine the program’s technology needs, and then installed it on our property.
We are proud of our ability to think outside the box, tap into the knowledge of private enterprise and solve a longtime problem for the benefit of our residents and visitors.
Community Impact:
As a community that is only 2.2 square miles, the City of Plymouth has more than its share of railroad crossings. Depending on your route into the city, you may encounter the same train at several crossings. For example, if you’re headed into town via Starkweather St., you may encounter a a railroad crossing blocked by a slow train. After your ten-minute wait, you turn right on Main St. to enter the downtown area, and, due to a curve in the tracks, the same train is blocking your path. If the train is slow and long, you may have to wait another 5-7 minutes at this crossing, effectively extending your travel time by 20 minutes or more, when also considering the traffic backup caused by the train.
Worse than being just an inconvenience, a train that bisects the entire city causes significant delay in police and fire department responses. Knowing before arriving at a crossing that the shortest route is blocked by a train gives first responders an opportunity to calculate whether taking a longer route might indeed be faster.
Residents have complained about the issue of slow trains and long waits as long as one can remember. When they call City Hall to complain (and they do call!), they are typically surprised that the city has no jurisdiction over trains or tracks, since they are federally regulated. United States Senator Debbie Stabenow took on the issue when the problem of slow and long trains was particularly troublesome, so we now have a speed dial button on our phones to transfer callers to her office in Washington D.C.
To say trains have been a problem in Plymouth would be an understatement.
When we released information about app being active at the first crossing in the city, social media comments told the story. Some residents laughingly said they’d be using the app to find out when trains were crossing because their children enjoyed watching them pass. Others rejoiced in the news that they would receive warning of a blocked crossing to avoid encountering it.
“It’s like the universe heard me two weeks ago after I was held up for more than a half hour on Saturday trying to pick up my daughter from swim.”
“This is life changing!”
“Whoever came up with this idea deserves a medal.”
“Literally the bane of my existence. Thank you!”
“This is amazing!”
“I got written up once for taking a two-hour lunch because I was stuck by the train.”
Our residents resoundingly approve!
