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  • Councilman Steve Adams, shown at the Pierce Street crossing in...

    Councilman Steve Adams, shown at the Pierce Street crossing in Riverside, backs efforts to add warnings to cell phones.

  • A cyclist rides across the tracks at the Pierce Street...

    A cyclist rides across the tracks at the Pierce Street crossing in Riverside.

  • Police officers stand near a Metrolink train that hit a...

    Police officers stand near a Metrolink train that hit a truck, left, and then derailed at a railroad crossing in Oxnard in February. The federal agency that oversees railroads is asking digital mapping companies to alert users as they approach track crossings. The Federal Railroad Administration announced Monday, June 29, that, so far, Google has agreed.

  • Police and railroad officials look over the scene in 2012...

    Police and railroad officials look over the scene in 2012 at the Pierce Street railroad crossing in Riverside where a train struck a car.

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Dave Downey

Visual and audio alerts on smartphone apps and GPS devices may soon warn Inland drivers they are approaching railroad crossings, as part of a new federal campaign to prevent deaths in collisions between trains and automobiles.

The Federal Railroad Administration has asked Google, Apple, TomTom, MapQuest and Garmin to participate in the program, agency spokesman Matthew Lehner said Monday. So far, Google has stepped forward to commit to adding visual and audio features to its maps to call attention to crossings, in response to the agency’s invitation.

“We’re happy to help the Federal Railroad Administration as we’re always looking for new ways to make maps useful to our users,” the Google press office said in an email note.

Google officials said they have not set a launch date or determined exactly how the alerts will work.

Details aside, it is a welcome initiative as far as Inland officials are concerned.

“I think that’s just an excellent idea,” said Perris Mayor Daryl Busch, who serves as chairman of the Riverside County Transportation Commission and vice chairman of the Metrolink commuter train’s board of directors. “I’m sure it’s going to save lives.”

IN ABSENCE OF BRIDGES

Steve Adams, a former Riverside councilman who led efforts to improve the safety of Riverside-area crossings, said the best way to save lives is to separate train and car traffic using bridges.

“The ultimate goal is to get as many grade-separation crossings as possible,” Adams said. “Only a grade separation guarantees that people in vehicles will not encounter trains.”

He noted several such bridges have been built in his city in recent years. One was the federally funded Magnolia Avenue underpass near Riverside Plaza that prompted a visit by Sen. Barbara Boxer when it opened in early 2012.

Public Works Director Tom Boyd said plans are in the works for four more: at Jackson, Third, Spruce and Mary streets.

Adams termed Jackson one of the more dangerous crossings in the city. The Jackson Street crossing was the site of a fatal accident involving a 14-year-old Arlington High School student who stepped in front of a Metrolink train on his way to school in April 2009.

“There are no schedules associated with any of these projects at this time,” Boyd said, noting they must be designed first. Then Riverside will have to shop for funding.

With price tags in the tens of millions of dollars, Adams said, bridges and underpasses are expensive propositions. And he said there remain many at-grade crossings all across the Inland region.

“Until we get grade separation … I think any alert that says you are approaching a railroad intersection is a good idea,” Adams said.

ESRI PLAYS A ROLE

Retired Temecula Councilman Ron Roberts, who has served on several regional boards, said while it may be a good idea, alerts won’t stop trains or prevent pedestrians bent on committing suicide from jumping in front of them.

And Roberts said he is a little skeptical of the ability to roll out such a system of visual and audio warnings.

“I’m not sure that they can put that together,” he said. “But if they can, I certainly support it. Anytime you can save a life or an injury, I say, ‘Go for it.’ One life is worth saving.”

The railroad administration already promotes a rail crossing locator mobile app on its website, something that is available for Apple and Android devices. People can use it to find the nearest crossings.

That app was developed with technology pioneered by Inland digital mapping giant Esri to pinpoint the locations of every railroad crossing in the country, according to Terry Bills, global transportation industry manager for the Redlands-based firm.

“We certainly applaud FRA for making this information widely available,” Bills said. “We’re happy that we were able to provide the foundational technology to make that happen.”

Bills said it will be especially helpful to incorporate information about railroad crossings into navigational devices.

NO-WIN SITUATION

Crossings have been the sites of numerous fatal accidents around Inland Southern California and the state.

For the first time this decade, deaths from train vs. vehicle collisions increased in 2014 from the year before.

Nancy Sheehan, state coordinator for California Operation Lifesaver, a group that seeks to raise awareness, said 267 people died in train-on-vehicle collisions last year, an increase of 5.3 percent.

In California, 33 died last year, Sheehan said. That represented a 10.8 percent decline.

Roberts, a former Metrolink board member, said there’s no denying “if it’s your car vs. the train, you’re going to lose every time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9699 or ddowney@pressenterprise.com