Notice2022-12785
Request for Information Regarding FRA's Public Blocked Crossing Portal
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Railroad Administration
Abstract
Section 22404 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), requires FRA to maintain a blocked crossing portal to receive information from the public regarding blocked highway-rail grade crossings. Section 22404 of BIL also requires FRA to submit a report that describes the nature of blocked highway-rail grade crossings, FRA's process for reviewing and using information received through the blocked crossing portal, FRA's engagement with affected parties, and whether the blocked crossing portal continues to be an effective method to collect blocked crossing information and what changes could improve its effectiveness. This RFI is soliciting comments on how FRA's engagement with affected parties and changes to the portal and related operations can improve the effectiveness of the portal.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36036-36037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12785]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2022-0054]
Request for Information Regarding FRA's Public Blocked Crossing
Portal
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: Section 22404 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,
also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), requires FRA to
maintain a blocked crossing portal to receive information from the
public regarding blocked highway-rail grade crossings. Section 22404 of
BIL also requires FRA to submit a report that describes the nature of
blocked highway-rail grade crossings, FRA's process for reviewing and
using information received through the blocked crossing portal, FRA's
engagement with affected parties, and whether the blocked crossing
portal continues to be an effective method to collect blocked crossing
information and what changes could improve its effectiveness. This RFI
is soliciting comments on how FRA's engagement with affected parties
and changes to the portal and related operations can improve the
effectiveness of the portal.
DATES: Written comments on this RFI must be received on or before
August 15, 2022. FRA will consider comments filed after this date to
the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES:
Comments: Comments related to this RFI may be submitted by going to
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and following the online instructions for
submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number (FRA-2022-0054) for this RFI. Please note that comments
submitted online via <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> are not immediately posted to
the docket. Several business days may elapse after a comment has been
submitted online before it is posted to the docket.
Privacy Act: DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform
its regulatory process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, to
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, as described in the system of records notice, DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS, accessible through <a href="http://www.dot.gov/privacy">www.dot.gov/privacy</a>. To facilitate
comment tracking and response, commenters are encouraged to provide
their name, or the name of their organization; however, submission of
names is completely optional. Whether or not commenters identify
themselves, all timely comments will be fully considered. If you wish
to provide comments containing proprietary or confidential information,
please contact the agency for alternate submission instructions.
Docket: For access to the docket to read comments received, please
visit <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information related to
this RFI, please contact James Payne, Staff Director, Highway-Rail
Crossing and Trespasser Programs Division (telephone: 202-493-6005,
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2c464d41495f025c4d5542496c484358024b435a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="563c373b33257826372f38331632392278313920">[email protected]</span></a>).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2019, FRA created a dedicated blocked
crossing portal website (<a href="https://www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings/">https://www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings/</a>) to
allow the public to voluntarily submit information about blocked
crossings to FRA.\1\ Users of FRA's blocked crossing portal are asked
to provide information about the location, date, time, duration, and
immediate impacts of each blocked crossing incident. FRA uses the data
collected to gain information about where and when blocked crossing
incidents are occurring (as well as the duration and immediate impacts
of these incidents). FRA does not, however, forward the information
collected to a railroad, State, or local agency for response.
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\1\ Law enforcement personnel can also submit information about
blocked crossings to FRA through a separate portal, access to which
is restricted to law enforcement personnel with usernames and
passwords managed by FRA.
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In addition to mandating that FRA maintain an online portal and
corresponding database to receive and store information about blocked
highway-rail grade crossings, section 22404(i) of BIL requires FRA to
submit a report to Congress that discusses, among other things, whether
FRA's blocked crossing portal continues to be an effective method to
collect blocked crossing information, as well as changes that could be
made to improve its effectiveness. Specifically, section 22404 of BIL
requires FRA to submit a report that describes: (1) frequent and long-
duration blocked highway-rail grade crossings, including the locations,
dates, durations, and impacts resulting from such occurrences; (2)
FRA's process for verifying the accuracy of the complaints submitted to
the blocked crossing portal; (3) FRA's use of the data compiled by the
blocked crossing portal to assess the underlying causes and overall
impacts of blocked crossings; (4) FRA's engagement with affected
parties to identify and facilitate solutions to frequent and long-
duration blocked highway-rail grade crossings identified by the blocked
crossing portal; and (5) whether the blocked crossing portal continues
to be an effective method to collect blocked crossing information and
what changes could improve its effectiveness.
[[Page 36037]]
Therefore, FRA is issuing this RFI to solicit public comment on
changes that could be made to FRA's blocked crossing portal to improve
its effectiveness. Specifically, FRA is looking for public comment on
how the information reported to the blocked crossing portal can be used
to improve safety at grade crossings and the well-being of affected
communities.
FRA is also seeking public comment and feedback on additional
information that should be captured by the blocked crossing portal. In
particular, FRA would like to know what additional information the
public and industry would like to see captured on this site. In
addition, FRA would like to know how it can improve the user experience
of the blocked crossing portal website.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments to the electronic
docket in response to this RFI. Please refer to the ADDRESSES section
above for guidance on how to submit comments to the electronic docket.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Carolyn R. Hayward-Williams,
Director, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2022-12785 Filed 6-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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