Saskatoon Saskatchewan - Saskatoon's emergency responders could soon know immediately when a train is blocking a roadway.
 
City hall is preparing to conduct a pilot project at four locations that would send a signal to the city's police and fire departments whenever the gate arm is lowered at a railway crossing.
 
The experiment could lead to more notification for the general public on railway crossing delays.
 
The technology will be tested in four locations, city council's transportation committee was told Monday in response to a report on two substantial rail delays that happened on Thursday, one of which resulted from a fatal collision.
 
"So it doesn't necessarily make the intersections safer, but it does notify folks that their route may be blocked," the city's acting director of transportation Jay Magus told the committee.
 
A city report said a westbound Canadian Pacific (CP) locomotive failed at Avenue W on Thursday morning, blocking traffic on Avenue P, 20th Street, 22nd Street, and 25th Street.
 
It took more than an hour to clear all of the crossings.
 
Around 17:30 on Thursday, a train struck and killed a pedestrian near 20th Street.
 
The train was unable to move until the coroner cleared the scene.
 
Traffic was blocked again on 20th, 22nd, and 25th.
 
The crossings were not opened to traffic until 19:17.
 
"There's definitely a lot of concern in the community," Coun. Hilary Gough said of the fatality.
 
The gizmos, called cell modems, will be tested at railway crossings at 22nd Street and Avenue F, Idylwyld Drive, and 25th Street, Warman Road, 33rd Street, and 33rd Street and Edmonton Avenue.
 
Delays will also be shared with the public on social media, Magus said.
 
If the experiment is successful, it could expand to other locations.
 
"That's significant, even in terms of some incidents we've seen in the last year," Mayor Charlie Clark told the committee.
 
Phil Tank.