Download or read book A Qualitative Study of the Core Functions of Smart Traffic Centers at the Virginia Department of Transportation written by Gene-Tey Shin and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Smart Traffic Centers (STC) were established to address the growing problem of increased congestion caused by traffic demand exceeding roadway capacity. Initially, the core function of the STC was simply to get information to the public. However, VDOT's STCs were established at different times with different approaches to meet regional traffic needs. As a result, practices, processes, organizational structures, and relationships with other VDOT functions vary widely among STCs. With this complexity, the definition of the STCs core functions has evolved. To develop a clear understanding of these core functions, a group composed of STC operations managers was formed and this study was undertaken. The study found that the core function of VDOT's STCs has expanded beyond disseminating information to the public, although that activity remains a critical tool of traffic and incident management. Specifically, STCs have four core functions: (1) traffic management, (2) incident management, (3) emergency operations/emergency management, and (4) regional networking. Incident management activities and events define the vast majority of work and, therefore, drive the development of systems, procedures, policies, and relationships with communities, agencies, and private companies with whom an STC must work on a daily basis. Further, the study determined that a fully developed Safety Service Patrol (SSP) greatly enhances the functionality of the STC. Where the SSP is fully operational, the STC's ability both to gather information and to interact directly with the public and other state, local, and federal agencies is complete. Without a functional SSP, the STCs ability to manage incidents directly (and therefore traffic) is limited, impaired, or disabled. In addition, the study found that STCs are VDOT's most direct link to the public and that regional networking is critical to successful STC operations. VDOT's STCs are, therefore, critical to coordinating and working directly with local, state, and federal agencies. This is particularly clear in regions such as Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, where the large number of cites and communities that directly abut increases the number of responder agencies and organizations. The inherent complexity of such regions requires careful coordination and networking to ensure the safe and efficient management of incidents and emergencies and to mitigate their impact on regional traffic flow. The recommendations offered in this report will help coordinate STC development. Although there will always be some variation because of regional needs, STC practices will benefit from increased and continual sharing of information and practices across locations. Fully developed SSPs are arguably the single most practical and powerful resource an STC has to manage incidents, as well as to develop strong relations with the public, local communities, and other agencies. Because of the necessary interface with communities, cities, and agencies at multiple levels, STCs are perfectly situated to develop regional relationships and structures; therefore, regional strategies for traffic operations should be shared among STC locations.

Download or read book Evaluation of the Virginia Department of Transportation Adaptive Signal Control Technology Pilot Project written by Michael D. Fontaine and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Currently, most traffic signals operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) use actuated plans that vary by time of day (TOD) and day of the week. These timing plans are typically developed off-line using traffic count information collected in the field and then processed using signal optimization software. This method works well as long as traffic volumes remain consistent with the conditions used to develop the timing plan, but timing plans can become suboptimal if traffic demands deviate from those conditions. Traffic growth over time, seasonal changes in traffic, special events, or incidents can all cause TOD plans to perform poorly, resulting in increased delays to drivers. As a result, VDOT must regularly retime signalized intersections to deal with long-term changes in travel patterns, which incurs costs to VDOT. Even so, non-recurring events can still cause TOD plans to perform poorly. Adaptive signal control technology (ASCT) is one tool that has been proposed to handle variable traffic demand better. VDOTs Traffic Engineering Division began a pilot program to install the InSync ASCT developed by Rhythm Engineering on 13 corridors around the state beginning in 2011. The InSync system uses enhanced detection along a corridor to adjust signal timing parameters dynamically to meet observed demand in real time, eliminating the need to develop static timing plans. This allows the ASCT system to adjust signal timing parameters to account for variations in flow attributable to special events, seasonal flows, incidents, or simply the increase of volumes over time. In this case, signal timings are not pre-defined based on historic data, so ASCT systems can potentially reduce delays created by outdated static TOD plans. These pilot deployments were evaluated to determine if ASCT created operational and safety improvements large enough to justify the additional costs to install ASCT. Data on mainline traffic operations, side street delays, and intersection crashes were collected with and without ASCT active. The results showed that mainline traffic operations generally improved if (1) the corridor was not oversaturated; (2) the corridor did not have characteristics that encourage platoon dispersion; and (3) the corridor did not already function well. Side street delays generally increased, although net benefits in overall corridor travel time were usually still observed. An empirical Bayes safety analysis of crashes at the intersections where ASCT was installed also found a 17% decrease in total crashes. Overall, ASCT generally produced a favorable benefit/cost ratio. The findings from the pilot tests were used to identify key considerations for future ASCT deployments so that VDOT could better identify future sites that might benefit from ASCT installation.

Download or read book Evaluation of the Virginia Department of Transportation Adaptive Signal Control Technology Pilot Project written by Michael Fontaine and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Currently, most traffic signals operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) use actuated plans that vary by time of day (TOD) and day of the week. These timing plans are typically developed off-line using traffic count information collected in the field and then processed using signal optimization software. This method works well as long as traffic volumes remain consistent with the conditions used to develop the timing plan, but timing plans can become suboptimal if traffic demands deviate from those conditions. Traffic growth over time, seasonal changes in traffic, special events, or incidents can all cause TOD plans to perform poorly, resulting in increased delays to drivers. As a result, VDOT must regularly retime signalized intersections to deal with long-term changes in travel patterns, which incurs costs to VDOT. Even so, non-recurring events can still cause TOD plans to perform poorly. Adaptive signal control technology (ASCT) is one tool that has been proposed to handle variable traffic demand better. VDOTs Traffic Engineering Division began a pilot program to install the InSync ASCT developed by Rhythm Engineering on 13 corridors around the state beginning in 2011. The InSync system uses enhanced detection along a corridor to adjust signal timing parameters dynamically to meet observed demand in real time, eliminating the need to develop static timing plans. This allows the ASCT system to adjust signal timing parameters to account for variations in flow attributable to special events, seasonal flows, incidents, or simply the increase of volumes over time. In this case, signal timings are not pre-defined based on historic data, so ASCT systems can potentially reduce delays created by outdated static TOD plans. These pilot deployments were evaluated to determine if ASCT created operational and safety improvements large enough to justify the additional costs to install ASCT. Data on mainline traffic operations, side street delays, and intersection crashes were collected with and without ASCT active. The results showed that mainline traffic operations generally improved if (1) the corridor was not oversaturated; (2) the corridor did not have characteristics that encourage platoon dispersion; and (3) the corridor did not already function well. Side street delays generally increased, although net benefits in overall corridor travel time were usually still observed. An empirical Bayes safety analysis of crashes at the intersections where ASCT was installed also found a 17% decrease in total crashes. Overall, ASCT generally produced a favorable benefit/cost ratio. The findings from the pilot tests were used to identify key considerations for future ASCT deployments so that VDOT could better identify future sites that might benefit from ASCT installation.

Download or read book Intelligent Transportation Systems written by Robert Gordon and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-11-02 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intelligent Transportation Systems: Functional Design for Economical and Efficient Traffic Management provides practical guidance on the efficient use of resources in the design of ITS. The author explains how functional design alternatives can meet project objectives and requirements with optimal cost effectiveness and clarifies how transportation planning and traffic diversion principles relate to functional ITS device selections and equipment locations. Methodologies for translating objectives to functional device types, determining device deployment densities and determining the best placement of CCTV cameras and message signs are provided, as are models for evaluating the benefits of design alternatives based on traffic conditions. Readers will learn how to reduce recurrent congestion, improve incident clearance time in non-recurrent congestion, provide real-time incident information to motorists, and leverage transportation management center data for lane control through important new active transportation and demand management (ATDM) methods. Finally, the author examines exciting developments in connected vehicle technologies, exploring their potential to greatly improve safety, mobility and energy efficiency. This resource will greatly benefit all ITS designers and managers and is of pivotal importance for operating agencies performing evaluations to justify operational funding and system expansions.

Download or read book The Role of Smart Traffic Centers in Regional Systems Operations Performance written by John Adam Pegues and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Guidelines for Using StreetLight Data for Planning Tasks written by Hong Yang and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has purchased a subscription to the StreetLight (SL) Data products that mainly offer origin-destination (OD) related metrics through crowdsourcing data. Users can manipulate a data source like this to quickly estimate origin-destination trip tables. Nonetheless, the SL metrics heavily rely on the data points sampled from smartphone applications and global positioning services (GPS) devices, which may be subject to potential bias and coverage issues. In particular, the quality of the SL metrics in relation to meeting the needs of various VDOT work tasks is not clear. Guidelines on the use of the SL metrics are of interest to VDOT. This study aimed to help VDOT understand the performance of the SL metrics in different application contexts. Specifically, existing studies that examined the potential of SL metrics have been reviewed and summarized. In addition, the experiences, comments, and concerns of existing users and potential users have been collected through online surveys. The developed surveys were primarily distributed to VDOT engineers and planners as well as other professionals in planning organizations and consultants in Virginia. Their typical applications of the SL metrics have been identified and feedback has been used to guide and inform the design of the guidelines. To support the development of a set of guidelines, the quality of the SL metrics has been independently evaluated with six testing scenarios covering annual average daily traffic (AADT), origin-destination trips, traffic flow on road links, turning movements at intersections, and truck traffic. The research team has sought ground-truth data from different sources such as continuous count stations, toll transaction data, VDOT’s internal traffic estimations, etc. Several methods were used to perform the comparison between the benchmark data and the corresponding SL metrics. The evaluation results were mixed. The latest SL AADT estimates showed relatively small absolute percentage errors, whereas using the SL metrics to estimate OD trips, traffic counts on roadway segments and at intersections, and truck traffic did not show a relatively low and stable error rate. Large percentage errors were often found to be associated with lower volume levels estimated based on the SL metrics. In addition, using the SL metrics from individual periods as the input for estimating these traffic measures resulted in larger errors. Instead, the aggregation of data from multi-periods helped reduce the errors, especially for low volume conditions. Depending on project purposes, the aggregation can be based on metrics of multiple days, weeks, or months. The results from the literature review, surveys, and independent evaluations were synthesized to help develop the guidelines for using SL data products. The guidelines focused on five main aspects: (1) a summary for using SL data for typical planning work tasks; (2) general guidance for data extraction and preparation; (3) using the SL metrics in typical application scenarios; (4) quality issues and calibration of the SL metrics; and (5) techniques and tools for working with the SL metrics. The developed guidelines were accompanied with illustrative examples to allow users to go through the given use cases. Based on the results, the study recommends that VDOT’s Transportation and Mobility Planning Division (TMPD) should encourage and support the use of the guidelines in projects involving SL data, and that TMPD should adopt a checklist (table) for reporting performance, calibration efforts, and benchmark data involved in projects that use the SL metrics.

Download or read book Planning for Intelligent Transportation Systems in Small Urban Areas written by Richard V. Taylor and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) has been a primary program focus of the U.S. Department of Transportation since its origination in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. The federal ITS program funded early deployment planning studies for the 75 largest metropolitan areas, where significant congestion and pollution problems, as well as the size and complexity of the transportation systems, presented the greatest need for operational improvements. Recent ITS benefit studies have shown that a number of ITS technologies can have a significant effect on increasing the efficiency and safety of a region's transportation system. Now that the federal ITS program is mature, and benefits have been realized, the transportation system outside large urban areas in the United States is beginning to look toward information and communication technologies to address transportation goals. The federal government has recently initiated a rural ITS program, ARTS, to deploy ITS in rural areas. However, no specific program has focused on the needs of small urban areas, where 16.5 percent of the U.S. population lives. This study considers how ITS planning can aid small urban areas in determining appropriate ITS solutions for their transportation networks. This was accomplished through a case study of the Charlottesville, Virginia, region. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations for how best to plan for ITS in small urban areas in Virginia and other areas were made. These results include recommending the use of the Federal Highway Administration's ITS Planning Process, Version 2.1 for small urban area ITS studies and suggesting that the Virginia Department of Transportation incorporate the method in its planning for small urban areas. Other recommendations include using an additional market package screen for the ITS Planning Process and calling for the federal ITS program to fund planning studies in small urban areas throughout the United States.

Download or read book Intelligent Vehicle highway System IVHS Activities in the Virginia Department of Transportation written by Brian L. Smith and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Smart Travel Program written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book System Operations as a Core Function written by K. E. Lantz and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Transportation Research Record written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Best Practices in Guidance for Workforce Transition and Succession Planning written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Traffic Incident Management Handbook written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intended to assist agencies responsible for incident management activities on public roadways to improve their programs and operations.Organized into three major sections: Introduction to incident management; organizing, planning, designing and implementing an incident management program; operational and technical approaches to improving the incident management process.

Download or read book Highway Research Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Traffic Control Systems Handbook written by and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 670 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook, which was developed in recognition of the need for the compilation and dissemination of information on advanced traffic control systems, presents the basic principles for the planning, design, and implementation of such systems for urban streets and freeways. The presentation concept and organization of this handbook is developed from the viewpoint of systems engineering. Traffic control studies are described, and traffic control and surveillance concepts are reviewed. Hardware components are outlined, and computer concepts, and communication concepts are stated. Local and central controllers are described, as well as display, television and driver information systems. Available systems technology and candidate system definition, evaluation and implementation are also covered. The management of traffic control systems is discussed.

Download or read book Transportation in an Aging Society written by and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2004 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Transportation Planning Handbook written by ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-08-01 with total page 1204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A multi-disciplinary approach to transportation planning fundamentals The Transportation Planning Handbook is a comprehensive, practice-oriented reference that presents the fundamental concepts of transportation planning alongside proven techniques. This new fourth edition is more strongly focused on serving the needs of all users, the role of safety in the planning process, and transportation planning in the context of societal concerns, including the development of more sustainable transportation solutions. The content structure has been redesigned with a new format that promotes a more functionally driven multimodal approach to planning, design, and implementation, including guidance toward the latest tools and technology. The material has been updated to reflect the latest changes to major transportation resources such as the HCM, MUTCD, HSM, and more, including the most current ADA accessibility regulations. Transportation planning has historically followed the rational planning model of defining objectives, identifying problems, generating and evaluating alternatives, and developing plans. Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a more multi-disciplinary approach, especially in light of the rising importance of sustainability and environmental concerns. This book presents the fundamentals of transportation planning in a multidisciplinary context, giving readers a practical reference for day-to-day answers. Serve the needs of all users Incorporate safety into the planning process Examine the latest transportation planning software packages Get up to date on the latest standards, recommendations, and codes Developed by The Institute of Transportation Engineers, this book is the culmination of over seventy years of transportation planning solutions, fully updated to reflect the needs of a changing society. For a comprehensive guide with practical answers, The Transportation Planning Handbook is an essential reference.