Download or read book Inventory of System Operations Data Collection and Use in the Virginia Department of Transportation written by Catherine C. McGhee and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Accurate data describing the status of the transportation network is the backbone of system operations management. Without accurate data, traffic engineers cannot optimize signal phasing and timing, effective incident management cannot be undertaken, decisions regarding managed lanes operations cannot be made effectively, and information cannot be shared with the traveling public. Traditionally, the data collected for all of these uses have been basic flow parameters, i.e., volume, speed, and occupancy. These data may be collected from continuous count stations, through special or project-related collection activities, or as part of an infrastructure-intensive traffic management system such as the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Smart Traffic Centers (STCs). The biggest shortcomings of these data sources are that they tend to be limited in geographic scope or not continuous from a temporal perspective. In addition, the data are often considered for use by only the original "owner" or entity that collected them. The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive inventory of operations (traffic flow) data collection activities that occur within VDOT and to document the uses of the data collected. The results of the study indicate that the majority of traffic flow data used in VDOT come from the Traffic Engineering Division's traffic monitoring system. All data collected are archived and accessible via the internal VDOT website. Data are also collected in VDOT's district offices and through the STCs deployed in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Currently the STC data are rarely used outside the STC because of data quality issues. To improve VDOT's traffic data collection practices, the following actions are recommended: 1.) VDOT's Operations Management Division should initiate a data quality assessment program. 2.) VDOT's Operations Management Division should identify and allocate dedicated funding for maintenance of all traffic data collection sites. 3.) The Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads STCs should identify those detector stations in each region that provide critical data and discontinue maintenance of the remaining stations. 4.) In Staunton, Salem, and Richmond, where STCs have been established but extensive deployment of sensors to obtain volume, occupancy, and speed has not yet occurred, deployment of such sensors should be limited to no more than one station between each interchange. 5.) VDOT's Operations Management Division should proceed with obtaining travel time data for freeways and primary arterials. 6.) VDOT's Operations Management Division in consultation with the Information Technology Applications Division should establish a common format for archiving data such that data can be shared across work units and applications. Where possible, data should be stored at the lowest level of aggregation possible so that they can be applied to the greatest number of uses.
Download or read book Traffic Operations Asset Management Systems TOAMS Summary of proceedings for the 2008 National Peer Exchange Traffic Operations Asset Management Systems TOAM written by Teresa M. Adams and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Development of Incident Data Collection Standards for Virginia Department of Transportation Freeway Operations written by Brian L. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The effective management of incidents is necessary in order to maintain efficient freeway operations. Within the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), there are a number of units responsible for supporting incident management. These groups collect data describing the incidents they manage in order to facilitate real-time coordination and to allow for post-event analysis to improve incident management practices. However, the units generally collect different data elements and describe incident characteristics in different ways. This significantly reduces the value of these data. The purpose of this research project was to develop statewide incident data collection standards for use in VDOT freeway operations. The standard developed in this research includes the following 15 data elements: Unique ID, Incident Type, Incident Severity, General Description, Agencies Responding, Reversible High-Occupancy Vehicle Facility State, Lanes Closed, Route, Nearest Mile Marker, City or County, Direction, Start Time, End Time, Video Coverage, and Detection Source. This standard is beneficial in that it supports regional and statewide coordination of incident management and fully supports the incident management performance measures recently adopted by VDOT's Statewide Incident Management Committee. Furthermore, the VDOT standard is shown to comply with national intelligent transportation systems standards related to incident management. Risks of implementing the standard include a possible increase in data entry requirements and the potential need to modify software and databases slightly at some of VDOT's transportation management systems.
Download or read book Target setting Methods and Data Management to Support Performance based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies written by National Cooperative Highway Research Program and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2010 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 666: Target Setting Methods and Data Management to Support Performance-Based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies - Volume I: Research Report, and Volume II: Guide for Target-Setting and Data Management provides a framework and specific guidance for setting performance targets and for ensuring that appropriate data are available to support performance-based decision-making. Volume III to this report was published separately in an electronic-only format as NCHRP Web-Only Document 154. Volume III includes case studies of organizations investigated in the research used to develop NCHRP Report 666.
Download or read book The Feasibility of Implementing the Data Analysis and Reporting Techniques DART Package in Virginia written by William E. Kelsh and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This project was undertaken for the Virginia Department of Transportation Safety to assess the feasibility of implementing the Data Analysis and Reporting Techniques (DART) computer software system in Virginia. Following a review of available literature, discussion of system implementation and use with federal and state personnel, and a survey of 23 states in which DART has been installed it was concluded that although the system has its shortcomings DART can be successfully employed as a tool for the analysis of accident data. However, DART must be installed at a site where three key ingredients for successful system use concurrently reside: adequate technical resources, user interest, and management support. Virginia lacks the capabilities of the DART system and could benefit by is installation and application to accident data analysis for highway safety planning purposes. Although there is no perfect site for installation of the DART system in Virginia, the Department of Highways and Transportation (VDH & T) appears to be the most promising candidate. It is recommended that the Virginia Department of Transportation Safety should solicit a proposal for implementation of the DART system from the VDH & T, support installation of DART by underwriting its cost with federal section 402 safety funds, and organize a coordinating committee of traffic safety data users and technical personnel to assist in the implementation of the system and promote, monitor, and evaluate DART once installed.
Download or read book Optimal Placement of Point Detectors on Virginia s Freeways written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Virginia, point detectors in the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads regions are placed at approximately 1/2 mile spacing. This density is a product of early requirements for incident detection that have proven ineffective and perhaps unnecessary. There are other important uses of the data that likely have different requirements for detector placement than the original incident detection focus. For example, there is a desire to derive travel time estimates from the point detector data for the purpose of performance monitoring. To do this, the detectors are to be placed so as to effectively sample the conditions on a freeway. Unfortunately, little guidance exists on how to place detectors for effective sampling. The purpose of this research project was to develop a decision support methodology to identify the optimal locations of a finite set of point detectors on a freeway corridor in order to minimize the error in travel time estimation, within the constraints of available capital and maintenance funding. Case studies of freeway sections in three regions were conducted to demonstrate the utility of the newly developed tool. While there are potentially other important uses of the data collected by freeway point detectors, the recommendations in this report deal specifically with the issue of travel time estimation. The investigators found that the placement of detectors for the development of accurate travel time estimates will vary by location based on specific conditions. Arbitrary, evenly spaced detectors do not necessarily result in accurate travel time estimates. With carefully placed detectors that are well maintained, travel time estimates can be derived with an acceptable level of accuracy from point detection, under incident-free travel conditions. The methods developed in this research effort including the GPS data collection and the mathematical tool are effective in determining preferred detector locations when the objective is to minimize travel time estimate error. There is evidence that VDOT can reduce the number of detectors that are currently maintained by TMCs and can deploy far fewer than the 1/2 mile spacing guidelines, resulting in significant cost savings in both capital and operations and maintenance costs. Using the results of the Northern Virginia case study on I-66 EB where there are 20 detector stations currently deployed, the tool identified minimum travel time errors when data are assumed to be coming from 11 of those stations, a reduction of 45%. Data from VDOT's Traffic Monitoring System place the ongoing cost of a detector station at approximately $10,500. That results in an annual savings of $94,500 for this 11-mile roadway segment alone.
Download or read book Nchrp Synthesis 401 written by and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Investigation and Development of a Residency level Geographic Information System to Support Priority Applications written by Stephen C. Brich and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The primary responsibility of the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Geographic Information Systems Lead Unit is to develop and implement the department's geographic information system (GIS). To fulfill this responsibility, the unit developed a new GIS strategic plan that outlines six implementation strategies, one of which is the "Implementation of Priority GIS Applications." This strategy focuses on the operational requirements and actions required to develop and maintain these applications. To serve as a catalyst in the development and implementation of priority applications at the VDOT residency level, research was undertaken to identify and develop a set of applications: a guardrail inventory, sign inventory, drop inlet inventory, railroad-highway grade crossing inventory, and mowing area calculation. These applications served as GIS examples intended to provide VDOT with a better understanding of the methods required to collect the spatial and attribute data when similar applications are developed. This report outlines the various methods used to collect the data and to define the associated accuracy requirements. The report also identifies the time expended in developing these applications. VDOT can use these methods to gauge the time required to develop similar applications on a statewide basis
Download or read book Uses of Risk Management and Data Management to Support Target setting for Performance based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies written by and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2011 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 706: Uses of Risk Management and Data Management to Support Target-Setting for Performance-Based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies describes how transportation agencies can use risk management and data management to support management target-setting for performance-based resource allocation. As the final product of a second phase of NCHRP Project 08-70, ?Target-Setting Methods and Data Management to Support Performance-Based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies, ? this report supplements NCHRP 666: Target Setting Methods and Data Management to Support Performance-Based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies - Volume I: Research Report, and Volume II: Guide for Target-Setting and Data Management published in 2010. Volume III to this report was published separately in an electronic-only format as NCHRP Web-Only Document 154. Volume III includes case studies of organizations investigated in the research used to develop NCHRP Report 666.
Download or read book Inventory of Federal Energy related Environment and Safety Research for FY 1979 written by and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Quality Management of Pavement Condition Data Collection written by Gerardo W. Flintsch and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2009 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Department of Transportation and related agencies appropriations for 1989 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 1612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Government Reports Announcements Index written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Urban Transportation Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Focus written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Jefferson National Forest Final Environmental Impact Statement For The Revised Land and Resource Management Plan January 2004 written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Revised land and management plan for the Jefferson National Forest written by United States. Forest Service. Southern Region and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
