Emergency Transportation Operations Initiative

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Emergency Transportation Operations Initiative

• ITS JPO Lead Linda Dodge
• Technical Lead Vince Pearce, Office of
  Transportation Operations

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Challenge

• Larger-scale incidents can affect people and
  transportation across entire regions citizens
  depend upon transportation for escape and rapid
  response
• Aggressively managed transportation is critical
  for response and recovery
• This requires acquiring information rapidly and
  disseminating it rapidly to responders and
  travelers

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Opportunity

• The activities under this initiative will
• Assist responders (and the public) by using ITS
  to
• Verify the nature of a problem, identify an
  appropriate response, and get the proper
  equipment and personnel to the scene quickly and
  safety
• Provide effective traveler information during
  major disasters
• Plan for, monitor, and manage major incidents
  involving evacuation

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Goals

• Reduce the number of evacuations and the size of
  those that have to take place.
• Make evacuations faster, safer, and more
  efficient.
• Have working standards available that support
  integrated incident management information on all
  forms of incidents, and to demonstrate the value
  of their use

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Milestone/End Product

• Using ITS to more effectively manage major
  incidents, resulting in
• Faster and better prepared responses to major
  incidents
• Shorter incident durations
• Reduced negative impact on system
• More rapid restoration of normal travel
  conditions
• Using ITS to improve management of everyday
  incidents

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Roadmap
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Program Plan/Approach

• The Initiative consists of three phases
• Phase 1 Reducing Size and Number of Evacuations
• Phase 2 Improved Evacuation Management
• Phase 3 Standards Facilitating Incident Response
  and Integration
• Duration of Initiative
• FY04-FY08

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Phase 1Reducing Size and Number of Evacuations

• Goal To significantly improve the speed and
  effectiveness of response by towing/recovery and
  hazmat responders and improve management of
  incident scene and queues
• Actions
• Enable snapshot of scene (sent by first responder
  to towing/recovery/hazmat responders)
• Use CAPWIN (Capital Wireless Integrated network)
  as testbed
• Investigate technologies that can be applied to
  incident scene traffic control
• Investigate technologies that can be useful in
  the event of a regional biohazard incident

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Phase 2 Improved Evacuation Management

• Goal Provide the tools, procedures, and
  information that can actively manage and expedite
  the safe progress of an evacuation
• Actions
• Develop the next-generation evacuation planning
  tool and first generation evacuation management
  tool
• Disaster-Related Application of ATIS
• Rapid Restoration of ITS
• Develop design, installation and maintenance
  guidance for agencies partner with manufacturers
  of equipment and operators
• Rural Areas (evacuees may flee into rural areas)
• Need to manage volume and also assist in return
  to evacuation site
• Monitoring Evacuation Routes
• Infrastructure- and vehicle-based technologies

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Phase 3 Standards Facilitating Incident Response
and Integration

• Goal Have working standards available that
  support integrated management of all forms of
  incidents, and demonstrate the value of their use
• Actions
• Center-to-Center Standards for Incident
  Management
• Testing, demonstration, evaluation,
  implementation
• Data interchange standards between transportation
  operators and public safety
• Partnership with US Department of Justice
• Harmonization of transportation incident
  management standards with corresponding Public
  Safety and Homeland Security standards

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Summary

• Major incident focus
• Technologies
• Photo phone
• Mini cams
• Probe data
• Evacuation management software
• Improved methods
• Ready to go when Initiative ends
• Broad benefits