Executive Session

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Executive Session
An Overview of Transportation Systems
Management Whats It All About?

• MPO Leadership
• April 21, 2005
• Association for Metropolitan Planning
  Organizations (AMPO)
• Under a Grant from the Federal Highway
  Administration

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Session Purpose

• Share with MPO leadership emerging thinking
  with respect to transportation systems management
  and operations (TSMO) and its incorporation into
  the investment decision-making process

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Regional Concerns

• Economic growth/sustainability
• Security
• Public safety
• Congestion
• Sprawl
• Environment (e.g., air and water)
• ..And everyone is faced with budget constraints,
  decreased funding, and rising expectations

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Transportation Aspects of Regional Concerns

• Commuter congestion
• Traffic incidents
• Goods movement
• Special events
• Homeland security
• Emergency response and management
• Modal choices
• Work zones
• Weather

Growing congestion is a front page story!
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Concerns Possibilities

• Move traffic smoothly and safely
• Keep travelers informed
• Facilitate passenger mode choices
• Move goods efficiently
• Detect and clear incidents quickly
• Evacuate large populations effectively
• Coordinate construction projects

Consistently across jurisdictional boundaries
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Transportation Systems Management and Operations
(TSMO) includes

• Traffic Incident Management
• Travel Information Services (for roadways and for
  transit)
• Freeway Management
• Automatic Vehicle Location for Transit
• Traffic Signal Coordination

• Work Zone Traffic Management
• Roadway Weather Information
• Electronic Payment (for transit, parking,
  tolling)
• Freight Management (ports and transfer areas)

Applied individually or in combination
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Why Is TSMO Important? To take back as much of
the road as we can !
Special Events
TSM O
Weather
Capacity
Work Zones
Incidents
Recurring congestion
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TSMO Addresses Regional Concerns

• TSMO Strategies
• Traffic incident management
• Traveler information services
• Freeway management
• Traffic signal management
• Transit priority systems
• Work zone traffic management
• Road weather management
• Electronic payment services
• Freight management
• Special events planning

• Transportation Concerns
• Commuter congestion
• Traffic incidents
• Goods movement
• Special events
• Homeland security
• Emergency response management
• Modal choices
• Work zones
• Weather

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The Reauthorization of TEA-21 will likely

• Place greater importance on TSMO to help
  mitigate congestion, improve safety and security,
  and improve mobility
• Recognize and encourage greater collaboration and
  coordination on a regional scale to maximize the
  benefits of TSMO initiatives

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Essentials for Moving to 21st Century TSMO

• The application of advanced technologies
• Unprecedented levels of collaboration and
  coordination within a region

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What Does Unprecedented levels of collaboration
and coordination within a region mean?

• Regional partnerships among managers with
  responsibility for day-to-day transportation
  operations
• Stronger and better linkages between planners and
  operations managers.

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Implications for Regional Planning

• Traditional Planning Process
• Elected/appointed officials
• Collective regional plan development
• Long-term planning focus
• Near-term project funding
• Projects of local and regional significance
• Historical trends

Improving regional transportation system
performance
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Implications for Transportation Operations

• Typical OM
• Jurisdictional/Agency focused
• Maintenance oriented
• Peak-period focused
• Limited real-time information
• Targeted coordination for specific events
• Output-based measures

Improving regional transportation system
performance
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Implications for Linkages between Planning and
Operations

• Typical Interactions between Planning and
  Operations
• Operating agencies often at the table but
  focused on projects
• Specific projects
• Major special events
• Post 9-11 emergency response planning
• ITS regional architecture development

Improving regional transportation system
performance
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Successful Linkages Means

• Operations data archived for transportation
  planning
• Long-range transportation plan reflects regional
  operations
• Planning analysis tools evaluate operations
  projects
• Traffic engineering agencies deliberately share
  information about traffic conditions with the
  planning agency
• A group is established to continuously
  collaborate, plan, and advance regional TSMO
  activities e.g., signal coordination.

Maintain and sustain for the long-term
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Where Are We Headed?A Cultural Shift
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New services -- not new roads

• Looking forward to the next 100 years, the focus
  is not construction, maintenance and operations.
  It's operations, maintenance and construction.
• Virginia Transportation Commissioner Philip A.
  Shucet
• Build a road when you have to. Make sure you've
  tried everything else.
• Virginia State Senator Marty Williams
• Daily Press (Hampton Roads, VA)

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Success Story The Washington State Traffic
Incident Response Team

• A coalition transportation, police, fire and
  emergency response agencies.
• Collaboration is continuous to develop and
  improve response planning
• Plan addresses detection, response,
  investigation, re-routing traffic, and clearance.
• Most major traffic incidents are cleared in less
  than 2 hours

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Success Story The Southeast Michigan Snow and
Ice Management (SEMSIM) Partnership

• Four jurisdictions work together on winter road
  maintenance
• Collaboration facilitates information and
  resource sharing
• Decisions are made locally
• Common purchasing
• Standard use of ITS
• Jurisdictions save money

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Whats In It For The Region?Some Tangible
Benefits

• Facilitation of information and data sharing
• Technology upgrades and compatibility
• Savings in procurement
• Faster response time
• Extended hours of service/operation
• Expanded service area coverage
• New funding opportunities
• Coordinated operations

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Opportunities to Build Success

• A traffic incident management committee
• A regional traffic signal coordination task force
• A CMS coordinating group
• A regional ITS architecture committee
• An emergency response coordinating group
• A regional traveler information working group
• A work zone traffic management team

Involves operations managers and planners from
State, transit, local agencies, and MPO
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The Cultural Shift Making It Happen!

• Build on current collaborative activities that
  are occurring in the region
• Leverage opportunities available through existing
  efforts
• Exploit opportunities to link planning and
  operations
• Develop a regional concept for transportation
  operations

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Essential Themes

• Regional perspective builds relationships for the
  future
• Focus on making the systems work better not
  just on reacting to problems
• Holistic thinking bring operations thinking
  into the regional planning process
• Sustain and build upon existing regional
  partnerships that may cross jurisdictional,
  functional, and public/private sector boundaries

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For More InformationContacts

• FHWAs Joint Operations and Planning Program
• wayne.berman_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• harlan.miller_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• robin.mayhew_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• FHWA Resource Center Planning Operations
  Technical Service Team
• Grant.zammit_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• Brain.betlyon_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• Mac.lister_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• Ben.williams_at_fhwa.dot.gov

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Useful Publications

• Getting More By Working Together Opportunities
  for Linking Planning and Operations
• Regional Transportation Operations Collaboration
  and Coordination A Primer for Working Together
  to Improve Transportation Safety, Reliability,
  and Security
• E-Copy available at
• http//www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/travel
• http//www.plan4operations.dot.gov
• Hard copy available upon request from FHWA

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Workshops and Training

• Advancing Transportation System Management and
  Operations
• Executive session available now
• 1-day NHI course available in April 2005