Florida Department of Transportation Approves Ten-Year Cost Feasible Plan

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announces the adoption of the Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan. The Plan was approved by FDOT on October 23, 2002. The Plan reflects the major actions and anticipated benefits that will be derived from coordinated ITS deployments in Florida. The Plan was prepared as the first major step in the developments of the FDOT ITS Program. It outlines an agenda for successful ITS deployment to ensure FDOT maximizes the benefits delivered to the citizens of Florida for the investments made by better managing and operating its transportation system.

The Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan focuses on deploying ITS on the five major limited-access corridors (I-4, I-10, I-75, I-95, and Florida’s Turnpike) of the Florida Intrastate Highway System (FIHS) in coordination with the toll-funded expressways. The Plan was developed in cooperation with FDOT's District Offices and Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, and through a coordinated review of ITS needs on a statewide basis. In determining needs, traffic growth and the resulting safety and congestion problems were identified. Since the Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan reflects the first phase of a strategically prioritized statewide ITS, the Plan emphasizes a corridor approach on the State's limited-access facilities to provide freeway and incident management services and statewide services, such as advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) and commercial vehicle operations (CVO). Once this critical backbone of ITS services is deployed along the FIHS limited-access routes, long-term integration and coordination of Florida's advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) on other facilities and advanced public transportation systems (APTS) will be pursued to provide a coordinated, integrated, and effective statewide ITS.

Major elements of the Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan include:

• an assessment of Florida's current ITS situation, the mission, vision, and goals of the Plan,
• a Concept of Operations and a Business Plan,
• a Systems Engineering Management Plan, and
• the ITS Corridor Master Plans.

The Plan also includes information on the funding of ITS deployments and unfunded needs.

The overall goal of the Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan is to save lives, time, and money through the coordinated deployment of a seamless, statewide ITS.

For information, please contact Gene Glotzbach at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5616 or email to Gene.Glotzbach@dot.state.fl.us.

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FDOT's ITS Office is initiating an update of Florida's ITS Strategic Plan. The Plan was originally developed in 1999, and designed to guide FDOT, Florida metropolitan planning organizations, and local governments in the planning, programming, and deployment of integrated, multi-modal ITS.

The primary purpose of the Plan is to present a 20-year vision for ITS in Florida and to recommend strategies to achieve this vision. The Plan includes four main ITS goals, which are consistent with the mission and goals of the Florida Transportation Plan. These goals are:

	safe transportation for residents, visitors, and commerce;
	protection of the public's investment in transportation;
	a statewide, interconnected transportation system that enhances Florida's economic competitiveness; and
	travel choices to ensure mobility, sustain the quality of the environment, preserve community values, and reduce energy consumption.

Although the vision and goals for ITS have not significantly changed over the last several years, the recommended strategies to accomplish this vision have changed. One of the primary strategies identified in the 1999 ITS Strategic Plan was the establishment of an ITS Office and Program at both the Central Office and District levels.

Since its inception in July of 2000, the ITS Office has made great strides to implement several strategies identified in the Plan. The update of the ITS Strategic Plan will reflect these accomplishments and provide a new direction for the next phases of ITS deployments in Florida.

The ITS Strategic Plan update will be led by a project management team consisting of representatives from:

	FDOT's ITS Office;
	Traffic Operations Office;
	Public Transportation Office; and
	Systems Planning Office.

Guidance for the update will also be provided through involvement and consensus from the District ITS Engineers. The update is scheduled to begin in early December. Estimated completion of the Plan update is Spring of 2003. Staff are currently developing a scope of work for the project.

For information, please contact Gene Glotzbach at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, 850-410-5616 or email to Gene.Glotzbach@dot.state.fl.us.

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Florida —A National Leader in 511 Deployment

Dialing 511 for travel information has become increasingly common in the United States, and with a completed statewide 511 plan and systems in operation in Southeast Florida and the Orlando area, Florida is a national leader. In July 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated 511 as the United States' national traveler information telephone number. In early 2001, mindful of both the opportunity and challenge that 511 presents, the American Association of State Highway and

Florida is actively involved in the Coalition. Gene Glotzbach of FDOT's ITS Office in Tallahassee serves as a member of the Working Group and currently leads the Working Group's Roadway Content Quality Task
Force. Also, PBS&J, FDOT's ITS General Consultant, provides program management support to the Coalition, and the private firms involved in both operational systems - SmartRoute Systems in Southeast Florida and Tellme in Orlando - are also active in the Coalition.

The Coalition's goal is “the timely establishment of a national 511 traveler information service available to a majority of Americans by 2005 that is sustainable and provides value to users.” The Coalition recognizes that 511 services will be developed in a bottom-up fashion with state and local transportation agencies establishing services in areas and timeframes determined by them. At the end of October 2002, eight 511 systems were in operation, covering roughly eight percent of the nation's population.

Funding and plans for statewide 511 availability are in place with services scheduled for completion by the end of 2005, making Florida a big contributor to meeting the Coalition's goal. Florida was one of the first states to complete its statewide implementation plan, doing so in February 2002. As shown, six systems will ultimately serve the state - five in the largest metropolitan areas covering 78 percent of the population and an overlying statewide system to fill the gaps. The metropolitan area systems will be multi-modal with transit information provided, as well as travel-time/speed, congestion, incident, and construction information for major roadways. The statewide system will focus on providing incident and construction/maintenance information on the FIHS.

To establish and sustain 511 services, it is necessary to clearly articulate the resources available. For all six systems, the following principles will apply:

	all calls for the basic service should be no more than the cost of a local call to the user;
	the public sector anticipates supporting most, or all, of basic service costs;
	sponsorship and advertising on basic services will be used to defray the costs to the maximum extent possible;
	self-supporting, or revenue generating, “optional” content is possible; and
	regional 511 systems will be part of ATIS projects.

The status of each system is as follows:

	Orlando — Florida's first 511 system began operations in June 2002 and has received almost 500,000 calls since inception. The system's current focus is providing information on I-4 in Volusia, Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties. The system operates with a voice recognition user interface and plans are to expand this system over time to a full regional and multi-modal service. (Outside the Orlando area, the service can be reached by dialing 866-510-1930.)
	Southeast Florida — In July 2002, the regional multi-modal phone service that was previously available in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties via 10-digit dialing became available through 511. The number switch - and the corresponding marketing campaign - has led to an almost 600 percent increase in calls overall, with over 200,000 calls received since 511 dialing become operational. (Outside the Southeast Florida area, the service can be reached by dialing 866-914-3838.)
	Tampa Bay — FDOT District 7 and several local agency partners are in the process of procuring the services of an ATIS information service provider that will implement and operate a 511 system as part of a larger contract. Current estimates project a contractor will be selected in Spring of 2003, with 511 becoming operational in the six-county Tampa Bay area in late 2003 or early 2004.
	Jacksonville — FDOT's Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan funds the establishment of a 511/ATIS in the Jacksonville area in FY 2006. Prior to its operation, the Jacksonville area will be supported by the statewide system, once it is operational.
	Southwest Florida — FDOT's Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan funds the establishment of a 511/ATIS system in Southwest Florida in FY 2006. Prior to its operation, the area will be supported by the statewide system, once it is operational.
	Statewide — Conceptual design is ongoing for the statewide system. It will cover areas that cannot access the metropolitan area systems. Implementation funding will be available in FY 2005 and the system is projected to be operational in late 2005.

For information, please contact Gene Glotzbach at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5616 or email to Gene.Glotzbach@dot.state.fl.us.

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An Overview of Recent Travel Time Projects Around Florida

Travel time, or the time required to move between two points along a given route, is a fundamental measure for evaluating the performance of transportation systems. Moreover, in contrast with most other performance measures, travel time is a straightforward concept easily understood and communicated across an assortment of audiences, including not only transportation professionals (engineers and planners), but as importantly, commuters, the business community, journalists, and politicians.

Over the past year, FDOT and other transportation agencies located in Central Florida have actively investigated the prospect of collecting travel time data along both the FIHS and arterial roadways in the Orland Metropolitan area. This research has been centered on the deployment of innovative “probe vehicle-based” data collection technologies, specifically, in-vehicle transponders and license plate readers (LPRs). Systems such as these facilitate the direct measurement of travel time along entire segments of roadway. As such, they differ markedly from more traditional “point sensor-based” data collection technologies, such as loop detectors, video image detectors (VIDs), and radar, infrared, or acoustic detectors, which characterize traffic conditions (e.g., volume and speed) only at specific locations along the road.

Travel Times Along the FIHS
During April and May, 2002, using portable roadside transponder readers (PRRs) owned by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, and working with the support of several FDOT District Offices, FDOT's ITS Office conducted a field-test on the feasibility of deploying transponder-based travel time data collection systems along a number of FIHS corridors around the state as follows:

Urban Roadways • I-95 in Fort Lauderdale • I-4 in Orlando • I-95 in Jacksonville Rural Roadways • I-10 • I-75 • I-95 The adjacent map shows the roadway segments covered in this study. Results of this field-test indicated that sufficient numbers of transponders are available in those areas adjacent to the I-4 corridor and along portions of I-95 south of I-4 and in southeast Florida (i.e., areas in close proximity to networks of toll roads), to support travel time data collection. In contrast, for those areas north of the I-4 corridor, especially rural areas in the northwestern portion of the state, alternative probe data collection technologies (e.g., LPRs) will be needed to support the collection of travel time data.

For more detailed information about this field-test, contact Mike Akridge at the FDOT ITS Program Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5607, or email to Michael.Akridge@dot.state.fl.us.

In August 2002, FDOT District 5, on behalf of the Central Florida Regional Transportation Operations Consortium (the Consortium), conducted a transponder-based field-test on SR-50 and SR-436 (Segments 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8) and an LPR-based field-test on SR-436 (Segment 3-4). The adjacent map of the Orlando area shows these segments. Initial results of this field-test indicated that sufficient numbers of transponder-enabled vehicles were available for collecting travel time data on all the arterial roadways tested. However, initial estimates also indicated that LPRs, due to their ability to monitor a larger percentage of traffic, have the potential to monitor travel times even

For more detailed information about this field-test, contact Anne Brewer at the FDOT District 5 Office of Traffic Operations, (386) 943-5319 or email to Anne.Brewer @dot.state.fl.us.

OOCEA is currently operating a pilot travel time data collection system using transponder data collected via its existing electronic toll collection (ETC) system. The adjacent figure shows a sample view of a map of OOCEA's pilot travel time data collection system. Based on the success of this pilot test, OOCEA is moving forward with the design of a permanent, expressway-wide travel time data collection system. This system will blend data garnered from the existing ETC system with that collected by supplemental (non-

For more detailed information about this project, contact L. A. Griffin at OOCEA, (407) 316-3839 or email to GriffinL@oocea. com.

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Florida CVISN Team Updates Program Plan

It has now been one year since the Florida Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Program Plan was submitted to and approved by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In the past year, some of the projects contained in the Program Plan have been completed, a few are nearing completion, and two are scheduled to begin in January 2003. Because some of the projects are no longer on schedule, as outlined in the original Program Plan, the Florida CVISN Team conducted a workshop in October to update the Program Plan - taking into account each of the participating agencies’ current priorities and resources.

Florida CVISN Team representatives met and updated the Florida CVISN Program Plan schedules, project descriptions, project priorities, and assignments of project leaders. Updating the funding requirements of the projects was completed at the November Florida CVISN Team meeting.

• Automated Routing and Permitting System
This project will fully automate Florida's over-size/over-weight (OS/OW) permitting process, including the application, screening, route review, payment, and issuance processes. This project will take several years to complete. The initial phases of the project began in 2002 and it is scheduled for completion in 2005.

• Automated Processing for International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)
This project will automate IFTA quarterly tax filings, supplemental filings, and decal applications. This project is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of calendar year 2003.

• Automated Processing for the International Registration Plan (IRP)
This project will automate IRP supplemental filings and renewals. This project is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2003.

• Participation in the IFTA Clearinghouse
The IFTA Clearinghouse manages the flow of IFTA credentials data and funds among participating jurisdictions (states or Canadian provinces). The clearinghouse data includes updated fuel tax rates, carrier demographic data, and carrier transaction information. This project is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of calendar year 2003.

Safety
• Upgrade to ASPEN 2.0 Automated Inspection Software
This project will upgrade the inspection software currently used by Florida's Motor Carrier Compliance Office (MCCO) to the most recent version. The software installation was completed in October 2001 and upgrades will continue as new software versions are released.

• Information Systems Inventory
The Information Systems Inventory will be a detailed inventory of the existing hardware and software of CVISN-related systems. This project is scheduled to begin and complete in the first quarter of calendar year 2003.

Electronic Screening
• Mainline Electronic Screening
Florida currently participates in the PrePass electronic screening program. The PrePass system allows pre-enrolled carriers with transponder-equipped vehicles to be identified and screened at Florida's safety inspection facilities. Carriers enrolled in this program must have:

• an excellent safety record;
• a good weight history in Florida; and
• all required credentials to operate in the state.

The automatic vehicle identification (AVI) system allows participating transponder-equipped commercial vehicles to bypass designated inspection stations. Cleared vehicles proceed at highway speeds, eliminating the need to stop, which creates greater efficiency for shippers and improved safety for all highway users. This project began before the Florida CVISN Program Plan was completed and is scheduled for completion at the end of the second quarter of calendar year 2003. At that time, there will be 19 PrePass sites. At this time, there are 16 operational PrePass sites.

• Electronic Screening for Agricultural/Bills of Lading
This project will deploy electronic screening technology at a series of agricultural inspection stations in Florida. This project will also use transponder technology to identify vehicles and relay the screening decision to the driver. Motor carrier participants in this project must provide electronic copies of their bills of lading to the DOR and must not be hauling agricultural products that require inspection. This project was completed in October 2002. There are now six agriculture interdiction sites that utilize PrePass to electronically screen commercial vehicles.

Program Wide
• Electronic Payment System (EPS)
An EPS will be developed as part of the Florida CVISN Program Plan. This system will support the payment of registration fees, fuel tax payments, and permit fees. This project is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of calendar year 2003.

• Commercial Vehicle Information Exchange Window (CVIEW)
Florida's CVIEW will be the State's internal clearinghouse to manage the flow of commercial vehicle safety and credential data among state agencies. This project is scheduled to start in the first quarter of calendar year 2003.

• Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) HelpDesk
The HelpDesk project will provide a single point of contact in state government for commercial vehicle regulatory policy and procedure information. The feasibility/recommendations stage of this project has been completed and the implementation phase is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of calendar year 2003.

The following figure shows the updated schedule for each of the Florida CVISN Program Plan projects.

FLORIDA CVISN PROJECTS SCHEDULE FROM PROGRAM PLAN

To view the Florida CVISN Program Plan, please visit: http://www11.myflorida.com/intelligenttransportationsystems/CVO/CVISN.htm and select CVISN Docs/Articles.

For more information, please contact Mike Akridge at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5607 or email to Michael.Akridge@dot.state.fl.us.

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Highway Advisory Radio Update

In the September edition of the SunGuideSM Disseminator, the FDOT ITS Office presented a description of the functions and capabilities of Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) with information to help Districts and others plan ITS deployments. This article is intended to supplement and update the previous article. Specifically, it includes additional information about the terms, conditions, and status of the statewide license.

FDOT's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, designated by call sign WNNC526, grants permission to operate 60 HAR base stations at temporary locations on each of the five frequencies of 530 kHz, 880 kHz, 1100 kHz, 1180 kHz, and 1610 kHz. The stations are restricted to secondary operation at 10 watts output power and can be no more than 49.2 feet in height. The current license expires May 23, 2005.

Since HAR stations are secondary to standard AM broadcast stations, it is important to identify the AM broadcast stations in operation when making a decision to deploy a HAR base station. HAR base stations are not allowed to interfere with standard AM broadcast stations, but must tolerate interference from standard AM broadcast stations. In order to avoid interfering with a broadcast AM station, HAR operation must be coordinated with the broadcast AM stations in the deployment area before being put on the air.

FCC licenses change over time, and the maps included in FDOT’s HAR System Manual may not be valid for a specific location. The FCC has received applications for new stations in the standard AM broadcast band that may have an impact on frequency usability in the State. The chances are good that at least one of the five frequencies will be available, and the ITS Office can help you find which frequency to use at the chosen location.

The FCC's rules covering HAR (also known by the FCC as Traveler Information Stations) require that standard AM broadcast stations operating on the first adjacent channels must also be protected by not placing HAR base stations within their service contours. Also, applicants for HAR licenses must certify that they have considered the effect their operation might have on standard AM broadcast stations operating on second and third adjacent stations.

There are no AM broadcast stations on the 530 kHz and 1610 kHz frequencies in Florida, Georgia, or Alabama. Consequently, there are no changes to the HAR System Manual information for these frequencies.

The situation is different for the remaining three frequencies as follows:

• One 880 kHz station is licensed in Jefferson, GA, and another has been applied for in Florida City, FL. Jefferson, GA, is northwest of Athens, GA, about halfway between Athens and Gainesville, GA, and is more than 250 miles from the Florida-Georgia border. Operation in northern Florida is unlikely to be a problem. Since the proposed standard AM broadcast station in Florida City is primary, once a license has been granted, neither District 6 nor southern District 4 will have 880 kHz available to them, even though FDOT's HAR license was granted much earlier.
  
  
• There are two stations on the 1100 kHz frequency in Georgia (suburban Atlanta and between Brunswick, GA, and Jacksonville, FL), none in Florida, and none in Alabama. So, the areas of significance in terms of 1100 kHz use of HAR probably include a 100-mile radius of Jacksonville. The station in suburban Atlanta may not have any effect on HAR use in Florida, but the situation will need to be evaluated for each proposed station in northern Florida.
  
  
• There are three applications for new stations on the 1180 kHz frequency in Florida at Marathon, Havana, and Pace, one application at Lizella, GA, and none in Alabama. Trion, GA, has a station, but is more than 300 miles from the nearest Florida border. Lizella, GA, is about 20 miles west of Macon, GA. Neither station is expected to have a service contour within Florida. However, the protection zone for Lizella, GA, could extend into Florida in the Jefferson-Madison counties area. The applications in Florida at Havana and Pace decrease the opportunity to use 1180 kHz frequency anywhere in District 3, while the application at Marathon reduces the chance of availability anywhere in the Florida Keys or southern Miami-Dade County.

As previously mentioned, FDOT's statewide license is for stations at temporary locations. The FCC interprets "temporary" as less than one year. In order to install a HAR base station at a specific location for more than one year, that station will need a separate license. It cannot be operated under the terms of the current statewide license for stations at temporary locations.

If you have questions, or would like assistance in your licensing effort, let us help you by contacting Nick Adams at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5608 or email to Nick.Adams@dot.state.fl.us.

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FDOT Closes RFI With 32 Responses

The continued significant deployment of ITS field devices along Florida's highways, together with the continued rapid growth in demand for communications capacity, have created a need for FDOT to build new communications networks and extend existing networks.

FDOT is very interested in accelerating the deployment of ITS field devices utilizing wireless communications networks. Until a statewide fiber optic backbone can be constructed, FDOT envisions statewide communications networks consisting of wireless technologies interfacing ITS field devices with circuits on the statewide microwave radio system, integrated with fibers within the existing fiber optic networks. Such wireless/wireline hybrid communications networks could quickly bridge the communications gaps in the existing 2,000 miles of limited-access rights-of-way and provide a technically sound and economically feasible approach that would be greatly enhanced as the statewide fiber optic backbone is installed. Therefore, FDOT is very interested in learning about current wireless technologies and how they might be developed as solutions in the overall ITS communications network. In this regard, FDOT desires to review innovative wireless solutions for the connectivity of ITS field devices to the digital microwave radio system, to existing and planned fiber optic networks, and directly to a particular Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC).

Therefore, in an effort to address its current network needs, FDOT's ITS Office publicly solicited information packages from prospective vendors to learn more about state-of-the-art wireless technologies, as well as the state of current market conditions in the telecommunications sector. Vendors were requested to submit the following information:

• Firm name;
• Brief description of the firm's qualifications and experiences;
• Products and services offered;
• How the products and services offered may solve FDOT's need;
• How a pilot project or demonstration may be performed; and
• Why the products and services offered may be in FDOT's best interests.

Vendors were also encouraged to enhance their informational response by providing a demonstration of their products and services.

Thirty-two responses were received by the RFI due date of September 26, 2002. The responses represent a cross-section of companies with an interest in telecommunications, and wireless technologies in particular.

In the coming weeks, the FDOT ITS Office will continue to analyze and review the information received. Supplemental information and details will be obtained to facilitate a full understanding of the various systems, projects, and devices that were submitted. Specific pilot projects and/or demonstrations may be developed and scheduled during 2003.

For information, please contact Mr. Nick Adams at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5608 or Nick.Adams @dot.state.fl.us.

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9th World Congress Intelligent Transport System “Blows Chicago Away”

The 9th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems was held in Chicago from October 14-17, 2002. This year's event was attended by approximately 4,000 professionals from over 30 countries and had approximately 221 exhibitors on the exposition hall floor.

This year's theme, “ITS, Enriching Our Lives,”carried through in the exposition hall with many products for improved emergency response, traffic management, safety, and productivity. The exposition hall also included a number of "have a seat" prototype cars that offered onboard navigation, entertainment, and safety-oriented technologies. Toyota provided a Lexus "ITS Car" that featured a heads-up night vision display, front collision auto braking system when impact was unavoidable, auto cruise control, onboard navigation, and many other safety-oriented technologies.

The World Congress recieved very strong participation in the executive and technical sessions. While there were many research papers presented in the sessions, one was struck by the high quality of the papers, presentations, and presenters at this year's Congress. Florida was well-represented through participation in a discussion group and two presentations made during the Congress. L.A. Griffin from the OOCEA participated in a discussion on "ITS in Toll Operations," while Matt D'Angelo of PBS&J presented "The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority's Traffic Data Collection Pilot Project," and Mike Akridge from the FDOT ITS Office made a presentation on "The Potential Application of Innovative Traffic Data Collection Technology in the State of Florida." Both presented papers were authored by Armand Ciccarelli of PBS&J.

Finally, even the kids got into the act. A group of five seventh graders from Irving Park Middle School in Chicago presented the findings from an educational study sponsored by the World Congress Student Program. This series of studies is intended to help students improve their skills in making intelligent transportation decisions and finding ways to tangibly contribute to their communities. The students researched how to improve bus travel on the route between their school and Devry University, a local technical training school and prominent commute destination. To find their solution, the student team conducted Internet research, talked with Chicago Transit Authority officials, and made test runs on bus routes. The students were eager to explain how they did their research and developed their findings and were very proud of their work.

The closing event for the Congress was the passing of the World Congress globe from ITS America to next year's host for the 2003 World Congress, “Solutions for Today… and Tomorrow.” Attendees of this event were treated to an exhibition of Flamenco dancing in recognition of the 2003 host city, Madrid.

For more information, please contact Mike Akridge at the FDOT ITS Office in Tallahassee, (850) 410-5607 or email to Michael.Akridge@dot.state.fl.us.

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The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Traffic Management Center (TMC) Pooled Fund Study is intended to provide a forum for participants to identify and address operational and human-centered issues common among agencies managing and operating TMCs. The Study focuses on issues facing traffic signal control systems, freeway management systems, and multi-modal TMCs, and brings together regional, State, and local traffic management agencies, in concert with the FHWA, to:

• identify operational and human-centered issues common among TMC operators and managers;
• suggest approaches to address identified issues;
• initiate and monitor projects to implement the approaches;
• disseminate results; and
• assist in solution deployment.

Membership in the Study consists of the FHWA and public agencies that have committed funding to the Study. States may join at anytime during the year by committing funds at a level deemed appropriate by the members. Also, non-commercial agencies or organizations responsible for the management and operation of portions of the surface transportation system are welcome to join the Study. Membership in the Study provides all members with direct input into the identification, selection, and development of projects.

Projects are selected based on the needs identified through an iterative process that involves Study members’ input, state-of-practice reviews, and issues identified by professional organizations. The highest priority projects are reviewed and revised further by the members. The projects are then funded based on resources available to the Study for that year and the member rankings of priority.

Current Projects
Projects selected at the first annual meeting, June 2000, were:

• TMC Operator Requirements Matrix;
• Guidelines for Changeable Message Sign Messaging;
• Transportation Management System Maintenance Concept and Plans;
• Configuration Management for Transportation Management Systems; and
• Creation and maintenance of a TMC web site.

These projects are currently contracted and in progress. Several of them are completed and the final reports posted on the TMC Pooled-Fund Study website at http://tmcpfs.ops.fhwa.dot.gov.

Projects selected at the second annual meeting, May 2001, were:

• TMC Operational Concepts and Requirements and
• Coordinated Freeway and Arterial Operational Plans and Procedures.

Projects selected at the third annual meeting, May 2002, were:

• Resolution of Selected Changeable Message Sign Issues that Affect Operational and Safety Considerations;
• Ramp Metering Handbook; and
• Multi-Year TMC Business Plan.

FDOT Commitment
FDOT has contributed $150,000 to this pooled fund study, and plans to contribute $50,000 per year for the next two years.

Additional information, detailed scopes of work, progress reports, and final reports can be downloaded from the TMC Pooled Fund Study website.

For more information, please contact Lap Hoang at the FDOT Traffic Operations Office in Tallahassee, (850) 414-4866 or email to Lap.Hoang@dot.state.fl.us.

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	We invite you to have some fun and complete the SunGuideSM Disseminator Word Challenge! Unscramble the letters to complete the word for the clue found under the boxes. Use the letters in the red circles to complete the final puzzle. The answers can be found after the Editorial Corner. Enjoy and Good Luck!

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ITS Showcase

The application of information and telecommunications technologies to transportation management and operations is still a relatively new concept. Most people in our engineering, planning, and technical communities have a reasonable awareness of the values, benefits, and impacts of ITS. A significant number have in-depth, practical experience as a result of development and implementation experiences. However, this is not the case in the wider community of potential ITS users (the public) and the non-technical decision-makers that direct resources on behalf of the public (the body politic). While a few ITS champions have emerged both in the State and around the country, we still have to complete the job of raising awareness of the investment advantages in ITS.

With this in mind, ITS Florida has embarked on the planning and development work required to host an ITS Showcase event at the Capitol Building in Tallahassee on Tuesday, April 22, 2003. Our plan is to provide our political leadership in the State with the opportunity to experience firsthand, a range of ITS products and services that have the potential to save lives, time, and money by improving the management of our transportation network, supporting ease of use, and providing decision-quality information on travel conditions and better ways to use the transportation network. Working in close cooperation with a number of public and private sector organizations with an interest in promoting the effective application of information and telecommunications technologies to transportation in Florida, ITS Florida will bring a focused exposition of proven ITS products and services to the heart of our decision-making activities.

Centered on the theme "ITS Delivers," the various exhibits and demonstrations will explain and illustrate the nature of the information and telecommunications technologies that are available and in current use around the U.S. today. Exhibitors will be encouraged to directly relate the capabilities and characteristics of their products and services to the services and values that can be delivered by quoting specific application experiences and stating the value achieved. ITS Florida will work with public sector partners to explain and illustrate how the delivery of these services and values can be integrated into our transportation planning and operations activities to help achieve our transportation policy objectives in the state.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for the Florida ITS community to communicate our passion for, and belief in, the intrinsic value of ITS to an influential group of decision-makers. Combined with our powerful ITS deployment program, professional capacity building efforts, and technical networking and knowledge sharing work, this event will take us another step closer to Florida as an ITS Powerhouse.

The ITS Showcase will be held on the second floor of the Rotunda in the Capitol building from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 22, 2003. More details on the specific nature of the event and how you can be involved will be published in future editions of the SunGuide ^SM Disseminator and on our website at www.itsflorida.org.

If you have some thoughts, comments, or opinions related to this article, or if you would like to suggest a topic that you would like ITS Florida to address in the coming months, then please share them with us by e-mailing them to bobmcqueen@pbsj.com.

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Editorial Corner

Many readers of FDOT’s SunGuideSM Disseminator newsletter will be receiving the December issue in their “welcome bag” at TRANSPO 2002 in Orlando. So, let us take the liberty of disposing with our usual “hard-hitting” editorial of the month in this corner of the Disseminator, and in its stead, extend to all of the TRANSPO 2002 attendees a hearty welcome to our year-end ITS conference spectaculaire. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy the conference and your stay in Orlando. FDOT is looking forward to participating in the conference, particularly the Business Opportunity Forum on Monday and the Telecommunications Industry Roundtable Discussion on Thursday.

We also invite you to stop by our exhibit, Florida ITS - We’re Really Taking Off!

And, for all of our Disseminator readers, since this issue also closes out the calendar year, we want to thank you for your readership and hope that you have the happiest of holidays and a great New Year! This editorial was provided by Chester H. Chandler III, P.E., FDOT ITS Office Manager

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SunGuide^SM Disseminator Word Challenge Answers

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Announcements

South Florida's 511 Email . . .
Every day, more and more commuters call the SmarTraveler® Information System, because it's the easiest and most accurate way to get up-to-the-minute, route-specific traffic information. But did you know that you can also receive traffic information via email?

You can be alerted of potential traffic slowdowns before you even leave your home or office by a simple click of your mouse! Simply go to http://www.sunguide.org/ and follow the 511 logo to create your own unique account.

ITS Florida Elections For 2003 Offices
The Board of Directors of ITS Florida, the Charter State Chapter of ITS America, is currently electing its officers and directors-at-large for 2003 terms. The offices being filled for calendar year 2003 are:

• President and Chairman of the Board (1-year term);
• Vice President (1-year term);
• Secretary/Treasurer (1-year term); and
• Directors-at-Large (three openings, each for 2-year terms).

ITS Florida strives to maintain a balance of public- and private-sector members on the board, including academia. Ballots were sent to all primary representatives of ITS Florida and are due back by December 27. The results will be announced shortly after New Year's Day, which is the effective date of office for all new terms.

If you are not a member of ITS Florida, but wish to become one, visit their website at www.itsflorida.org.

For more information, contact Executive Director Charles Wallace at (352) 374-6635 or email to execdirector@itsflorida.org.

DMS Procurement Workshop
FDOT's ITS Office and the FHWA Florida Division hosted a DMS Procurement Workshop on November 12-13, 2002 at the Sea Turtle Inn in Jacksonville. This training was part of the United States DOT's Standards Program.

The workshop was well-attended by 24 participants from FDOT, FHWA, Florida Turnpike Enterprise, ITS consultants, and ITS product developers.

The workshop training helped the participants:

• understand the need for National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) specifications;
• learn to use the NTCIP Procurement Guide;
• understand details of the NTCIP generic specification; and
• learn to write good NTCIP specifications for DMS systems.

For more information and upcoming training opportunities in this program, visit http://www.its-standards.net.

Check Out ITS Florida’s Calendar of Events
ITS Florida maintains a Calendar of Events which includes upcoming:

• training;
• meetings; and
• conferences/expositions.

Visit the ITS Florida website at www.itsflorida.org for this information, and much more.

Look for the SunGuide^SM Disseminator Supplement
The FDOT ITS District Progress Reports are now located in a supplement to this December’s SunGuideSM Disseminator.

Link here to your copy of the quarterly update of the District Progress Reports.

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