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Tampa Bay SunGuideSM Traveler Information System FDOT District 7 is embarking on an exciting new program to provide traveler information to motorists using the area’s roadways. Two projects are currently being launched which will provide motorists with current traffic and roadway construction information through a 511 telephone-based traveler information system and a Web site. Both projects are being deployed by Mobility Technologies, which specializes in traffic and transportation information products and services.
Another service of the ATIS will be the Tampa Bay SunGuideSM Web site. This site will use software developed by Mobility Technologies to display real-time traffic data by route, as well as by long-term data, such as road closures, construction, or other events affecting daily traffic. behind-the-scenes data to various media outlets. This data will flow through high-speed network connections and allow authorized parties to obtain a direct feed from the information database. In addition, Mobility Technologies will sell value-enhanced data as part of their Traffic Pulse NetworksSM media operations, which serves area radio and television stations. The second project is being performed under the FHWA Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Program (ITIP). Under the ITIP, the contractor provides equipment and data sensors as part of a private match to FHWA’s funding. The ITIP is designed to:
ITIP systems are being deployed in several areas around the country as part of the National ITS Infrastructure. In the Tampa Bay area, sensors will be deployed to cover approximately 100 miles of Interstate facilities. These sensors, which consist of a side-fired radar or acoustic detection device, along with a transmitter and solar power source, will be located throughout the Tampa Bay area. The data from these sensors will be linked in real time to the Mobility Technologies center and included in the “Data Fusion” software engine. The data from the sensors will also be made available to the Tampa Bay SunGuideSM Regional Transportation Management Center upon its completion in 2006. Combined, these projects will serve Tampa Bay motorists with up-to-date, accurate traffic information that will allow them to more intelligently plan and complete their travels on the area’s roadway network. This article was provided by James D. Bitting, FDOT District 7. For more information, please contact Mr. Bitting at (813) 975-6401 or email James.Bitting@dot.state.fl.us.
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Road Rangers PDA Application — Bridging the Communications GAP The FDOT District 6 Office provides Road Rangers roadside assistance services to motorists stranded with disabled vehicles under the SunGuideSM ITS Incident Management Program. The assistance services consist of, but are not limited to:
District 6 has been averaging about 6,000 assists per month. The Road Rangers contractors maintain daily “Road Rangers Operations Logs” to record all traffic incidents responded to during their hours of operation. These operations logs contain data such as the time, location, nature of service, and other pertinent information critical to the effectiveness of the SunGuideSM ITS Incident Management Program. Currently, the operations logs are filled out manually by the Road Rangers vehicle operators and then transcribed by the contractors into a Microsoft Access Database file and submitted to the FDOT via e-mail. The FDOT’s District 6 Interim Operations Center (IOC) staff sort through the database submitted by the contractors clarifying, correcting, analyzing, and cross-referencing the data with the IOC phone log incident data records. Some disadvantages of this existing system are:
The illustration below shows the current, inefficient paper-based process.
To overcome the limitations and inefficiencies of the existing system, District 6 is introducing personal digital assistants (PDAs) and Road Rangers vehicle operators. The highlighted areas outline where the new PDA application system will improve the current business process. The challenge of reengineering the current business process can be accomplished by placing reliance on emerging technology solutions which provide the strategic communication components necessary to effectively coordinate responses to support a multi-agency infrastructure. This solution will electronically link the responding agencies to improve the coordination of all responses including critical emergencies. This solution will also provide integration with existing legacy systems, equipment, and procedures already in use by the responding agencies.A new project underway will provide a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to enhance the current business process of handling incidents on South Florida’s roadways for the Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC) and the roadside assistance provided by the Road Rangers vehicle operator. Radiant Systems, Inc. has been contracted by FDOT District 6 to provide a CAD system to bridge the gap in communications between the Road Rangers vehicle operator and the RTMC. This project is expected to last six months and has a project cost of $188,164, which includes field hardware. The design of the new CAD system complements the current business process by providing an efficient method to capture the information at the scene of an incident with the assistance of a PDA field device, and then disseminate the information to the RTMC as an incident evolves. The Road Rangers vehicle operator communicates directly with the RTMC to provide essential details associated with an incident and request additional support to handle the incident, as needed. With a PDA field device, the Road Rangers vehicle operator has the capability of recording the sequence of events and activities as an incident evolves. The RTMC will also have the capability of tracing and tracking an incident and all activities occurring throughout the duration of an incident, while also recording historical details and statistics. Additionally, the RTMC will have the capability of obtaining a quick snapshot of the sequence of events and activities and how an incident is transpiring as an activity occurs. The RTMC’s access to this information will be provided through an Intranet portal connected to a PDA field device. The CAD system will provide a central data repository for all data captured regarding an incident. Some of the primary features of the CAD system are:
The CAD system provides the RTMC with immediate access capabilities to all incident information, both current and historical, and location of information at the tip of the finger and a click of the mouse with only one place to look. The operational system is comprised of two main technologies:
The CAD system will integrate both the field units and the RTMC operations, providing much-needed improvements for supporting and handling all aspects of an incident. Additional benefits are listed below:
The CAD system should be a very successful project and is expected to be fully deployed by November 2003. This article was provided by Angel Reanos, FDOT District 6. For more information, please contact Mr. Reanos at (305) 470-5830 or email Angel.Reanos@ dot.state.fl.us, or Ms. Jay Milam, Radiant Systems, Inc. at (954) 938-2800 or email JMilam@radiants.com. * * * *
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On May 1, 2003, FDOT was awarded a $10 million grant solicited by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Leveraging central Florida’s extensive existing ITS programs, District 5 took the lead in preparing Florida’s grant proposal which was selected from among 17 other state proposals. With the District’s proven track record in deploying ITS infrastructure, District 5 was able to demonstrate to FHWA the region’s capability of deploying a highly innovative model deployment program while adhering to an aggressive four-year schedule. The objective of the grant, known as the Surface Transportation Security and Reliability Information System Model Deployment — named iFlorida — is to provide a Transportation Information Infrastructure, sometimes called the “Infostructure,” that will demonstrate how the widespread availability of real-time information enhances security, reliability, and safety. The project will expand and integrate existing data collection and monitoring systems while demonstrating innovative, new technologies and best practices to the nation. It is a statewide project with a metropolitan focus in central Florida. iFlorida is a $21 million project (FDOT’s contribution is $3 million while public and private partners’ contribution is $8 million) that includes 24 integrated projects, which will build upon Florida’s institutional, operational, and technical foundations.
The iFlorida project includes:
All iFlorida project elements will be deployed over a two-year period, with another two years dedicated to evaluating the systems for possible nationwide deployment. iFlorida will expand District 5’s highly successful 511 Regional Travel Information Service to include arterial roads, airport facilities, transit, and weather information. Launched one year ago, the voice-activated 511 services have logged well over one million calls from motorists seeking traffic condition information along I-4 and I-95. A new statewide reporting system will provide information on events, incidents, weather, and construction on the Florida Intrastate Highway System (FIHS). This information will be integrated and used to implement a Statewide 511 Traveler Information System that will fill the gaps of the existing and proposed 511 systems.
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
Near Future
A strong management team and plan ties iFlorida together. Its project components build upon, and are consistent with FDOT’s ITS Strategic Plan, FDOT’s Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan, and the plans of the Central Florida Regional Transportation Operations Consortium. This article was provided by Anne Brewer, FDOT District 5. For more information visit the iFlorida Web site at http://www.iFlorida.net. * * * *
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FDOT / FDEM Hurricane Evacuation Workshop Chester H. Chandler, P.E., FDOT ITS Office Manager, opened the workshop on the afternoon of July 1. Presentations began with Greg Jones, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), who spoke about the National ITS Architecture and how it can be used as an aid in hurricane evacuations and disaster planning. Harshad Desai, P.E., FDOT Statistics Office, gave a presentation entitled, “How Florida Meets Emergency Management’s Traffic Data Challenge,” and Bob Collins, FDEM, gave a presentation on “New Developments in Reverse Lane Plans.” Mr. Collins’ presentation was reinforced by comments from Captain Leroy Smith and Major Jim Howell with the Florida Highway Patrol. Thomas Gill, Georgia Department of Transportation, presented on “Hurricane Preparedness 2003,” Georgia’s contraflow and evacuation preparedness plan. Fred Levinson, SmartRoute Systems, presented “Hurricane Evacuation and Dissemination Procedures.” Lorin Krueger, LK Consultants, presented how unmanned aerial vehicles could support emergency management decision-making during hurricane evacuations. The first day ended with a presentation given by Frank Deasy, P.E., PB Farradyne, on how center-to-center communications are necessary for accurate tracking of hurricanes, transportation of the public during evacuations, and dissemination of shelter information.
The FDOT ITS Office would like to extend its gratitude to Bob Collins, Paul Clark, FDOT Safety Office, and Don Lewis, A.I.C.P. , PBS&J, for all of their assistance in planning this workshop. Additionally, a huge “thanks” goes out to all the presenters! This article was provided by Gene Glotzbach, FDOT ITS Office. For more information, please contact Mr. Glotzbach at (850) 410-5616 or email Gene.Glotzbach@dot.state.fl.us.
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State to Clear Wrecks More Quickly ORANGE CITY -- Interstate 4 commutes and daily interstate drives around
Orlando could become shorter starting early next year under a state plan
to clear the highway of accidents more quickly. The aim is to clear traffic accidents off the interstate within 90 minutes. A state study suggests that will help reduce congestion, prevent other accidents and save money. “We want as quickly as possible to respond to accidents, do the preliminary investigation and move the vehicles off the road to open the roads and keep traffic moving,” said Mike Snyder, head of the Florida Department of Transportation District 5 office that oversees nine Central Florida counties. The extra troopers should be on the road by January, said FHP Capt. Robert Duncan, who commands the DeLand office. “The goal is to reduce response times and improve safety on I-4 in the areas that are under construction and will be for a long time,” Duncan said. “We’ve been working on this for more than two years. We haven’t had staff increases in a long time and we’ve not kept up with the population growth.” Troopers in Volusia and Seminole counties are “well equipped” to respond to an average of 800 accidents a month, Duncan said. Response times on I-4 in Orange and Osceola counties are longer as troopers deal with about 4,000 accidents a month. The FHP will add five or six troopers and a supervising sergeant to I-4 for each shift to enforce speed limits and reduce accident rates, Duncan said.
Transportation officials expect to save money in the long term by reducing the number of off-duty troopers hired for traffic control duties in construction zones. The I-4 program is a test to work out the bugs before implementing it in other urban areas, said George Gilhooley, District 5 transportation operations director. Quickly clearing roadways is a top state priority. The state’s economy loses $50,000 for each 15 minutes a major road is closed, the state study concluded. The study also found 54 percent of all congestion is a result of vehicle accidents, between 13 and 30 percent of crashes are secondary to earlier incidents and half of law enforcement injuries are suffered at accidents. The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority hired eight additional FHP troopers in 2000 to increase patrols on Central Florida’s toll roads. “We’ve seen a drop in the number of violations and the roads are safer since the program started,” authority spokesman Bryan Douglas said. The transportation department has employed Road Rangers and installed traffic cameras to help reduce the times interstates are blocked, Snyder said, but more is needed. “Hiring FHP troopers was born out of frustration,” Snyder said. “I was giving some top brass a tour of our traffic management center in Orlando and we watched how long it took local law enforcement officers to clear an accident. It was ridiculous.” This article was reprinted with the permission of the Daytona Beach News Journal. The article was written by Bob Koslow, Staff Writer.
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Inaugral ITS Florida Scholarship Announced Many of us can reflect on our careers with joy or sadness on an opportunity taken or missed. Our reflections may occur as a result of an employment opportunity, a personnel decision, or a course of action. We may also reflect on the support we received, without which these career opportunities would not have manifested themselves. Support may have come to us through academic counseling, professional mentoring, or financial support.
The goals of the ITS Florida Scholarship Program are to:
In order to qualify for the ITS Florida Scholarship Program:
Preference will be given to applicants completing principal course work in transportation, engineering, planning, economics, social science, public administration, or public policy. An application for the scholarship will be available through ITS Florida. Potential candidates will also be able to obtain this information from the ITS Florida representative at their institution. This article was provided by Eric Hill, ITS Florida Board of Directors. For more information on the ITS Florida Scholarship Program, please contact Mr. Hill at (407) 481-5672, or email EHill@metroplanorlando.com. For more information on ITS Florida, please check the ITS Florida Web site at www.itsflorida.org or contact Dr. Charles E. Wallace at (352) 374-6635, or email execdirector@itsflorida.org.
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Channeling
Our Passion About ITS — Realizing Our Passion
When I congratulated Dr. Tan on his faith in the system, he informed me that it wasn’t faith — he and the others on the design team who developed the system were convinced that it was accurate and they are confident that it will perform as intended, over and over again. And Dr. Tan was willing to back up his conviction quite dramatically as we watched. How often do we run across someone with that level of enthusiasm in his or her work coupled with that much passion about its success? My guess is rarely, yet in the ITS field we see it time and again. Why? ITS Florida’s President and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Hal Worrall, gave us the answer in last month’s SunGuideSM Disseminator. He wrote that “there is great optimism that ITS will revolutionize the transportation industry….based on the assumption that new and exciting technologies will be developed that consumers will value and embrace.” Channeling Our Passion The challenge facing all of us is to deploy this technology, to bring these products to customers as quickly as possible, to raise awareness as broadly as possible about the opportunities in ITS to save time, lives, and money on a grander scale. This is where our passion can be channeled beyond our industry — taking the excitement we all feel and spreading it far and wide, and deep. In this, we are all ITS champions in moving ITS solutions forward to improve society. This editorial was provided by Neil Schuster, President and CEO of ITS America. Mr. Schuster can be reached at (202) 484-2890 or email NSchuster@itsa.org. * * * * |
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Look
for the SunGuideSM Disseminator Supplement Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the quarterly update of the FDOT ITS District Progress Reports along with the SunGuideSM Disseminator.
Don’t miss this opportunity to network with the most influential individuals in the fiber optics industry. More information is avialable at www.nfoec.com. * * * * |
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FDOT would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of the NRITS Conference attendees (especially those from out of state) to Palm Harbor, Florida. We hope that you will enjoy the NRITS Conference, the FDOT Mid-Year ITS Working Group Meeting, and the many exciting extracurricular activities that the state of Florida has to offer. FDOT is pleased to be one of the principal hosts for the NRITS Conference. We will be exhibiting in the exhibition hall with a display of rural ITS-related projects from our FDOT Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan. Our next-door neighbor in the exhibition hall, SRA Adroit-Aerosonde, will be showing their Mark 3 unmanned aerial vehicle, the same aircraft slated for flight operations in our forthcoming Airborne Traffic Surveillance Systems: Proof of Concept Study along the I-10 Corridor. Several FDOT ITS personnel are presenting at the NRITS Conference in the Safety & Operations program tracks. And, Secretary of Transportation, José Abreu, is coming to the NRITS Conference to give his observations on rural transportation during the closing session. We look forward to this important rural ITS event and a week-long slate of interesting ITS discussions. * * * *
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SunGuideSM Disseminator Word Challenge Answers
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SunGuideSM Disseminator August 2003
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