Preliminary Performance Measures for ITS Deployments - Update

This is an update of an article on the development of ITS performance measures which appeared in the November 2003 edition of the SunGuide^SM Disseminator. The November 2003 article summarized an October 2003 workshop which resulted in preliminary recommendations relating to ITS performance measures. The presentation given at the October workshop may be viewed at: www.dot.state.fl.us/IntelligentTransportation Systems (Online Documents).

The development of performance measures for ITS deployments came about as a result of the Florida Transportation Commission’s (FTC’s) desire to identify measures to gauge the success in meeting ITS goals. The FTC plans to include this information in their annual Performance and Production Review of the Department of Transportation to be published in 2004. The FTC approached the ITS Florida Advisory Committee to recommend suitable ITS performance measures.

During the month of November 2003, a draft Interim Recommendations Report of ITS Performance Measures (Report) was prepared by Mike Pietrzyk, Transportation Solutions, Inc. This report may be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us/IntelligentTransportationSystems (Online Documents).

The Report was first reviewed by a subcommittee of the ITS Performance Measures Task Team composed of Mark Reichert, FTC; Bob Krzeminski, FDOT Systems Planning Office; Gene Glotzbach, FDOT ITS Office; Lorin Krueger, LK Consultants; and Anita Vandervalk, Cambridge Systematics, Inc. It was then disseminated to the ITS community at the ITS Florida Advisory Committee Meeting and the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS Working Group Meeting in early December 2003. A presentation of the results to-date was given at both meetings. This presentation may be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us/IntelligentTransportationSystems.

The Report provides some background on what other states are doing with respect to ITS performance measures, summarizes the workshop held in October 2003, and proposes some ITS performance measures for comments by the Districts. An Implementation Test Plan, including a schedule which would allow for reporting draft recommended ITS performance measures to the FTC by the summer of 2004, was also included in the Report.

The Implementation Test Plan consists of six steps. Step 1 – Review Recommended Measures with Districts presents the opportunity to review the recommended ITS performance measures with the FDOT Districts. The initial results ITS Performance Measures results were presented to the ITS Florida Advisory Committee and to the Districts at the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS Working Group Meeting. The following areas were recommended as a very preliminary list for ITS performance measures:

• Number of “511” calls during times of incidents;
• Number of Road Rangers responses during times of incidents;
• Average incident “response time”(as defined by Florida Highway Patrol Computer-Aided Dispatch reports);
• Average incident “clearance time”(as defined by the Open Roads Policy);
• Percent of “actual” versus “planned” ITS deployments (as defined by the FDOT Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan), conducted on an annual basis;
• Reliability of travel time, as measured by the Buffer Time Index for “top-ten” travel corridors (in each District);
• Delay, as measured by passenger-miles of travel/vehicle-hours of travel (ITS versus non-ITS equipped corridors);
• Percent of electronic toll and/or transit payment transactions to total transactions; and
• Percent of electronic by-passes at truck weigh stations.

There are several issues which still need to be analyzed and resolved pertaining to this list. For example, consideration needs to be given to the area covered and time of reporting. An even larger issue is related to meeting the goals associated with the FDOT ITS Program. Some of these recommended ITS performance measures are merely indicators of some components of ITS deployments and, while it may be useful to report these trends, it would be more appropriate to report on ITS performance measures as they pertain to successfully meeting the goals associated with the FDOT ITS Program.

Some of the ITS performance measures are also output–oriented — meaning they relate to a “number of widgets produced” rather than relating to the value or connection of ITS with respect to contributing to broader, desired outcomes, such as improved mobility and safety. A number of other issues being considered are:

• Statewide archiving requirements and responsibilities for ITS data;
• Goals for “tolerable” delay (What, specifically, are we trying to accomplish with ITS?);
• Affected area(s) of influence and reporting for ITS (i.e., metropolitan areas only, key bottleneck areas only, District versus District, or state versus local operating agencies);
• Isolation of the impacts attributable to ITS;
• Methods for measuring ITS integration; and
• Extent of ITS instrumentation versus operating performance.

There was a great deal of interesting discussion following the presentations at the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS Working Group Meeting. The Districts were asked to provide comments to Mr. Krzeminski by the end of December 2003. At the time of this writing, the Districts were reviewing the preliminary list and offering comments related to measuring characteristics and appropriateness of the ITS performance measures. The Districts are also considering data collection issues and availability of data in time for a mid-2004 submittal.

The remaining steps of the Implementation Test Plan are as follows:

• Step 2 – Finalize Initial Measures: During the months of December 2003 and January 2004, the ITS Performance Measures Task Team will respond to all District comments/concerns and incorporate them into another set of recommended ITS performance measures.
• Step 3 – Review of Data Availability: During January and February 2004, the ITS Performance Measures Task Team will perform a review of data availability needed to support the reporting of recommended ITS performance measures and address data questions such as availability, frequency, quality, and timeliness. If data is not currently available, estimates as to how to model or calculate the values will be made.
• Step 4 – Consensus on Recommended Measures and Plan for Data Collection: A consensus on the new, revised list of recommended ITS performance measures and a plan for data collection will be achieved in early March 2004, in conjunction with the FDOT Beginning-of-the-Year ITS Working Group Meeting. It is recognized that data collection plans will be unique to each District.
• Step 5 – Data Collection: Actual collection of the data will be performed during the months of March through June 2004. The ITS Performance Measures Task Team will be assisted by the FDOT ITS and Planning Offices and the Districts in collecting (or calculating) values to support reporting the ITS performance measures. The FDOT ITS and Planning Offices will also compile statewide data, as appropriate.
• Step 6 – Prepare Final Recommendations Report: This final step will take place in July 2004, when a final Recommendations Report will be prepared and presented to the FTC.

In recent correspondence to the FDOT District Secretaries, Mr. Reichert summarized the following status of the ITS performance measures effort to date:

“We have done our best to remain true to the Commission’s original guiding principles which were used in the development of the measures in the annual performance and production review. These include:

1. Measures should be simple and clear to the layperson and easily interpreted;
2. Measures must be fair to the Department, focusing on those areas most within the Department’s control;
3. Measures should focus on areas of most concern to the public;
4. To the maximum extent possible, the measures should be quantitative; and
5. The measures should not create new data collection tasks, but should strive to use available data.

“However, given that ITS is a relatively new and dynamic concept, sticking to each of these principles may prove difficult as we move to the testing phase. We are exploring the data availability and plan to use as much existing data as possible to support the proposed measures. In some cases, data may not be readily available and we will be asking for assistance from your District ITS staff. We appreciate the assistance we have received from the District ITS Program staff thus far.”

This article was provided by Anita Vandervalk, Cambridge Systematics. For more information, please contact Ms. Vandervalk at (850) 219-6388 or email AVandervalk@camsys.com.

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FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS Working Group Meeting — A Continuing Success Story!

FDOT ITS Working Group Meetings Keep Growing
The FDOT ITS Working Group Meetings (WGMs) have come a long way since the first meeting of October 2000 in Orlando, Florida. Attendance at that meeting totaled 56 and was primarily made up of FDOT personnel. Since that first meeting, the FDOT ITS Office has made an effort to develop the format of the WGMs to be more appealing to the ITS industry as well as academia. This reformatting has paid off, as demonstrated by the steadily increasing attendance at the WGMs which have grown to 168, as noted at the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS WGM held in Deerfield Beach in December 2003. Attendance is now heavily weighted towards the ITS industry and academia. The FDOT attendance remains about the same from meeting to meeting.

All About the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS Working Group Meeting
The FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS WGM was held December 3 and 4, 2003, at the Deerfield Beach Resort in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Generally, the presentations for WGMs can be broken into well-defined themes. However, the presentations did not fall into such nice, neat themes for this WGM, but ran the gamut of ITS topics. As usual, the Districts and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise provided an overview of ITS deployments in their areas. The presentations from the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS WGM may be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us/IntelligentTransportationSystems.

In conjunction with the FDOT End-of-the-Year ITS WGM, Tahira Faquir, District Four, arranged a tour of their interim transportation management center (TMC) which is located in Palm Beach County. The TMC will control devices that have been temporarily placed along I-95 to monitor and manage traffic flow during the I-95 reconstruction effort. Many thanks to Ms. Faquir for setting up the tour.

The Next Working Group Meeting
The FDOT Beginning-of-the-Year ITS WGM will be held on March 10, 2004, at the Belleview Biltmore Resort in Clearwater, Florida. Other activities included during that week are a Change Management Board Meeting and ITS Florida’s meetings.

For more information, please call Pamela Haynes at (850) 410-5600 or email Pamela.Haynes@dot.state.fl.us.

This article was provided by Gene Glotzbach, FDOT ITS Office.

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Madrid World Congress Provides Global Perspective on ITS

At the 10th World Congress on ITS, held November 16-20 in Madrid, Spain, presenters from around the globe outlined both the commonalities and the unique challenges of their regions. Safety was a major topic, as was the need for greater collaboration among players in the ITS arena.

A Better World Through ITS
In his presentation at the Opening Ceremony on Sunday, November 20, ITS America Chairman and President for the American Automobile Association, Robert Darbelnet, called on attendees to envision the ways ITS makes the world better. Citing safety, security, efficiency, mobility, and environmental benefits of ITS, Darbelnet compared the current state of ITS to the early days after the harnessing of electricity. Who knew at the time, Darbelnet asked, that harnessing electricity would make construction of skyscrapers feasible through development of high-speed passenger elevators?

“The potential of ITS is almost without boundaries,” Darbelnet said; adding, “In fact, our opportunity is so great that today we may not be able to see everything ITS will tomorrow make possible.”

“What we can see is what needs to occur for ITS to truly fulfill its potential,” Darbelnet said, outlining five imperative attributes for ITS:

1. Relevance to customer needs;
2. Awareness of potential users;
3. Compatibility of technologies;
4. Privacy respectful; and
5. Distraction-free for the driver.

“Harnessing these attributes to fulfill the potential of ITS requires collaboration by all the different developers and providers of ITS solutions,” Darbelnet said. He went on to point out that competition does not preclude collaboration.

“Imagination and collaboration…meshing with the potential of ITS,” Darbelnet concluded, “can help the ITS industry create a world that is smarter, safer, and more secure for all of us.”

ITS in Europe
Presenters at the Congress provided an overview of the current state, and future goals, of ITS in Europe.

Luis Schwietzer, Chairman and CEO for Renault and President of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), said that the auto industry in Europe has deployed five million navigation systems, 80 percent of which are capable of using traffic information. Adaptive cruise control and anti-lock brakes are already on the market, while technologies such as adaptive forward lighting systems, tire pressure monitoring technologies, and speed limit technologies are next up.

Erki Liikanen, Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society, European Commission (EC) outlined the European Union’s road map for e-safety:

2004 – All vehicles will have anti-lock brakes;
2005 – Deployment of electronic stability technologies, resulting in 15 percent reduction in accidents;
2006 – eCall is deployed;
2007 – Collision warning and mitigation systems in early stages;
2008 – Safe speed technologies deployed;
2010 – 50 percent fatality reduction; and
2020 – Move towards zero fatalities.

ITS in Japan
Speaking at the Congress, Nobuyuki Muroki, counselor for ITS, National Policy Agency of Japan, reviewed ITS issues in Japan. Fatalities have been cut in half since 1979, though injuries have steadily increased in recent years, Muroki said. Japan is looking to reduce fatalities by 5,000 by 2010, and by 10 percent by 2007, he added.

Keeping pedestrians safe from traffic is a major goal in Japan, according to Muroki. Thus, “safety walking zones” will be created in eight areas with the goal of achieving a 20 percent reduction in accidents by 2007, according to Muroki.

Muroki also reviewed Japan’s efforts to deploy Driving Safety Support Systems (DSSS). DSSS, he explained, are sensors and infrared beacons providing two-way communications between vehicles and the roadway used to achieve right turn collision avoidance, pedestrian cross alerts, and head-on collision alerts. To date, 30,000 beacons have been deployed, and there are plans to add 22,000 more.

DSSS challenges, Muroki explained, include finding the optimal notification point, ensuring a high degree of sensor accuracy, and avoiding driver over-dependence on the system.

ITS in the U.S.
Providing a U.S. perspective on ITS, Jeffrey Paniati, Acting Director of the ITS Joint Program Office, provided an overview of the Vehicle and Infrastructure Integration (VII) initiative. Autonomous systems have limitations, thus cooperative systems are needed, he said. The vehicle is the key to acquiring real-time information, Paniati pointed out.

VII, he said, will lead to all properly-equipped vehicles being able to communicate with the infrastructure utilizing precise Global Position Systems (GPS). In 2004, Paniati said, testing will begin on the use of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC).

There remain issues that must be addressed, however, Paniati said. Important topics include:

• Data ownership;
• Data maintenance and access;
• Privacy; and
• Payment responsibility regarding deployment.

An unprecedented level of global collaboration is needed to make VII successful, Paniati said, stressing that ITS America and ERTICO (ITS Europe) are keys to achieving that collaboration.

Global Cooperation Plan in the Works
Meeting at the Congress, the Global e-Safety Steering Group, comprised of representatives from ITS America, ERTICO, and ITS Japan, announced plans to create a single tri-lateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure global cooperation on safety efforts among the three regions.

Currently, there exist two separate MOUs: one between ITS America and ERTICO, and one between ITS America and ITS Japan. ERTICO and ITS Japan do not have a MOU in effect at this time.

ERTICO plans to prepare a basic draft of the MOU, along with proposed projects, priorities, and operating procedures for the MOU effort. Each region will then develop its priorities for inclusion in the draft. Near the end of the first quarter of 2004, the steering group will hold a conference call to assess the MOU's status and discuss plans to finalize the agreement.

This article was reprinted with the permission of ITS America. For more information, please contact Craig Bannister at (202) 721-4218 or email CBannister@itsa.org.

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Upcoming Commercial Vehicle-Related Meetings

The First International Conference on Virtual and Remote Weigh Stations
The University of Central Florida (UCF), Center for Advanced Transportation Systems Simulation, in conjunction with FDOT, ITS America, ITS Florida, Florida Trucking Association, Inc., Battelle Labs, and North American Transportation Management Institute, is pleased to sponsor the First International Conference on Virtual and Remote Weigh Stations. The conference will be held at the Wyndham Palace Resort in Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida, from February 16-18, 2004.

In order to address the safety and operational efficiency of today’s transportation and infrastructure needs created by increased freight and demand for information on commercial vehicles, a new and innovative concept is being introduced. The virtual and remotely operated weigh station is an emerging concept that potentially offers more complete coverage of compliance issues as well as addressing new infrastructure demands.

This conference is intended to communicate information related to virtual and remotely operated weigh stations research and applications, including hardware, software, policy issues, installation, and case studies.

For more information and to register, contact UCF at (407) 882-0260 or visit their Web site at http://www.ce.ucf.edu/ASP/catss/default.asp.

The Commercial Vehicle and Freight Mobility Winter Conference
Following the First International Conference on Virtual and Remote Weigh Stations, ITS America is sponsoring the Commercial Vehicle and Freight Mobility (CVFM) Winter Conference fronm February 18-20, 2004, at the same location. At this conference, the CVFM Forum’s three Special Interest Groups will focus on the following:

• Commercial Vehicle Operations – enhanced Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN);
• Intermodal – multi-state management of freight mobility and greater integration of seaport gate clearance systems with highway-based ITS; and
• Homeland Security – identification of potential ITS solutions to improve the security of the commercial freight transportation system.

Members of the CVFM Forum include motor carriers, railroads, state and federal enforcement and administrative personnel, deep water ports, other shipping and commercial vehicle operations as well as suppliers of intermodal freight technology and services.

For more CVFM information, visit their Web site at http://www.itsa.org/cvfm.html. To register for the CVFM Winter Conference, contact Jai Kundu, ITS America, at 202-484-4662, or email JKundu@itsa.org.

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The 2003 Urban Mobility Report — What Does it Mean to Us?

The Texas Transportation Institute, sponsored by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released the 2003 Urban Mobility Report (Report) in September 2003. The report provides measures of population, travel, roadway capacity, and resultant congestion for very large, large, medium, and small urban areas.

FDOT contributed data with the results shown below:

When addressing congestion, the Report distinguishes between mobility and reliability. Mobility is “the ease of getting to a destination;” reliability is “the predictability of travel times for usual trips.” While mobility is most often addressed with capacity, high-occupancy vehicles, and multimodal improvements; reliability is best addressed by ITS improvements. The Report cites sources contributing to reliability as:

For the first time ever, the Report estimates the improvements contributed by ITS measures, including freeway entrance ramp metering, freeway incident management programs, and traffic signal coordination programs. The estimates are on a broad regional scale reflecting data from 2001. If these ITS improvements were extended to 100 percent deployment, the potential benefits would correspondingly increase.

These data show that ITS are already an effective countermeasure to congestion, and that a substantial additional benefit could be realized through further deployments.

The 2003 Urban Mobility Report may be viewed at http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/.

This article was provided by Jim Reynold, PB Farradyne. For more information, please contact Mr. Reynold at (945) 714-8081 or email Reynold@pbworld.com.

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We invite you to have some fun and complete the SunGuideSM Disseminator Word Challenge! An answer guide follows the Editorial Corner. Enjoy and Good Luck! Across:   Down: 4. 5. FDOT Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan Type of ITS measure   1. Month in 2004 in which an ITS Working Group Meeting will be held 6. 9. University of Central Florida Intelligent Transportation Systems   2. The ability to perform a required function under stated conditions for a specified period of time 12. A narrowing that reduces flow   3. Relating to the measurement of quantity 14. 15. Throughout Florida Any device, especially one whose name is unknown   4. The level at which a transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic interference 16. Commercial Vehicle and Freight Mobility   7. FDOT Secretary 18. 19. The end purpose that a plan is intended to achieve Transportation management center   8. 10. Time during which some action is awaited An ordered list of times at which things are planned to occur 20. New ITS Florida Board of Directors President   11. 13. Distribute Favorable endorsements 22. Location of the 10th World Congress and Exhibition on ITS   17. 21. The ease of getting to a destination ITS Florida _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Committee 23. 24. Florida Transportation Commission A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn   25. Type of meter that regulates traffic entering freeways according to current traffic conditions 26. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials       27. 28. 29. _ _ _ _ Rangers Florida Highway Patrol _ _ _ _ team

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ITS Florida^TM News Update

ITS Florida^TM recently held its Annual Meeting on December 2, 2003, at the Deerfield Beach Resort in Deerfield Beach, Florida. This was an opportunity for Board Members to brief members and guests on ITS Florida^TM activities. An informative presentation was given and can be viewed at www.itsflorida.org/index.html#show.

The ITS Florida^TM Board of Directors election was held and finalized at the Annual Meeting. ITS Florida^TM received 17 proposed nominations to fill the three officer positions of President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer, and the three Directors at Large positions. This was a great indicator of the interest and excitement that ITS Florida^TM has generated with such recent events as TRANSPO 2002, the National Rural ITS 2003 Conference (NRITS 2003), and ITS Awareness Day.

The ITS Florida^TM Nominating Committee, comprised of two Board of Directors members and two members of the general membership, were given the difficult task of trimming the proposed nominations down to two candidates per position. ITS Florida^TM would like to thank all of the proposed nominees for their interest in this organization and extend a warm offer to get involved by joining one of the many ITS Florida^TM committees. The final Board of Directors election results are:

• President – Terry Griffith, 3M;
• Vice President – Dr. Charles Wallace, PB Farradyne;
• Secretary/Treasurer – Eric Hill, METROPLAN Orlando;
• Director at Large (Academic) – Dr. David Lambert, University of North Florida;
• Director at Large (Private Sector) – Anita Vandervalk, Cambridge Systematics, Inc.; and
• Director at Large (Public Sector) – Leslie A. Griffin, Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.

Congratulations to all of our new officers and Directors at Large! Each officer will serve a one-year term and each Director at Large will serve a two-year term.

ITS Florida^TM would also like to thank Pat McCue, Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority, for completing his term on the Board of Directors and providing great service to ITS Florida^TM.

ITS Florida^TM also presented its annual awards at the Annual Meeting. The annual award winners were selected by the Board of Directors and are as follows:

• Professional of the Year – Anne Brewer, FDOT District 5 Traffic Operations;
• Organizational Member of the Year – FDOT District 4 Traffic Operations for its Interim Traffic Management System Project;
• President’s Award – Mike Pietrzyk, Transportation Solutions, Inc.; and
• Special Recognition Award – Mike Pietrzyk for his efforts on making NRITS 2003 a success.

Congratulations to all of the 2003 ITS Florida^TM annual award winners!

For the first time ever, ITS Florida^TM was able to award two $1,500 scholarships to worthy students. Eric Hill, METROPLAN Florida, proposed the Scholarship Program and brought it to fruition all in the same year. ITS Florida^TM received approximately 15 applications for two scholarships offered by the Scholarship Program. Mr. Hill and L.A. Griffin, Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), evaluated each application and determined the two winners.

The Scholarship Program winners were Kara Versage and Ram Nehra. Ms. Versage is the undergraduate recipient pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Central Florida. Mr. Nehra is the graduate recipient pursuing a graduate degree in Transportation Engineering at the University of South Florida.

Congratulations to the 2003 ITS Florida^TM Scholarship Program winners!

ITS Florida^TM plans to make this an annual scholarship. For more information on the ITS Florida^TM Scholarship Program, please contact Mr. Hill at EHill@metroplanorlando.com or visit the ITS Florida^TM Web site at www.itsflorida.org.

ITS Florida^TM would like to thank the sponsors for the Scholarship Program:

• Gray-Calhoun & Associates, Inc.;
• PB Farradyne;
• PBS&J;
• TransCore;
• 3M;
• Peek Traffic, Inc.;
• Cambridge Systematics, Inc.; and
• Transportation Solutions, Inc.

After the Annual Meeting, ITS Florida^TM held a Member Appreciation Barbeque at the Deerfield Beach Resort. This fun event provided current and potential members an excellent networking opportunity – not to mention a free dinner! ITS Florida^TM had over 100 people in attendance. If you are interested in joining ITS Florida^TM, please contact our Membership Chair, Mike Pietrzyk at or (813) 681-6881 or email mcptsi@tampabay.rr.com.

ITS Florida^TM polo shirts were also available for sale at the ITS Florida^TM Annual Meeting. The shirts are Jerzees® brand, and the colors are maize and navy. Sizes medium to XX-large are still available for just $20! Kristen Blanton, FDOT ITS Office, was a great help in ordering the shirts and selling them during the ITS Florida^TM Annual Meeting and at other events during the week. Thank you, Kristen! If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please contact Charles Wallace at Charlie.Wallace@cox.net. These polo shirts won’t last long and you are encouraged to get a shirt before they are gone.

ITS Florida^TM would also like to extend a special thank you to Kristen Blanton for all of her assistance in helping us coordinate all of the ITS Florida^TM events held on December 2. Her assistance was invaluable to ITS Florida^TM.

This article was provided by Erika Ridlehoover, TransCore. For more information, please contact Ms. Ridlehoover at (813) 376-0036 or email Erika.Ridlehoover@transcore.com.

For more information on ITS Florida^TM, please check the ITS Florida^TM Web site at www.itsflorida.org or contact Diana Carsey, Executive Director, at (813) 623-5835, extension 2112, or email CarseyD@hartline.org.

If you wish to contribute an article to the SunGuide^SM Disseminator on behalf of ITS Florida^TM, please contact Erika Ridlehoover at (813) 752-7193, or email Erika.Ridlehoover@transcore.com.

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Editorial Corner

I am pleased to write the editorial for the January 2004 edition of the SunGuide^SM Disseminator. I would like to officially announce that on December 1, 2003, the FDOT ITS Office merged with the FDOT Traffic Operations Office. As Manager for the Traffic Operations Office, I would like to welcome the ITS Office staff to the Traffic Operations Office and to compliment the ITS Office staff for putting Florida ITS on the “National Map.” Florida is a national leader in ITS deployments, and I look forward to the challenge of keeping Florida in the forefront.

The FDOT Districts are in various stages of implementing ITS in Florida. Districts 2, 5, and 6, and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, have already been operating transportation management centers (TMCs) for a number of years – many with 24/7 operations. At this time, District 4 is building a permanent TMC in Broward County and also has plans for a permanent TMC in Palm Beach County. The TMC in Broward County will be a shared facility with Broward County. Districts 1, 3, and 7 have similar plans to construct TMCs in their Districts. The new TMCs, along with the deployment of ITS field devices which will be operated through the TMCs, are included in the FDOT’s Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasible Plan (CFP). The CFP was approved October 23, 2002, and provides for the expenditure of over $500 million in funds dedicated for the deployment of ITS. These projects have been programmed into FDOT’s Work Program and the Districts have already started the process of deploying ITS. Through this effort, the FDOT ITS Office has completed its initial task of facilitating the deployment of ITS in Florida and is on track to deploying ITS in all of our major metropolitan areas.

As you may already know, along with the Traffic Incident Management Program and the Intersection Safety Initiative, ITS was selected as a top priority for traffic operations on a statewide level. In recognition of the efforts and success of the FDOT ITS Office in deploying ITS statewide, the need to operate and maintain ITS in Florida has become an important issue. To address this issue, the objective of ITS will be modified to read: “Plan, Deploy, Operate, and Maintain ITS.” Bringing the FDOT ITS and Traffic Operations Offices together under one roof will facilitate the efforts to address operational and maintenance issues that will be encountered as we get into the heart of our ITS deployment efforts.

ITS is an excellent traffic operations tool and is a valuable part of the Traffic Operations Office strategic goal and business plan. This merger will serve to enhance the ITS mission and develop a more comprehensive program as we move from ITS planning to program development, implementation, management, and operations. This merger provides better alignment with District organizational structure and is in support of the national emphasis on operations and management.

I look forward to enhancing the merged relationship of Traffic Operations and ITS. Working together will have a synergetic effect that will benefit Florida in accomplishing our goals.

This editorial was provided by Lap Hoang, FDOT Traffic Operations Office. For more information, please contact Mr. Hoang at (850) 414-4866 or email Lap.Hoang@dot.state.fl.us.

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SunGuide^SM Disseminator Word Challenge Answers

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Announcements

Design Criteria Announced for Video Surveillance Camera Installations
The FDOT ITS Office has produced a white paper providing design criteria and cost calculations showing that there is an advantage to using taller poles and camera mounts with camera lowering devices in video surveillance systems.

The white paper, entitled Pole Heights and Locations for Video Surveillance Systems, is available on the Internet at www.FloridaITS.com/Standards.htm and provides detailed application, design criteria, installation, and cost information for those planning video surveillance projects. The white paper includes information on studies of comparable projects in other states, as well as recommendations from equipment vendors and FDOT’s own analysis of pole heights and their impact on camera system performance.

The white paper concludes with a cost comparison matrix that contains data on traditional camera pole installations and their maintenance costs over a seven-year life cycle, along with taller pole installations equipped with camera lowering devices and their substantially lower maintenance costs over the same period.

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Draft Procedure for the Implementation of Rule 940 in Florida Now Available
The FDOT ITS Office has completed its Draft Procedure for the Implementation of Rule 940 in Florida (Procedure). This Procedure, which discusses Florida ITS Architecture maintenance and ITS integration into the statewide planning processes, is now available for review and comment.

FDOT personnel may access the Procedure through the Organization, Forms, and Procedures Office Procedure Review System at http://procnet.dot.state.fl.us/procedures/currentreviews.asp.

Non-FDOT personnel may access the Procedure from the FDOT ITS Office General Consultant’s project Web site at www.FloridaITS.com/Rule_940_Implementation.htm.

Comments are due to Liang Hsia, P.E, FDOT ITS Office Architecture and Standards Administrator, by January 30, 2004. Please forward the comments via email to Mr. Hsia at Liang.Hsia@dot.state.fl.us.

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Florida’s 511 Working Group
The FDOT ITS Office has formed the Florida 511 Working Group (Working Group) to address problems and concerns with implementing 511 within Florida. The Working Group is made up of FDOT District ITS representatives and supported by PBS&J staff. The first meeting of the Working Group was held Tuesday, December 2, 2003, in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Look for additional meetings to be scheduled in the near future.

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511 Award
The FDOT was presented with an award for the deployment of 511 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) at their 2003 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The award was presented to FDOT Secretary José Abreu and reads:

"In recognition of achievement for the operation of a 511 Traveler Information Service and for the participation of your agency in guiding the development and advancing the deployment of 511 Services across the Nation."

This award is a testament to the hard work of Districts Four, Five, and Six, and Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise towards the successful deployment of 511 in southeast Florida and the Orlando area. By last count, Florida accounts for more that 40 percent of 511 calls nationwide.

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Change Management Board
The Change Management Board met for the first time Monday, December 1, 2003, in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the processes by which the FDOT will manage changes to systems and standards/specifications that have statewide implications. A teleconference is scheduled for January 15, 2004, to complete the Change Management Board Process.

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Good Luck Fred!
Fred Heery of TransCore has come and gone from the FDOT ITS Office. Fred was on temporary loan and conducted research regarding maintenance costs for ITS throughout Florida as well as several other states. Thanks to Fred for his hard work and thanks to TransCore for allowing Fred to be a temporary member of the FDOT ITS Office.

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District 1 Chris Birosak FDOT District 1 Traffic Operations PO Box 1249 Bartow, FL 33831 (863) 519-2507 District 2 Peter Vega FDOT District 2 Traffic Operations 2250 Irene Street, MS 2815 Jacksonville, FL 32204-2619 (904) 360-5463 District 3 Elizabeth McCrary FDOT District 3 Traffic Operations 1074 Highway 90 East Chipley, FL 32428-0607 (850) 638-0250 ext. 210 District 4 Tahira Faquir FDOT District 4 Traffic Operations 3400 W. Commercial Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 (954) 777-4370	District 5 Fred Ferrell FDOT District 5 Traffic Operations 719 S. Woodland Blvd., MS 3-562 DeLand, FL 32720-6834 (386) 943-5309 District 6 Jesus Martinez FDOT District 6 1000 NW 111th Avenue, MS 6203 Miami, FL 33172 (305) 499-2446 District 7 Bill Wilshire FDOT District 7 Traffic Operations 11201 N. McKinley Drive Tampa, FL 33612 (813) 975-6612 ext. 7869 Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Ingrid Birenbaum Florida's Turnpike Enterprise PO Box 9828 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33310-9828 (954) 975-4855 ext. 1290	Chester Chandler ITS Office Manager (850) 410-5600 Gene Glotzbach ITS Deployments (850) 410-5616 Liang Hsia ITS Architectures, Standards, Research and Training (850) 410-5615 Mike Akridge Commercial Vehicle Operations and Electronic Toll Collection (850) 410-5607 Nick Adams ITS Telecommunications (850) 410-5608
		Physical Address Rhyne Building 2740 Centerview Dr. Suite 3-B Tallahassee, FL 32301	Mailing Address Burns Building 605 Suwannee St. MS 90 Tallahassee, FL 32399

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