Sharing Information between Public Safety and Transportation Agencies for Traffic Incident Management (2004)

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A-1 APPENDIX A ALBANY, NEW YORK, CASE STUDY 1 SUMMARY The Albany, New York, region provides a wealth of expe- rience and advances in transportation and public safety infor- mation sharing. Transportation and public safety agencies have close working relationships in this region and have deployed or tested a wide variety of information-sharing applications. The agencies included in this case study are the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), the New York State Police (NYSP) and the Albany Police Department (APD). The Albany region has a number cooperative frameworks for coordinating public safety and transportation operations. The unusual situation of two highway operating agencies with overlapping jurisdiction, each supported by different divi- sions of a law enforcement agency, underscores the need for close coordination in the region. Methods of sharing traffic incident management (TIM) information included the following: • Face-to-Face—NYSP and transportation agency staff are co-located at two sites. • Remote Voice—NYSP and transportation agency staff share radio channels on the Thruway; service patrol vehi- cles can access some Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and NYSP radio channels. Key personnel use commer- cial wireless “talk groups” on a limited basis. • Electronic Text—A computer-aided dispatching (CAD) system is shared by NYSP and NYSTA. • Other Media and Advanced Systems—Freeway data, images, and video are shared remotely through a proto- type broadband system. 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 Albany, New York, Selection The Albany, New York, region was selected by the NCHRP committee for further investigation. Two transportation agen- cies (NYSDOT and NYSTA) and two public safety agencies (NYSP and APD) were the focus of the study. The operational boundaries of the NYSDOT capital region overlap with the Thruway system in and around Albany, New York (see Fig- ure 1). NYSP supports operations along the NYSDOT and NYSTA roadways and receives all cellular 911 calls. APD patrols the local roadways in the region, receives all landline 911 calls, and dispatches fire and EMS responders for all emergencies, including those on the NYSDOT and NYSTA roadway system. 2.2 Acknowledgments The key contributors to the Albany, New York, case study are • Mr. Daniel W. Howard, P.E., Civil Engineer, NYSDOT (also NCHRP Panel Member); • Mr. Raymond W. Engel, Traffic Supervisor, NYSTA; • Staff Sergeant Gerard McGreevy, Communications Supervisor, NYSP; • Commander Leonard J. Crouch, Special Operations, APD; and • Mr. Keith Biesecker, Senior Principal, Mitretek Systems, Inc. (Broadband Wireless Integrated Service Prototype). 3 INTRODUCTION The Albany, New York, region provides a wealth of expe- rience and advances in transportation and public safety infor- mation sharing. NYSDOT and NYSTA have established close institutional and operational relationships with NYSP. These relationships go beyond sharing information to include shar- ing facilities and other resources. NYSDOT and NYSTA collect traffic incident and other operational data through their intelligent transportation sys- tems (ITS) deployments. These agencies have tested and are presently using a wide range of technologies for sharing this information between themselves and with public safety agencies. 3.1 Institutional Framework Two transportation agencies and two public safety agencies were studied. Their roles and responsibilities relating to traffic operations and incident response are briefly described below. 3.1.1 NYSDOT The NYDOT headquarters is in Albany, and the agency has 11 regions across the state. The Capital Region, which encom- passes Albany, contains 5,300 miles of highways and serves approximately 1 million customers residing in 9 cities, 45 vil- lages, and 108 towns. NYSDOT and NYSP share a trans- portation management center (TMC) located in the NYSP division headquarters building.

3.1.2 NYSTA The New York State Thruway, officially named “The Gov- ernor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway,” is a 641-mile superhigh- way crossing the state of New York. The highway is operated by NYSTA, an independent public corporation created in 1950 by the state legislature and established to build, oper- ate, and maintain the Thruway system. 3.1.3 NYSP NYSP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States, providing a full range of law enforcement and public safety services across the state. Uniformed troop- ers patrol various geographic regions of the state and are the first responders to most calls for police services on the high- ways. NYSP is organized into a division headquarters (in Albany) and 11 separate troops, two of which serve the Albany region. Troop G is responsible for 10 counties, including the Albany Capital Region. Troop T has exclusive policing authority within its service area, which includes the entire New York State Thruway. Troop T specializes in highway and canal operations and relies on other troops for investiga- tive or other special functions. 3.1.4 APD There are four patrol stations and several specialized units in APD. The Communications Division is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the city of Albany, handling all landline 911 calls. Additionally, the division handles all non- A-2 emergency requests for service and administrative calls. The Communications Division dispatches all calls for APD and the Albany Fire Department, oversees the radio and tele- phone systems on a citywide basis, and operates a CAD sys- tem on a countywide basis. 3.2 Interviews Face-to-face interviews were conducted October 28–29, 2002, in Albany. Sessions were held with staff of each key agency. Other personal communications were made prior to and following the field visit. The staff members who were interviewed included the following: • NYSDOT: Daniel W. Howard, Civil Engineer; Brian S. Menyuk, Civil Engineer. • NYSTA: Raymond W. Engel, Traffic Supervisor; Christopher W. Jones, Director, Bureau of Intelligent Transportation Systems; Kevin M. Tuffey, Director of Travelers’ Information Systems. • NYSP: Staff Sergeant Gerard McGreevy, Communica- tions Supervisor. • APD: Commander Leonard J. Crouch, Special Opera- tions; Bill Trudeau, Traffic Engineering Technician. 3.3 Agreements and Formal Programs NYSTA and NYSDOT have each instituted various agree- ments, including memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the NYSP. In 1954, NYSP established a state police unit dedicated to the Thruway. This unit evolved into Troop T. Thruway System NYSDOT Capitol Region (Region 1) NYSDOT Capitol Region Operational Boundary Thruway System Figure 1. Albany, New York, region.

NYSDOT and NYSP signed an MOU in February 1995 estab- lishing an incident management program for I-87. In 1997, these agencies agreed to develop and operate an incident management center. This facility is now known as the Capital Region Transportation Management Center. Copies of these agreements are available from the agencies involved. NYSTA and NYSDOT recently completed a formal agree- ment to allow the exchange and use of certain types of infor- mation between themselves. 4 INFORMATION-SHARING METHODS 4.1 What Information and Methods of Sharing Were Considered? This study examined how the following types of traffic incident information were shared: • Detection and Notification—Such information engages public safety resources, enabling rapid medical care to save lives and minimize injury consequences and reduc- ing transportation infrastructure disruption. • Response Information—Traffic conditions, resource location, and incident details speed the delivery of the optimal emergency resources to the scene. • Incident Management—Incident scene status and resource coordination information support emergency responder safety and can hasten incident stabilization, investigation, and clearance. For the purpose of this case study, the results are grouped according to categories of traffic incident information-sharing methods. These methods and some examples are as follows: • Face-to-Face—Personal communication where staff from different agencies share office space (such as joint operations centers or mobile command posts). • Remote Voice—Common options (such as telephone, land mobile radio, and facsimile machines) that are readily available to support operations within most trans- portation and public safety agencies. A-3 • Electronic Text—Lower-bandwidth interconnection applications, such as electronic messaging and access to CAD systems or record management systems (RMSs). • Other Media and Advanced Systems—Higher- bandwidth options, such as video and other imaging sys- tems, and integrated systems, such as advanced traffic management systems. 4.2 What Agency Combinations Were Included? There are three primary transportation–public safety “pair- ings” for traffic incident information sharing in the Albany Capital Region: NYSDOT-NYSP Troop G, NYSTA-NYSP Troop T, and NYSDOT-NYSTA. Although NYSDOT- NYSTA is fundamentally a transportation-transportation pairing, information sharing between these agencies has recently increased in quality and quantity and provides the conduit for NYSDOT-NYSP Troop T and NYSTA-Troop G communications when needed. TIM-related information sharing involving APD is also noted where appropriate. The methods of sharing TIM information in the Albany region are summarized in Table 1. Details are provided in the following sections. 4.3 Information-Sharing Methods in the Albany Capital Region Overviews and specific examples of TIM-related informa- tion sharing are identified and described below according to the categories listed in Section 4.1. 4.3.1 Face-to-Face Methods In the Albany Capital Region, NYSDOT and NYSTA each support joint operations centers with NYSP. The TMC and the Thruway Statewide Operations Center (TSOC) are the flagships for transportation–public safety information shar- ing in the Capital Region. The centers enable the rapid face- to-face sharing of incident detection and status information and allow coordinated response and management of the traf- fic incident or other emergencies. TABLE 1 Overview of TIM Information-Sharing Methods in Albany Agencies Involved Face-to-Face Remote Voice Electronic Text Other Media and Advanced Systems NYSP-NYSDOT Yes Yes No Yes NYSP-NYSTA Yes Yes Yes Yes NYSDOT-NYSTA No Yes Yes Yes APD-NYSDOT No Limited No Limited APD-NYSTA No Limited No No

Other face-to-face traffic incident information-sharing frameworks include on-scene coordination and planning task forces. These are not considered in more detail here. On-scene coordination is ad hoc, transitory, and common to incident scenes across the United States. Various traffic-planning task forces in the Albany region, including the Capital Region Traf- fic Management Task Force and the Saratoga-Warren Traffic Incident Management Task Force, provide the basis for coor- dinated incident management, but are not directly involved in the real-time sharing of incident detection, response, or scene management information. 4.3.1.1 NYSDOT-NYSP Transportation Management Center. Jointly operated by NYSDOT and NYSP, the Trans- portation Management Center (TMC) is physically located in the NYSP headquarters building on the state office campus in Albany (see Figure 2). NYSP Troop G works closely with NYSDOT personnel to support commuter assistance, incident management, and law enforcement operations within the Cap- ital Region. As of 2003, this is one of two NYSP traffic oper- ations centers in New York. As would be expected in a joint agency facility, the pri- mary method of information sharing between NYSDOT and NYSP staff at the TMC is face-to-face voice communica- tions. This is supplemented by NYSP access to the NYSDOT advanced traffic management system (see Section 4.3.4.1). NYSDOT personnel at the TMC control vehicle and speed detectors, traffic cameras, message signs, highway advisory radios, and other field devices throughout the region. They dis- patch DOT work crews and Highway Emergency Local Patrol (HELP) vehicles when appropriate. In conjunction with local transit agencies and private traffic-reporting firms, NYSDOT personnel also disseminate information to the commuters in the area. NYSDOT personnel staff the TMC 7 days a week during normal operating hours. NYSP provided staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The TMC also houses the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for all wireless 911 calls in the Capital Region. A-4 NYSP headquarters personnel handle those 911 calls, dis- patch Troop G officers, and coordinate with other public safety agencies to respond to those calls. Having the NYSP wireless 911 call center located in the TMC facilitates traffic incident response, as cellular calls from motorists are a grow- ing source of incident notification information. Since wire- less calls can come from any location within the region, NYSP transfers nonfreeway cellular calls to the ADP PSAP. Calls dialed from the Thruway are received at either the NYSP PSAP (for wireless calls) or the APD PSAP (for land- line calls). These calls must then be transferred to the Thruway Statewide Operations Center (TSOC) for dispatch and response operations. NYSP also coordinates all Amber Alerts from this loca- tion. The Amber Alert plan is a voluntary partnership among law enforcement agencies, broadcasters, and other agencies to disseminate an Alert bulletin in qualifying child abduction cases. Transportation agencies can support the alert distribu- tion through variable message signs, highway advisory radio, and other traveler information services. 4.3.1.2 NYSTA-NYSP Thruway Statewide Operations Center. Communications for the whole Thruway are cen- tralized in the Thruway Statewide Operations Center (TSOC) at NYSTA headquarters in Albany. The TSOC is operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is the central reporting and dispatching point for all incident and traffic management activities along the system. Transportation and public safety operations are more inte- grated at the TSOC than at the TMC. While both centers co-locate NYSP and transportation staff, NYSTA and NYSP operations are more closely coupled at the TSOC. Notably, NYSTA provides 100 percent of the funding for Troop T ser- vices on the Thruway. Equally important, traditional trans- portation and public safety functions have been combined and assigned to NYSTA staff. In this unusual, but effective arrangement, NYSTA personnel dispatch Troop T officers for all traffic-related operations and emergency events. These dispatchers, like their NYSDOT counterparts in the TMC, also monitor traffic cameras for incidents that could affect operations and operate highway advisory radio and variable message signs. However, there are criminal justice activities and other law enforcement functions that NYSTA staff are not authorized to perform. NYSP troopers, also located at the TSOC, handle all nontraffic calls and coordinate law enforce- ment activities with other public safety agencies. 4.3.2 Remote Voice Methods Each of the four agencies covered in this case study has procedures and policies in place for interagency telephone notification and coordination for major incidents and emer- gencies. Key personnel from some of the agencies can also coordinate with points of contact at other agencies via a com- mercial wireless push-to-talk Nextel network. At the opera-Figure 2. The Transportation Management Center.

tions centers, these agencies also monitor each other’s rele- vant radio communications. Some field personnel from the transportation agencies can access pertinent public safety radio channels. 4.3.2.1 Telephones. The public switched telephone net- work (PSTN) is the primary means of communication between NYSDOT and NYSTA (and consequently, their respective NYSP troops). TSOC and TMC personnel notify each other about incidents and coordinate traffic management activities over the phone. Facsimile machines are used to supplement PSTN communications. Increasingly, more advanced, multi- media capabilities are being used in conjunction with voice coordination (see Section 4.3.4). The commercial wireless technology industry offers pub- lic agencies a growing number of options for enhancing their existing communications and interoperability. Agencies in the Albany region are providing cellular phones and espe- cially enhanced specialized mobile radio (ESMR) services, such as Nextel’s push-to-talk capability, to link key person- nel. ESMR is a commercial service that provides digital dis- patch, cellular, and paging services through a single network. ESMR relies on advanced proprietary technology; there is no common, industrywide standard. As part of a broadband communications prototype, a NYSTA-NYSDOT phone network was established. Five lines were provisioned with five-digit extensions, and one line was set up such that the phone on either end would ring its coun- terpart at the other facility when taken off hook—a hotline. During the prototype demonstration, the hotline phone has been used by various TMC and TSOC personnel to exchange time-critical incident management and law enforcement information. The extensions were used to support noncritical activities, such as coordinating routine traffic management activities. 4.3.2.2 Land Mobile Radio. NYSDOT, NYSTA, and NYSP use land mobile radio (LMR) systems to coordinate routine and emergency activities. While using different radio systems, each of these agencies often monitors the others’ radio activity, particularly when relevant to the operations. The Capitol Region TMC has access to a 155-MHz, very high frequency (VHF), nonrepeating LMR system with chan- nels allocated to public safety, state police, NYSDOT, and other groups and functions. They also have access to the Capitol District Emergency Radio Network (CDERN), oper- ating at 460-MHz ultra high frequency (UHF). Within the TMC, the use of these channels is managed by a PC-based radio control and monitoring system. TMC operations personnel use specific channels to coordi- nate with DOT field units (e.g., freeway service patrols). Ser- vice patrol vehicles (e.g., HELP vehicles) are contracted by NYSDOT to offer motorist assistance to vehicles traveling on limited-access public roadways. The program is coordinated and monitored by the TMC. Incident detection and incident A-5 clearance are the main focus of the HELP program. By quickly identifying and responding to incidents, the HELP truck oper- ators are able to minimize the effect on the traveling public. Each HELP operator is required to go through training and background checks prior to beginning employment and is also trained and certified in first aid and CPR. In the Albany region, NYSDOT HELP vehicles have NYSP radios on board and can access an EMS channel also. Outside the region in Hudson Valley, HELP vehicles have limited access to NYSP radios and data systems for incident details. NYSP uses other channels to communicate with Troop G field units. Both NYSDOT and NYSP use the system to commu- nicate with other public safety entities. Likewise, TSOC personnel use NYSTA’s LMR to commu- nicate with and monitor the field units. This system employs radio control and monitoring mechanisms similar to those used by the system in the TMC. On the Thruway system, however, transportation and public safety field staff use a shared LMR system. The NYSTA LMR is a 450-MHz repeating system. By way of various base stations, both repeating and nonrepeating sys- tems allow mobile units to receive radio transmissions from a central command facility (e.g., dispatch at the TSOC). How- ever, repeating systems also allow other mobile units to receive audio from the transmitting mobile unit (i.e., repeating systems allow one to monitor the entire conversation between dispatch and the mobile unit; nonrepeating systems do not). APD operates an 800-MHz repeating system. APD also shares the radio system used by the NYSP Capitol Region detail, as each agency has overlapping policing responsibilities. 4.3.3 Electronic Text Methods Text pagers, Nextel text messaging, and email are used by some individuals to communicate within their agencies. How- ever, these applications are not key means for sharing TIM information with other agencies. CAD systems, while also not yet a key method for interagency information sharing, may become primary components of information-sharing networks in the near future. Such information sharing, at least initially, is expected to be in the form of text messaging. CAD systems provide automation support for tracking incidents or other events and resources allocated to the emer- gency scene. Each transaction is logged into a database and available for later retrieval and analysis (required by law for certain agencies and jurisdictions). Advanced systems include graphical maps, the ability to locate vehicles automatically, and mobile data terminals in vehicles. Two of the four agencies included in this case study oper- ate CAD systems, and NYSP plans to procure a CAD for its operations at the TMC. However, these CAD systems are not interoperable. Most existing CAD systems are proprietary and are not designed to exchange information with CAD sys- tems offered by other vendors, let alone with transportation systems. Additional challenges are posed by variations in for-

mats and protocols for data and for messaging and different system standards in the transportation and public safety com- munities. In their roles as PSAPs, NYSP and APD each employ tech- nologies for managing 911 calls and emergency response. NYSP and APD can transfer calls between themselves through the 911 network. For example, NYSP receives all cellular 911 calls for the region at the TMC. The nonhighway calls are transferred to the APD PSAP for response. The APD PSAP is also notified about traffic incidents, as the PSAP dis- patches APD officers and fire apparatus to all crashes in its jurisdiction. These and other calls are routed as necessary to other local public safety agencies, twelve of which share access to the APD CAD system. In August 2002, NYSTA installed a CAD system for the Thruway. The CAD system supports the dispatching of NYSP and NYSTA resources on the Thruway. NYSDOT does not yet have access to CAD information. However, in the Lower Hudson Valley, NYSDOT Region 8 and the NYSP are build- ing a new joint TMC. The new NYSP CAD system in this region will be integrated with the TMC’s advanced traffic management system (ATMS). This is one of a number of proj- ects throughout the country that are helping define the state of the practice in CAD-TMS integration. 4.3.4 Other Media and Advanced Systems The transportation and public safety agencies in the Albany region employ a wide range of surveillance and communica- tions technologies. Much of the information generated by these systems can be useful for transportation operations such as detecting and responding to incidents, managing traffic, and informing travelers. Some of the data, such as video and still images, are shared between agencies through local and remote access to the systems described below. 4.3.4.1 Traffic Management Systems. NYSDOT and NYSTA control and monitor various field devices and man- age freeway traffic throughout the Capital Region. These sys- tems are shared broadly with their partner NYSP troops and to a lesser extent with other public agencies. NYSDOT “Management Information System for Trans- portation.” MIST® (Management Information System for Transportation) is a freeway management software platform developed by PB Farradyne. The MIST system provides a variety of functions, including control of variable message signs and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. The system is also used to monitor traffic and roadway conditions by assembling data from different vehicle and roadway detectors. MIST uses map displays and windows-based text reports to support user operations, as shown in Figure 3. The MIST system can also store incident response plans. This feature helps facilitate operations by allowing users to A-6 select predefined variable message sign messages and to mon- itor predefined camera views while performing other system management functions. NYSTA and APD dispatchers can view NYSDOT traffic cameras, review incident reports, monitor loop detectors, and do other applications, and they have a limited incident data entry capability. However, NYSTA and APD personnel can- not control any NYSDOT field device. NYSDOT has developed applications that synthesize information from the system for use internally and by other agencies. “Snapshots” is an application that collects still images from its traffic video cameras. These images, as shown in Figure 4, are then viewable through any standard network browser and are refreshed every 30 seconds. “Speedmap” collects traffic flow statistics from loop detectors and other sensors throughout the region. This information is then dis- played in graphical form (i.e., a map with color-coded road- ways that has different colors to represent different levels of congestion). Like the Snapshots imagery, these data are stored on a network server, refreshed every 30 seconds, and view- able through any standard network browser. This informa- tion is also available in text form. While currently limited to Figure 4. “Snapshots” images via web browser. Figure 3. MIST incident report information.

use by public agencies, NYSDOT intends to make Snapshots and Speedmap information available to the public via the Internet. NYSTA Freeway Management System. NYSTA has similar roadway surveillance and traveler communications technolo- gies—cameras, detectors, highway advisory radios (HARs), and variable message signs—as described for NYSDOT. However, these resources cannot presently be shared with other agencies except through the prototype communications system described in the following section. 4.3.4.2 Broadband Wireless Integrated Service. Broad- band wireless technologies enable high-speed, untethered communications. The USDOT ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) partnered with NYSDOT, NYSTA, and NYSP to demonstrate the benefits of such high-speed communications for traffic management operations. Under contract to JPO, Mitretek Systems successfully linked the NYSTA TSOC and the NYSDOT TMC with the Broadband Wireless Integrated Service prototype (see Figure 5). The prototype has two pri- mary components: the broadband wireless system and the multiservice access device (MSAD). The wireless system pro- vided a 23-megabits-per-second (Mb/s) link between the two A-7 operations centers. The MSADs were used to establish a multi- service network that supported simultaneous interchange of voice, data, and video services in a cost-effective manner. Data encryption was established by the wireless compo- nent, and a firewall was added to provide access control and authentication. These services were used to provide for various interagency operations, including the following: • Shared Traffic Management—The prototype deploy- ment allowed NYSTA to access the NYSDOT MIST system and monitor conditions on NYSDOT highways. Likewise, the Thruway’s traffic management system information was available to NYSDOT. • Traffic Video Exchange—Both agencies use many different traffic cameras to support their traffic man- agement functions. The prototype allowed shared video feeds, both networked packet video and synchronous channelized video. • Voice Communications—Dedicated voice links (both “off-hook” and “one-button”) were used. • Video Teleconferencing—Video teleconferencing sessions (either desktop-to-desktop or through video teleconferencing units) were tested to facilitate better communications during common incident management situations and special events. • Public Safety Radio Extension—A direct audio feed from the Thruway’s radio communication system was provided to NYSDOT and NYSP Troop G personnel at the TMC. A similar audio feed from the TMC radio communication system was provided to both NYSTA and NYSP Troop T personnel at the TSOC. • Data Sharing and Desktop Multimedia—A local area network (LAN) extension was used to support the exchange of documents and desktop multimedia. This capability allowed the agencies to better coordinate mutual activities, such as emergency response traffic routes and less time-critical administrative efforts.Figure 5. Broadband wireless integrated service.