Incorporating ITS Into the Transportation Planning Process: An Integrated Planning Framework (ITS, M&O, Infrastructure) Practitioner's Guidebook (2002)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

V TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS This Chapter describes the technical activities and functions that are associated with the Integrated Framework described in Chapter III. It does not attempt to be a “how to manual” for all of the technical activities associated with planning. Rather, it provides a conceptual overview and resource guide on the technical activities and functions of the Integrated Framework. It focuses on the changes in technical approach that may be appropriate for the integration of planning and ITS, system management and operations. Its goal is to provide an understanding of the activities and functions, the options for carrying them out, and where to go to find more detailed technical methods and procedures. Key Points of Chapter V • Cross-cutting issues impact all technical activities and functions: - ITS Architectures. - Standards. - Geographic Scale. - Time Scale. - Uncertainty. - ITS benefits and cost data. • The Vision, Goals, Objectives, and Measures, must capture emerging issues of reliability, congestion, use of information, safety, security and more (Chapter II). - Must be predictable and apply to all alternatives. - Reflect all stakeholders. • Initial Conditions and need/deficiencies analysis must include expanded inventory of ITS and operations components, and use “causal analysis” to identify reason for problem that is sensitive to operations. • Identifying alternatives balances ITS, operations, and system enhancement based upon the causal analysis. - Carried out through short, mid, and long-term to create path of development. - Includes new ITS and operational components. - Includes public-private roles and technology forecast. - May need a feedback loop to earlier time periods. • Tools are beginning to emerge to help analyze ITS and operations options and their impacts. Analysis and evaluation must include: - New performance measures. - Recurrent and non-recurrent conditions . - Life cycle costs and benefits. • In the integrated process the importance of programming and its feedback to planning is heightened. - New weighting criteria, - Bundling of projects, - Consider combined ITS and traditional improvements. • ITS data enables performance feedback and monitoring of how the system varies over time. - ITS data is different from traditional data. Need to account for cleaning, management and analysis. As stressed in Chapter III, planning is best viewed as a decision-making process. In the Integrated Framework, planning is the process through which decisions are made on what transportation investments to make, the priority of those investments, and how to operate the system over time. To help decision-makers understand the choices available to them, planners perform the technical efforts within each decision making cycle (short, mid, long) to identify the transportation and other problems to be solved, and to evaluate alternative ways to address them. The activities and functions and the sections of this chapter that address them are shown in Figure V-1. There are a number of crosscutting issues and concerns that impact all of the technical activities and functions as they are carried out. Section V.A examines these first as a base for the sections that follow. These include issues concerning: • The need and use of ITS architectures • ITS and other standards • Geographic scale • Time scale • Uncertainty • ITS benefit and cost data. Sections on the other activities and functions then follow. These include: Section IV.B: Identification of Vision, Goals, Objectives, and Measures. During the transition the vision, goals, and objectives of the region should be examined to reflect the operational concerns TECHNICAL: OVERVIEW V-1

previously not considered within the planning process. These include the emerging issues of congestion, reliability, safety, and security. New measures reflecting these goals and objectives that can be evaluated across ITS and traditional improvements, and are predictable must also be defined. Figure V-1 Technical Activities and Functions Section IV.C: Needs/Deficiency Analysis. Inventories of the existing system and conditions must be expanded to include ITS and the other “operational” elements of the transportation system such as the communications system. Ways to conduct a causal analysis on why problems exist and whether they are recurrent/non- recurrent must be developed. Section IV.D: Integrated Alternative Definition. Definition of an alternative must be extended to include the phasing of all changes to the system during its implementation. An “alternative” is now the full path of development, or time stream of actions and activities concerning the transportation system to the horizon year. How the system will operate/perform at each stage in its development and who is responsible for what must also be defined. Within the Integrated Framework Section IV.E. Estimating Impacts (Benefits & Costs). If an integrated process is to be truly implemented then the analysis techniques and methods used must capture the changes that ITS, operational, and system enhancement options alone and in combination cause in the system. Full (life cycle) time streams of the impacts and costs must also be estimated. During the transition these new techniques must be put in place. Section IV.F: Evaluation of Alternatives. During the transition the evaluation processes must be expanded to account for the new definition of alternatives (path versus horizon year), and tradeoffs in: operational versus system expansion improvements; time stream of benefits; system-wide synergies and the inter-dependence of project elements. Section IV.G Planning to Programming. Programming and the feedback between the short, mid, and long-term cycles become even more important in the Integrated Framework than they are in traditional planning. For integrated planning one must extend the programming process beyond the TIP/STIP. Changes in operations and services must be included. Ways to balance project versus system impacts and synergies and to look at alternatives that include both ITS and traditional improvements must also be developed. Last, it is critical that the continued operation and maintenance of the systems be incorporated into the funding needs and programming. Section IV.H: ITS Data and Planning Decision-Making. ITS data provides new opportunities for performance measurement and feedback including the monitoring of both recurrent and non-recurrent conditions. It is important to develop continuous feedback loops to all cycles of the integrated process. Critical to this is implementing continuous data collection processes for the performance based measures previously defined, and planning for data cleaning, management, and maintenance costs. TECHNICAL: OVERVIEW V-2

Every attempt has been made to make each section as independent as possible so the reader may focus on the specific technical areas of concern without having to read every section in detail. Therefore, each of the above sections includes: • An Introduction and overview that provides a general description of the activity/function and its purpose within the Integrated Framework • A discussion and comparison of the issues associates with moving from current practice to an integrated approach. • An explanation of the application of the activity with the Integrated Framework including appropriate examples if they exist. • An exploration of how the approach may vary in different situations. • A Section review and transition assessment. The introduction at the beginning of each section and/or the review and transition assessment at the end can be read first if the reader just wants an overview of the issues contained in the section, or is not sure if it is applicable to their current needs. Note that the review and self-assessment are provided at the end of each section instead of at the end of the overall Chapter to make each section more independent and self- contained. TECHNICAL: OVERVIEW V-3

V.A CROSS-CUTTING TECHNICAL ISSUES This section examines the crosscutting issues that impact all of the technical activities and functions performed as part of the Integrated Framework. These include: Key Points of Section V.A • Several issues cut across/impact all of the technical activities and functions of integrated planning. • ITS architectures provide the “plan” for the ITS components of each alternative and help ensure that they will function when deployed. - Regional ITS Architectures are now required. - Developed as part of the integrated process, not separately. • ITS Standards also help ensure that what is deployed in one region will work with neighboring areas, states, corridors. - Should be considered as part of architecture development. - Not currently required, but provide many benefits. • ITS Systems planning can occur at many overlapping geographic levels: local, region, state, national. - Different decisions are appropriate at each level. - It is important to look both within your region and at overlapping larger areas to ensure that what you are proposing is consistent at all levels. • Similarly the short term decisions must be balanced with the long term decisions through feedback, and consideration of a time stream of costs and benefits. • Predicting future technology and other changes also lead to uncertainty. This should be addressed through sensitivity and other analyses. Use technology forecasts when they are available. • Information and tools on the impacts of ITS are now becoming more and more available. The Need For ITS Architectures. In the past, as long as the road segments lined up, or the buses ran, the transportation system would function at some level. ITS and communications systems are different from traditional transportation solutions in that different components cannot simply be put together and expected to work. Close coordination over the pieces, how they will communicate with one another, and who will do what as they operate is needed. ITS architectures address this need and provide a “plan” for the ITS components of the system making sure that data exchanges can take place, people know their roles and responsibilities, and in general what needs to occur for ITS to function. There now is also a Federal requirement to develop a regional ITS architecture that references the National ITS Architecture in order to receive Federal Funds In areas where ITS exists or is planned. ITS and Other Standards. ITS and other standards also play an important role in insuring that there is future inter-operability of each system, and that an area’s systems interact in a coordinated way with adjacent states and regions. This is especially important in areas that are outside the control of any particular region and may be being determined at a inter- city corridor or even National level. Geographic Scale. ITS and other systems may overlap in many ways (see above) each with its own system boundaries and impact/influence area. It is important that an area look for systems and architectures at both larger regions and corridors and smaller sub-areas that overlap with them to make sure that they are planning systems that will work together. Time Frame. The differing time frames of various ITS and traditional transportation options also must be considered. Each may take a different time to implement and have impacts either occur instantly or take time to develop. Uncertainty. Uncertainty of technological advances and their penetration into the market place, future social and demographic changes, and future funding for both capital and operations also plays a role at each point in the planning process. Many professionals are hesitant to predict technology beyond 5 to 7 years, yet there are Federal requirements for a 20 year long-range plan and forecast. Ways to address uncertainty include developing alternative futures and carrying out sensitivity, robustness, and risk analysis. TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-5

Benefit and Cost Data. There is an overall perception that there is a lack of ITS impact data and analysis tools to assist in the planning process. While these are still developing there is a growing body of both benefit and cost data and tools that can now be used. These include the U.S. DOT ITS benefits and cost data base, and the ITS Deployment Analysis System (IDAS) sketch planning tool. Each of these is further explored below. This is followed by a section review and transition self- assessment. V.A.1 THE NEED FOR ARCHITECTURES (THE NATIONAL ITS ARCHITECTURE) How do we ensure optimal use of existing infrastructure? How do we identify and define the organization and administration required to support the technical solutions we are planning to implement? How do we make sure that what we do today fits with what we want to do tomorrow? The development of a regional architecture is a key element in answering these questions. Creating an architecture is critical to providing a management and operational structure for the development and implementation of ITS. The architecture provides a high level snapshot of what needs to occur in order to achieve interoperability and efficiency in ITS deployment and operations. Like the transportation planning network maps and service plans which describe the traditional elements in an alternative, a regional ITS architecture defines ITS functions and services and provides a framework and guide for the implementation of ITS. Since the components of ITS and other services built around electronic communications and intelligent control/feedback of the system must be closely coordinated in order to function and work together, the ITS architecture is vital to ensuring the success of the integrated system. Also, by using architectures to integrate related systems, rather than implementing them stand alone, the total cost of ITS implementation can be reduced. Moreover, by developing integrated systems that share data across system elements, the benefits of ITS can be significantly increased. It may be helpful to think of ITS investments as pieces of a three dimensional puzzle. Each piece interlocks with other ITS operations and management strategies, complements existing and future capital investments, and leads to realization of the plan’s vision of the future transportation system. The National ITS Architecture provides the framework for such integration. Sarah J. Siwek, Transportation Planning and ITS: Putting the Pieces Together An architecture identifies and defines the connections between various, often dissimilar ITS components (Hunt, 2000). Figure V-2 shows that an ITS Architecture is typically composed of “Logical” and “Physical” architectures. Based upon the desired ITS User Services and their requirements the Logical Architecture identifies the functions (e.g. gather traffic information or dispatch emergency vehicles) and data flows that must take place. The Physical Architecture, in addition to depicting the functions and data flows, also defines the physical entities or subsystems where these functions reside (e.g. along the roadway or in a transit vehicle), and the interfaces (e.g. incident data) between the physical subsystems. As can be imagined, the creation of an architecture spanning the realm of transportation services is a complex, time consuming, and expensive task. Consequently, the USDOT initiated the creation of the National ITS Architecture to reduce the burden and assist in managing the development and implementation of ITS across the U.S. It provides the logical and physical architectures for the development of the ITS User Services which capture from a "users" perspective what we would like the ITS in the United States to do (See the Appendix A Glossary for a complete list, examples include services such as Incident Management, and Public Transportation Management). The National ITS Program Plan first established 29 ITS User Services in 1995. New User Services have been added since then to address changing needs increasing the total to 32 (as of June 2002). TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-6

Figure V-2 ITS Architecture Components The National ITS Architecture provides a general framework for implementing the User Services and integrating ITS strategies within and across agencies, modes, and jurisdictional boundaries. As such, it provides a model for the development of a regional ITS architecture in each metropolitan area, state, or multi-state region. Version 1.0 of the National ITS Architecture was unveiled in 1996. It has been continually updated to incorporate the new User Services as they have been added and to provide additional refinements. Figure V-3 represents the Physical Architecture subsystems, and centers and the communications links between them as described in Version 4.0 of the National ITS Architecture (US DOT, 2002). It shows the “transportation layer” (rectangles) composed of subsystems for travelers, vehicles, transportation management centers, and roadside field devices. These are connected by the “communications layer” (ovals). Four potential types of communications are shown: wireline, wide area wireless, vehicle-to-vehicle, and dedicated short-range. Note, that the management centers are functional and conceptual. The Architecture does not describe “buildings” or where the functions must reside and how they must communicate. As the locally developed physical architecture is defined, however, it does help determine what functions to carry out and who must communicate with whom. This in turn identifies what agreements must be made to operate the system, what data must be shared, and who must coordinate/cooperate with whom. The building blocks that the National ITS Architecture uses to provide assistance in implementing the User Services at different levels and configurations are the National ITS Architecture Market Packages. Each of the 75 Market Packages describes the subsystems, interfaces and conceptual equipment packages needed TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-7

Figure V-3 Physical Architecture (Transportation and Communications Layers) Source: National ITS Architecture V. 4.0 (US DOT 2002) to implement a key function used by the User Services. Many market packages are also incremental allowing initial systems to be deployed first and advanced packages to be efficiently implemented based on earlier deployments as needs (and capabilities) grow. The relationship between the User Services and National ITS Market Packages as provided in Version 4.0 of the National ITS Architecture is included as Appendix B of this Guidebook A full description of the National ITS Architecture and ITS standards development is beyond the scope of this Guidebook. The National ITS Architecture Version 4.0 is provided by the US DOT ITS Joint Program Office on a CD-ROM (US DOT, 2002). It is also accessible via the Internet at http://www.its.dot.gov/arch/arch.htm, The National ITS Architecture was developed as a base-line tool to assist in the creation of locally tailored regional architectures and the implementation of integrated transportation systems and inter-operability of key ITS services. The regional ITS architecture identifies the various ITS elements that a region chooses to develop and at what level. Much of a regional architecture can easily be derived from the National ITS Architecture, but it is important to note that there are cases where a region may have to derive architecture elements that are unique to their area. The TEA-21 requirements for the development of a regional ITS architecture and its required components are described in detail in Chapter II. Briefly, a regional ITS architecture must be developed and maintained considering the National ITS Architecture and include at a minimum a: • Description of the region • Identification of the participating agencies and stakeholders • An operational concept that identifies roles and responsibilities of stakeholders • Any agreements required for operations • System functional requirements (high level) TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-8

• Interface requirements and information exchanges with planned and existing systems and subsystems • Identification of ITS standards supporting regional and national interoperability • Sequence of projects required for implementation To assist areas in meeting the above requirements the US DOT has prepared a Regional ITS Architecture Guidance that lays out a suggested approach for the development of a regional ITS architecture. The recommend multi-step process is shown in Figure V-1. As can be seen the steps are very similar to the technical activities and functions of the Integrated Framework described throughout this chapter. In the Integrated Framework, however, these steps are integrated into and crosscut all of the activities and functions of the overall planning effort and are not carried out as a separate exercise. Stakeholders, are included as part of determining the new institutional and organizational relationships (See Chapter IV). Overall needs are defined as the goals, objectives and performance measures are developed. Desired ITS services are derived from the causal analysis and tradeoffs between other components during the integrated alternative development. Figure V-4 Regional ITS Architecture Development Process To aid regional ITS architecture developers carry out the technical analysis and encourage consistency, the USDOT also initiated the creation o the "TURBO" Architecture software tool. It assists in the planning and integration of ITS using the National ITS Architecture. There are two ways for developers to initially enter the information into Turbo Architecture: via an interview or directly into tabular forms. The interview guides the user through a series of questions and options that result in the creation of an inventory and a set of services. The user may also go directly to a set of tabular forms to create this initial inventory and set of services. In either case, this information initiates the development of an architecture. Turbo Architecture is now available through McTrans http://www-mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/featured/turbo/. Another resource on the fundamentals of architecture development is the book “Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture” by Bob and Judy McQueen, Artech House 1999. Source: National ITS Architecture Team, 2001 V.A.2 THE BENEFITS OF STANDARDS. An important element of the National ITS Architecture is that it identifies where data exchanges may occur between potential systems. These areas of data exchange or interfaces have precipitated the need for standards. The ITS standards define data communication at system interfaces. The standards may contain technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, definitions or TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-9

characteristics so as to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their intended purposes. These standards are being developed in partnership with the USDOT, accredited Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and other industry experts. The process by which the standards are being developed is an open process. Open standards are standards that are developed openly by the industry and support interoperability between products, portability between platforms and integration of user interfaces. A big advantage of using interoperable products is the ability to purchase additional components from multiple vendors. The demand for products that are compliant with the open standards brings about consumer choice, creates market competition and leads to lower cost products. Many legacy (existing) systems were developed using proprietary protocols and data formats. It should be noted that legacy systems or systems currently being developed without consideration of the approved ITS standards may require special planning consideration in the future. These systems often require unique software to be developed in order to translate data into a format that standards compliant systems can use. This could increase development time and project cost. Having established standards provides a basis for planning and system integration. When developing, costing, and estimating the benefits of ITS, planners will have some assurance of system performance and interoperability. The FHWA Regional ITS Architecture Guidance document noted earlier also provides a path for identifying ITS standards for a regional ITS architecture. The guidance document reviews the ITS standards process, lists ITS standards resources and tools and provides example standards report outputs. Table V-1 provides the Standards Applications Areas where Standards are currently being developed. Table V-1 ITS Standards Now Under Development National ITS Architecture Interface Class Standards Application Areas Center-to-Roadside Data Collection and Monitoring Dynamic Message Signs Environmental Monitoring Ramp Metering Traffic Signals Vehicle Sensors Video Surveillance Center-to-Center Data Archival Incident Management Rail Coordination Traffic Management Transit Management Traveler Management Center-to-Vehicle/Traveler Mayday Transit Vehicle Communications Traveler Information Roadside-to-Vehicle Toll/Fee Collection Signal Priority Roadside-to-Roadside Highway Rail Intersection (HRI) Additional information regarding ITS standards can be found at http://www.its-standards.net/. A number of training courses from an introduction for policy makers, to advanced courses for system designers are also offered by the US DOT. Their descriptions, as well as on-line versions can be found here: http://pcb.volpe.dot.gov/. TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-10

Last, it is important to point out that the final rule for Architecture and Standards (23 CFR Parts 655 and 940) states that “all ITS projects funded with highway trust funds shall use applicable ITS standards and interoperability tests that have been officially adopted through rulemaking by the DOT. As of June 2002, there are approved standards, but there are no “ITS standards” that have been officially adopted through rulemaking by the DOT. Until standards are officially adopted, system developers can decide whether the benefits of using ITS standards are attractive enough to use them voluntarily. V.A.3 GEOGRAPHIC SCALE If one is doing planning at one geographic scale, the alternative strategies to consider are limited to those that might be implemented at that scale. For example, planning at the project level would not consider alternatives that entail changes to private vehicles. It would make assumptions about the make-up of the vehicle fleet, and might recognize future uncertainties by testing different scenarios. However, since a local decision at the project level would not significantly affect the types of vehicles produced or customer buying habits, changes in vehicles are not alternatives warranting study at the project level. Table IV-2 lists the categories of ITS strategies, based on the National ITS Architecture, and the geographical scales at which these strategies are most likely to be considered within planning alternatives. Strategies that are planned at one geographic scale may be implemented incrementally, starting with a smaller geographic area, perhaps on a pilot basis. In such cases it is important that the initial project be compatible with the larger system that is envisioned for the longer term. Table V-2 ITS Strategies And Geographical Scale Of Planning Pu bl ic /P riv at e N at io na l St at ew id e M et ro po lit an / R eg io na l C or rid or / Su ba re a M un ic ip al ity / Lo ca l G ov . Pr oj ec t Remote Access Remote Traveler Support Public/Private X X X Personal Information Access Private Centers Information Service Provider Public/Private X X Traffic Management Public X X X X X Emissions Management Public X X Emergency Management Public X X X Transit Management Public/Private X X Toll Administration Public/Private X X X X Fleet and Freight Mgmt. Public/Private X X X Commercial Vehicle Admin. Private X X Vehicles Vehicle Private X X Transit Public/Private X X Commercial Private X X Emergency Private X X Roadside Roadway Public X X X X X Toll Collection Public/Private X X X X X Parking Management Public/Private X X Commercial Vehicle Check Public X X TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-11

Systems and architectures planned at one geographic scale need to fit with systems planned at another scale. Corridor planning, for example, together, should recognize and be consistent with the regional context. Project planners should look for opportunities to implement systems planned at a larger scale. Planners at all levels ought to be aware of and factor into their studies the changes that are occurring at both broader and narrower scales and look for integration opportunities. When creating any ITS plan, developers are encouraged to “think regionally and act locally.” “Regionally can mean area wide, statewide, multi-state areas or even, and most importantly, nationwide. Local areas will know best what types of strategies will be successful, both in terms of solving the problem and of being accepted by the public, but it should be kept in mind that every individual project and activity needs to be compatible with a larger “system” if the goals of ITS are to be achieved. Virginia’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Interim Tactical Plan (August 1996) Error! Not a valid bookmark self-reference. provides an illustration of how higher level requirements from National, Inter-State, or Statewide ITS Architectures may influence the development of regional plans (or Vice-Versa) in order to insure inter-operability, and/or exchange of information. Consequently, as architectures and systems are developed external standards, systems, and protocols should be explored and assessed. As appropriate, they should then be incorporated into the local plans and system development. One important part of the ITS architecture development at all levels of detail is to examine how geographically separate projects and corridors may need to be coordinated for sharing of information and/or ITS services. If the ITS projects in Figure V-5 Inter-coordination of Architectures TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-12

the figure were traffic signal systems for example, then if their coordination was not considered during implementation it is likely that they would not be able to communicate, or coordinate within the urban corridors, or the region. Local projects must be consistent with the regional architecture, which in turn nests within statewide, or multi-state systems. A Statewide ITS Plan can provide an additional means for achieving system integration. There is an implied hierarchy as National architecture dovetails with state plans and regional architecture covering different geographic scales. Just as it is important to integrate ITS strategies and solutions within a metropolitan area and within a state, it is often desirable to integrate the strategies across state lines. Traveler information systems, for example, can alert drivers to conditions in an adjacent state. Transit agencies in adjacent states may share the same automated fare collection systems to make transfers easier for riders. The Washington, DC metropolitan area spans three states – Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. There, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments established an ITS Task Force under the MPO to coordinate the activities of the highway, transit, and other agencies and the private sector involved in transportation technology at the Federal, state and local levels. The Task Force had three goals: • To identify regional transportation improvements and other opportunities that can be reasonably and appropriately addressed by ITS technologies • To identify mechanisms for interjurisdictional cooperation to ensure ITS program development and projects are compatible and coordinated • To identify methods for area decision makers and political leaders to endorse ITS on a regional basis A regional ITS architecture, statewide ITS plan, or inter-urban coalition all help to set the basis for future planning at the various geographic scales of planning. They may suggest alternatives that should be considered in more detailed planning, identify important linkages between systems, and may provide a basis for estimating costs and benefits. Virginia DOT’s statewide ITS plan provides a long list of ITS improvements that are anticipated to be in place by the year 2015. In the I-64 corridor Major Investment Study, these strategies were included in the No Build alternative. Other ITS strategies that might benefit the I-64 corridor, but which were not part of the statewide plan, were incorporated into the Transportation System Management alternative and the more capital intensive alternatives for the corridor. V.A.4 TIME FRAME Transportation planning has traditionally addressed relatively long-term needs – looking at problems and solutions 20 years or more in the future. Operations planning, including ITS, focuses on today’s problems and thus has a very short time frame. With rapid advances in technology, long-range planning for ITS can be speculative at best. The integrated framework sees planning as a continuous stream of problems, solutions and activities, both short-term and long-term. For simplicity’s sake our model of the integrated process suggests at least 3 planning horizons – and short-range, mid-range, long-range. The intent is that these not be seen as three separate activities, but rather a continuous stream of activities. The planning horizon affects the definition of the problem that forms the basis for planning and decision- making. In the integrated process, planners should investigate how today’s transportation problems can be expected to change over time, given anticipated changes in population and employment, travel behavior, and technology. As technology advances, for example, the capacity of a highway lane may increase, and new information systems may lead to cause people to change the routes they travel, or the time of day they TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-13

travel. Problem statements that assume today’s technology and today’s behavior may miss changes that are possible over time. Traditionally, planners have extrapolated today’s behavior and technology into the long-term future, assuming no significant change, but this simplifying assumption causes them to overlook significant changes that occur over time and to miss opportunities. The time frame also affects the transportation solutions that are available for consideration. Major capital investments take many years to plan, design, and construct, so a long planning horizon is appropriate. The shorter time frame embraced by the integrated framework opens the mind to a host of low capital and operational opportunities that long-range planning studies may overlook. While low cost and operational improvements may not be the solution in the long-term, they may offer more immediate benefits. Ideally, the planning process will lead to decisions on a time stream of staged improvements that correspond to changes in travel and technology over time. In an integrated planning process, the different time frames fit together and support each other. Strategies selected for the short-term should not only address short-term problems, but also should be consistent with long-range vision – a step in the right direction. V.A.5 DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY. Decision-makers are interested in seeing quantified information on costs and benefits. Yet uncertainty is inherent in any forecast, and the uncertainty becomes greater as the planning horizon is extended. This is particularly true when rapidly changing technology is involved. Planners are advised to acknowledge the uncertainty in their forecasts and to deal with it through appropriate techniques. Approaches for dealing with uncertainty include: • Planning for the long-term is often performed in less detail that planning for the short-term, and focuses on the significant differences among the alternatives. • Estimates of costs and benefits may be provided as a range of values. • Use sensitivity analysis to test a variety of “what if?” scenarios and develop “robust” solutions that make sense with a range of “alternative futures” • Use available long-range forecasts of technology and ITS market penetration levels developed by ITS and other experts.. V.A.6 AVAILABILITY OF DATA ON ITS COSTS AND IMPACTS State and local planners who are considering ITS strategies often complain about a lack of information on “real world” ITS deployments. They believe that they lack sufficient information on what ITS strategies cost to build and to operate, and on how customers would respond to ITS deployments. This perception is largely inaccurate, however. Considerable data does exist and is readily accessible. One only needs to know where to look. Subsequent sections of this Chapter not only discuss the technical methods that are suitable for analyzing ITS as a part of an integrated planning process, they also point to sources of data that can be used in the analysis. V.A.7 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section described the crosscutting issues and concerns that impact all of the technical activities and functions carried out as part of integrated planning. The crosscutting issues and the reasons that they impact all activities and functions are: • Development of regional ITS architectures is now required for Federal funding of transportation projects within an area with ITS components. Development is integrated into each activity and function of the overall process, and is not conducted separately. This allows tradeoffs between ITS and other options to be included. TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-14

• Similarly ITS standards, help in the development of a region’s integrated alternatives. They help ensure that an area’s ITS systems will be compatible with others outside of their control. • There are many overlapping geographic levels that ITS systems are developed for, and that may impact the decisions made in a particular area. Therefore, the planning process should look both within and without its area for stakeholders and ITS or operating decisions that it should coordinate with. • Differences in the time scale of decisions and their uncertainty must also be accounted for. Short- range and long-range decisions must be balanced against one another. Uncertainty in the future of technology and other aspects should be examined using sensitivity analysis and alternative futures. • Last, there is a perception that more information on ITS impacts is needed. This is being countered by a growing database and emerging tools for prediction. Table V-3 provides some questions that might provide some insight into where your region stands concerning these cross cutting issues. . Mark where you think your area’s relative position is for each question. Table V-3 Cross-Cutting Technical Issues Self-Assessment Question NO YES Are there neighboring regions, states, or inter-city corridors with ITS systems that overlap your area? Are they developing ITS plans and architectures that you need to coordinate with? NO - - - - - - - - YES Has the region for an ITS architecture been defined? Does it encompass all current and planned ITS systems and their impact areas? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is the use of ITS Standards being explored ? NO - - - - - - - - YES Has a technology forecast been carried out or considered? Does it include uncertainty/sensitivity analyses on key assumptions ? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: CROSSCUTTING V-15

V.B VISION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND THEIR MEASURES The outset of any planning process begins by articulating what the desired end state should be. One method to capture this is the creation of a vision supported by goals and objectives and their measures. This step is the foundation for integrating ITS with the traditional planning process. Key Points of Section V.B • A vision provides a view into the desired future state that an area would like to achieve. • Goals describe, in a general way, the desired end state or outcome necessary to achieve the vision. They are value statements. • An Objective captures a particular dimension of a goal and is designed to help measure progress towards the goal’s attainment. • A measure of effectiveness (MOE) is a specific measure that can be used to quantify, or describe, the attainment of a specific objective. • These need to be expanded to address the emerging issues of Chapter II, and capture non-capacity, performance and operations viewpoints. Focus on the Customer’s Perspective! • They should also be applicable, calculable, and predictable for ITS and traditional solutions alone or in combination. • Measures should capture variation in system conditions, the value of information, and overall performance throughout the day. • To address your local situation make sure to reflect the perspectives of all stakeholders in the development of the above. Just as there is a wide variation in approaches to long-range planning, there is a wide variation in the interpretation of what vision, goals and objectives are. Some terms found in the review of transportation and ITS plans include “strategic outcome areas”, “policies”, and “recommendations.” For the purpose of this report, the terms are defined below: Vision: A vision, as the name implies, provides a view into the desired future that the region, or individual agency, would like to achieve. Visions are typically developed as an initial step of the planning process. Sometimes, the creation of the vision is iterative and follows the planning process, with the vision revealing itself as various aspects of the plan emerge. Either approach is acceptable. It is important that the vision aligns with the mission – the business – of the agencies that contribute to realizing it. In other words, the vision should focus on the aspects of the future that the agency or agencies have direct influence over. An example of a vision or portion of a vision could be “The transportation system provides efficient and safe connections between people and destinations. The flow of goods is balanced with movement of people. Access to public transit is available to all urban area citizens within ¼ mile of their home or office. " WILMAPCO, the MPO in Dover, Delaware has developed a vision that includes the following statement: “The transportation system is made more efficient through the use of advanced technology.” This statement is mirrored in DelDOT’s 2020 Plan strategies, one of which is to “Take advantage of New Technologies”. Goal: Goals describe, in a general way, the desired end state or outcome necessary to achieve the vision. They are often in the form of a value statement reflecting the agency’s mission. Because of their generality, they typically have many dimensions and cannot be directly measured, or quantified. Examples of goals include: “Improve the safety of the arterial network.” “Increase public sense of security as they use the transportation system.” “Reduce delay to travelers during peak periods.” Goals can be realized by applying a variety of different strategies. For example, reducing peak period delays can be accomplished by moving people from their cars into transit, promoting flex-time and TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-17

telecommuting, by constructing new facilities, by improving signal timing, by instituting freeway ramp metering, and by instituting incident management programs. Objective: An objective is a specific statement derived from a goal. An objective captures a particular dimension of a goal and is designed to help measure progress towards the goal’s attainment. Objectives can be measurable and/or qualitative. Several objectives can also be used to capture a specific goal. Measure of Effectiveness: A measure of effectiveness (MOE) is a specific measure that can be used to quantify, or describe, the attainment of a specific objective. There may be many choices for measures that can be used to reflect any specific objective. V.B.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH Most agencies establish separate vision, goals and objectives for ITS and traditional long-range transportation planning. The Integrated Framework suggests they be merged, which requires a incorporation of all temporal perspectives, as well as broadening the viewpoint to include capital and operations measures. V.B.1.1 Integration Issues/barriers overview The following issues/barriers exist: • Understanding of the capabilities of ITS: An educational phase should be included in the development of vision, goals and objectives to ensure that the parties involved in their development understand the complete range of ITS capabilities, and how they connect to an expanded vision, and to new goals and objectives to meet that vision. • Including new parties in the planning stages: ITS introduces new agency connections beyond those traditionally involved in the delivery of transportation such as departments of transportation and transit providers. These new connections include both public and private sector partners. In particular, ITS enables stronger connections across multiple modes through the sharing of information. For example deploying multi-modal automated traveler information may provide door-to-door itinerary planning. This service is typically supportive of most agencies missions, at least on a regional or statewide level. On the passenger side, new players include air transportation, private transportation service providers such as taxis, shuttles or tour providers, and maritime transportation such as ferries. Similarly, freight transportation planning could extend beyond the traditional role of regulation and monitoring to include the enabling of intermodal connections to rail, maritime, air and intermodal yards., again bringing new partners to the table. Advanced transportation management systems also serve as tools to improve incident response and management. In fact, incident management programs using ITS return one of the highest cost/benefit ratios of all ITS (estimated from 3:1 to 5:1). New partners include emergency responders, towing companies, police, fire, and local trauma centers. Other traveler information aspects of ITS open doors to partnering with the public and private sectors. Departments of tourism and/or economic development are key to developing connections to attractions and other business. • Expansion to include user perspectives of service and system performance: Although provision of capacity will continue to be a focus of transportation planning, integrating ITS requires that it not be the sole focus of the plan. ITS shifts the planner’s viewpoint from the infrastructure to the user of the infrastructure. Adopting a user or customer based approach to creating the vision, goals and objectives is critical to developing integrated plans. • Incorporation of all time horizons: There are two aspects to the temporal dimension of an integrated planning framework. First, is a shift from planning simply from the very long-term (20 year) horizon. ITS deploys technologies that are changing and can be implemented in much TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-18

shorter time frames that traditional major capital improvements. Short, mid and long-term horizons should be established when creating integrated visions. Or, the vision should be time neutral. Goals and objectives are inherently shorter term for ITS projects than for major capital investments because they are operational and highly responsive in nature. Therefore, the goals and objectives that relate to operational measures should likely not extend to the 20-year horizon. The second shift is away from a single time period viewpoint, which is usually the peak period, to one that embraces all times of day. Although many capital projects are designed for and accrue the majority of benefits during peak periods, ITS may accrue significant benefits during off-peak periods. V.B.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK Given the issues outlined above, the following provides suggestions for developing an integrated vision and goals and objectives. V.B.2.1 Developing an integrated vision. The development of an integrated vision requires that the broader array of stakeholders that ITS connects with transportation planning be brought together with traditional planning stakeholders. The types of stakeholders are described in Chapter IV. Additional input can be gathered from the users of the ITS systems – both the operators and those affected by operations including travelers, truckers, and other customers. In Kern County California, the San Diego region, San Francisco and throughout Arizona, public input was directly solicited through phone interviews and focus groups. The chief aim of the outreach was to identify needs that could be addressed by ITS. Those needs were prioritized and mapped to ITS applications. Development of the vision is thus, primarily a bottom-up process with input coming from the end-users. Some top-down influence is required, in that the agency leadership must support the process and potential outcomes. An effective method of creating a vision is to construct narratives describing a day in the life of various key users of the transportation system. Following a transit user, a commuter, an emergency responder or an advanced transportation system operator through their daily transportation activities can breath life into a visioning process, and make it accessible to a variety of stakeholders including the general public and decision makers. In addition, following a set activities that can occur at times throughout a day will accomplish the integration need of moving the planning focus beyond the peak period. The vision must also apply to nearer term time horizons. at least one nearer-term time horizon. How will ITS influence operations before the 20 year horizon, and the proposed long-term capital improvements are in place? Making sure that the vision applies to different time horizons, helps in the integration of ITS and infrastructure planning, as it allows an evaluation of the hoped-for outcomes during the life-cycle of most ITS. It additionally allows focus to be placed on shorter term, less capital intensive measures that ITS can enable. Many of these types of measures can help ameliorate conditions in the interim period between planning and construction of a major infrastructure facility. Thus, the nearer term aspects of the vision will translate to nearer term goals and objectives that ITS, in addition to traditional transportation infrastructure and congestion management approaches , can achieve. TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-19

In San Francisco at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and at the Washington State DOT, integrated planning approaches were developed in response to intense budget reduction pressure. Each of these agencies has determined that they must get the most out of their existing systems, since funding to expand it is so very scarce. Thus, the primary focus of the agency’s transportation missions is on system management and preservation with the aim of providing the most service to the system users. The MTC plan states: “Underpinning this Regional Transportation Plan is the belief that the myriad of components of the transportation network constitute a single system to be managed and operated as a cohesive unit. “ A separate funding element entitled “transportation system operations/management” is included in the plan, which funds various management and operations programs including ITS. V.B.2.2 Expanding goals and objectives to include operational considerations Because goals and objectives are so directly linked, in that particular objectives are designed to meet specific goals, the following discussion links them as well. The gaps that exist between planning and operations often result in a lack of understanding of the goals and objectives that may apply to an ITS program, and the need to shift from a focus on the infrastructure at a single time point to a focus on the user at multiple time points. With an integrated vision in hand that bridges those gaps, the development of integrated goals and objectives is facilitated. At the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (Cincinnati, OH) and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission in Virginia, these MPO’s specifically noted ITS in their regional vision, and created goals related to specific types of ITS deployments that will achieve the vision. Another key gap is a lack of knowledge of the possible set of goals and objectives that ITS enables. The following provides a framework for development of integrated goals and objectives (grouped by category). An excellent resource is the NCHRP publication Performance-Based Planning Manual. Goal: Reduce negative air quality impacts of transportation • Reduce emissions Goal: Increase mobility (with the definition of mobility locally created) • Expand capacity • Smooth of traffic flow • Predictable travel times • Reduce peak hour spread • Improve transit schedule reliability • Increase transit flexibility (paratransit) Goal: Improve accessibility to transportation modes (accessibility as locally defined) • Increase mode choice options • Increase departure choice options Goal: Increase system safety • Improve security • Improve accident survivability • Removal/mitigation of hazards • Crash reduction Goal: Improve efficiency and customer satisfaction • Improve customer service/interaction with agencies • Satisfaction with system and services • Satisfaction that agency is trying to meet needs • Increase the value for dollar spent TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-20

When establishing objectives, it is also important to choose ones where progress can be established. In other words, they should have an element of measurability. Objectives can be developed for which accomplishment is the measure, such as those that suggest the implementation of a program or project, or those that suggest the adoption of a policy. Care should be exercised in selecting objectives that require extensive resources to measure, since marshalling those resources may prove difficult. However, most ITS systems can gather data that aids in assessing meeting of objectives. If quantitative objectives are used, and the data can be gathered, the objectives should be measured fairly often, perhaps biannually. Adjustments to programs can then be made if needed. V.B.2.3 Developing an Integrated Set of Performance Measures. Performance measures are used to measure how the system performs with respect to the adopted goals and objectives, both for ongoing management and operations of the system and the evaluation of future options. They should (Cambridge Systematics, 1999): • Be measurable • Be forecastable • Be multi-modal • Clear to decision makers • Comparable across time • Geographically appropriate • Measure multiple goals • Reflect attributes that are controllable • Relevant • Provide ability to diagnose problems If the planning process is to provide for the balanced consideration of ITS and management and operations options the performance measures chosen must: 1) Address the emerging issues and concerns that ITS and management operations options are focused on solving; and 2) Be sensitive to the changes in system characteristics that these new strategies create. As stated, ITS and system management focus on responding to non-recurrent and unusual conditions, gaps in information, and management of the transportation “system” as a whole. Measures must therefore be included to capture variation in system conditions, the value of information, and overall system performance throughout the day. Examples of measures that are sensitive to system operations and the impacts of ITS include (Siwek, 1998, Mitretek, 1999): • Total recurrent delay • Total non-recurrent delay • Schedule delay (time you must leave early to ensure that you will arrive on time) • Percent of Peak travel in delay • Coefficient of deviation of travel time • % of trips that are significantly delayed (Delay greater than X (20) minutes) • Deferred trips • Vehicle stops/starts • Total accidents, fatalities • Number of person trips that make error in route/mode choice due to lack of information • Travel time/Best information travel time In Chicago, the Congestion Management System CMS, which is used as a tool in developing approaches to meet long-range visions , includes ITS approaches within the CMS goals. Strategies include traffic signal system timing and coordination improvements, incident management strategies, ramp metering, route diversion all supported by closed circuit TV and traffic detection. TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-21

• Complaint/information calls to traveler information sites. It is equally important that both the traditional and new performance measures chosen and their method of calculation are sensitive to the changes that ITS and system management introduce into the system. For example, improving air quality by reducing emissions may be a regional objective measured by tons of pollutants produced by vehicle travel. Coordinated signal systems can have a significant impact on air quality by reducing the number of stops and high acceleration/deceleration occurrences in the system. If ITS strategies are to be credited for these improvements then the methods for forecasting emissions used must also incorporate this change in vehicle operating mode. Measures in general need to evolve from those based on average conditions to those that reflect variability and sum the change from hour-to-hour and day-to-day found as the system operates. Mitretek in their Seattle Case Study developed an example of incorporating new measures for analyzing integrated strategies for Incorporating ITS into Corridor Planning. They concluded: During the study we discovered that additional measures of effectiveness were needed to properly represent the impact of ITS. A key phase in any MIS is the development of the measures that are used to evaluate the alternatives under study and that reflect the issues/concerns of those in the community making the decision. Typically, measures of transportation service, costs, mobility and system performance, financial burden, and environmental/community impacts are considered. These measures, however, are usually only calculated based upon the average weekday or expected conditions. Variation in conditions (e.g. travel demand, weather, accidents) and the transportation system’s response to them is not part of the analysis and consequently does not enter into the decision process. However, incorporating variation in conditions is key to showing the benefits of ITS and other strategies focused on improving the operation of the system. Accordingly, in the study, several new measures were developed that are more representative of the impacts of ITS. Delay reduction is calculated as the difference between the travel time in each scenario and free-flow (30% of average demand, no accidents in the system, good weather) travel times. Throughput measures the number trips starting in the time frame that can finish before the end of the peak period at 9:30 AM. Delay reduction and throughput measures are calculated for each representative day scenario. An annualized figure is then calculated by computing a weighted average of across all scenarios. System coefficient of trip time variation is calculated by examining the variability of travel for similar trips in the system taken across all scenarios. This statistic is an indicator of the reliability of travel in the corridor. Speed and stops across the network are archived from each run from the whole AM peak period. Speed profiles are then normalized by total vehicle-kilometers of travel in the system to create the statistic percentage of vehicle-kilometers of travel by speed range. A similar technique is applied to stops estimated by the simulation at a link level every 15 minutes producing an expected number of stops per vehicle-kilometer of travel. Risk of significant delay is also calculated which is the percent of trips with travel times greater than 125% of normal conditions. (Mitretek, 1999) V.B.3 VARIATIONS BY SCALE, SETTING AND INSTITUTION V.B.3.1 Regional Context and Transportation Issues The key contextual difference that should be considered in developing integrated visions, goals and objectives relates principally to transportation needs. Typically, more urbanized areas have a stronger focus on system capacity and efficiency than less developed, non-urbanized areas. Both types of regions will include a strong emphasis on safety and accessibility. Each of these topics requires slightly different stakeholders be brought together. V.B.3.2 Institutional Setting and Resource Availability Generally, the development of visions, goals and objectives differs little among various institutional settings. The main difference is that found between single agency plans and regional or other multi-agency plans. Multi-agency plans require a merger of the multiple agency missions at the MPO or other multi- TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-22

agency level. However, in any institutional context, new players should be added to the process– private sector, tourism, police, fire, and other emergency responders – and the missions of these agencies needs to be brought into the transportation vision. V.B.3.3 Planning Cycle The planning cycle suggests that the vision, goals, and objectives should be developed at the beginning of the process, likely as part of the long-range plan update. However, you need not let this stop you from creating integrated visions, goals and objectives at any time in the planning cycle that would later be folded into the long-range plan. In the interim, policy papers and other vehicles documenting the process and outcomes can be used to establish commitment to integrating ITS in the planning process. V.B.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section provided an explanation of the development of an area’s vision and the goals, objectives, and measures that support it within an integrated planning process that includes ITS and operations. Key concepts were defined as: • A vision provides a view into the desired future state that an area would like to achieve. • Goals describe, in a general way, the desired end state or outcome necessary to achieve the vision. They are value statements. • An Objective captures a particular dimension of a goal and is designed to help measure progress towards the goal’s attainment. • A measure of effectiveness (MOE) is a specific measure that can be used to quantify, or describe, the attainment of a specific objective. They provide the foundations for moving to a new performance and customer-oriented perspective with the Integrated Framework. It is important to note that they should be developed to address the emerging issues of Chapter II (congestion, impacts of disruptions, reliability, safety, and security), and not to justify ITS or operations in and of themselves. They should incorporate the perspectives of all stakeholders. Measures should be measurable, predictable, and calculable for ITS and traditional solutions both alone and in combination. They also need to capture variations in system conditions, the value of information, and overall system performance throughout the day. A number of examples were given in Section V.B.2.3. Table V-4 provides some questions that might provide some insight into where your region stands in the development of an integrated vision and the goals, objectives and measures that support it. . . Mark where you think your area’s relative position is for each question. Table V-4 Vision, Goals, Objectives and Measures Self-Assessment Question NO YES Is there a “Vision” of the region/area’s future that includes an integrated perspective of system development, operations, and asset management, in a sustainable way? NO - - - - - - - - YES Do the area’s goals and objectives include emerging issues of reliability, system preservation, sustainability, and efficient system management? NO - - - - - - - - YES Have new customer oriented performance measures been defined? Do they include measures of reliability and variation throughout the day, month, year? Do they apply to all alternatives? Do they include operational issues such as incident response, or accident frequency/location? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: GOALS & OBJECTIVES V-23

V.C INITIAL CONDITIONS AND NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES ANALYSIS A “need” or “deficiency” can be viewed as the difference between the current or projected performance and the desired level of performance. The desired condition is derived from policies, goals and objectives, plus the input of stakeholders participating in the process. Current and projected performance is compared with the desired level of performance, and gaps are identified. A causal analysis to understand why each need/deficiency occurs is then performed. This provides the critical information for making tradeoffs and defining the appropriate roles for ITS and other solutions in the next step of identifying alternatives. Key Points of Section V.C • Needs/Deficiencies built upon the integrated goals, objectives, and measures defined previously. • Requirements: - Expanded inventory to ITS, communication, and operations. - Monitoring of system performance based upon a customer perspective and using ITS data. - Including both recurrent and non-recurrent conditions and performance throughout the day/year. - Sharing of performance data to develop an overall system view. - Carrying out a causal analysis to determine why needs occur. - Establishing an understanding of how conditions and needs change over time. • Provides the critical inputs for developing integrated alternatives that include ITS, operations, and traditional solutions and their tradeoffs. V.C.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH Traditionally, transportation “needs” are identified within a rather narrow framework of policy goals and objectives. These tend to include traditional system performance measures such as average peak hour congestion and transit ridership. Needs may reflect other goals as well, such as improved air quality and support for economic development. The Federal aid program’s emphasis on major capacity improvement has led to long-range (20+ year) forecasts of future needs, consistent with the long implementation period periods and life spans of capital intensive improvements. Conventional methods for predicting long-term needs include: • System owners maintain an inventory of their existing facilities and services, including data on capacity and usage trends • Travel demand forecasting models are used to predict long-term demand. The projected demand is then compared with capacity to identify future congestion. These same tools are used to project transit demand and identify potential transit markets • Air pollutant emissions and dispersion models are applied to outputs of travel demand models • A qualitative process, supported by models, is used to assess system connectivity Additional tools that are frequently used to identify short-term needs include: • Congestion and other management systems, traffic engineering analyses, and transit operations analyses • Analysis of accident records and highway safety systems • Customer satisfaction surveys Extending the traditional approaches to the Integrated Framework suggests the need for several enhancements: • Developing an extended inventory of facilities and services • Expanding the monitoring of system performance • Use of real time monitoring data for planning TECHNICAL: NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES V-25

• Evaluating performance in broader stakeholder terms • Establishing an understanding of how needs change over time • Gathering performance data for both recurrent and non-recurrent conditions as part of the assessment • Sharing of performance data among transportation agencies and other stakeholders • Enhancing transportation agency understanding of the underlying causes of system performance deficiencies V.C.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK V.C.2.1 Technical This section further explains the enhancements noted above and offers possible techniques for achieving them. Extended Inventory of Facilities and Services Transportation agencies maintain inventories of the facilities and services for which they are responsible – the roads, traffic management centers, transit services and vehicles, etc. As we move to managing and operating the system and the use of ITS much more needs to be known than is found in the traditional infrastructure inventories used for past planning activities. This base inventory data needs to be assembled to develop the initial conditions analysis and not limit the description of deficiencies and solutions. The Integrated Framework suggests that the traditional inventories be extended to include such items as: • ITS and operations equipment such as traffic signals, detectors and surveillance equipment, VMS signs and HAR, etc. • ITS services and their coverage areas • Incident response systems • Communications infrastructure and capabilities • Data flows • Operating principles and guidelines i.e., the rules that are used to run each component of the system, including the concepts of operations between parties Expanded Monitoring of System Performance The Integrated Framework depends upon continuous feedback on how the system is performing. Some data may be needed on an instantaneous basis – so that incidents can be responded to immediately. Other aspects of system performance may be monitored on a daily, monthly, or annual basis. These data are used to identify chronic deficiencies, and to evaluate the success of implemented strategies. The kinds of data collected should provide a comprehensive basis for evaluating performance, considering the full range of goals and objectives. Thus, the monitoring may go beyond traditional traffic and passenger counts to include data on air quality, incident response times, travel time variability, and other conditions. This may also include incorporating new short-term need estimation methods into the process. Examples are: Congestion Management Systems, traffic engineering analyses, and transit operations analyses; safety analysis of accident records and sometimes Highway Safety Systems; customer satisfaction and market surveys. All are part of developing an expanded performance monitoring program. Using Real-Time Monitoring Data for Planning ITS technologies allow for system performance to be assessed in real time. This not only allows for immediate response to incidents, but also provides a wealth of data that may be used for evaluating performance on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis or longer. The challenge is in saving, synthesizing and analyzing the huge amount of raw data so that coherent reports can be provided to managers and decision- makers. Various data users may desire to see the data summarized at different levels of aggregation for different applications. TECHNICAL: NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES V-26

The Minnesota Traffic Management Center (TMC) monitors 175 miles of the freeways in the Twin Cities using 3000 loop detectors and 180 CCTV’s. The data is saved at the 30 second level and summaries are produced at 5 minute, 15 minute, and other time intervals. MinnDOT uses the data for traffic analysis, construction impact determination, and planning applications. To satisfy data requests other agencies and individuals, a data distribution service has been developed through which data can be obtained through the Internet. Evaluating Performance in Stakeholder Terms The goals, objectives and visions provide the basis for identifying transportation problems and deficiencies. These statements of desired conditions ought to be based on a variety of stakeholder outreach activities. They should reflect the interests and desires of the diverse population of customers – the drivers on the road, current or prospective transit riders, and other system operators such as transit, emergency services, and freight operators. These stakeholders may cause the performance assessment to include such nontraditional goals and objectives as: • Improved system reliability • Better information on how to use the system • Real time information on system performance • Creating a “seamless” system to facilitate transfers between modes and systems Collectively, these goals and objectives all provide a benchmark for assessing user satisfaction with the system and its performance. Travel time predictability is often found to be a key “customer service” issue. If a highway facility is subject to frequent incidents, and travelers may be late to appointments, or may start their trip early to cover the contingency of an incident then the user may perceive the facility’s performance to be worse than data on average conditions would indicate. Similarly, if a transit route often misses its schedule, customers may consider the route – and possibly the whole system – to be undependable, and may choose not to rely on transit. Reliability and variability analyses can be a helpful tool in understanding transportation deficiencies from the user’s perspective. The decision process should take into account the information and measures on both operations and management and reliability performance. The concerns of “operations” and other non-traditional stakeholders – such as traffic and transit operations, emergency service providers, and fire and police – should be included and reflected in measures. Understanding How Needs Change Over Time The Integrated Framework suggests that transportation needs be identified and solutions be evaluated over time. A cyclic approach is envisioned. It starts with identifying and addressing existing problems, then proceeding to the identification of longer-range problems, projecting a continuous time stream of system deficiencies and evolving needs. In practice, it may it may make sense to identify the deficiencies at three different time frames, corresponding to major products of the planning process. The short-range horizon might correspond to the operating budget cycle or the Transportation Improvement Program. Mid-range analyses might be tied to a six to ten year capital program. The long-range might correspond to the 20+ year horizon of an MPO plan. Some places may find it helpful to establish different goals and objectives, corresponding to short-range and long-range visions. The analysis of short-term deficiencies will depend upon existing system performance data, whereas mid- range and long-range analyses are likely to use standard forecasting tools. Mid-range forecasts might be obtained by interpolating between existing conditions and long-range forecasts. TECHNICAL: NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES V-27

Recurrent and Non-Recurrent Conditions The conditions analysis ought to extend beyond simply examining typical average conditions with no incidents or unusual occurrences. But accidents, hazardous materials spills, adverse weather and other conditions do occur on a regular basis. As the transportation system operates closer to capacity, the likelihood increases that something unusual will cause a system breakdown. The demand models used in most metropolitan areas forecast travel under average conditions, including in many cases the average peak hour. New tools are becoming available that project atypical conditions: • In a case study of the Seattle area, existing demand forecasting models were extended to provide a representation of system performance under non-recurring conditions. • The Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Deployment Analysis System (IDAS) will provide sketch planning capability to enhance networks and represent ITS. Understanding the Underlying Causes Planners typically consider information on traffic volumes, level of service, transit ridership to identify transportation system deficiencies. Their assessments are much more meaningful where analysts “look behind the numbers” to identify the underlying changes in demographics, the economy, travel behavior, and other causal factors. With an understanding of the underlying causes of transportation problems, planners are much better prepared to identify potential solutions for analysis. This leads to the following steps for the needs/deficiency analysis within the Integrated Framework: • Extended Inventory development – Infrastructure (Roads, Transit, ITS and Operations equipment such as traffic signals, detectors and surveillance equipment, VMS signs and HAR, etc.), – Services and their coverage areas (Transit, ITS, traffic systems) – Communications (data flows – if they exists -, communications infrastructure and capabilities), – Operating principles and guidelines (what rules are used to run each component of the system, what are the concepts of operations between parties). • Existing Conditions and Performance Analysis – Measures of Effectiveness refinement (must fit data collection, projection capabilities). – Collecting Data on Existing Performance – Reliability – Satisfaction – ITS as a data collection tool – Typical Analyses: Travel time studies; Incident/accident analysis (impact, duration, cause); Bottleneck and delay analysis (recurrent and non-recurrent). • Deficiency Analysis – Compare with conditions with goals / objectives – Typical vs. a-typical conditions – Engage stakeholders for priority assessment – Output Existing(time point) deficiencies • Causal Analysis – Critical point, flow/Operations Analysis – Travel demand patterns – Reliability/Variability Analysis (including incidents) – Typical vs. a-typical conditions • Forward/Backward Pass for Future Needs/Deficiencies – Future system definition (sketch level) – Projecting Future conditions (travel, unusual conditions) – Projecting Future Performance TECHNICAL: NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES V-28

Again, it is the deficiency analysis and it’s causal evaluation that provide the basis for developing and evaluating the future alternatives and selecting a preferred development path. This becomes an iterative process, and performance evaluation and feedback to the management and operation of the system is continually performed. V.C.2.2 Institutional In many instances, stronger institutional linkages will be necessary to achieve a more comprehensive assessment of deficiencies. A complete view and analysis of the overall transportation system will require the cooperation and commitment of different levels of government, different modes, and both planning and operations personnel from those agencies. This will require the sharing of data and information across traditional boundaries, both among and within agencies. It may also require new relationships. For example, state, regional, city, and county transportation agencies need to connect with incident response staff. This may include state and local police, fire departments, ambulance services, hazardous spill clean up staff. Private sector entities such as tow operators and freight haulers may also be engaged. Houston’s TranStar is a multi-agency information and transportation management center that coordinates the collection, processing, and dissemination of an extensive network of traffic, transit, and transportation data. It houses the ATMS and ATIS for TxDOT, METRO, the City of Houston, and Harris County. TranStar hardware includes CCTV monitors, operator control consoles, high resolution projectors for map displays, control computers, information data bases, and communications hardware. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with approximately 70 full time equivalent staff. The regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) may provide an appropriate forum for bringing all parties together to discuss their mutual interests, share information, and develop a comprehensive assessment of system needs. MPOs might serve as a data repository, compiler, and/or analyst of the create new checklists/formats for members to provide new inputs to regional planning process needs assessment. V.C.3 VARIATIONS BY SCALE, SETTING, AND INSTITUTIONS What to include in the needs/deficiency analysis and how to carry it out also varies by the region’s characteristics and transportation problems it faces, its institutional setting and available resources, which planning cycle is being developed. Transportation issues tend to be more complicated and interrelated in areas that: are congested, have air quality problems, and have multimodal systems,. Larger metropolitan areas tend to have greater resources than smaller areas, but there are many competing demands on those resources. There are more entities to involve in designing and implementing a comprehensive performance monitoring program. While this makes coordination more difficult, there may be are greater opportunities for mutual benefit through information sharing. The transportation problems of non-urban areas differ significantly from those of urban areas, but they are no less real to the people affected. The problems may include the movement of freight over rural highways, weather-related disruptions, an influx of visitors during certain parts of the year, or lack of transit service. Performance monitoring activities should focus on this different set of issues. Non-urban areas are likely to have far fewer resources available for planning. The principles described above generally apply – collecting data on the system and its performance, assessing atypical conditions, consulting with stakeholders, understanding the root causes of transportation system deficiencies – even though the problems may be different. Data collection and analysis would focus on the kinds of issues that exist and are anticipated to exist. TECHNICAL: NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES V-29

Different levels of data aggregation are used for different types of planning. Short-range planning might be oriented to addressing the fluctuations in system performance day to day. Hourly and daily performance data may be most meaningful. Long-term planning may pay more attention to longer-term trends that can be discerned from annual or multi-year data. V.C.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section described the activities associated with carrying out a needs/deficiency analysis as part of integrated planning. The analysis is based upon the transportation systems performance in meeting the integrated goals and objectives developed previously. Important issues to consider in the carrying out a needs/deficiency analysis include: • Developing an extended inventory of facilities and services to include both ITS and operational characteristics • Expanding the monitoring of system performance and the use of real time monitoring data for planning • Evaluating performance in broader stakeholder terms • Establishing an understanding of how needs change over time • Gathering performance data for both recurrent and non-recurrent conditions as part of the assessment. • Sharing of performance data among transportation agencies and other stakeholders. • Enhancing transportation agency understanding of the underlying causes of system performance deficiencies. After the needs/deficiencies are defined a causal analysis must also be carried out to determine why they occur. It provides the critical information for developing alternatives that include ITS, operations, and traditional solutions and their tradeoffs. Table V-5 provides some questions that might provide some insight into where your region stands in how they carry out a needs/deficiency analysis. . Mark where you think your area’s relative position is for each question. Table V-5 Needs/Deficiencies Analysis Self-Assessment Question NO YES Needs/Deficiencies Analysis Does the system inventory include ITS facilities, equipment, and services? Does it capture how the system operates? Communication, traffic, and surveillance networks? Does it include operating rules and concepts ? NO - - - - - - - - YES Does the analysis include operational issues and problems throughout the day? Does it include all stakeholders’ points of view (incident response)? Does it include both recurrent and non-recurrent conditions within the peak and non-peak travel periods? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is causal analysis performed on the identified needs and deficiencies to determine why they exist (lack of capacity, high accidents, poor signal timing, etc.)? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: NEEDS/DEFICIENCIES V-30

V.D IDENTIFYING ALTERNATIVES This Guidebook has defined transportation planning as the process to support all transportation-related decisions on what the future transportation system will be, its characteristics, and how it will operate. Defining, evaluating, and selecting alternatives for the future is, thus, at the very core of transportation planning and decision-making. Consistent with this view of planning an “alternative” is: Key Points of Section V.D • Identifying Alternatives is an iterative incremental process that results in the development path of actions from today to the long-range horizon year. • Different alternatives represent different paths of development created from different policies, principals, and values (i.e. transit versus highway) • Each alternative must also include the new elements needed to incorporate ITS and operations - ITS and communications facilities and equipment - ITS and operations services - Regional ITS Architecture - Concept of Operations - Operating principals/concepts and characteristics • Combined ITS, operations, and traditional options are created in each cycle based upon causal analysis of the identified deficiencies compared with the changes caused by each type of treatment. • Other factors that need to be considered are: - Uncertainty and technological change - Private/public sector roles - Incremental implementation of enabling technologies • What to do also depends on the region’s problems, modes, infrastructure condition, terrain, weather and other characteristics. The Population size impacts the planning requirements and process, and available resources may limit future options. • As the time horizon grows the level of detail defined within the alternative diminishes. A set of linked interrelated infrastructure investment, operations, and maintenance actions to implement, operate, and maintain the transportation system and services over the planning horizon (from today to the long-range horizon year). In order to bridge the operations and infrastructure planning worlds and recognize the importance of performance feedback in the system an alternative describes one “path of development” of decisions leading to a future system. It describes not only what the transportation system will be (infrastructure and services) in the horizon year, but also how to get there from today. As important as the path of development, is the realization that in the Integrated Framework an alternative is not simply the ITS or traditional components (sub- systems) defined separately. Rather it is the combined set of actions (infrastructure, ITS, systems management, operations, and policy) which best meet the region’s goals and objectives in a cost effective manner. The actions fall into three categories that interact: • Managing transportation supply (transportation infrastructure and services and their operations); • Managing travel demand (information, pricing, alternative modes, TDM policies), or • Managing the environment (urban form, zoning, mixed use incentives) Each alternative definition is some combination of these three types of actions (see ITE, 1998 for a more complete discussion). For example, congestion on a freeway can be reduced (at least temporarily) by adding additional capacity. It may also be addressed by a combination of demand (mode shift and pricing incentives) and land use policies. ITS can assist in directly managing both transportation supply and demand. It can also support policies that manage the environment and land use. Each alternative must be defined in enough detail to perform the subsequent travel, costs, and other impact analyses and meet the requirements of the transportation planning process and day-to-day operations feedback. As explained in what follows, the level of detail required will vary by the scale of decisions and TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-31

the point in the planning/decision cycle being considered. In general, however, as the time frame increases (along with the scale and uncertainty within the scenario) less detail will be warranted. The process of alternative definition in the Integrated Framework, thus, becomes one of determining how traditional and ITS/management & operations elements will be combined to create the development path for the transportation system from now to the horizon year. This process and the issues it raises are discussed throughout the rest of this section. V.D.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH This section compares alternatives in current traditional processes with those in the Integrated Framework. First, new elements become part of any alternative development and definition with the incorporation of ITS and management and operations into the decision process. Since with ITS, operating characteristics within the transportation network will change and regional “management” of the system becomes possible, operating assumptions and characteristics must now be explicitly addressed. The alternative must, therefore, encompass development of a regional architecture; concept of operations; operating principals/characteristics; and supporting policies and programs. A comparison between the elements of an alternative derived from the traditional process versus the Integrated Framework is shown in Table V-6. Table V-6 Traditional versus Integrated Framework: Alternative Elements Traditional Process Integrated Framework Infrastructure: Traditional Infrastructure: Traditional & ITS Transportation Services: Traditional Transportation Services: Traditional and ITS Regional Architecture (Data flows and Functions) Concept of Operations (Who is Responsible for What) Operating Principals/Characteristics (Performance Relationships) Supporting Policies and Programs (Public Policy and Regulations) Supporting Policies and Programs (Public Policy and Regulations) New components for the Integrated Framework are in Bold. A brief discussion of each of the elements for an alternative in the Integrated Framework is provided below: • Infrastructure (ITS and traditional components): ITS components/equipment used to implement the desired User Services (see below) such as transportation management centers, ramp meters, surveillance, variable message signs, toll and fare facilities, and communications systems all now need to be integrated into the alternative. The National ITS Architecture has identified Market Packages that can be used to identify the functions that the equipment needs to fulfill. Supporting ITS infrastructure components such as a communications backbone and other equipment, and even software should not be forgotten. Traditional components (road, transit facilities, bridges, etc.) and how they are combined with the ITS elements still need to be part of the alternative definition. • Transportation services (ITS and traditional components): The transportation services that operate with/over the physical facilities and other infrastructure components must also be defined. These are the dynamic elements of the transportation system that are the focus of the new management and operations factor introduced by TEA-21. For ITS The National ITS Program Plan has defined 32 ITS User Services which describe what ITS does from the users perspective. The User Services such as “Traffic Control”, “Incident Management”, or “Public Transportation Management” form the building blocks for defining what functions are to be carried out by ITS in an area. The National ITS Architecture further defines “Market Packages” that are more specific equipment bundles used to implement the User Services. Different combinations of market packages can be used to implement the User Services at different levels. Traditional transportation TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-32

services include transit routes and frequencies, paratransit services, and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs such as rideshare and guaranteed ride home. • Regional architecture (data flows and functions). ITS services depend upon the flow and use of information, to and from surveillance in the field, control centers, control mechanisms and the field, and the public. A regional architecture specifies the information flows, subsystems, and functions, necessary to implement the desired services (both traditional and ITS). Development of a regional architecture helps meet the TEA-21 National ITS Architecture Conformity requirements. It also helps identify areas of coordination and potential conflicts to overcome in providing integrated transportation to the region. • Concept of operations including public/private assumptions (who is responsible for what). The concept of operations addresses the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies (and departments if deemed necessary) in order to implement, operate, and maintain the desired transportation system (both ITS and traditional components). It includes the necessary agreements between parties as well as the allocation of resource and cost responsibilities. The concept of operations also defines the assumptions what will be carried out by the public and private sectors. The level of detail required will change depending upon the point in the planning cycle. At all points, however, the concept of operations is needed since who performs these roles and responsibilities, how they are carried out, and how the costs/revenues are shared can substantively impact the characteristics of the system that the users see. • Operating principals/characteristics (how the system will perform). Explicit assumptions regarding the operating principals and characteristics of the system and how it will perform under different conditions must be made. All of the above impact these assumptions. Traditionally, operating characteristics and relationships were implicitly defined in the physical description of the alternative’s elements. For example, a 4-lane divided highway’s operating speed at 1,000 vehicles per lane per hour would be assumed to be 48 mph. With ITS, however, how the system is operated now directly impacts these performance characteristics. For example, whether a system uses un-coordinated versus coordinated signals, and how the coordination takes place can drastically change the throughput speeds at the same volumes/hour on arterials. For transit, using vehicle tracking and “connection protection” can also change the expected transfer times for passengers changing routes or modes. Thus, performance relationships implicitly assumed previously must explicitly be made to capture the predicted changes in ITS and other decisions affecting operations. • Supporting Policies and Programs (Public policy and regulation). Last, the supporting public policies, legislation, and regulation are a critical component of each transportation alternative. These include land use, zoning, and building/density requirements, taxes and user fee regulations, and other laws and regulations that impact how people travel and use the transportation system. For example, a transit alternative may require supportive land use policies and densities around its transit stations combined with mixed use development in order to attain ridership levels that make it cost-effective and/or financially viable. ITS elements may also benefit from supportive policies such as those regarding access to communications channels (radio and other), privacy and information access regulations, and the Internet. Many of these may be outside the control of local decision makers and therefore need to be addressed as part of the base scenario. Others, however, become important parts of the local decision process and future transportation system. Chapter III described the cycles of planning within the Integrated Framework. They leads to an iterative and incremental process for alternative development. Initial system components are defined for a planning cycle (short-range, medium-range, long-range); their costs benefits and impacts measured; and their relative worth evaluated (see Sections V.E and V.F). The alternatives are then refined and the process repeated until an option acceptable to the decision-makers and political process is obtained. The system components for the next planning cycle are then developed, and the process repeated until a full path of development from today to the planning horizon is produced (i.e. an alternative). At the same time, elements are being implemented, the transportation system operated, and performance monitoring is taking TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-33

place through the collection of ongoing performance measures (using ITS and other data sources). This allows continuous feedback and assessment of the vision, goals and objectives, needs/deficiencies, and resultant alternatives. Rather than a static group of “things” that will exist in the long-range horizon year, the alternative becomes the incremental set of management actions into the future for the transportation system. Figure V-6 provides a conceptual comparison between the traditional and Integrated Framework approaches to alternative development. Traditionally, a long-range base-line scenario forecast and alternative are developed. The needs and deficiencies are then derived from the region’s goals and objectives and this “snapshot” of the future. Alternatives are then developed and a preferred alternative selected which best meets the goals and objectives and needs. Alternatives have typically focused on major investment decisions and define the long-range “snapshot” of the infrastructure and transportation services Figure V-6 Conceptual Comparison of Traditional and Integrated Alternative Definition TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-34

(e.g. transit routes and frequencies) for the horizon year. Often, supporting policies and programs needed to implement the alternative are also included in the definition (e.g. transit supportive zoning and mixed use development requirements around transit stations). Typically, only the single horizon year forecasts and analysis are carried out and all operating characteristics and policies are implicitly assumed to remain constant. Introducing ITS and active management/performance feedback into transportation planning bridges the gaps between the ITS/operations and planning worlds and transforms what alternatives are, and how they are created. First, since continuous performance feedback can actually change what is feasible/possible in the future the full incremental development path should be defined. Figure V-6 shows the impact of this feedback on the development path. Active management of the system allows the system to be adjusted for efficiency and effectiveness at each point in time. As performance monitoring takes place incremental changes can be made to the transportation system and its management and operations. This in turn alters the range of possible alternatives to consider, and may alter travel patterns, land use, and non-recurrent conditions which in turn alters the needs/deficiencies to address as time goes on. The result is likely to be a future system that is much different than one derived from the traditional planning process (note, the different endpoints between the two approaches). An Integrated Framework alternative, thus, provides the time stream of actions (path of development). It includes each of the above elements and balances the use of ITS and traditional strategies to best meet the region’s goals and objectives and overcome the needs/deficiencies of the system. How to do this, however, raises a number of issues that are explored in separate sub-sections below. V.D.1.1 Deficiencies To Integrated Alternatives: The Importance Of Causal Analysis. Alternatives are derived from problems. However, since ITS provides new possibilities, simply identifying the symptoms (i.e. the identified needs and deficiencies) is no longer sufficient to develop integrated balanced solutions. As in the field of medicine, the extent and cause of the illness must be understood in order to identify the correct cure. For example, if the identified problem is intermittent congestion in a single corridor or facility during peak hours, then ITS strategies may be used to provide route diversion, or shift the time of trip departures. However, if the congestion is recurrent and exists across all facilities in an area, a combination of infrastructure expansion with supporting ITS, system management, operations, and TDM elements may be warranted. The needs/deficiencies, therefore, need to be organized in ways that help identify balanced options so that their underlying causes can be examined. Different solutions (ITS and traditional) may be appropriate depending upon the geographic level and timing of the problems. The applicability and balance of ITS and traditional strategies will also depend upon which performance goal is deficient. One suggested classification of needs/deficiencies is therefore shown in Table V-7: by geographic area, occurrence/incidence, and goal area. Table V-7 Needs/Deficiency Organization for Alternative Development Geographic Area • Inter-regional (National , statewide, interurban corridor) • Metropolitan/Regional • Corridor/Subarea • Municipality/agency • Project/site Occurrence/Incidence • Recurrent • Random, Non-Recurrent • Prevalence by time-of-day Goal Area • Accessibility • Mobility • Economic Development • Quality of life • Environmental and Resource Conservation • Safety and Security • Operational Efficiency • System Condition and Performance Example typology (Cambridge Systematics, 1999) TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-35

Once the needs/deficiencies are organized, their underlying causes and relationships can then be investigated. System performance is the result of the interplay and interaction between: • Environmental conditions/factors (e.g. weather events – snow, rain, fog; terrain, topography) • System physical characteristics (e.g. connectivity, geometry, capacity) • System operating characteristics (e.g. signal timing, ramp meters, toll and fare collection, HOV strategies, reliability, response times) • Vehicle/driver operating characteristics (e.g. acceleration/deceleration, driver response, emission rates, mpg, capacity) • Perceptions and available information about the system (e.g. perceptions on travel times and costs by mode, safety & security, reliability; gaps between perceived and actual conditions ) • Land use and development patterns and characteristics (e.g. urban form, density, type of use) • Desire for travel/travel behavior (e.g. route , trip time, mode, destination, number of trips) A qualitative evaluation of the contribution of each of these factors should be made for each of the identified needs/deficiencies. Only then can the balanced set of ITS and traditional strategies be developed in response. For example, the causes behind significant delays in a corridor may be found to be: accidents due to poor physical geometry and site distances, long incident response times, and high peak volumes. The “balanced” alternative developed in response would therefore include: geometric improvements and channelization, roving tow trucks and coordinated incident response, and highway advisory radio/variable message signs to divert traffic to parallel routes when an incident does occur. This need may also be combined with others to provide justification for policies to change traveler behavior at a regional level using TDM measures designed to help promote the use of alternative modes, telecommuting, and flexible work hours. Table V-8 shows candidate ITS strategies that impact travel behavior. Table V-8 Traveler Response to ITS Traveler Responses ITS Categories Route Diversion Temporal Diversion Mode Shift Destination Change Change in Demand Traffic Signal Control X X Freeway Management X X X X x Transit Management X X X Incident Management X X X X x Electronic Fare Payment X Electronic Toll Collection X X X Railroad Grade Crossings X Emergency Management X X Commercial Vehicle Ops. X X X Regional Multi-modal ATIS X X X X System Integration X X X X x Source: Cambridge Systematics, 1997 The above example and the table illustrate how ITS can be used to support changes in travel behavior as part of an overall strategy to meet a need. Issues associated with creating such “balanced” solutions are discussed next. V.D.1.2 Building Integrated ITS and Traditional Solutions. How should ITS and traditional elements be combined to the specific goals/objective deficiencies and needs identified in the deficiency analysis? It is recommended that this be carried out in two steps. First, a rough high level screening of potential ITS User Services should be made: matching the problems and TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-36

causes with User Services that may contribute to a solution. Second, the level of each and how it should be combined with traditional improvements and policies should be determined. It is presumed that transportation professionals have established processes for identifying non-ITS components. Table V-9 provides a mapping of the ITS User Services to typical transportation problems. Other potential sources for making an initial determination include the ITS cost and benefit data bases provided by US DOT, congestion management and ITS toolboxes, and ITS handbooks. These initial evaluation tools are discussed more in Section V.E on estimating the impacts of integrated solutions. They should be used in an iterative fashion to explore potential ITS User Services, and incorporate them into the alternative. Once potential ITS User Services are identified, specific market packages to implement them and how they can be combined with traditional elements must be explored. Ways that ITS can be combined are: 1. No ITS (ITS is non-responsive, or another response is chosen) 2. ITS as a stand-alone, or primary response a) To meet emerging goals, objectives, and needs b) To meet traditional goals, objectives, and needs 3. ITS as a component of another element, or secondary response a) Supportive/Integral b) As mitigation Again, the purpose of the Integrated Framework is not to select and deploy ITS technologies but to develop balanced integrated alternatives. Consequently, specific ITS elements may not be incorporated into the integrated alternative even though they are potential candidates. However, it is more likely that ITS will/should be considered. As a stand-alone, or primary element ITS responds to the emerging goals and objectives of the World II environments discussed in Chapter II such as improved reliability, customer satisfaction, and safety. Incident management and HERO services, and real-time multi-modal ATIS systems may meet these needs. ITS can also be included to meet traditional goals and objectives such as improvements in travel time, efficiency, and emissions reduction. Coordinated signal systems to reduce delay (travel time) and frequent stops (emissions) are examples. The importance of considering ITS as a component of another improvement is often not given enough attention in recent ITS strategic plans. However, this may in fact be one of ITS’s strongest roles. Building advanced fare systems, transit priority, and “connection protection” into Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems is an example of ITS providing a supportive role. ITS may also mitigate undesirable consequences of other options. In a recent case study it was found that an option that expanded expressway capacity actually created significant additional delays. Traffic diverted to the larger facility increasing its volumes. When accidents and other unusual circumstances did occur the delays were consequently more severe (Mitretek Systems, 1999). ITS elements for route diversion and incident management helped mitigate these conditions. Again, it is the causal analysis that helps find the balance between the traditional and ITS elements and how they are combined. It provides an understanding of the interactions between transportation supply, demand, and environment (land-use), which result in the problem, and how management of each may lead to a solution. As stated, ITS and traditional elements may be combined to help support each. As an example, Table V-10 provides a comparison between conventional and advanced systems approaches for another set of typical problems. This table should be not be interpreted as presenting two either/or options (conventional and advanced systems) but rather as pointing out some of the considerations and tradeoffs to make when developing an integrated option. In today’s world, both will usually be needed. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-37

Table V-9 Mapping of User Services to Transportation Problems TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS Frequency Severity Capacity Congestion Customer Service Emissions Energy Consumption Operations Costs Travel Time Traveler Security Travel Stress Access- ibility Travel And Traffic Management 1 Pre-trip Travel Information Medium Medium High Low Low Medium Low Low High 2 En-route Driver Information Low Low Medium Low High Medium Medium High High 3 Route Guidance Low Low High High High Medium Medium High High 4 Ride Matching And Reservation Low Medium Low Low Low Medium High 5 Traveler Services Information Medium Medium High Low Low Low Medium Medium 6 Traffic Control Medium Medium High High High High High High Low 7 Incident Management Medium Medium High High High Medium High Medium 8 Demand Management & Operations Low Low Low Low Medium 9 Emissions Testing And Mitigation Medium Low 10 Highway-rail Intersection Medium Medium Public Transportation Management 11 Public Transportation Management Low Medium Low Low High Low Medium High 12 En-route Transit Information High Medium Medium High High 13 Personalized Public Transit High Medium High 14 Public Travel Security Low High Low Electronic Payment 15 Electronic Payment Services Low Medium Medium Low Low High Medium Medium Medium Comercial Vehicle Operations 16 Commercial Vehicle Electronic Clearance Low Low Low Low High High Low 17 Automated Roadside Safety Inspection Medium Medium Medium Medium Low 18 On-board Safety Monitoring Medium Medium Low Low 19 Commercial Vehicle Administrative Processes Medium Low 20 Hazardous Material Incident Response High Low High 21 Commercial Fleet Management Low Low Medium Medium High High High Low Emergency Management 22 Emergency Notification And Personal Security High Medium Medium High High 23 Emergency Vehicle Management High Medium Medium High Advanced Vehicle Safety Systems 24 Longitudinal Collision Avoidance High High Low Medium Medium 25 Lateral Collision Avoidance Medium Medium Medium Medium 26 Intersection Collision Avoidance Medium Medium Low Medium 27 Vision Enhancement For Crash Avoidance High Medium Medium Medium 28 Safety Readiness High High Medium 29 Pre-crash Restraint Deployment High Medium 30 Automated Vehicle Operation High Medium High High High High High Medium High Low Medium Low Information Management 31 Archived Data Function Medium Medium Low Medium Maintenance And Construction Management 32 Maintenance and Construction Operations Medium Low Medium Low Additional International User Services Policing/Enforcing Traffic Regulations High Medium High Low Safety Enhancement for Vulnerable Road Users High High Medium Accidents Reduced MobilityReduced ProductivityImpact on EnvironmentInefficiency High, Medium, and Low represent the degree to which the ITS User Services (rows) are likely to address the respective transportation problems (columns) Source: World Road Association (PIARC), 1999 (adjusted in 2002 to reflect U.S. User Service definitions) TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-38

Table V-10 Conventional versus Advanced System Approaches to Selected Problems Problem Solution Conventional Approach Advanced Systems Approach Supporting Market Packages Considerations Traffic Congestion Increase roadway capacity (vehicular throughput) • New roads • New lanes • Advanced traffic control • Incident Management • Electronic Toll Collection • Corridor Management • Advanced vehicle systems (Reduce headway) • Surface Street Control • Freeway Control • Incident Management System • Dynamic toll/parking fee management • Regional Traffic Control • Advanced vehicle longitudinal control • Automated highway system Conventional • Environmental constraints • Land use and community resistance • High cost of construction Advanced • Near-term services yield modest benefits • Latent demand effects Increase passenger throughput • HOV Lanes • Car Pooling • Fixed route transit • Real-time ride matching • Integrate Transit and Feeder Services • Flexible route transit • New personalized public transit • Dynamic Ridesharing • Multimodal coordination • Demand Response Transit Operations • Privacy and personal security Reduce demand • Flex Time Programs • Telecommuting • Other telesubstitutions • Transportation Pricing • Dynamic toll/parking fee management • Significant component of demand relatively inelastic Lack of Mobility and Accessibility Provide User- Friendly Access to Quality Transportation Services • Expand Fixed Route Transit and Paratransit Services • Radio and TV Traffic Reports • Multimodal pre-trip and en- route traveler information services • Respond Dynamically to Changing Demand • Personalized Public Transportation Services • Common, enhanced fare card • Interactive Traveler Information • Demand Response Transit Operations • Transit Passenger and Fare Management Conventional • Declining ridership Advanced • Interjurisdictional cooperation • Standards Disconnected Transportation Modes Improve Intermodality • Inter-agency agreements • Regional Transportation Management Systems • Regional Transportation Information Clearinghouse • Disseminate multimodal information pre-trip and en- route • Regional Traffic Control • Multimodal Coordination • Interactive Traveler Information Conventional • Often static and/or slow to adapt as needs change Advanced • Existing system incompatibilities • Standards Severe budgetary constraints Use existing funding efficiently • Existing funding authorizations and selection processes • Privatize Market Packages • Public-private partnerships • Barter right-of-way • Advanced Maintenance Strategies • Transit maintenance • Market uncertainties make private sector cautious • Telecommunications deregulation makes right-of- way barter a near-term opportunity Leverage new funding sources • Increased emphasis on fee-for- use services • Equity • • • Transportation following emergencies Improve disaster response plans • Review and improve existing emergency plans • Establish emergency response center (ERC) • Internetwork ERC with law enforcement, emergency units, traffic management, transit, etc. • Emergency response • Incident Management System • Emergency Routing Conventional • Interagency coordination challenges Advanced • Interagency coordination challenges • Standards Traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities Improve safety • Improve roadway geometry (increase radius of curvature, widen lanes, etc.) • Improve sight distances • Traffic signals, protected left- hand turns at intersections • Fewer at-grade crossings • Driver training • Sobriety check points • Lighten dark roads to improve visibility/better lighting • Reduce speed limits/post warnings in problem areas • Partially and fully automated vehicle control systems • Intersection collision avoidance • Automated warning systems • Vehicle condition monitoring • Driver condition monitoring • Driver vision enhancement systems • Automated detection of adverse weather and road conditions, vehicle warning, and road crew notification • Automated emergency notification • All AVSS Market Packages • Intersection collision avoidance • In-vehicle signing • Vehicle safety monitoring • Driver safety monitoring • Driver visibility improvement • Network surveillance • Traffic information dissemination • In-vehicle signing • Mayday Support Conventional • High costs • Human error is primary cause Advanced • Mixed results for initial collision warning devices • Relatively slow roll-out for AVSS services anticipated Air Pollution Increase transportation system efficiency, reduce travel and fuel consumption • More efficient conventional vehicles vehicle emissions inspections • Promotion of alternatives to single-occupant vehicle travel • Increased capacity to reduce vehicle delay • Regulation • Remote sensing of emissions • Advanced traffic management to smooth flows • Multimodal pre-trip information • Telecommuting • Other telesubstitutions • Transportation Pricing • Alternative fuel vehicles • Emissions and environmental hazards sensing • Surface Street Control • Freeway Control • Regional Traffic Control • Interactive Traveler Information • Dynamic Toll/Parking Fee Management Conventional • Increasing demand can offset initial benefit of added capacity. • Regulations, inspections are unpopular and onerous Advanced • Increasing demand can offset efficiency improvements Source: ITS Architecture Implementation Strategy - US DOT, December 1999 TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-39

V.D.1.3 The Importance of Developing an ITS Architecture(s). In the Integrated Framework, the ITS Architecture is a key element in the definition of any alternative. What architectures are and their over-arching role in developing integrated systems is described in V.A. Developing a regional architecture tailored to local needs is also now required to meet the TEA-21 National ITS Architecture consistency requirements. It is important that planners and other non-ITS specialist not be intimidated by the development and detail required for a locally defined ITS Architecture focused on their needs. First, if they are following the Integrated Framework, essential steps to create an architecture are already part of their process. These include: identifying and bringing into the process key stakeholders (Chapter IV), setting goals, objectives and measures (section V.B), and developing an inventory of existing ITS services and conditions (section V.C). These lay the groundwork for the ITS components of the future alternatives concerned with: what services to provide and the data flows, etc. needed to provide them; how they should be integrated to obtain the greatest synergy with other services (both ITS and traditional), and what must be done today to accommodate future developments. Second, as in planning traditional services , successive levels of system detail should be used as the process moves from overall system concepts, to project design, and then to implementation and operation. At the highest conceptual level, the major ITS services, their data flows, and how they are to be integrated and coordinated should be determined. Is a centralized transportation management and data control center to be used; are several management centers going to exist, and information but not control of traffic, transit and other services to be implemented; does the region choose not to implement certain User Services, or not to coordinate others? These are often part of an ITS strategic planning effort and should be reflected in the region’s long-range Transportation Plan. They include major decisions on what long-term ITS strategies to undertake, general descriptions of roles and responsibilities, and information flows between participants and the identification of future policy agreements on interoperability, standards, and the operations of key systems. Projects in the long-range plan that use ITS and Major ITS projects, regional ITS initiatives, and projects that impact national interoperability should also be defined. As significant regional ITS projects are proposed and developed a more detailed ITS regional architecture must also be prepared and/or updated. The regional ITS architecture provides more detail than is needed for long-range planning, but as already discussed must be consistent with the adopted Transportation Plan. The ITS Regional Architecture can be developed for an initial project and extended as new projects are introduced, or for the region as a whole. The key is to address how the integrated system is to be developed and operated and not just separate projects. Regional Architectures are likely to be developed for the mid- range horizon of 5 to 7 years consistent with current EDP and ITS strategic planning. Because of the phasing and resource requirements development/update of the regional architecture and Transportation Improvement Program will likely occur in coordination. At the most detailed and short-range level each ITS project must undergo a systems engineering analysis as it is designed and implemented and be consistent with the Regional ITS Architecture. Often, a detailed project level architecture is also prepared. This can be carried out separately or for ITS services that are part of other traditional transportation improvements, this would be carried out as part of the overall project design and development. In any case the project specifications will be required to ensure that the project accommodates the sharing of electronic information and operations called for by the ITS Regional Architecture. V.D.1.4 Incremental Implementation And Enabling ITS Technologies. Understanding the incremental nature of ITS and the phasing of improvements is also an important consideration when creating the path of development for an alternative. Traditional infrastructure and other improvements can function (for the most part) when implemented, irrespective of other elements. Vehicles can travel over completed roadway segments. Passengers may take transit once it is in service. This is not the case with ITS services. Intelligent Transportation Systems are just that: systems. As systems, different components enable others to function through communications. They cannot operate independently. Thus, when different ITS components, or market packages, are implemented does matter. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-40

Examples of enabling market packages and functions include: • Network surveillance • Transit vehicle tracking • Dynamic toll/parking fee management • Transit passenger and fare management, • Establishing a communications backbone/network and • Installing advanced signal controllers. These provide many of the basic functions needed for the more advanced User Services and the market packages that implement them (see the National ITS Architecture Implementation Strategy for additional examples of key market packages and core functions from a National perspective – U.S. DOT, 1999). Deploying the basic functions early allows for efficient incremental deployment of new services over time by building on existing capabilities. Through feedback the earlier implementations also impact the system and demand for travel. An example of how incremental ITS investments lead to an integrated system is shown in the callout box. Strategic Incremental ITS Investments Lead to an Integrated System A municipality or transit operator may implement an Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) system using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology that is linked to a transit center. This improves on-time performance. Next the locality may want to connect the bus system with the local Emergency Management Services, so that bus operators can report emergencies on- board and receive quick emergency assistance. At this point, it will be important that transportation agencies have implemented Compatible Communications Technologies that allow the transit system to communicate with the local emergency services. Later a locality may want to add technology allowing emergency vehicles to communicate with Traffic Signal Systems or Signal Priority Systems, as examples to allow an ambulance or fire truck to hold a green light longer. To do this they will have to have traffic signal controllers that can easily be retrofitted with the compatible communications technology. In all cases, agencies and localities will need to ensure consistency with the National ITS Architecture and standards. As can be seen, strategic but incremental investments lead to an integrated system of systems and sharing of data and information; all of which lead to the provision of better information to system managers and customers Source: Siwek, 1998 Each region needs to identify its own set of enabling market packages and core functions to implement first. This should be done as the regional ITS architecture is developed. It should also account for the integration and sharing of common functions and data and future ITS and traditional services (based upon last cycle of analysis). Integration of the system functions, data, and control should also evolve over time. This evolution needs to be reflected in the development path and incremental descriptions of the ITS architecture. An example from Chicago is provided below. Chicago is part of a multi-region Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee ITS Priority Corridor, which created a corridor- wide system architecture consisting of a Gateway, four hubs (Illinois Regional, Illinois Transit, Wisconsin, and Indiana), and multiple sub-systems. The Gateway allows separate systems to operate through their own control centers and coordinate as need (now or in the future). In developing the Northeastern Illinois Strategic Early Deployment Plan (SEDP) the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) adopted this architecture as the regional architecture. However, it recognized that a fully integrated communications and ITS system could not be implemented overnight. Four levels of integration were therefore defined: Level 0: No connectivity to the Gateway; Level 1: Read-only data sharing through the Gateway; Level 2: Data is shared between individual systems and the Gateway; Level 3: Data and limited control is shared with the Gateway; Level 4: All system functions and data are seamlessly networked with the Gateway. The SEDP was developed around the implied assumption that it is the intent of all ITS sub-systems to ultimately integrated with other sub-systems. Existing systems were then analyzed to determine their current level of integration (Level 0) and how to migrate over time to higher levels. “Regardless of an Agency’s current status or future goals, they can increase their level of connectivity with the Gateway by specifying compatibility in requirements for system up grades and expansions. Source: Zavettero, 2000. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-41

V.D.1.5 Integration of public and private projects. Many of the issues associated with public/private partnerships have already been discussed in Chapter IV. Determining public versus private provision of future transportation services and how those services are to be provided also plays a significant role in defining alternatives. Who provides: Advanced Traveler Information Services (ATIS); collects processes and archives data (ADUS); Mayday and other Emergency Management Services (EMS); background communications networks; and other ITS functions can have a profound impact on their costs and benefits/impacts, and which users receive them. Consequently, it is important to identify who is to provide ITS services and other management functions as part of an alternative’s definition in its concept of operations. Since the private sector is not “within the control” of the planning process or its decision-makers, simply describing future performance characteristics and assuming that they will be met by whoever provides the service in not sufficient. Therefore, assumptions on what is to be provided by the private sector through public/private partnerships should be carefully examined to insure that they are realistic and likely to be provided as described. The private sector can only be expected to provide ITS components if it can recover its costs under reasonable risk. Figure V-7 depicts the ITS Market packages from the National ITS Architecture and their potential for private, public, or public/private partnership provision based upon technical risk and their ability to recover direct costs. Services whose costs can be recovered through direct payments at little technical or other risk or likely candidates for private provision based upon market forces. Services that may have diffuse benefits to society and not the individual and are not market driven, or which have high risk are candidates for public provision. Others fall in the middle and may be provided by public/private partnerships. This figure can be used to help identify which services are likely candidates for public and/or private deployment. Note that the labels “public” and “private” here refer to who has “control” of the service and its characteristics. Private contractors can be used to implement and operate public services. Likewise, there may be instances that a “public” sector organization chooses to provide a service as a competitive market based enterprise. Note, that simply because the private sector is a likely lead for a particular market package does not mean that they should blithely be given the responsibility for the service, or presumed to provide the service independently. Careful analysis should be carried out on what is expected from each party (public and private) and if partnership is in the best public interest. ATIS and private sector information service providers (ISPs) provide an example. As stated above ISPs often would like to retain ownership of the data they collect and publish and place limits on the information use and re-production. However, ITS data plays a significant part of the planning process and feedback of performance in the Integrated Framework. Often, there is a desire to use this information in public meetings and other forums. Consequently, the policy implications should be carefully considered before turning the ownership and rights to this information over to the private sector. Another consideration is the distribution of benefits when the services are provided by ISPs and other organizations on a fee basis. Wide use and distribution of the service may be needed to meet congestion reduction and other goals, but this may not be likely if only high income users can afford the service offered by the ISPs. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-42

Figure V-7 Public/Private Potential of ITS Market Packages Source: National ITS Architecture Implementation Strategy (US DOT, 1999) TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-43

V.D.1.6 Uncertainty and Technological Change ITS and communications technologies are advancing by leaps and bounds every year making it difficult to forecast what will be available in the future and the level that it will be deployed. Unforeseen ten years ago was the explosion of the Web and the Internet, the ubiquitous use of cell phones and the emerging wireless market, the popularity of electronic toll collection (both from the users and operators perspectives), and the growing use electronic enforcement for red light running. Each of these as well as other advancements is re-shaping the use of ITS today and into the future. Given this advancement, ITS and management and operations planning (e.g. early deployment plans, ITS strategic plans) are typically only carried out in a 5 to 7 year time-frame. In fact, when asked in this project’s Discussion Forums ITS professionals repeatedly stated that they could not make predictions concerning ITS beyond 5 years in the future. However, to meet Federal requirements and to make long-range decisions transportation planning must extend at least out to the 20 year horizon required for the transportation plan, and possibly further (25 years to ensure that the 20 year requirement is always met). At a minimum the mid-range technology forecasts, strategic plans and regional architecture analyses that the ITS community is comfortable with should be incorporated into the path of development. Issues concerning the remaining gap in time frames and how it may be overcome are further discussed below: The biggest obstacle to overcome may be the cultural differences between planning and operations. ITS professionals and other operations staff spend their days focused on the details of making sure their services are operational. By necessity, their decisions concern programming and budgeting of actual equipment, staffing, and operating rules, and making them all work together in the short-term. It is hard to get them to make predictions without knowing all the details. Planners on the other hand are trained to think in terms of long-term options for today’s decisions and not on how the future systems will operate. Both perspectives are needed. ITS and operational staff must realize that they are the best candidates for predicting the future characteristics of their systems, even if the details of how the systems will be operated are not known. Planners need operational staff’s “reality check” to insure that their future systems are in fact feasible. Active participation in the alternative development and creating a focused dialog between the two is the only way to begin to bridge this gap. The dialog should not simply ask open ended questions, such as: “what ITS will be deployed in the future?” Rather it should use available sources, and walk the participants through thinking about the future characteristics and penetration of each ITS User Service. This should be done in steps. First the mid-range 5 to 7 year expectations should be developed. Then, possible paths from this point should be explored. Also, as uncertainty increases into the future, a shift in the description can also occur from technology and operational specifics in the short run for input into operational budgets and implementation schedules, to supply side performance characteristics in the longer term (speed/volume relationships, reliability indicators, information content and availability/responsiveness) that impact travel demand and major investments. It should also separate out what the participants feel is within their decision process, and what trends/services lay outside their control. There are a number of available sources that can be used to help define the long-term trends in ITS and communications technology. The National ITS Architecture’s Vision (US DOT, 1999) provides one picture of what will exist in 2012. It envisions: 40% of vehicles on the roads to have basic on-board ITS instrumentation; extensive use of wireless hand-held and in-vehicle personal information devices providing up-to-date traveler information; the use of universal payment media for all aspects of transportation (transit, parking, tolls) as well as other function; and extensive use of ITS data for planning purposes and automation of TMC functions. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has also released it’s Trends and Choices Two for U.S. transportation through 2020. Private sector forecasts that must be purchased from their authors are also available such as those by Hagler Bailly (Hagler Bailly, 1999), SRI Consultants (SRI Consultants, 1999), and Automotive World (Tucker, 1998). At this time, however, no National base- line on ITS technology trends and potential future market penetration of services geared toward local decision making and regional architecture development is available. It does seem, though, that such a document would be extremely useful in integrating ITS into the overall planning process. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-44

In addressing technological change and uncertainty it is therefore recommended that a base-line scenario be defined from today to the horizon year which encompasses trends and assumptions outside of the local decision process. Using the above sources as well as local expertise and consensus it should define: • Technology development and availability in the short run, and User Service characteristics in the longer term • National, inter-state corridor, or state-wide standards and services provided due to legislative or other initiatives. CVISN and other CVO requirements are examples. • National trends in privately provided/purchased services (in-vehicle navigation and mayday, in-vehicle IVI technologies, universal payment media) • Base-line market penetrations of the above. Each alternative can then be developed by defining: • Which technologies and User Services to implement in the region or corridor (based upon the availability defined in the base-line scenario) • The use of local Information Service Providers (ISPs) and the characteristics of the services they provide. • The impact on the base-line levels of privately provided/purchased services and their market penetration. For example, providing exclusive High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes and parking facilities may increase the penetration of universal payment media throughout the region. Uncertainties regarding the availability of ITS technologies, User Service characteristics, or market penetrations can then be addressed using sensitivity analyses on the scenario assumptions. One approach used by planners in the past when faced with uncertainty is to make sure that the chosen alternative is “robust” under different likely conditions studied under sensitivity analysis. The I-64 Corridor Major Investment Study from is one of the few planning examples to include ITS technologies in the definition of its base-line (Nobuild Alternative) scenario. It separated out assumptions regarding the ITS trends and decisions made outside the corridor (National and State-wide) and included them in the base-line scenario. Assumptions regarding both technology and market penetration were made. Examples include: • 100% coverage of data collection and surveillance with advanced communication and processing • Use of transit vehicle tracking and transit information. • Web and kiosk based pre-trip travel information. • 10% market penetration of in-vehicle route guidance • 100% penetration of Smart Cards for electronic payment • Driver and vehicle condition monitoring and collision avoidance standard on all new vehicles Corridor specific ITS was then developed as part of the alternatives. It included: variable speed limits with end of queue warning systems; advance signal system time with freeway incident management and route diversion; ramp metering; and transit route deviation. Source: Rush & Penic, 1998 V.D.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK While the preceding section focused on issues and concerns regarding defining integrated alternatives, this section describes the process and steps that should be carried out for full integration of ITS, systems management, and operations within alternative's development. Again, the goal is to determine the overall mix of ITS, management and operations, and traditional improvements to meet the region’s goals and objectives. This will consist of a time stream of ACTIONS aimed at managing the future transportation system and its influences. The actions may take the form of managing the supply of transportation, the demand of transportation, or the environment. ITS can directly influence both the supply and demand of transportation, and support policies that manage the environment. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-45

Nowhere else is it as important to recognize that the Integrated Framework transforms planning from developing cross-sectional solutions based upon horizon year forecasts (single point) to a continual performance based feedback process than when developing alternatives. The integrated system’s path of development is continually updated as near term actions are implemented and the system’s response is observed (through ITS data). At any point in time options for the direction the path may take from that point on are explored, their implications evaluated, and incremental changes incorporated. Note, that since this is a cycle the work from prior iterations exists and provides a starting point for the next update cycle (e.g. budget period, TIP development, transportation plan update, and corridor/subarea study). The process to update a development path and/or create alternative paths of development (i.e. alternatives) is described below. The steps are briefly summarized based upon the discussion of the issues and concerns raised in the last section. These are carried out within each cycle of the overall process described in Chapter III. Starting with current deficiencies and short-term options, it makes incremental updates in the system forecasts and conditions, and develops the next time period’s actions. This repeats until the full development path is created. Step 0: Carry Out Prior steps. Developing alternatives fits within the overall Integrated Framework. Consequently, the steps prior to the alternative development must be carried out in preparation. In addition, the base-line scenario/alternative and external influences must be identified, and the existing development path actions inventoried. These preparatory activities are: • Gather stakeholders (maintain their involvement in each of the steps below) • Goals/objectives/vision • Inventory/deficiency analysis • Identify Base-line scenario and external considerations • Existing development path • Needs/Deficiency and Causal Analysis. The importance of organizing the identified deficiencies and carrying out causal analysis for each is discussed in the previous section. Again, the causal analysis helps understand how the deficiency occurs and what actions will cause it’s performance to change. The deficiencies should be grouped by: geographic area, occurrence and incidence, and goal area. The degree that different types of conditions create them should then be specified. These are: • ITS/management and operations oriented (non-recurrent incidents, events, or unusual conditions, lack of information, poor operator or other human response) • Demand and traveler behavior (Time of departure, trip destination, route choice, mode choice, activity and trip making) • Infrastructure/service conditions (sub-standard geometric design, in-adequate sight and stopping distances, capacity, equipment reliability, and system connectivity). This can be either a subjective evaluation, or a more analytic process depending upon the decision to be made and the time period under analysis. While some deficiencies may be the resultant of only one of the above, it is likely that most will be influenced to some degree or another by all three. Step 1: Initial Screening of Potential Solutions: ITS, System Management, Operations, Traditional, Environmental/Land Use Based upon the causal analysis and categorization and using Table V-9 and other sources previously identified a rough level screening should first be carried out. This screening identifies what: ITS User Services; other management and operations strategies; traditional infrastructure and service improvements; or environmental/land use policies have the potential to contribute to solving the identified problems, or improving performance on other goals. It separates out what should be examined in the next step for developing integrated/combined solutions. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-46

Step 2: Integration/Combination Review. This step further explores how ITS can be integrated with the other components (traditional infrastructure and service, travel demand, land use) where the potential that ITS can contribute has been identified (where ITS cannot contribute during this time period has been screened out in the last step). ITS User services during this step can either be (see previous discussion): • Identified as stand alone options to meet ITS oriented goals and deficiencies • Identified as stand alone options to meet traditional goals and needs. • Included as an integral component of other options • Included to mitigate the undesirable impacts of other options. • Dropped (or delayed) from further consideration due to implementation time frames, lack of supporting services/functions, or large enough need to support implementation. The output of this step is the set of ITS User services for the area under consideration and where they are needed. In developing the combined response to each deficiency/problem consideration should be given to: the ability to respond to all its dimensions (ITS may be warranted to address non-recurrent congestion when it occurs, and additional capacity warranted to address recurrent congestion), tradeoffs in costs, and public policy directives. Different alternatives are developed to explore different choices in the mix of ITS, traditional, travel demand and, and policy options (e.g. land use and zoning). Step 3: ITS User Service Refinement. Simply identifying the User Services does not create an integrated transportation or ITS system. This step examines the identified services to determine how they should be coordinated and bundled to create an overall system. First, they should be grouped and compared by shared functions, geography, and service providers. How the potential service will appears to it’s potential users should assessed. The goal is to provide seamless integrated functionality to users (all else being equal). This analysis is used to help determine how the service may be provided, who will provide it and the required information flows between agencies/providers to do so. For example, an MPO may have within its jurisdiction several cities and towns (e.g. Detroit and Ann Arbor Michigan are both part of the South Eastern Michigan Council of Governments). Transit agencies in each may plan to implement electronic fare payment and automatic vehicle location systems for their bus fleets. The overlap of users (little) and geographic area (little) determines the benefits of creating single or separate transit management centers to implement/operate these services, and the need for a centralized coordinated system (low). On the other hand, areas with several transit agencies that share geographic corridors, that passengers transfer between may need to have closely integrated universal fare and AVL systems that share information for both cost allocation and overall system management. In this step, a forward/backward analysis along the development path also needs to be carried out. This is especially important in subsequent passes of the process for the mid and long-term time frames. If nearer term actions need to be added to previous periods, or actions further along the development path updated this should be done. This makes sure that the path is consistent and reconciled across all time periods. At the end of this step, the desired User Services and their combination with other actions should be defined. The geographic scale that they will be implemented/coordinated at (region, corridor, site, agency, see Section V.A) is also specified. Conceptually who will carry out the basic functions for the User Services and the required information flows between participants are also defined. Step 4: ITS Market Package Selection. As stated, The National ITS Architecture had defined 63 “market packages” as “building blocks” for implementing Integrated ITS systems. They can be used to assist in implementing the desired TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-47

User Services at various levels and configurations (see Appendix B). Several market packages may be used to implement a particular configuration of a User Service and different configurations change the complexity and features of the service provided. Several different User Services may also share a market package. This allows for incremental implementation of ITS functions as well as integration and synergy of the deployments. For example, the Traffic Control User Service may use up to 11 separate market packages in its implementation from network surveillance, to probe surveillance, and from surface street and freeway control, to regional traffic control, to traffic forecast and demand management. Likewise, the surface street control market package is shared between the Traffic Control, Incident Management, and Highway-Rail Intersection User Services. What market packages to implement, when, and how depends upon the level of integration and sophistication desired and constraints/opportunities that may exist. This step takes the desired User Services from the last step and determines which market packages to implement given the previously implemented ITS system and information flows and institutional, financial, or resource (staffing) constraints which may exist. It must also explores the desired degree of public / private cooperation and integration in the provision of the services because of its impact on resources and the features of the services that may be provided. Market packages can be interdependent, provide common functions, share information, or be complementary. Thus, it may be important to implement certain basic enabling packages such as network surveillance as early as possible. As the system grows s and interconnections /dependencies mature more advanced features (i.e. probe surveillance) can be implemented in time periods later along the development path. This step’s outputs are the set of market packages, their interfaces, subsystems, and equipment packages to be implemented for the time period under investigation. It also describes the public / private relationships and roles chosen to implement these services. Step 5: Describe Alternative Components and Obtain Stakeholder Input. While stakeholder involvement and interaction must take place throughout the process it is at this point that the alternative’s development path up to the time period under investigation should be assembled and described to the stakeholders and feedback on the integrated description obtained. Each major component that makes up an Integrated Framework Alternative should be described. Again these are: • Traditional and ITS infrastructure components • Traditional and ITS transportation services • Regional architecture including data flows, functions, and major providers of all services (not just ITS) • Concept of operations for the integrated system (not just ITS) • Operating principals/characteristics • Supporting policies and programs It may be important to develop a simplified table for decision makers showing how each regional goal/objective or identified deficiency is addressed by a mix of these components. Other than this summary table the analysis and decisions that must be supported determine the level of detail provided. In the near term specifics on technology and detailed operations may be needed to determine implementation and operating budgets and support project development. Further along the development path this may give way to higher level User Service descriptions and estimates of the supply side operating characteristics needed to determine major directions along the development path today and carry out required Federal analyses (air quality, environmental impact assessments, etc.) Step 6: Update System Description And Forecasts. Based upon the base-line scenario and the alternative definition for this time period, the system description (supply and services), and other inputs to the system forecasts must be updated and an TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-48

incremental forecast created. While, this seems onerous, incremental forecasts are being required more and more to account for transportation-land use inter-relationships and their affect on travel. Also, based upon the decision at hand, the analysis should be adjusted to the appropriate level of detail, whether this is the use of sketch tools, regional network models, or operational simulations. The important concept here is no matter what the level of detail incremental forecasts/analysis is needed. Also, the forecast/analysis methods should be sensitive to ITS and other system management and operations strategies. The issues associated with impact analysis are examined in Section V.E. Step 7. Go to Next Time Period and Repeat Steps 1-6. Start the process over by updating the conditions and deficiency analysis for the next time period. New options that may take longer to implement, respond to conditions that could not be addressed up to this point in time, or respond to new conditions created by the feedback and growth in the system can now be considered. This process continues until the planning year horizon is reached and a full development path is created. Different alternatives are created by using different priorities and choices along the path as it is created. For example, an alternative that invests in transit options and incorporates supporting ITS elements and land use decisions can be developed and compared to an alternative that maximizes the traffic flow and the convenience of the private auto using ITS and capacity expansion.. Once the alternatives are defined their impacts must be estimated and evaluation must take place. These steps in the Integrated Framework are described in sections V.E and V.F. V.D.3 Variations By Scale, Setting, And Institutions Though the steps described above remain basically the same, the capability to develop and implement the alternatives, who is responsible, and outputs of the process (alternative components, level of detail, documentation) will vary greatly depending on the regional context and decisions that are under consideration. Alternatives are developed to respond to needs and problems. Certainly, whether an area falls into “World I” (extra-capacity, un-connected, low density, available land, stable) or “World II” (urban, congested, connected, built/dense, un-stable) described in Section II.C will shape the integrated system needs and type of ITS services desired and deployed. Though they overlap significantly, other important dimensions in developing alternatives include: the size of area and regional characteristics and the transportation and environmental problems faced; and the institutional complexity/historical relationships and resources to carry out the definition/implementation of the integrated alternatives that exist. These are examined below. V.D.3.1 Regional Context and Transportation Issues The regional context, characteristics, and the transportation issues that are of concern in an area all shape the appropriate integrated transportation alternatives and ITS’s role within them. Probably most significant is the difference between urban and rural environments and their associated network characteristics, travel patterns, and deficiencies/needs. Rural America accounts for a small and dispersed portion of our nation’s populations, yet it encompasses a significant portion of the transportation system. Rural areas account for 80% of the total US road mileage and 40% of the vehicle miles traveled. The rural transportation environment of long distances, relatively low traffic volumes, relatively rare traffic congestion, travelers unfamiliar with the surroundings, and rugged terrain in remote areas creates much different system requirement, user needs, and maintenance and operation costs than urban areas.. Furthermore, rural characteristics that solicit ITS solutions include an over representation of fatal crashes (About 60% of traffic fatalities and 55% of work zone fatalities occur in rural areas), safety problems related to high speeds on non-interstate rural roads and increased response time for Emergency Medical Services. Many rural communities now have excellent all-weather road systems, but many rural residents remain isolated because of their inability to travel. Presently 38% of the nation’s rural residents live in areas without any public transit service and another 28% live in areas in which the level of transit service is negligible. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-49

The typically un-congested conditions, severity of accidents and difficulty of emergency response, long distances, and unfamiliar travelers shift the focus on ITS needs in rural areas. The priorities become safety, efficient provision of services, and information provision, versus those of urban systems, which are aimed at congestion relief (time savings) and increased throughput. Because of the differences the US DOT has developed a separate ITS program area to serve rural needs, The Advanced Rural Transportation Systems (ARTS) Program. In response to the diversity of conditions traveler and user needs the ARTS program has defined 7 Critical Program Areas (CPA) Clusters around which rural systems can be developed and deployed to meet specific stakeholder and user group needs (e.g. tourist areas and their visitors). Table V-11 provides the CPA clusters and potential ITS applications that might be used to provide services to them. This is similar to the grouping and aggregation of user services and market packages carried out in developing urban architectures. Other sources for rural solutions are the ITS Rural Toolbox for Rural and Small Urban Areas (Castle Rock and Black and Veatch, 1998), and Technology in Rural Transportation “Simple Solutions” (Castle Rock, 1997). Additional factors that influence the level and type of ITS services that may be warranted include: urban size, terrain and topology, weather, urban form and growth rate, the existing or planned modes, and the existence of special generators and events (see Transcore, January 1998). Urban Size: Large areas tend to have higher levels of congestion and more system variability. They operate closer to capacity and the impact of incidents and unusual occurrences consequently can be significant cascading throughout the system. Because of their complexity, navigation during “events” or for unfamiliar travelers through these systems can be difficult. They often have large complex transit systems as well. Appropriate ITS services include traffic and transit operations, multi-modal ATIS that includes route diversion, and Incident management. Systems need to be closely coordinated and integrated. Medium areas tend to have lower congestion that still may be significant at times. A core set of ITS applications may still be warranted. ITS may be driven by special characteristics of the region (e.g. tourism). Small areas may not have significant benefits from widespread application of ITS. Deployments may be focused on specific corridors or locations such as a through freeway, or major generator (university, beach, etc.). May be incorporated into rural/small area ITS development. Terrain and Topology: The terrain and topology can also have significant influence on developing integrated alternatives including ITS. Major river crossings may warrant surveillance and traveler information focused on the bottlenecks they create. Unique Incident Management systems may also be called for to insure that they are not blocked for significant periods when an incident does occur. Emergency services may also be desired for tunnels and areas where hazardous spills would endanger lives. Mountains and hilly terrain may also limit parallel routes, additional surveillance in key locations, and call for special incident response, clearance, and environmental sensing to detect hazardous conditions. Flood warning and alternative routing systems are important for flood areas, created by lakes, streams, or other bodies of water. Weather: Weather conditions such as black ice, snow at mountain passes, heavy snow in rural areas, fog areas all can benefit from surveillance and detection technologies, plus roadside and other information services. In addition, ITS can play a key role in Tornado and Hurricane prone areas assisting in evacuation procedures, traffic management and routing during evacuation, and emergency services. Urban Form and Growth Rate: The urban form and density also shape ITS needs. This includes the existence or lack thereof, of right-of-way for expansion, parallel routes, and the condition of the existing facilities. Areas with limited expansion opportunities, high maintenance costs on deteriorating plant, and stable growth, may need to place a premium on maintenance and management of their system using ITS technologies. On the other hand, high growth areas with available land have the opportunity to install ITS communication and surveillance as the system is expanded providing for immediate incident management and future traffic management opportunities. The existence of parallel routes also changes the type of information services that may be emphasized allowing for en-route diversion. If no parallel routes exist, pre-trip information becomes more important. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-50

Table V-11 Rural Critical Cluster Areas and Potential ITS Applications Traveler Safety and Security Wide area information dissemination systems (via radio, computer, TV, etc.) both pre-trip and en-route of safety information, such as weather and road conditions Site-specific safety advisories and warnings (e.g., the enhanced radar detector for hazard warning, visibility sensors, variable speed limits, collision avoidance, work zone detection/intrusion alarms, rail crossing alerts, shoulder detection, etc.) to alert motorists of imminent problems Safety surveillance and monitoring (e.g., on transit vehicles (for malcontents and for ill riders), at park-and-ride lots, rest areas, etc.); and In-Vehicle monitoring and detection systems including such items as driver monitoring (alertness, status), vision enhancement, perimeter detection, shoulder detection, etc. Emergency Services Mayday systems to alert dispatchers of location and nature and extent of a problem (e.g., crash, breakdown, etc.); and Advanced dispatching and vehicle-based response systems (e.g., on emergency medical services & law enforcement vehicles, disaster response vehicles, tow trucks, etc.) to get to the scene quickly, and provide appropriate care (perhaps for the judicious enforcement of traffic laws as well). Emergency communication systems to link critical agencies and to feed information services for en route travelers. Tourism and Traveler Information Services Information services (electronic yellow pages, route guidance, etc.) provided at fixed locations (e.g., in hotels, at rest areas, at modal transfer stations, etc.), and en-route; Mobility services (transit, paratransit, parking systems, etc.); Smart card payment/transaction systems for transit and tourist transactions; and Portable event management systems that include such services as traffic management, variable message signs, hotel and service availability and directions on how to reach services when they are available. Public Traveler Services and Public Mobility Services Advanced transit, paratransit systems, etc., using AVL and improved dispatching (e.g., taking advantage of improved rural addressing (i.e., using Global Positioning Satellites), etc.); Smart card payment/transaction systems for rider payment and tracking (beat fraud); and Advanced ride sharing and ride matching systems. Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance Appropriate traffic signal and traffic management systems for small urban areas, ultimately linked together (as well as with large metropolitan TMCs) as part of a statewide, distributed information system; Automated management systems (e.g., bridge, pavement, roadside hardware, etc.); and Advanced work zone management and traffic control. Fleet Operations and Maintenance Advanced dispatching and routing systems (e.g., for snow plows, transit operators, etc.) (includes central processing systems and vehicle-based systems such as Automatic Vehicle Location); Advanced vehicle tracking systems (e.g., guidance for snow plow operators to track through dangerous areas covered in snow) Fleet maintenance and management systems. Commercial Vehicle Operations. CVO-specific requirements/needs within the other critical program areas (e.g., rural addressing, logistics, vehicle and driver monitoring), vehicle location systems for alerts to other travelers as well as for other tracking needs, assistance for agricultural harvesting, collecting and tracking CVO specific information needs (e.g., CVO-enhanced weather advisories); Services to assist Agricultural Harvesting and Migration Other services in support of small rural commercial enterprises. On the road communications and paging, low cost vehicle location for employees in the field, etc., to help make rural commercial activities more viable and cost-effective. Source: ARTS Strategic Plan, (US DOT, 1997) TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-51

Existing or Planned Modes: The existence of transit, HOV, or other modes (e.g. ferries) and the complexities of their systems either adds or subtracts from the ITS User Services to consider, and how the chosen ITS User Services will be integrated. Commuter, heavy rail, and light rail advanced technologies are currently not considered part of ITS, but the Federal Transit Administration has recently begun an ITS- Rail initiative to include them. In any event, ITS that coordinates with rail service such as “connection protection” and highway-rail intersection services should be investigated when these systems exist. Likewise, the needs of the CVO and goods movement community must also be included in the development of an integrated system. This is especially true at, or around, major inter-modal transfer and other freight facilities. Toll facilities provide for the introduction of electronic toll collection and probe surveillance using the toll tag transponders. Special generators and Events: Special generators and events often generate the need for unique transportation solutions including ITS. Tourist areas are characterized by large numbers of unfamiliar travelers and can benefit from information at key locations (kiosks, hotel information channels) for both transportation options and other services. Stadiums and periodic events may call for mobile traffic and parking management systems. Recurrent special generators (beaches, amusement parks, and airports) can benefit from variable message signs, parking management and routing, and universal electronic payment medium. Universities and “campus” office parks often well served by transit services using advanced transit management, paratransit, route-diversion, and other ITS transit elements. V.D.3.2 Institutional Setting, Planning Requirements, and Resource Availability The institutional setting and Federal planning requirements determined by an area’s size and air quality conformity also can have a profound impact on the ability of areas to generate/analyze alternatives and on the type of alternatives generated, implemented, and operated. These as well as other factors influence resource allocation. Resources must exist, be available, and be capable. In addition to fulfilling the planning requirements, resources must exist to implement, operate, and maintain the desired services. In any case the desire to implement potential services must be mitigated by the ability to plan, analyze, implement, and operate them. The size of an area determines to a large degree the planning institutions, requirements and resources and consequently the ability to analyze and implement alternatives. The differences between rural, small/medium and Metro areas are therefore discussed below. Multi-jurisdictional/Multi-state impacts are then briefly examined. Rural (population < 50,000): Rural areas are outside the boundaries of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and their requirements for developing a long-range transportation and transportation improvement program. Their road system planning, maintenance, and operations are therefore typically the responsibility of the state department of transportation and are included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and plan. Transit is limited and may fall outside the purview of the organizational carrying out the principal/system planning functions. Paratransit is often provided through human service organizations. Traveler and other information is not existent, or is organized/provided by specific corridors and/or major tourist destinations (e.g. Yosemite National Park’s information system). The lack of a centralized planning institution and process makes coordinating integrated alternatives difficult. This project’s discussion forums pointed out the need to develop partnerships and ad-hoc relationships in order to achieve this integration (Mitretek, 1999b). Participants also have to see a direct benefit in their participation since it may not be legislatively mandated. Alternative and systems there may need to be organized/developed around inter-urban travel corridors and/or major destinations/tourist areas. Public/private partnerships with area chamber of commerce, tourism boards, and others are much more critical for the success of services than in urban regions. These relationships need to become part of the alternative description and development process. Resources and staff availability/capability are often at a premium in rural areas, both for developing and implementing alternatives. State agencies may have one or two staff assigned to their entire “rural” area, or they are assigned along modal/facility categories. The ability to provide ongoing operating budgets, and technical expertise to implement publicly provided ITS services, especially information services may not exist. Again, services if they are to be implemented at all may have to be provided through partnerships, TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-52

and “pay for themselves” in some fashion (this could be through advertiser or participating organization contributions or other means). The U.S. DOT’s “Simple Solutions” for rural areas helps match services with capabilities of these areas. Also, rural areas may be part of larger inter-urban corridor efforts such as the I-95 Corridor Coalition of the North Eastern United States with many of their ITS decisions determined externally. Small/Medium Size Areas (50,00 to 200,000 in population): These areas are required to be part of a MPO and to develop both a Transportation Plan, and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). TIP projects, however, are selected by the State in cooperation with the MPO, and not directly by the MPO themselves. Often, the MPO staff for these areas consists of only one or two professionals who must carry out all the planning and programming functions for the agency. Therefore, resources and specialty knowledge of the type required to develop Integrated Alternatives may not exist. In fact, small MPOs repeatedly stated that they did not understand ITS and felt out of the loop both in expertise and in the Federal support/thought process during this project’s discussion forums (Mitretek 1999b). This was further verified by an AMPO survey of Mops regarding ITS. Developing simple ITS solutions that recognize these limitations, and simplified analysis methods to accompany them is important if these areas are to embrace ITS in their alternatives development. . Large Metropolitan Area. (Greater than 200,000 in population): Areas greater than 200,000 population are designated as Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) as part of the Federal planning regulations. TMAs must develop a Congestion Management System Plan as part of their Transportation Plan (CMS) to manage congestion and provide information on system performance and develop strategies for alleviating congestion and enhancing mobility. ITS can and should play a key role in the CMS development. These areas, typically have the staff and resources, either within the MPO, operating agencies, or other ad- hoc ITS organizations to carry out integrated planning and develop the specialized knowledge necessary to do so. Their ability to develop integrated alternatives may be constrained by either multi-jurisdictional or multi-agency issues, or by additional requirements introduced by non-attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Multi-jurisdictional / Multi-Agency Regions: Many regions are either multi-jurisdictional and/or include multiple operating agencies providing transit and other services. In these cases integration and coordination of ITS and other services may become problematic if the agencies, or jurisdictions, choose not to be part of an overall system, or give up control of their operations in some fashion. In these instances, the alternative and its analysis must reflect the level of integration that is agreed to: from none, to data sharing without control, to data sharing and system-oriented control. Air Quality Non-Attainment or Maintenance Areas: Air quality non-attainment or maintenance areas have additional planning and analysis requirements as part of the Federal planning regulations. First, components must be specified in sufficient detail to permit air quality analysis in accordance with the U.S. EPA conformity requirements. This includes all ITS elements as well, especially if they are expected to reduce emissions. Second, the Transportation Plan and its ITS elements (the proposed ITS Integration Strategy) must be updated more frequently in these areas (every three years versus every five). Third, if a TMA is in non-attainment any project which results in substantial SOV capacity expansion must be part of an approved CMS plan and “incorporate all reasonably available strategies to manage the single occupant vehicle (SOV) facility effectively (or to facilitate its management in the future). Consequently, ITS Traffic Control and other User Services may become key mitigating components associated with any system expansion in these areas. Last, ITS elements may be identified as Transportation Control Measures (TCMs) and incorporated into the applicable State Implementation Plan for Air Quality (SIP) if emissions benefits can be shown to occur. MPOs and others may, consequently, include additional ITS elements to in attempting to create a Transportation Plan or TIP that meets air quality conformity requirements. When they do so this may become a legal mandate to provide the level of service described, and ITS providers should pay special attention to ensure that it is feasible. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-53

V.D.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section described how an alternative is developed within the Integrated Framework. First and foremost, an alternative takes on new meaning. It is a development path of actions from today to the horizon year. Different alternatives are created by changing the assumptions, values, and principals used to determine choices along the path. For example, a transit oriented could be developed and compared with a TDM or highway oriented option. Alternatives in the integrated framework also include the new components needed to incorporate ITS and operations. These include: • ITS and communications facilities and equipment • ITS and operations services • Regional ITS Architecture • Concept of Operations • Operating principals/concepts and characteristics The tradeoffs and combinations of ITS, operations, and traditional solutions are examined within each cycle of the integrated process based upon a causal analysis of the needs and deficiencies defined earlier. How to combine them to address each problem depends upon the values being used to build the alternative and the changes that each type of solution induces. Alternatives are also influenced by the types of problems the area is facing and its other characteristics (terrain, weather, existing modes, condition of infrastructure). The size of the population can change the planning requirements that must be met, and the resources that are available to both plan and implement the chosen solution. Last, as the horizon is extended out into the future the detail included in the alternative diminishes. Table V-12 provides some questions that might provide some insight into where your region stands in how they carry out a needs/deficiency analysis. Mark where you think your area’s relative position is for each question. Table V-12 Integrated Alternative Definition Self-Assessment Question NO YES Do short, mid, and long-range plans exist? Are they developed incrementally with feedback between each cycle to create a path of development? NO - - - - - - - - YES Does alternative development include the new elements for integrated alternatives (ITS and operational equipment and facilities, ITS services, concept of operations, ITS Architecture, operating concepts, and performance relationships, public private assumptions) FOR ALL FUTURE TIME PERIODS? NO - - - - - - - - YES Does alternative development include participation of all stakeholders from both the planning and operations worlds? NO - - - - - - - - YES Do alternatives combine ITS, operational, and system enhancement improvements to address the identified needs and problems? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: ALTERNATIVES V-54

V.E ESTIMATING IMPACTS, BENEFITS AND COSTS The meaning of, “evaluation” and “estimating impacts” varies depending on whether you come from the operations, or planning worlds: Key Points of Section V.E • Estimating impacts is part of an iterative cycle of developing options, estimating their impacts, and evaluation. It occurs as part of performance monitoring, within each planning cycle, and alternatives in the Integrated Framework. • Estimating impacts includes capturing changes in: - Transportation supply - Demand for travel - External impacts - Costs of the transportation system. • Issues that must be addressed - Variation in conditions, and unusual events. - Time streams and lagged affects - System synergies - Life cycle costs - Cost sharing and allocation - Uncertainty • Available methods and tools include: - Benefit data bases/tool boxes - Empirically based Sketch techniques (rules of thumb) - Causal sketch models and post-processors (IDAS, emissions and safety models) - Regional Network Models - Simulation (macroscopic and microscopic) - Linked travel demand and simulation tools - Models based upon new paradigms in travel forecasting (TRANSIMS) • The detail and precision of the analysis varies with where one is in the planning cycle. Operations professionals see evaluation as ongoing performance measurement of the systems they operate and manage. Estimating impacts involves ongoing measurement of the before and after conditions caused by the changes in the system operations that they introduce. Planners on the other hand see evaluation as examining future alternatives in order to make an informed choice. Estimating impacts involves making predictions of the differences in performance between alternatives before they are implemented in order to assist in decisions when they must be made. The Integrated Framework combines both of these perspectives. It is performance oriented using the performance measures chosen to reflect the region’s vision, goals, and objectives to evaluate an alternative. Starting with current conditions and the needs/deficiencies analysis it implements and monitors the management and operations of the system through feedback as time progresses. It must also predict the changes in performance into the future for the path of development of each alternative. This results in a time-stream of impacts (changes in performance) consistent with the time-stream of actions found in the path of development. The rest of this section is concerned with the issues and methods associated with capturing the time stream of changes created by an alternative organized around the following: • Transportation Supply, travel behavior (demand), and System Use Issues/Methods • Transportation cost issues/methods • External Impact Estimation (safety, air quality, equity, etc.) Issues/Methods As discussed above this step measures and forecasts the change in system characteristics and travel behavior/use for each alternative. It then estimates other impacts and prepares performance measures for use in evaluation. Note, that for the base-line scenario and alternative the time stream of system characteristics, system use, and impact measures is established either in “absolute” values, or relative to current conditions. This is needed for environmental assessments and financial feasibility analysis. It is common practice to estimate the impacts and develop measures relative to this base-line for the other alternatives. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-55

Estimating the impacts, benefits, and costs feeds the evaluation of alternatives, which is discussed in Section V.F. The last section on identifying alternatives described how estimating the impacts of the alternative is part of creating it’s path of development. Incremental forecasts are made, feedback of impacts assessed, and the alternative’s definition extended to the next time period. This incremental performance oriented process bridges the gap between the operations and management of today, and the long-term planning of the future. Once an alternative’s complete path of development is fully defined all of the performance measures can be calculated and compared against other alternatives. Again, alternatives are refined and impacts estimated and evaluated until an option acceptable to policy makers and the political process is obtained. It can also not be stressed enough that estimating impacts and updating the management and operations of the system is performed continually through ongoing performance monitoring and feedback. V.E.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH This section discusses the issues associated with estimating impacts of integrated alternatives which include ITS and system management and traditional elements, and respond to both the emerging concerns of today’s world and traditional issues. It provides a general approach and compares traditional estimation techniques to what is needed in the Integrated Framework. Figure V-8 provides a general schematic of the interactions between transportation supply, demand, and use of the system created by an alternative and the benefits, costs, and impacts that result. As shown estimating impacts benefits and costs of an alternative concerns capturing how the alternative changes the: • Transportation supply (Inputs) • Demand for travel and use of the system that results (Outputs) • External impacts of these to the environment and society (Outcomes) • Costs of the transportation system Figure V-8 Transportation Supply, Demand, & Impacts Transportation infrastructure and services are provided in response to the demand for travel (determined by location and land use, user characteristics, activity patterns, and behavioral values/tradeoffs). These interact to determine the actual use of the system (travel patterns –mode, time, route – operating performance (speed, reliability) and adjustments in the variable costs (additional labor, vehicles, etc.). As the system TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-56

characteristics change this again impacts the demand, supply, etc. Understanding and estimating how an alternative influences this transportation supply/demand/use interaction is the first basic step in determining its overall impacts. One class of impact estimation methods consequently concerns forecasting the transportation system characteristics and travel behavior that result from a future system. Once the transportation infrastructure and services and their use are determined the costs of providing them must be estimated. This includes both the fixed capital operating and maintenance costs and the variable costs that are a function of system use. Cost estimation and its issues form another class of methods for impact estimation. In this Guidebook “costs” refers to the resources used by implementing, operating, and maintaining the integrated system. The changes the alternative causes to the users and the environment are its “impacts”. Impacts may be positive (i.e. benefits), or negative (i.e. societal, environmental, or user “costs”). The transportation system and its use also create external impacts to the society and the environment. These include among others the impacts on air quality, noise, visual intrusion, safety, equity, and changes in land use. A third class of estimation methods uses the results from the transportation system and behavior analysis and cost estimation to forecast one or more of these external impacts. This is often done as post-processing to the travel demand estimation. Note, that the performance measures described in Section V.B are created from the outputs of the above either singly, or in combination. For example, cost effectiveness measures combine the costs of providing the system with its performance on a particular measure. FTA has long used the Cost per New Rider has one its principle project evaluation criteria. V.E.1.1 Transportation System and Travel Behavior Estimation Issues. Figure V-8 applies for decisions made in both the traditional and Integrated Framework processes. However, each has very different underlying system and behavioral assumptions. Traditional solutions and the analyses that support them have tended to focus on facility/service improvements to meet capacity constraints arising in a typical day. They are consequently, focused on average conditions, or insuring that “demand” under normal maximum loads (85% day) will be met. The traditional flow based four step travel forecasting process (Network and data development, trip generation, trip distribution, mode split, and assignment) also assumes that people learn and understand the system over time (i.e. they have perfect information about their choices/consequences) and based upon this knowledge make decisions leading to a “User Equilibrium” where no individual traveler can improve their travel through independent decisions. Traditional analyses typically are based upon recurrent conditions and eliminate from both their data collection and methods unusual events such as accidents, weather, construction, or celebrations/events that create high/low demand. Because they were based upon infrastructure investments highway analyses also typically ignored operations and maintenance costs, and focused on the capital investment and its ability to meet the forecast “demand” in the horizon year. ITS strategies on the other hand use technology, communications, and a “systems” perspective n order to meet the emerging concerns mentioned earlier and help adjust the system to conditions as they are realized on a day-to-day basis or evolve over a longer time frame. They focus on improving: • Operations under expected or recurrent conditions, • Response to Non-recurrent conditions, and • Availability of up to date information. By providing a coordinated systems perspective to the operations and management of the traffic/transportation system, improving the response to incidents and other non-recurrent events, and providing better information to the traveler and system manager many of the mobility and congestion problems found in an urban area can be addressed. Consequently, if ITS strategies are to be analyzed, then their impact on operations, response to incidents, and improved information must also be incorporated in the analysis. Capturing their interaction and combined effects with traditional capacity improvements (lane widening, new connections, service improvements) is also very important if the overall conditions of the transportation system are to be analyzed. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-57

Variation in Conditions It is important to capture the effects of non-recurrent variation in demand due to incidents, weather, construction, etc. Expanding the analysis to include the variation in conditions when incorporating ITS/ M&O strategies into the analysis is critical to capturing their true impacts. This can be represented by condition scenarios, or representative days, which are selected to capture a type of incident/occurrence that may lead to the traveler experiencing very different conditions and possibly a different travel choice. Figure V-9 shows some of the issues that may determine how/why the scenarios are selected. An important consideration is the randomness of the event, and its area of influence. The system response to a local predictable event such as construction may be very different to a global unpredictable event such as a severe rain storm or typhoon. Figure V-9 Importance of Information to Unexpected System Variation Source: Mitretek, 1999 Average versus Variable Conditions As shown in Figure V-10, the improvements in reliability and/or variation may also have an impact the expected conditions represented in the regional model system that can in turn influence the day-to-day travel decisions individuals make. Figure V-10 shows the arrival time for a given departure time for different days throughout the year. For example, if someone leaves their house every morning at 7:00 AM they will arrive late due to accidents, weather, and just random incidents on some days, and on other days they will arrive early. The figure shows both the observed arrival time and the average or expected travel time with and without ITS. Without ITS bottlenecks occur and people are caught in the congestion caused by incidents, etc. With ITS traffic can be re-routed, incidents are cleared faster, information is provided prior to the trip, and the worst cases of delay are thus avoided. This in turn can change the expected arrival time for a given mode and the travel choices people make. If the chance that they will be an hour late on a mode such as transit (due to missed transfers, etc.) can be eliminated, the average travel time is improved and the likelihood that they will take transit increases. The results from the representative day simulations are therefore combined to estimate the change in expected, or perceived, conditions. If, as is common practice, non-recurrent events are not included in the base measurement of system conditions, the change in the average due to ITS can’t be captured. More important, in many instances analyzing only average conditions will under estimate improvements even if non-recurrent events are part of the base measurement because of the disproportionate affects of incidents. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-58

Figure V-10 Conceptual Impact of ITS on Average Conditions Source: Mitretek, 1999 Time Stream Issues. As already stated, in the Integrated Framework the time stream of impacts, benefits and costs must be estimated. Section V.D on alternative development described how this requires an incremental approach to estimating the overall impacts of the development path rather than simply estimating the horizon year conditions. Equally important, is understanding the temporal dimension of each ITS strategy on behavior and the time it takes to produce an effect. Table V-13 shows some of the temporal affects of different ITS elements, and when different types of effects might occur, from instant impacts on operating characteristics, to long-term changes in trip making, economic activity, and land use patterns. If time- streams of impacts are to be estimated understanding when the impacts effects will take place due to an improvement is very important. Integrated Services and Synergy of ITS services. Because ITS is focused on operating and managing the overall transportation system it is often difficult to separate out the impacts of individual components. Consequently, bundles of services and/or market packages need to be analyzed. This also means that it is often difficult to implement a “minimum buildable segment” as is often the case in traditional improvements and achieve the maximum benefits that can be produced. The different ITS strategies can also interact to support one-another and create synergistic effects that are greater than if implemented separately. All of these point to the need to have a conceptual model of how each alternative will impact travel and behavior. This provides a check and balance to ensure that the benefits that are calculated are properly captured and are reasonable. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-59

Table V-13 Temporal Dimensions of ITS Time of Impact ITS Element Instantly Short Mid Long Traffic Signal Control X Freeway Management X Transit Management X Incident Management X Electronic Fare Payment X X Electronic Toll Collection X X Railroad Grade Crossings X X Emergency Management Services X X Regional Multimodal Traveler Information X X X System Integration. X X X Type of change Operating Characteristics X X Time of Departure X X Mode X X Route X X Trips and destination X X X Activities X X X X Economic Activity and Land Use X X Other Methodological Issues Just as a reminder, any inputs, outputs, and measures that are required for planning analysis must be forecasted. This creates differences between the near term measurement of actual conditions, and the longer term forecasts required for planning future systems. For example, the occurrence of accidents on a road segment and variation in conditions can be measured. However, to conduct future analyses assumptions on the future level of accidents in the base case must be made, or a model/relationships developed to predict them. Also as discussed in the application section. A Tool box of techniques should be developed to match the levels of analysis and available resources to the decision needs at hand. V.E.1.2 Costing issues Costs for each integrated alternative must also be estimated. Agencies have less experience with implementing ITS and hence have less experience on how to estimate their capital and operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. Because the operations and maintenance requirements for ITS are typically higher, continuous, and more uncertain than those of traditional construction projects, funding for on-going operations and maintenance is a major concern for agencies that decide to implement ITS. Many agencies are beginning to recognize after the fact that ITS improvements require operations, management, and maintenance resources on a continuous basis. The issues associated with conducting consistent cost analyses across all elements of an integrated alternative are examined below: Life Cycle Costs As already discussed this includes estimating the life-cycle costs to implement and operate all elements, both ITS and traditional. Failure to consider the capital and O&M costs of ITS during the planning and development phases could lead to funding shortages, or even worse, the inability to properly operate and maintain a deployed system. Plans and developments including future ITS improvements will not bode well if systems already deployed with taxpayer dollars are improperly operated or inadequately maintained. The ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) has provided and maintains the ITS Unit Costs Database (http://www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov/) that includes ITS components, lifetime estimates, and associated capital and O&M costs. The database structure closely follows that of the National ITS Architecture. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-60

There are 21 subsystems each of which are further defined by individual components or elements. Elements include equipment installed at the roadside and within centers as well as labor categories to account for operations costs. Capital costs are provided as one-time startup costs while O&M costs are provided as annual estimates. Because the database provides data that is not directly related to a specific region or product vendors, capital and O&M costs are provided as a range from low to high. The database is available for transportation agencies and their consultants to develop cost estimates of future and planned ITS improvements. As will be discussed later in this chapter, tools are available to assist planners and project engineers in estimating the lifecycle costs of ITS improvements. The ITS Unit Costs Database is a source for one of the planning tools. However, life cycle costs for traditional elements may still be difficult to come by. The Maricopa Associations of Governments (MAG), the MPO for the Phoenix area, has included a cost requirements section in their MAG ITS Strategic Plan Update (MAG, 2001) to assist planners in estimating and predicting cost and resource requirements of ITS projects. These cost estimates are useful in budgeting and operations planning, and determining the level of funding required to provide sustained operations and maintenance of ITS deployments. Costs from the ITS Unit Costs Database are used by MAG; however, local cost are used whenever available. In addition to estimating capital and O&M costs when comparing the estimates for various deployments, MAG also determines the annualized costs of deploying, operating, and maintaining an ITS improvement, and replacement of ITS equipment as it reaches its expected lifetime. This annualized cost is obtained by amortizing the capital cost over the expected lifetime for each ITS component. The annualized capital value is added to the annual O&M costs to obtain the annualized cost value. This cost figure is useful to planners in securing resources for the long- term operation of ITS projects. Likewise, this figure is useful in benefit/cost analysis to determine whether or not an ITS improvement is cost effective. To further assist planners with scaling ITS projects and estimating associated costs, capital, O&M, and annualized costs are broken down as infrastructure and incremental. Infrastructure costs include the basic underlying components of an ITS center that must be in place in order to support the operation of field equipment. Labor categories associated with systems operations are included under infrastructure. Incremental costs include the cost of each piece of field equipment deployed. Care must be taken to avoid double accounting of infrastructure costs. Computer software and hardware used to process and control variable message signs also may be used to process and control traffic detection data from roadside sensors. The Florida DOT began to actively address costs of ITS deployments when the agency realized discrepancies in costs of ITS projects throughout the state. A statewide cost analysis was performed and results were published in the ITS Costs Analysis Issue Paper (PB Farradyne, 1999) and incorporated into the Florida Statewide ITS Strategic Plan (FDOT, 1999). The purpose of the cost analysis was to establish cost ranges for future ITS deployments, identify various project factors affecting cost, and provide general guidance for control ITS project cost. Cost implications associated with project lifecycle phases are described. Agencies preparing for ITS improvements may want to review the cost strategies in use by the MAG and Florida DOT. Although O&M costs of ITS improvements need greater attention than received in the past, the capital costs of software development also warrant greater attention. Software used to process the vast amounts of data collected from ITS sensors, and control the processing and communications within and between traffic operation centers is a relatively new concept in the traditional surface transportation world. Similar software germane to defense systems is notably expensive and requires planning, development, training, and testing that spans several years. Transportation agencies embarking on large, complex software projects should be aware of the costs associated with such an undertaking. Not only are the initial startup costs high, but maintenance of software can be high as well. Factors to consider when estimating costs of an ITS improvement include determining whether or not software should be developed as a specific regional application or purchased off-the-shelf, and how does the use (or not) of standards affect cost. As agencies consider the cost of different approaches and designs alternative financing options should be included. Examples in use today include resource sharing along freeway right of way between agencies and telecommunication companies, and expanded partnerships in electronic toll payment systems. Other alternatives to cost include taking advantage of Internet-based solutions to help keep cost down, reusing of TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-61

software, and considering out-sourcing all or portions of operating centers. The latter alternative may be higher in the long run, but may be worth it because the transportation agency is better able to retain qualified staff Economic Life of ITS and Communication Elements The economic life (or lifetime) of individual system components impacts how a project is discounted and the replacement need when estimating life cycle costs. The typical design life of roadway projects is 20 years, and rail structures may have up to a 100 year design life. Due to rapid advancements and early obsolescence technology elements have much shorter lives of as low as 3 to 5 years (PB Farradyne, 1999). PCs for example rapidly become obsolete and parts and software become difficult to maintain. Information supporting either complete equipment replacement or major upgrades needs to be considered as design and maintenance alternatives. Communications equipment may need to be replaced frequently depending on technology advancements. When comparing costs the economic life assumptions should always be examined. Shared Costs, Cost Allocation, and Cost Breakdown Structure Whether costs are shared among different ITS services, and how they are allocated between roadside, and center systems can have a significant impact on how costs are reported. As mentioned earlier, the ITS Unit Costs Database is based on a subsystem structure. Components and cost are grouped based on their physical location. That is, cost of a CCTV video camera would be found in the Roadside Detection subsystem and computers for processing and controlling the camera would be found in the Transportation Management Center. To estimate the cost of a camera deployment, cost would need to taken from the two subsystems. More important, because ITS is relatively new there is no standard cost breakdown structure to use to allocate costs consistently. Often reported costs become a function of the budget structure found in the operating agencies and the historic distribution of responsibilities. Thus, labor costs for system operations, may be reported in maintenance budgets, or vice-versa (Daniels, G. & Starr T. 1996). Transportation Management Center costs may be separate, or allocated to the services they support. Also, costs are often reported at the system level making it impossible to retrieve unit cost necessary to develop incremental deployment estimates. Given the high cost of software development projects there are several cost sharing options to help agencies procure the system functionality while minimizing costs: pooled fund projects and software reuse. Pooled fund projects usually require a setup or participation fee from all participating agencies. Additional costs are incurred when software is modified to meet the individual transportation agency’s needs. The Condition Acquisition and Reporting System (CARS) is an example of a pooled fund project. The DOTs of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Washington were the initial participants with an additional four more states actively participating. Reuse of software developed by another transportation agency typically by in- house staff is yet another way to contain the costs of ITS improvements. If not properly structures, planned and managed costs can skyrocket. Porting of the Georgia DOT NaviGAtor system, all or in part, into other transportation management systems is an example of software reuse. State DOTs using or considering use of the NaviGAtor include Florida, Oregon, and Utah. When using cost estimates from previous deployments and other costs sources it is imperative to understand the assumptions associated with the cost figures, the components included in the cost estimate, knowing whether or not maintenance was incorporated into the cost and more importantly how the maintenance cost was determined. Depending on the ITS component, maintenance can be provided by in- house staff or by the vendor. With the latter, vendors may rollup a year or more of maintenance as part of the initial purchase. Knowing how and what is included in cost estimates allows planners to adequately budget for ITS projects. Need for Causal Costing Methods In the past, many cost estimating methods have calculated O&M costs as a percentage of capital costs. This is fine for fixed facilities where there is a history of experience and cost factors are well known. It is fraught with problems when evaluating advanced technologies. Every attempt should be made to develop TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-62

cost build-up models based upon logical cost factors such as hours of operation and full time labor equivalents. This may also be important when allocating shared center costs among services. When available, the O&M costs in the ITS Unit Costs Database includes a description of each ITS component and indicates cost allocations to operations and maintenance. In many descriptions of labor components, the number of staff and salary range are provided. User Costs for ITS Services Because some ITS strategies (such as ATIS) involve consumer purchase of equipment or services, alternatives that depend on such decisions must address these costs somewhere in the analysis. This issue is non-trivial since assumptions must be made about the costs and number of users (or market penetration). These costs should be treated as a user disbenefit rather than a cost, since cost is generally defined as public agency costs. In addition, since the private sector is expected to play a big role in the delivery of ATIS services, the treatment of private sector service provider costs is another issue to be addressed. One way to handle this may be through keeping the actual costs to the private sector internal to the cost analysis system by estimating user fees as the cost transfer mechanism. This in turn is a way to address the user costs. Uncertainty of Emerging Technology Costs With any developing technology there is a natural adjustment in costs as it reaches wide market penetration. Fax machines, computers, cell phones are examples where prices have dropped beyond all past expectations as advancements have been made and they have become ubiquitous in society. Predicting future costs of ITS products is therefore difficult at best. Where possible, national forecasts and experts should be used Telecommunications – particularly wireless – is an ever-evolving market that can change given shifts in policy and technology advancements. Different deployment options such as shared resources (right-of-way sharing between the transportation agency and communication providers), lease versus own, or combination should be considered. Cost estimates using complete lifecycle costs should be developed for each option. Communication rates vary regionally and from carrier to carrier as such obtaining cost estimates from local providers may prove more useful. V.E.1.3 Secondary Impact estimation issues Last, are the external impacts that result from the transportation system and travel impacting the environment and society. Often these impacts are closely related to the goals and objectives of the region. They include: • Emissions • Energy • Noise • Safety (accidents and fatalities) • Social equity These impacts are the result of the interaction between the transportation network and travel demand and behavior and are consequently, typically analyzed using post-processing of the outputs of the Transportation and Travel Demand analysis. Again, the methods for estimating these impacts must now reflect how ITS changes the system. This should include changes to operating relationships as well as the occurrence of unusual or special events. Examples include developing new “modal” emissions models that capture changes in high accelerations and decelerations, and accident models that use Volume to Capacity ratios, and/or number high accelerations and decelerations to estimate crashes (see NHI, 1999). Estimating the impacts of integrated alternatives combining ITS and traditional elements requires that the influence each have on the system be accounted for consistently. ITS provides information to both system operators and users. This allows both to respond to variations in expected conditions altering the supply and use of the system. Estimating impacts such as safety and air quality must also incorporate new relationships in how the system functions and performs. For example, introducing a coordinated signal system can drastically alter the stops and starts in traffic flow and as a result reduce emissions. Emissions TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-63

models based upon average speed which do not account for these changes will consequently under predict air quality savings for the signal system. All components must also be treated the same in the system. For example, in the past maintenance and operations costs have often not been included in analyzing road improvement options. Now the life cycle costs of all elements including both ITS and traditional improvements need to be estimated. V.E.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK In the Phase I data collection for the development of this Guidebook, the perceived lack of ITS impact information (benefits and costs) and methods for their estimation was continually raised as the number one issue/barrier for integration of ITS into planning (Mitretek, 1999b). This included not only a need for documented examples and evaluation studies, but also ways to capture the impact of ITS within their existing planning processes/measures and reflect the new dimensions that ITS focuses on trying to solve. The inability to capture the synergies of combined ITS strategies and integrated solutions was also raised. Research found, however, that a large amount of information on ITS impacts is now available and is growing rapidly. Special efforts have also been made to develop new methods for impact estimation. This section briefly describes these available resources and methods as well as the issues and concerns associated with estimating impacts of alternatives (ITS, M&O and traditional improvements) within the Integrated Framework. How to estimate the impacts depends upon the level of detail needed, resources (time, staff skills, and cost), and the point in the decision cycle being addressed. Approaches that are available, or under development, include: • Benefit data bases/tool boxes • Empirically based Sketch techniques (rules of thumb) • Causal sketch models and post-processors (IDAS, emissions and safety models) • Regional Network Models • Simulation (macroscopic and microscopic) • Linked travel demand and simulation tools • Models based upon new paradigms in travel forecasting (TRANSIMS) These vary by: coverage and level of detail; complexity and ease of use; and their internal causal relationships and ability to capture integrated solutions. Which to use when within the Integrated Framework and the Issues and concerns associated with estimating impacts in general is examined throughout the remainder of this section. Impact data bases, Toolboxes, and Qualitative Assessment These provide valuable insights in the early stages of alternative development and the exploration of elements for the Integration Strategy. Their applicability is based upon the assumption that the region’s/systems are similar and will provide similar results. They rely on previous experience or expert judgment. These assessments are used everyday by project managers in selecting the candidate projects for further investigation, and making quick evaluations. Some sources of information are: • ITS Benefits and Unit Costs Database (http://www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov/) Since December of 1994, the United States Department of Transportation's Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation Systems has been actively collecting information regarding the impact of ITS projects on the operation of the surface transportation network. Data collected under this effort is available in the ITS benefits database. Several related reports are also available for viewing and downloading, including a one page desk reference that summarizes available data. The ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) also collects information on ITS costs, and maintains this information in the ITS unit costs database. The database is a central site for estimates of ITS costs data that the ITS JPO can use for policy analyses and benefit / cost analyses. In addition, the database can be viewed and downloaded as a costing tool for ITS implementers. The Data Needs section of this site contains information related to TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-64

the effort to identify the areas of ITS application in greatest need of evaluation to assess their impact on the surface transportation system. Mitretek Systems Inc. maintains and analyzes the information collected for each of these efforts. • Intelligent Transportation Systems Benefits: 2001 Update (Maccubbin, R.,2001) Periodically, the ITS Joint Program Office publishes a report as a compendium of reported impacts of ITS that have been collected from a number of sources. The purpose of the report is to provide the JPO with a tool to transmit existing knowledge of ITS benefits to federal, state, and local decision makers and to the interested public. This report is also intended to provide the research community with information about where further analysis is required in the ITS program. The 2001 Update provides a comprehensive discussion of the reported impacts of ITS contained in the online database, with brief summaries of the documents entered since the 1999 Update report. • ITS-Transit Impacts Matrix (http://web.mitretek.org/its/aptsmatrix.nsf) The web site provides a single source for displaying the impacts -- benefits and costs -- of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for transit. It was created to make this important information more accessible to the transit community. Transit ITS is a comprehensive approach to applying information technologies to transit to improve customer service and reduce system capital and operating costs. For the 30+ Transit ITS technologies/services (automatic vehicle location, transit priority treatment, pre-trip transit information, guidance/steering assistance, etc.), the following information is provided: Details of technology/service, and Qualitative Impacts and Quantitative Impact Examples (where available) of technology/service. Mitretek Systems Inc. maintains this web site on behalf of FTA. • Congestion Management and ITS toolboxes – A Toolbox for Alleviating Traffic Congestion and Enhancing Mobility (Meyer, M for the Institute for Transportation Engineers, 1998.) – ITS Rural Toolbox for Rural and Small Urban Areas (Castle Rock, & Black & Veatch, 1999) – Technology in Rural Transportation “Simple Solutions” (Castle Rock, 1997) – Improving Transit With Intelligent Transportation Systems (Smith, H. ,1998) • Other ITS Handbooks – ITS Planning Handbook: Intelligent City Transport (ERTICO ITS City Pioneers, 1998) – ITS Handbook ’99 (World Road Association - PIARC, 1999) – Integrating Intelligent Transportation Systems within the Transportation Planning Process: An Interim Handbook (Transcore, 1998) Sketch Planning Techniques Generally straight-forward, parametric, or spreadsheet analyses that provide an approximation of potential impacts (may rely on historical data). These are often used when there are a large number of options to evaluate, the impacts are localized, or the individual projects relatively small. They are also used to screen an initial set of alternatives to likely candidates for further study. They may also be used to calculate adjustments to the inputs of planning and simulation models. Two Recent tools developed by the U.S. DOT to support ITS Analysis are the Screening for ITS (SCRITS) sketch tool, and The ITS Deployment Analysis System (IDAS). SCRITS is a spreadsheet sketch tool that can be used for estimating the user benefits and screening ITS options (SAIC, 1999). It provides daily analysis only for 16 different types of ITS. The user inputs base- line data and then SCRITS estimates changes in VHT, VMT, emissions, vehicle operating costs, energy consumption, number of accidents, and user economic benefit. It does not estimate system operating or capital costs. Information on SCRITS can be found at the FHWA website: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/steam/scrits.htm. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-65

IDAS is a new tool designed to assist public agencies and consultants in integrating ITS in the transportation planning process. It is designed to work as a post processor of regional planning models using their networks and trip patterns as inputs (Cambridge Systematics & ITT Industries, 2000). It comes with an extensive ITS benefits library for comparison of expected impacts, a ITS cost and equipment data base, and its analytic procedures with default impact settings. ITS components considered by IDAS fall into one of seven categories: 1. Multi-Modal Traveler Information Systems 2. Arterial Traffic Management Systems 3. Incident Management Systems 4. Freeway Management Systems 5. Advanced Public Transportation Systems 6. Electronic Payment Systems 7. Commercial Vehicle Operations IDAS estimates the impacts on both costs and benefits at the system and user level. Its overall framework is shown in Figure V-11. Changes in network performance may engender impacts in both assignment, mode choice, temporal choice and induced/foregone demand. These impacts are then fed through a range of impact assessment modules, which identifies travel time/throughput, energy, emissions, noise, and safety impacts. Non-traditional measures used to capture the unique characteristics of ITS include changes in travel time reliability, transit service reliability and enhanced Safety and Security. Costs of ITS deployments are constructed with implicit cost-sharing arrangements identified internal to the software. For example, a new traffic management center (TMC) need not be constructed for each ITS component deployed – IDAS automatically assumes shared costs through an integrated deployment. Benefits are converted to dollar-figures and cost-benefit ratios of particular alternatives can be displayed within a alternatives comparison module. IDAS also allows risk and uncertainty analysis to be performed on many of the assumptions and inputs. Figure V-11 IDAS Overall Analytic Framework Source: Zavattero, D (TRB, January 1999) TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-66

Planning models Models that forecast average (steady-state) travel and transportation demand and associated impacts over a given time period (daily, peak period, etc.), typically using some variant of the four-step method (trip generation, trip distribution, mode split, and assignment) with inputs from demographic and land-use projections. These tools are used to capture long-range impacts of transportation system changes at the regional level. They are also often used with refinements and additional detail for corridor and other more focused studies. They may be combined with sketch techniques and post-processors to analyze the impacts of ITS. ITS impacts that affect the overall capacity and performance of each facility are coded into the transportation network. Examples include the impact of coordinated signal systems, electronic toll and fare cards, HOV and advanced transit management improvements. Other shifts in behavior such as response to ride share programs or transit security can also be integrated into the regional models to determine their network impacts. Last, route diversion may be studied using special mode runs (See Module 10 of National Highway Institute’s Advanced Urban Travel Demand Forecasting Course). It is difficult, however to capture the impacts of non-recurring conditions, or traveler information in regional models. Simulation models These models explicitly represent the movement of vehicles, traffic flow, and their interaction with the network through time (e.g., signals are explicitly modeled). They can represent unusual incidents in the system, and/or the availability of information to specific travelers and are consequently being used with more frequency to examine ITS strategies. Ramp metering, signal priority schemes, HOV analyses, and incident response are particularly appropriate. Since they must track vehicles by time they, however, typically do not have the capacity to represent complete regions in their analyses. They are consequently used more often for corridor and project operational and design analyses. Simulation tools may provide key inputs to a project’s design and/or operation that cannot be addressed using other tools. Examples of simulation tools include: Macroscopic tools such as CORFLO, FREQ, TRANSYT-7F, SATURN, and CONTRAM; Microscopic tools such as CORSIM and INTEGRATION. (See NHI, 1999 for a summary of these tools). Combined Planning and Simulation Methods Combined planning and simulation methods interconnect planning and simulation models in an attempt to capture both recurrent and non-recurrent conditions in the analysis. They still are encumbered by the network limitations of the simulation systems they use, but are particularly useful in corridor or sub-area analyses of integrated ITS and traditional improvements. Outputs from the regional models can be used as inputs for subsequent post-processing using simulation. This, however, does not provide for feedback to impacts on travel patterns and behavior. A more elaborate linking allowing feedback can also be carried out. The I-64 Corridor Major Investment Study carried out between Richmond and Norfolk Virginia used the former (Rush & Penic, 1998). Mitretek Systems developed the Process for Regional Understanding and Evaluation of Integrated ITS Networks (PRUEVIIN) analysis framework for a Seattle Case Study using the latter (Mitretek, 1999). The I-64 study used the regional forecasting models, and estimates of changes in travel times and trips due to ITS strategies to estimate overall travel demand and patterns in the corridor. Trips were reduced to account for demand oriented ITS strategies. Travel times and capacities were changed to account for capacity enhancing strategies such as ramp meters or auxiliary lanes. Post-processing simulations were then carried out to analyze traffic operations. Results from the simulations were used to estimate accidents, air quality, and other non-travel impacts. The study resulted in significant accident reductions and both recurring and non-recurring annual vehicle hours of delay due to the ITS strategies included in the alternatives. PRUEVINN is a two level modeling framework developed to capture the overall travel impacts of ITS/operational improvements to the transportation system; the response to time-variant conditions (both recurrent and non-recurrent); and the impact of improved information. The model levels and their interaction are shown in Figure V-12. At the first level the analysis of overall travel patterns and the systems response to average/expected conditions is addressed in the traditional regional model system. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-67

Outputs from the regional analysis must be interfaced with the more detailed second level of analysis. This level captures the time-variant and operational details of the transportation system using a sub-area travel simulation system. At this level the detailed traffic operations, queuing, and buildup/dispersion of demand is captured and the accuracy of the traveler’s information on the system can also be represented. Another key element in capturing the impacts of ITS is the representative day scenario analysis to represent non- recurrent conditions. Last, feedback is carried out to ensure that the impacts to expected conditions estimated in the sub-area simulation are reflected in the regional analysis. Figure V-12 PRUEVIIN Model Framework Source: Mitretek, 1999 The Seattle Case Study found that the SOV Capacity Expansion alternative with the greatest capacity under average conditions diverted regional traffic, which caused it to show no improvements over the TSM option when the variations in conditions and incidents were introduced. Key attributes of how an alternative might perform under expected travel conditions This could not have been predicted using only the regional model. New Paradigms in Travel Forecasting New travel analysis tools that combine regional forecasting with simulation and activity analysis are now under development. TRANSIMS is a longer range travel forecasting model reformulation and development project being carried out by Los Alamos Laboratories for the US DOT. It will be based upon a traveler’s activity patterns throughout the day and use simulation techniques to model ITS and other transportation system elements. TRANSIMS first release is now complete and ready for testing, however, the ITS capabilities are not yet available. It is expected that these features will be added sometime during the mid 00’s. The Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) program also represents the road network and individual vehicle movements in detail. It is focused on developing real time predictive control strategies for traffic operations. Currently, the DTA models such as DynaMIT developed by MIT have been used extensively for research and development, but are not available for general application. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-68

V.E.3 VARIATIONS BY SCALE, SETTING, AND INSTITUTIONS As discussed above to support the decisions that must be made within the planning process, a wide variety of analytical techniques are used to provide estimates of the potential transportation impacts and costs of alternative investment strategies. At each level of the process the appropriate analysis techniques differ in level of detail and effort required to use them (translating to the amount of resources required) depends on a variety of factors including: • The scale and level of anticipated impacts of the decision (both geographic and temporal) • Costs • The number of alternatives • The project time frame • The decision time frame • The phase in the project development cycle (concept, scoping, development, design, construction, operation). Usually, less rigorous evaluation approaches are sufficient to support early, screening-type decisions (occurring early in the planning process) and more rigorous and detailed approaches and tools are desirable to support decisions with higher investment implications (either later in the planning process or for establishing a preferred alternative that will be considered a major investment to be folded into the transportation plan). For example, regional analyses using “planning model network tools” and representing “regionally significant” projects are usually used to support the transportation plan and its conformity analysis. Due to the long time-frame of the transportation plan these analysis techniques attempt to capture the major changes in travel patterns and location decisions, introduced by major options in a region’s future transportation system. Corridor analyses perform much a much more detailed examination of the impacts of alternative decisions within a corridor or sub-area. Their goal is to distinguish between the options to solve the corridor’s need and problems statement, and assist decision makers in making a preferred choice. The level of investment decision, issues to be resolved, time schedule of a typical corridor study usually allow fairly complex and detailed analysis procedures to be carried out. On the other hand, TIP and CMS analyses must select from a wide variety of projects and strategies, usually with a short analysis and decision time period. Sketch techniques that can be used to evaluate a number of alternatives quickly capturing localized effects and pivoting off of current (near term) conditions often suffice for these analyses. V.E.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section provided a general overview and resources for estimating benefits, costs, and impacts of alternatives within the Integrated Framework. It is part of an iterative cycle of developing alternatives, estimating their affects, and evaluating their performance against the base case or other alternatives. In The Integrated Framework this occurs both within each planning cycle, and between different development paths, or full alternatives. Estimating the benefits, costs, and impacts requires capturing how the alternative changes: • Transportation supply • Demand for travel • External impacts • Costs of the transportation system. To capture the impact of ITS and operations one must include the variation in the system characteristics and unusual events, the time stream of impacts and their potential delay, and system affects or synergy of ITS and other components. Costs need to reflect the time stream of when they will occur and the full life cycle for each alternative. Other issues include determining the economic life of new technologies, and cost allocation of shared services. Of course, uncertainty is always a factor as well. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-69

Secondary impact assessment must capture how the integrated alternatives impact air quality, safety, and other social criteria such as equity and/or environmental justice. A number of sources of information and methods are developing to help in the estimation of the above. These include: • Benefit data bases/tool boxes • Empirically based Sketch techniques (rules of thumb) • Causal sketch models and post-processors (IDAS, emissions and safety models) • Regional Network Models • Simulation (macroscopic and microscopic) • Linked travel demand and simulation tools • Models based upon new paradigms in travel forecasting (TRANSIMS) The level of detail and precision needed also varies by where you are in the integrated process. The benefit and cost databases and sketch tools are appropriate when one is investigating initial User Services, and long-term development path options. Simulation tools provide detailed operating support for ongoing services, or those that are in the process of being designed and implemented. Table V-14 provides some questions that might provide some insight into where your region stands in how they analyze the benefits, costs, and impacts of integrated alternatives. Mark where you think your area’s relative position is for each question. Table V-14 Estimating Impacts, Benefits, and Costs Self-Assessment Question NO YES Estimating Impacts, Benefits, and Costs Are the area’s professionals aware of the US.DOT ITS benefits and costs databases and ITS Resource Guide? Have they used them to help determine potential ITS impacts? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is system variability and congestion accounted for in the analysis of alternatives? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is the IDAS sketch planning tool for ITS, or other methods, used to estimate impacts of ITS in the planning process? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are the time streams (life cycle) of benefits and costs estimated? Do these include all costs to operate and maintain each component of the system in a sustainable way? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are operational simulations or other analyses performed during system development? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is data collection and performance measurement used to continually make incremental service and other adjustments? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are plans underway to update the area’s forecasting processes and assumptions to include operational assumptions and ITS (advanced traffic signal control, Transit Signal Priority, Transit AVL, etc.) NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: IMPACT ANALYSIS V-70

V.F EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES For the purpose of this Guidebook, the word “evaluation” refers to a variety activities that support decisions on a transportation project – on what type of project to implement, on the design of that project, and on institutional and financial arrangements. The evaluation process uses the estimates of costs, benefits and impacts (see V.E) and organizes this information in ways that can support decision-making. Key Points of Section V.F • Evaluation concerns the comparison of choices, or alternatives within the integrated process. It occurs at several places within integrated planning. - Within each cycle of planning (short, mid, long) as the path of development for an alternative is developed. - Between different paths of development, or alternatives. • Evaluation within integrated planning raises a number of issues: - A broader set of objectives, measures, and evaluation criteria. - New uncertainties in technology, benefits, and costs. - The need to include operating or life cycle costs. - The need to address the time stream of benefits and costs, comparison of short and long term investments, and synergistic affects of ITS and other “systems”. - The need to address cost allocation between public and private entities. - Inclusion of additional stakeholders. Evaluation occurs at many points in the process. At the state and regional level, there may be an evaluation of alternative policies, visions, scenarios, or future networks. At the corridor level there may be an evaluation of mode and location alternatives. Screening is a form of evaluation, in which a large number of alternatives is given a preliminary evaluation to arrive at a smaller set of the most promising alternatives. Once a project concept is defined, there may be an evaluation of design or implementation options. Examples of evaluation involving ITS and operations include: • Evaluating the merits of a specific project or technology • Comparing alternative ITS solutions to a specific problem to identify the best ITS solution • Comparing ITS with other capital investment options to identify the best solution or the best use of available funds. • Comparing a capital investment option that includes ITS with other capital investment options that include ITS. The word “evaluation” can also refer to the analysis of a completed project to determine its degree of success. Such evaluations may lead to decisions to modify the completed project, or to implement similar projects elsewhere. V.F.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH There are two standard approaches to evaluation – benefit cost analysis and multi-criteria analysis. Benefit cost analysis requires a full accounting of both costs and benefits, by year, appropriately discounted. Because of the difficulties inherent in putting a value on all transportation benefits and impacts, classic benefit cost analysis can be hard to apply. In multi-criteria analysis, transportation alternatives are compared using criteria that reflect the problem to be solved. These criteria may include measures of effectiveness – i.e., how well each alternative solves the problem, compared with doing nothing or some other base case. The criteria may also include measures of cost effectiveness (capital and operating cost divided by some measure of benefit, such as travel time savings), financial feasibility, environmental impacts, equity (the distribution of costs and benefits), and public acceptance. The integration of ITS and operations into planning complicates the evaluation process in several ways: TECHNICAL: EVALUATION V-71

• The evaluation process must make use of a broader set of evaluation criteria. • The methodology should be capable of dealing with uncertainty – in technology, in benefits, and in costs. • Compared with traditional highway projects, operating costs are likely to take on greater significance in the evaluation. Life cycle costing approaches may be used to combine capital and operating costs. • The analysis should recognize a time stream of benefits and costs, appropriately discounted. • The analysis should compare short- and long-term investment options. • The analysis should reflect the synergistic effects of system integration, including benefits across modes and jurisdictional boundaries. • Where project costs are to be shared with other agencies or the private sector, decisions must be made on the costs to include in the evaluation – all costs to society in general, or agency costs only. • The evaluation is likely to be shared with a broader range of stakeholders. It should be done in a way that makes sense to all decision-makers. The evaluation process should utilize criteria that can be adequately addressed with existing tools and data. It should not be so complicated that it is onerous, excessively costly, or that the results cannot be explained clearly to decision-makers and lay people. V.F.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK Those considering the implementation of ITS should develop an evaluation methodology defining the criteria to be used, the kinds of information needed, and the sources of that information. Ideally, the methodology is developed at an early stage of the planning or engineering study so that it may guide the subsequent analysis process. Cost, benefit, and impact analyses should be conducted in such a way as to provide the specific data that is required to apply the evaluation methodology. Interested stakeholders should be involved in developing the methodology. This section identifies some of the technical and institutional factors to be considered when preparing the methodology. V.F.2.1 Technical Broader Set of Criteria. Evaluating ITS requires a broader array of effectiveness measures than a more traditional evaluation of infrastructure alternatives. New criteria might include, for example, measures that relate to non-recurring congestion, safety, and customer service. Virginia’s I-64 MIS used measures of effectiveness that could be applied to all transportation modes and types of improvements – including measures that highlighted the performance of ITS strategies. Primary measures of performance were: • Capacity enhancement • Accident reduction • Recurring delay reduction • Non-recurring delay reduction • Demand reduction (or diversion of trips to alternate modes) • Peak period and peak hour travel time Dealing with Uncertainty Predicting the costs and benefits of ITS involves considerable uncertainty. Technology is advancing rapidly, and costs are dropping. The rate at which new technologies will be embraced by the marketplace, as well as how travelers will respond to technological innovation, may be difficult to predict. The economic life of a particular new technology will be hard to forecast as well. Strategies for dealing with uncertainty include: TECHNICAL: EVALUATION V-72

• Acknowledge the uncertainty and document all assumptions. • Use a range of estimates. • Use conservative estimates. • Rely on experts to verify assumptions. • Identify all costs and benefits that cannot be estimated. • Adjust assumptions and findings to match the level of uncertainty. Life Cycle Costing The operating costs of ITS can be significant, and over time may exceed the initial capital cost. The analytical process of factoring these costs into a benefit-cost or cost effectiveness framework is relatively straightforward. First the alternative, the project, or the program is defined in terms of its complete implementation schedule. The implementation of ITS may entail many separate steps, with elements that are deployed and become operational at various points in time. Second, the time stream of capital and operating costs is estimated. Then, the annual costs are discounted and summed to derive the net present value. The Integrated Framework proposes that the planning process evaluate long-, mid-, and short-term needs and solutions. Ideally, this will lead to a multi-year program of projects in some logical sequence. The planning process identifies a not only projects, but also “paths” that lead incrementally over time to full implementation. Life cycle costing techniques can be used to compare different projects or alternatives that have different implementation schedules. To evaluate ITS in terms of its financial feasibility, the time stream of capital and operating costs can be compared with projections of annual revenues. Synergistic Effects Many ITS benefits result from system integration. For example, development of the core ITS infrastructure by itself may have few in any benefits. It is only as other systems connect to this core infrastructure that benefits occur. If the core were evaluated as a stand alone project, it might not fare well in an evaluation. These synergies need to be appropriately reflected, although estimating the benefits may be difficult. One way to accommodate this in planning is to develop packages of ITS improvements and analyze them as a group. Cost Sharing The costs of implementing an ITS strategy may be shared among multiple parties – State and local governments, highway and transit agencies, multiple jurisdictions, public and private sector, etc. The integration of related elements can reduce the cost and increases the benefits for all. Morgan State University performed a benefit-cost analysis for commercial vehicle information systems and networks (CVISN) in Maryland. The analysis predicted the capital costs, operating costs, and benefits for nine state regulatory agencies and commercial motor carriers. The following costs and benefits were included: • State CVISN investment costs (computer network and new inspection facilities) • State maintenance and operating costs • Motor carrier CVISN component costs (transponders, computers and software) • Savings in agency time and costs • Savings in motor carrier operating time and costs • Net safety benefits (CVISN enhanced road-side inspection for out-of-service placement and identifying overweight vehicles) A benefit-cost or cost effectiveness evaluation process may take a broad “societal perspective”, identifying all costs and benefits to society, or a narrow “agency perspective” that looks at only the costs and benefits to a particular agency. Both approaches have legitimacy under different circumstances. Using both TECHNICAL: EVALUATION V-73

approaches simultaneously may provide useful insights. To determine appropriate cost-sharing arrangements, it may be helpful to show how the benefits of an ITS deployment would be distributed among different user groups. Use of the agency perspective does not imply that an ITS deployment will not be integrated with other technology applications. For a financial feasibility evaluation, it makes sense to identify the cost responsibilities of each participating entity and compare those costs with each entity’s available resources. V.F.2.2 Institutional Stakeholder Involvement. The process for evaluating ITS may involve a broader set of stakeholders. An ITS solution may cross jurisdictional boundaries, involve different modes, and include private sector participation. The evaluation methodology should be designed to meet the decision-making needs of each participating entity. Since ITS strategies may not be well understood by study participants and decision-makers, educating them about ITS may be an important part of the evaluation effort. Obtaining stakeholder buy-in on the evaluation methodology and the assumptions can aid in reaching consensus on a preferred solution. In Virginia’s I-64 MIS, stakeholder involvement led to a team problem-solving approach through which the stakeholders helped the study team find data to use in the analysis and evaluation of ITS. V.F.3 VARIATIONS BY SCALE, SETTING, AND INSTITUTIONS Evaluation is local and case-specific. The criteria should always reflect local problems, issues, and the information needs of the decision-makers. The evaluation methodology should be tailored to the decision at hand, the information needs of those who will be making the decisions, the kinds of benefit and cost information that can reasonably be developed, and the range of alternatives being considered. Although there are generally accepted principles of benefit cost analysis, there is no one right set of criteria and thus no one correct analytical approach. In most urban areas, the travel demand models and other analytical planning tools do not currently provide credible predictions of technology’s potential impact on behavior and system performance. They may predict average peak period conditions, but be incapable of dealing with incidents and travel time reliability issues. Moreover, most parts of the country do not have the resources to develop new modeling tools for analyzing ITS. They may be unfamiliar with analytical approaches to evaluation, not trust the input data, or believe that the degree of uncertainty makes a definitive evaluation impossible. Advances in the state-of-the-practice are more likely to occur incrementally, as part of broader model updates and advances in the state-of-the-art of modeling. Meanwhile, many analysts are likely to rely on simpler approaches for developing the input data for evaluation. Lacking models that could predict the benefits of ITS strategies, the I-64 MIS in Virginia relied heavily upon the actual experiences of other jurisdictions and from evaluation findings realized in other ITS studies. The study team collected data by various means – database research, review of published sources, contacts with ITS professionals, Internet searches, and telephone calls to jurisdictions that have implemented or evaluated specific ITS strategies. One low cost way to analyze and evaluate ITS is to look for look for analogous situations elsewhere in the country that have experience with implementing ITS. Ask questions of those who are familiar with the actual deployments, such as: TECHNICAL: EVALUATION V-74

• Did the deployment function as expected? • Are the agency and its customers satisfied with the deployment’s performance? Why (or why not)? • How large was the deployment? • How much did the deployment cost to implement? • How many people are required to operate the system, and what are their wage rates? • What would you do differently next time? Make use of the data resources identified in this Guidebook. Consult the U.S. DOT’s ITS website (www.its.dot.gov). V.F.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section described different approaches and issues concerning the evaluation of choices within integrated planning. Evaluation takes place at many levels within the integrated process. Choices must be made on the mix of ITS, operations, and traditional solutions within each planning cycle: short, mid, and long-term. These lead to the development of an alternative’s full development path from today to the horizon year. Alternate development paths, or full alternatives, which reflect different policies, values and principals, or major investment choices can also be evaluated and compared. Integrated planning complicates evaluation of future options in several ways. It introduces: • A broader set of objectives, measures, and evaluation criteria. • New uncertainties in technology, benefits, and costs • The need to include operating or life cycle costs • The need to address the time stream of benefits and costs, comparison of short and long-term investments, and synergistic affects of ITS and other “systems”. • The need to address cost allocation between public and private entities. • Inclusion of additional stakeholders. Table V-15 provides a set of self-assessment questions for your area’s status regarding expanding evaluation to meet the needs of integrated planning. Mark your area’s relative position on each question. Table V-15 Alternative Evaluation Self-Assessment Question NO YES Alternative Evaluation Does the evaluation process account for tradeoffs between near and far term improvements? NO - - - - - - - - YES Does the evaluation process incorporate the new goals and objectives previously discussed? NO - - - - - - - - YES Does the evaluation process provide for examining tradeoffs between ITS, operational, and system enhancement improvements, alone or in combination? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: EVALUATION V-75

V.G PLANNING TO PROGRAMMING Programming is the process of matching activities with available budgets, funding sources, and generated revenues. For a number of reasons, the link between programming and planning takes on a heightened importance in the Integrated Framework. First, the Integrated Framework focuses on what can be done with available resources to address existing problems first, in the short-term, then in the mid-term, and finally in the long-term. Consequently, programming is closely tied to the decisions that are made within each cycle and the problems that remain for the next cycle. Second, with ITS and operations, resources must be programmed to operate and maintain the systems after they are implemented. Thus, any decision made today may have long-term resource requirements. Third, by its very nature the integrated process is examining tradeoffs and implicit allocation decisions across funding boundaries that may have been previously fixed: operations versus capital, ITS versus traditional improvements Key Points of Section V.G • Programming matches activities to available resources (budgets, funding sources, revenues) • The planning to programming link is heightened in the Integrated Framework. - Focus on cycles of planning (short, mid, long) - Operations and Maintenance are significant costs of ITS and operations. - Crosses traditional funding categories and boundaries. • In the past dedicated funding for ITS often bypassed many programming issues. This is no longer possible and ITS must compete with other demands for such CMAQ, NHS, STP, and local funds. As part of TEA- 21 many Federal sources have become more flexible and can be applied to operations. • Issues to address in expanding programming to the integrated process include: - Expand the criteria to include reliability, customer satisfaction, and other operationally oriented goals and objectives. - The indivisibility of ITS. It often can’t be done in pieces. - Enabling technologies and phasing. - System benefits and synergy of ITS systems. • Options to assist in integrated programming include: - Assignment to specific funding categories (not recommended). - Lexicographic and hierarchical programming based upon maintaining and operating what you have first. - Development of new weights and criteria. - Combining ITS and traditional projects. • Other activities include: - Bundling ITS projects in deployment packages. - Using current performance data. - Working towards flexible programming. • Operations should also be linked to programming and new operations oriented stakeholders included. Within each planning cycle programming: • Identifies priorities for implementation • Allocates funds to activities (project development, operations, maintenance, and preservation) by funding source. • Identifies implementation schedules for priority activities matching funding availability. Programming is part of the implementation of the plan. Programming decisions should flow from a sound planning process that identifies needs, develops the strategies to be used for addressing those needs, and estimates the costs and benefits of the strategies. Note, that programming and short-range planning are different. Planning identifies strategies, whereas programming allocates funds to those strategies and schedules them based on funding flow. In integrated planning programming is also not limited to the Federally mandated TIP and STIP process. Most government entities as well as private entities develop capital programs and budgets. V.G.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH Once the development path and overall integrated time stream of activities is defined projects and ongoing operations must still be programmed to match budget categories and availability of funds, implementation TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-77

schedules, and areas of responsibility. In the traditional planning process this is the role of the TIP program, and operating/implementing agency operations, maintenance and capital budgeting. The integration of ITS and the integrated “systems” perspective that it brings raises new issues in these processes including: • Incorporating operations and maintenance activities into the process. Once systems are implemented they must be maintained. • Incorporating performance orientation, deficiency analysis and performance standards. The new measures of performance and reliability need to be included in the programming weights. • How to capture system benefits and synergy of individual projects and how to program for incremental improvements (piecemeal vs. integrated systems) • Enabling technologies and the phasing of interdependent ITS systems • The indivisibility of many ITS systems, and the need to “bundle” components in order for them to function, or to obtain their full benefits. • The impact of private sector involvement, resource sharing, and the leveraging of funds. Often, long-term guarantees are needed to minimize risks and obtain agreements that leverage public contributions. These are difficult to incorporate into an incremental budgeting process. Whether funds are categorical, or general also plays a significant role. For example, in addition to state and local funding sources, ITS projects may also be funded under a wide range of federal highway and transit programs authorized in TEA-21. TEA-21 calls out funding for ITS in two major areas: the Intelligent Transportation Systems Act of 1998, and eligible Federal-Aid Highway Program (FAHP) categories and other infrastructure programs. APTS projects are eligible for capital funding under the Federal transit programs. Federal funding for the ITS Integration Program (which has been appropriated discretionary for Congressionally designated earmarked projects) is specified in the ITS Act of 1998 for each fiscal year beginning 1998 and ending 2003. Approximately $1.3 billion in contract authority for ITS is provided, as follows: Research, training and standards development $603 million Accelerated integration and interoperability $482 million Commercial vehicle infrastructure deployment $184 million The ITS-eligible Federal-aid programs include the National Highway System (NHS), the Surface Transportation Program (STP), and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ). NHS and STP specifically allow federal expenditures on infrastructure-based ITS capital improvements. CMAQ funding includes programs or projects that implement ITS strategies that improve traffic flow and reduce emissions. The operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs are potentially eligible under the Federal-aid highway program as well. In January 2000, the FHWA Operations Core Business Unit (CBU) issued a memo and guidance (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Travel) to Resource Center Directors, Division Administrators, and Federal Lands Highway Division Engineers on federal-aid eligibility of operating costs for transportation management systems. The guidance contains interpretation of TEA-21 legislation for the eligibility of typical operating costs and expenses for traffic monitoring, management, and control under federal-aid funding. Examples include, but are not limited to the installation and integration of ITS infrastructure, labor and administration costs, management system hardware and software, as well as system maintenance and equipment replacement to assure peak operating performance. The Advanced Regional Traffic Interactive Management and Information System (ARTIMIS) is a freeway management system operating in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. Kentucky DOT uses a combination of Federal and state funds for operations and maintenance, while Ohio DOT uses state-only funds. To receive Federal funds, ITS projects must compete with other needs. Local agencies must present a supporting case for ITS projects that they want included in the TIP. Many agencies look for the best TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-78

funding source to get a project accepted. Alternatively, ITS projects consistent with the transportation plan and initiated from activity such as a Congestion Management System (CMS) plan are good ways to introduce ITS strategies. Trade-offs between ITS and other projects are made through the State and regional programming processes. Under the Integrated Framework, transportation agencies may wish to consider the need for several changes to their existing programming processes: • Modifying the criteria used to set priorities, making them sensitive to system reliability, customer satisfaction, and other goals that reflect management and operations considerations • Programming a package of inter-related ITS projects, rather than individual stand alone projects • Incorporating ITS projects or elements with traditional construction projects • Factoring in current data on system performance • Increasing flexibility to insert new projects at the front of the queue • Broadening the scope of the programming process to include funds for operations • Strengthening the working relationships between planning, programming and operations • Involving stakeholders in program decisions The Washington Transportation Commission, the governing board of the Washington State DOT, has established five program areas – maintenance, traffic operations, preservation, safety improvement, and mobility improvement. ITS activities are included in all five. Programming is also a political process. Funding for ITS and M&O requires a constituency of supporters for ITS, both within and outside transportation agencies. The long-term vision plan for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission includes a regional transportation system with ITS as the central link. V.G.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK V.G.2.1 Technical There are several approaches that are being used to address these issues and developing an integrated ITS/M&O/infrastructure programming process. These include: assignment to specific funding categories; Developing a hierarchy of system needs and funding priorities; and incorporating new programming criteria and weights. They are discussed below. Assignment to Specific Funding Categories The selection and prioritization of projects is often tied to funding categories. Under ISTEA ITS was often funded using special ITS research and deployment funds including the ITS Priority Corridor and Metropolitan Model Deployment programs. This has changed under TEA-21, which aims at mainstreaming ITS projects, but also provides for more flexible funding. To allocate projects to funding different criteria and processes are used, depending on the category of funds, and different agencies may have decision-making responsibility. Often ITS is pre-allocated to a specific funding category. For example, in the past ITS projects for the Houston region were funded using CMAQ funds (Mitretek, 1998). Pre-allocating projects to funding categories may make programming easier, however, it may also limit opportunities, and tradeoffs/integration with other traditional improvements. Hierarchy of System Needs and Funding Priorities Some States and metropolitan areas use a “lexicographic programming process” through which top priority is given to keeping the system operational, second priority is given to system maintenance, and any remaining funds are available for system expansion. ITS projects that qualify as operational and TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-79

maintenance-related could receive funding priority under such a process. This approach comes from “Asset Management” and the philosophy that existing systems must be maintained and preserved before new expansions are implemented. This approach establishes a hierarchy of system needs and funding priorities. Washington State provides and example where the Transportation Commission has established the following hierarchy of needs as guidelines for funding (Jacobsen, 1999). • Maintenance • Traffic Operations • Preservation • Safety Improvement • Mobility Improvement Funds are allocated first to maintenance needs, then traffic operations, etc. This ensures that the existing system will be maintained and operated efficiently. ITS services contribute to all of the categories. However, this may limit the kinds of funds that are available, especially through the transit programs. Modifying the Programming Criteria Most transportation agencies have established criteria for evaluating projects for inclusion in the program. Some use scoring techniques. Some rely on benefit-cost analysis. In order to fully integrate ITS into planning and programming, the measures used to rate or rank projects for funding should reflect management and operations considerations and non-average conditions. The programming process will also need to be able to accommodate and make trade-offs among projects that address very different goals. Where benefit-cost analysis is used, it is appropriate to reflect life-cycle costs and benefits. Annual operating costs would be included, appropriately discounted, as well as a time stream of benefits. TIP projects in a financially constrained environment are typically subject to some kind of evaluation process using common criteria. Such criteria typically include: • Cost • Urgency • Impact on level of service or congestion • Air quality impact • Support of land-use Scoring methods used often provide extra-credit for non-capacity improvements or projects with and efficiency impact. An important aspect of mainstreaming is to develop criteria that respond to the unique features of ITS and operations improvements such as their short-term, cost-effective implementation and their ability to respond to non-standard conditions. These include both quantitative and qualitative criteria sensitive to system reliability, customer satisfaction, and, and contribution to system management and performance. Quantitative measures should be based upon the system performance measures defined earlier in the process. Qualitative measures can include the contributions to the National Architecture Consistency requirements and system integration; the system versus local impacts, cost sharing opportunities, ability to operate and training needs for advanced systems, etc. The Phoenix MPO has developed a rating point system for comparing ITS with non-ITS projects (as described in CUTR, 2000). As shown in Table V-16 the system is based on assessing five characteristics for each project. A maximum of 100 points is awarded to each project and the projects are then ranked. TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-80

Table V-16 Example of Programming Weights: Phoenix Category and Measure Points Deployment Priority Addresses all needs of entire area = 30; most needs in at least ½ area = 20; a few needs in less than ½ area = 10. Plus 5 points if project addresses special event needs or high traffic generator 35 Congestion/Integration 0 to 25 points based on resulting VMT/lane-mile ratio (O for lowest, 25 for highest). Projects for which VMT estimates are unavailable are scored by ITS sub-committee 25 Cost Factor 0 to 15 points based on VMT/cost (0 for lowest and up to 15 for highest). Projects for which VMT estimates are unavailable will be scored based upon project cost only. 15 Jurisdiction Match 0 to 10 points based on extent of matching funds from Federal and/or State (O for no match and up to 10 points for highest Federal Match 10 ITS Steering Committee Ranking 0 to 15 points based upon subjective decision of the ITS Sub-committee. 15 Total 100 Incorporating ITS into Traditional Transportation Projects Another method for getting ITS projects to programming is to include tem or ITS components into traditional transportation projects. This has the advantage of bringing attention to solutions to needs and deficiencies that combine both ITS and traditional construction or other projects. It also can provide substantial efficiencies and costs savings. The “Guidance on Including ITS Elements in Transportation Projects) released by the released by the FHWA Office of Travel Management in January 2001 (Staples, 2001) provides a recommended approach and helpful hints for following this approach. The approach consists of a 3-step “ITS Site Assessment” The steps are: 1. Develop an inventory of existing, planned, and future ITS infrastructure: The inventory should be as site- or location-specific as possible. Identify particular corridors, intersections, freeway sections, etc. where ITS elements would improve congestion, safety, and incident management. This initial step should be done independent of any particular project and should be taken across the region or metropolitan area (This is already part of the Integrated Framework). 2. Develop an “implementation plan”: This step helps flesh out ITS priorities, needs, budgets, and timing/scheduling. Furthermore, it facilitates “mapping” ITS technologies to related traditional transportation projects. The implementation plan development includes: bundling inventory items into candidate improvements, development of timing and phasing schedules, and setting priorities and budgets. Each of the inventory items should be assessed to factor in technologies, location, public/private stakeholders, costs, and priorities. Regional ITS decisions related to system wide or common infrastructure items such as communication backbone, toll tag technology, and NTCIP standards, need to be considered and decided on. Information from the implementation plan can be used to coordinate deployment with capital projects. The implementation plan will probably go through several iterations and should be revised over time. 3. Match related ITS improvements and traditional projects identified in the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) or other planning documents: This includes coordinating any remaining planning, design, development, and deployment of these projects. Also, consider working ITS projects into private partnership projects such as installing CCTV cameras on cellular towers constructed by telecommunication companies via right-of-way agreements. TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-81

A matrix relating the planned capital improvements is prepared as part of the last step. Table V-17 some of the possible relationships between sample capital projects and ITS technologies. The objective is to identify which capital projects present good opportunities to implement items identified through the ITS site- specific assessment process. Table V-17 Sample Matrix of Matching Capital Projects and ITS Infrastructure (Happy Valley) Source:(Staples, 2001) Other Technical Programming Issues Other technical issues to address include the packaging of interrelated projects, collecting current data on performance, and the need for flexible programming. When evaluating ITS, consideration might be given to evaluating a package of inter-related ITS projects, rather than evaluating individual ITS elements. Core elements of the ITS infrastructure – i.e., the surveillance, communications and data processing capabilities – may not fare well in a benefit-cost analysis if they are evaluated as stand alone investments. The benefits of the core infrastructure start to accrue as other ITS elements are added. The benefit-cost methodology should reflect the synergistic effects of integrated program. Integrated approach requires reliable data on current system performance. In setting priorities, greater attention is given to projects that address current problems. Thus, agencies need data on current needs a well as forecasts of future needs. The Integrated Framework assumes that transportation agencies can be responsive to short-term needs. This requires flexibility in programming – the ability to advance projects more quickly or insert new projects into the program as conditions warrant. A multi-year program where projects can only enter at the out-year end does not lend itself to effective management of the system. TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-82

V.G.2.2 Institutional Linking Operations with Programming Most transportation agencies keep their capital programs and their operating budgets separate. In many agencies, the Integrated Framework may require a closer tie that highlights the relationships between the capital program and the operating budget. A recent survey conducted by Volpe for the ITS JPO suggests that few metropolitan areas have operating projects in the TIP. The main reasons for the lack of these projects include: capital needs outweigh available funding; conscious decision by the MPO (MPOs expressed a lack of expertise in the are of operations, while that may be the case, programming for operations projects should not be overlooked), and CMAQ funds already a primary funding source. Expenditures on the capital side may have significant implications for the operating budget: • Federal aid highway funds can be spent on either capital or operations, forcing trade-offs between the two. Maintenance of ITS systems to ensure continuous operations (e.g., preventative computer maintenance, replacement of damaged traffic management equipment) also is eligible for federal funding. • Capital investments in ITS bring with them a continuing requirement for operations and maintenance. • Transportation agencies may need to acquire new skills in information technologies. Operating budgets should recognize the cost of training existing employees and/or attracting and retaining new high tech. employees. ITS capital projects, while often a fraction of the cost of traditional construction projects, require funding for the continual operation and maintenance long after the system has been installed. The type of operation and maintenance for an ITS project or program is quite different from that of a traditional highway or bridge project. ITS projects, because of their systems and management nature, require staff and management on a daily basis. Funds to operate the transportation asset must now be considered -- bringing a new meaning to operations. The frequency of maintenance is greater for ITS projects and is exacerbated increased frequency of upgrades to software and hardware inherent in ITS technologies. An important point to remember is as more ITS programs are implemented within a region or state, the total amount of funds needed to support operations and maintenance will continue to grow. Resource sharing and reuse of non-proprietary software are just a few strategies to employ when investigating funding options for O&M. This all suggests that, within transportation agencies, there needs to be a close working relationship among the staff involved in planning, programming, and operations. Involving stakeholders The development of an integrated ITS program requires the cooperation of many parties. Some aspects of the program may have shared funding. Other elements of the program, while funded by one agency, may depend upon or connect with another component provided by others. Stakeholders need to collaborate on timing, staging, and the sharing of risk. Programming and budgeting decisions must be done in partnership. Another reason for stakeholder involvement is that programming is in part a political process. There needs to be a constituency for ITS and M&O if they are to compete successfully for funding. Engaging stakeholders in the establishment of priorities can help develop support for the program. V.G.3 VARIATIONS BY SCALE, SETTING, AND INSTITUTIONS The programming procedures and priority-setting criteria and methodologies differ considerably from place to place. Rural areas may give priority to projects that enhance safety, encourage tourism, or promote growth, while urban areas may favor projects that reduce congestion or encourage the use of transit and ridesharing. TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-83

Where resources are constrained, the competition for funding may be more acute. Options to consider might include: • ITS phasing and staging – building the core infrastructure first, or some piece that can later be integrated with larger whole • More aggressive efforts to create partnerships and share resources stakeholders V.G.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section examined the impact of the Integrated Framework on Programming. Programming matches activities to available resources (budgets, funding sources, revenues). In the Integrated Framework the planning to program link is heightened due to: • Its focus on cycles of planning (short, mid, long) • Operations and Maintenance are significant costs of ITS and operations • Integrated planning crossing traditional funding categories and boundaries In the past dedicated funding for ITS often bypassed many programming issues. This is no longer possible and ITS must compete with other demands for such CMAQ, NHS, STP, as well as local funds. As part of TEA-21 many Federal sources have also become more flexible and can be applied to operations. Issues to address in expanding programming to the integrated process include: • Expanding the criteria to include reliability, customer satisfaction, and other operationally oriented goals and objectives • The indivisibility of ITS. It often can’t be done in pieces • Enabling technologies and the need to implement them even if they provide little benefits themselves. They allow other more beneficial ITS to be deployed • System benefits and synergy of ITS systems Options and other activities to carry out in integrated programming include: • Assignment to specific funding categories (not recommended) • Lexicographic and hierarchical programming based upon maintaining and operating what you have first • Development of new weights and criteria • Combining ITS and traditional projects • Bundling ITS projects in deployment packages • Using current performance data • Working towards flexible programming It is also critical to link operations to programming and include new operations oriented stakeholders in the process. Table V-18 provides a set of self-assessment questions for your area’s status regarding expanding evaluation to meet the needs of integrated planning. Mark your area’s relative position on each question. TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-84

Table V-18 Planning to Programming Self-Assessment Question NO YES Are extended programming criteria which incorporate ITS, and operations, system performance, and system preservation used? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are the system characteristics and need to bundle inter-related projects included in the programming process? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are continued operations and system maintenance/preservation included in the programming process? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are opportunities to combine ITS and other operational improvements with traditional construction and service expansion projects part of the programming process? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: PROGRAMMING V-85

V.H ITS DATA AND PLANNING DECISION-MAKING This last activity/function in the Integrated Framework provides for the data and performance based feedback within the process. Here, the data collection system is defined and developed. This includes identifying: Key Points of Section V.H • ITS data provides the information needed for performance feedback in the Integrated Framework - New ways to collect traditional measures - New information on variability, reliability, and customer satisfaction - Data on ITS impacts • It also creates new issues - Data coverage and usefulness to planners requires coordination in design - Presentation and visualization of complex information - Sheer quantity of information requires new methods of analysis, cleaning, and storage - Data control and error checking - Access, ownership, and privacy must be resolved - Roles and responsibilities must be determined • The ADUS User Service and its Market Packages provide assistance. The Market Packages are: - ITS Data Mart - ITS Data Warehouse - Virtual ITS Data Warehouse • Data process should be developed as part of the overall integrated planning • The data to be collected • The collection methods • How it should be processed; stored; and maintained • What measures to draw from it • How/who should have access to it. Performing the continual exercise of collecting the data, converting it into information that can be used to monitor the system performance, and providing the feedback to the cycles within the Integrated Framework also falls within this topic. In recognition of the importance of ITS data and feedback to planning and other “secondary” uses the Archived Data User Service (ADUS) was added to the ITS User Services and its Market Packages added in the National ITS Architecture in 1999 (USDOT, 1999). Unless the data exists to support the performance based measures and the continual monitoring and feedback, integrating the management and operations focus brought by ITS into the planning process becomes difficult. Data is needed to assess the impact of the ITS systems as well as the performance of the overall system and its response to conditions. Obtaining the information from traditional data collection methods, however, is costly if not impossible. This was highlighted continually in the discussion forums carried out throughout the U.S. for this project where the lack of data on system operations and variation in conditions, and the difficulties in collecting it was a recurring theme. A recent U.S. DOT strategy paper also placed “collection and use of data” as one of three key conditions in bringing ITS solutions into the metropolitan transportation planning process (Deblasio, et.al. 1998). Feedback of the continual performance of the system into planning and decision making allows the system to evolve through small steps and mid-course corrections rather than discontinuous major investments. Feedback through monitoring the performance of the system also allows the decision making process to see the impacts of the decisions made and then respond. This is in marked contrast with traditional planning and its focus on the long-range forecasts of conditions and developing major investments to meet these conditions. ITS provides a source of continuous data which must be transformed into the “information” and performance measures used in the feedback process. ITS data also helps: • Monitor traditional measures in a cost-effective way: ITS can provide volume and speed data on specific locations, travel times, vehicle classifications, transit passenger counts, fare and toll revenues, etc. • Provide new measures for capturing system variability, reliability, and customer satisfaction: variation in volumes and speeds by time of day, incidents and their duration, weather impacts, recurrent and non-recurrent system/link delay, frequency of high TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-87

acceleration and deceleration events (for air quality), Information system requests and usage, etc. • Provide the information for developing, calibrating, and validating new travel forecasting models and analytic tools: Network simulation tools such as CORSIM and INTEGRATION need data only available through ITS collection, the new TRANSIMS travel forecasting suite, the IDAS ITS impact sketch planning tool, modal emission models, new accident forecasting tools, etc. all require time sensitive data that only ITS can provide in a cost/effective manner. V.H.1 CURRENT PRACTICE VERSUS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH ITS data has the potential to supplement or replace many of the data needs found in both the traditional planning process and Integrated Framework. Table V-19 provides some examples of the use of ITS data and comparison with current data sources for both planning and management and operations functions found in the Integrated Framework. Roadway surveillance and probe data become important sources to monitor the volumes and speeds in the system and how they change under varying conditions. They can be used in CMS plans long-range plan development, and corridor analyses. They can also be used to define travel patterns and provide critical information for developing new transportation models such as TRANSIMS and in calibrating traffic simulations. Transit data such as automatic passenger counters, computer aided dispatch systems, and automatic vehicle locator systems provide similar functions for transit planning. Since ISTEA, Freight and intermodal planning also is part of the overall planning requirements and ITS provides a source for tracking truck travel patterns, and goods movements information that was previously unobtainable. ITS also provides a source of information for the shorter range management and operations functions of the Integrated framework. It provides a means to evaluate both ITS and non-ITS programs and their combinations. The usefulness of incident management and freeway surveillance data is shown in the table. ITS data can also provide key information for maintenance scheduling and asset management (pavement, bridge and other infrastructure conditions). In spite of its potential the majority of ITS data now generated is not saved for use in planning and other applications. Pioneers are, however, beginning to save and use some ITS data in areas across the country. Some examples of the use of ITS data and its feedback are provided below. • Freeway Performance Evaluation in Puget Sound Region, Washington. Loop detector data have been used to monitor congestion patterns, including variability in speeds and travel times. • Evaluation of HOV Lanes in Houston, Texas. Probe vehicle data were used to compare travel times for HOV and Non-HOV lanes. Surveillance data are also used to monitor HOV performance by time-of- day and adjust HOV operations accordingly. • Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota Traffic Management Center Database. Reports of travel in the AM peak, and volumes by time of day for freeway segments. This data is available through a data management system and is used extensively by planners. The data is also used to adjust ramp meters .. • Traffic Statistics in Chicago, Illinois. Freeway management system data is archived and has been used to produce an “atlas” of traffic statistics for the Chicago area, and other summary reports on system performance. While the electronic version of the data is still not user friendly, planners at the MPO and throughout the region use the reports extensively. • Transit system management in Portland Oregon. Portland’s Tri-Met uses Passenger Count, vehicle location, and event data to assist in updating schedules, set transit priority, and system planning. Caused a 62% to 77% change in on time performance, and 36% in bus spacing (reliability). • Phoenix Arizona System Performance. The freeway management system data is being used to track the start and duration of congestion, HOV versus main-lane use, truck volumes, and to develop volume- delay relationships. Sources: Mergel, 1998; Flannery, 2000; TRB 2000 ADUS presentations TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-88

Table V-19 Uses of ITS Data For Planning, Management & Operations Collection and Use of: Stakeholder Group Application Method or Function Current Data ITS-Generated Data MPO and State Transportation Planners Congestion Management Systems Congestion Monitoring Travel times collected by "floating cars": usually only a few runs (small samples) on selected routes. Speeds and travel times synthesized with analytic methods (e.g., HCM, simulation) using limited traffic data (short counts). Effect of incidents missed completely with synthetic methods and minimally covered by floating cars. Roadway surveillance data (e.g., loop detectors) provide continuous volume counts and speeds. Variability can be directly assessed. Probe vehicles provide similar travel times as "floating cars" but greatly increase sample size and area wide coverage. The effect of incidents is imbedded in surveillance data and Incident Management Systems provide details on incident conditions. Long-Range Plan Development Travel Demand Forecasting Models Short-duration traffic counts used for model validation. O/D patterns from infrequent travel surveys used to calibrate trip distribution. Link speeds based on speed limits or functional class. Link capacities usually based on functional class. Roadway surveillance data provide continuous volume counts, truck percents, and speeds. Probe vehicles can be used to estimate O/D patterns without the need for a survey. The emerging TDF models (e.g., TRANSIMS) will require detailed data on network (e.g., signal timing) that can be collected automatically via ITS. Other TDF formulations that account for variability in travel conditions can be calibrated against the continuous volume and speed data. Corridor Analysis Traffic Simulation Models Short-duration traffic counts and turning movements used as model inputs. Other input data to run the models collected through special efforts (signal timing). Very little performance data available for model calibration (e.g., incidents, speeds, delay). Most input data can be collected automatically and models can be directly calibrated to actual conditions. Traffic Management Operators ITS Technology Program and Technology Evaluations Extremely limited; special data collection efforts required. Data from ITS provide the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of both ITS and non-ITS programs. For example, data from an Incident Management System can be used to determine changes in verification, response, and clearance times due to new technologies or institutional arrangements. Freeway surveillance data can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ramp meters or HOV restrictions. Operations Planning Pre-Determined Control Strategies Short-duration traffic counts and "floating car" travel time runs. A limited set of pre-determined control plans is usually developed mostly due to the lack of data. Continuous roadway surveillance data makes it possible to develop any number of pre-determined control strategies. Predictive Traffic Flow Algorithms Extremely limited. Analysis of historical data forms the basis of predictive algorithms: "What will traffic conditions be in the next 15 minutes?" (Bayesian approach). TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-89

Collection and Use of: Stakeholder Group Application Method or Function Current Data ITS-Generated Data Transit Operators Operations Planning Routing and Scheduling Manual travel demand and ridership surveys; special studies. Electronic Fare Payment System and Automatic Passenger Counters allow continuous boardings to be collected. Computer-aided dispatch systems allow O/D patterns to be tracked. AVI on buses allows monitoring of schedule adherence and permits the accurate setting of schedules without field review. Air Quality Analysts Conformity Determinations Analysis with the MOBILE Model Area wide speed data taken from TDFs. VMT and vehicle classifications derived from short counts. Roadway surveillance provides actual speeds, volumes, and truck mix by time of day. Modal emission models will require these data in even greater detail and ITS is the only practical source. MPO/State Freight and Intermodal Planners Port and Intermodal Facilities Planning Freight Demand Models Data collected through rare special surveys or implied from national data (e.g., Commodity Flow Survey). Electronic credentialing and AVI allows tracking of truck travel patterns, sometimes including cargo. Improved tracking of congestion through the use of roadway surveillance data leads to improved assessments of intermodal access. Safety Planners and Administrators Safety Management Systems Area wide Safety Monitoring; Studies of Highway and Vehicle Safety Relationships Exposure (typically VMT) derived from short-duration traffic and vehicle classification counts; traffic conditions under which crashes occurred must be inferred. Police investigations, the basis for most crash data sets, performed manually. Roadway surveillance data provide continuous volume counts, truck percents, and speeds, leading to improved exposure estimation and measurement of the actual traffic conditions for crash studies. Incident management can identify unreported crashes. ITS technologies also offer the possibility of automating field collection of crash data by police officers (e.g., GPS for location). Maintenance Personnel Pavement and Bridge Management Historical and Forecasted Loadings Volumes, vehicle classifications, and vehicle weights derived from short-duration counts (limited number of continuously operating sites). Roadway surveillance data provide continuous volume counts, vehicle classifications, and vehicle weights, making more accurate loading data and growth forecasts available. Transportation Researchers Model Development Travel Behavior Models Mostly rely on infrequent and costly surveys: stated preference and some travel diary efforts (revealed preference). Traveler response to system conditions can be measured through system detectors, probe vehicles, or monitoring in-vehicle and personal device use. Travel diaries can be imbedded in these technologies as well. Traffic Flow Models Detailed traffic data for model development must be collected through special efforts. Roadway surveillance data provide continuous volume counts, densities, truck percents, and speeds at very small time increments. GPS-instrumented vehicles can provide second-by second performance characteristics for microscopic model development and validation. Source: Selected rows from Table 2.1 in “ITS as a Data Resource: Preliminary Requirements for a User Service” (Margiotta, 1998) TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-90

The pioneering efforts in the use of ITS data (those shown as well as others) have begun to provide some insights on the use of ITS data and its comparison with traditional data sources (See Table V-20). Due to their labor intensive nature traditional data collection activities tend to be expensive separate efforts, easily cut during times when budgets are lean. They are also infrequent, often occurring only once a year (traffic count and system inventory updates, ridership surveys, etc.), or even at greater intervals (regional origin- destination surveys, or census data collection every ten years). Because of their cost they are typically based on taking samples, by time, or by location. On the other hand they usually are designed for broad geographic coverage of the area in question. In contrast, ITS data offers a continuous data stream that is produced for operations and other ITS system management purposes. Once the ITS systems are deployed the data creation is free or comes at very low cost. The information is available for all time periods but usually the facility coverage is limited to the few locations/facilities where ITS surveillance is installed. Because of the continuous nature the amount of ITS data may be enormous and storage and aggregation strategies are needed to keep costs and maintenance of the data reasonable. Table V-20 Traditional versus ITS Data Comparison Traditional Data Activities ITS as a Data Source Infrequent Continuous Labor Intensive, Expensive Separate Efforts Automated, Collected for Operations Time Sample, Large Geographic Coverage All Time Periods Limited Facility Coverage Relatively high reliability, Errors often visible/caught during inspections Must provide reliability checks. Amount of data hides errors Data is concise, small storage requirements Vast amount of information, large storage requirements As shown ITS as a data source provides new opportunities, and also raises issues as performance monitoring and feedback of the information are implemented. Because of unfamiliarity and lack of experience these issues are often perceived as barriers, or hurdles, to the use of ITS data versus traditional means of data collection. The issues and how to overcome some of the perceived hurdles are discussed below (see Mergel, 1998, Margiotta, 1998, Turner et.al, 1997,1999). Data Content and Coverage: Usefulness to Planners. Planners may not be aware of the existence or potential uses of ITS data, or the data being collected (location of surveillance, types of information, frequency and classifications) for operational purposes may not meet planner’s needs. Early in the development of the ITS services and data collection/storage strategies an ongoing dialog should be established between the data collectors (ITS operators), data providers, and data users. Often existing regional data and ITS committees can provide a home for this interaction. One must be sure, however, to include not only regional planners and their needs but also others that provide planning functions or use the data in other fashions (transit route planners, public works, fire and safety services, etc.) In San Antonio, the automatic vehicle identification system is provides travel times for the regional congestion management system (CMS). However portions of the CMS network are not covered because the MPO was not consulted on where the field detectors would be located. In Michigan the MDOT planners would like to obtain vehicle classification data from the Michigan ITS (MITS) system. The cost of using MITS as a data source, however, was found to be prohibitive because the need was raised late in the design process. It might have been economically feasible if the requirements were considered at the beginning of the process. In Minneapolis, the TMC will be able to collect and archive 30-second detector data at locations across the region. Yet, when requested ramp meter delays could not be provided to the MPO in a timely fashion because the loop detectors required were not part of the original system design. (Source: Mergel, 1998) TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-91

A good place to start the dialog is by educating planners and other potential users on the existing and planned ITS data sources in the region. The earlier this takes place in the development of the ITS regional architecture and ADUS components (see next section) the better. The potential for using ITS data to provide feedback on regional goals and objectives and performance measures can then be assessed. A collaborative process can also begin to consider users needs on: statistical significance (precision), frequency of information, location and coverage, needed aggregation, and classification schemes. If users would like to bring disparate ITS together for analysis this should also be considered here. For example, it is almost impossible to bring traffic, accident/incident, transit, and condition (weather) data together unless some forethought is used at the data design and collection phase to ensure some commonalties exist. Users also need to be trained on the issues and use of ITS data and information. For example, loop detector data may provide a continuous source of volume information at a location, however, it should also have error trapping routines built in to check for sensor malfunctions. After collection, validity checks also need to be performed. In traditional data collection malfunctions when they do occur are many times manually caught in the field. More and better information on average and variable conditions can be obtained from ITS sources but different procedures and interpretation may be warranted once the information is stored. Data versus Information: Visualization. Planners and other users don’t want raw data. They want information on both how the system performs under average conditions and how it varies. Detailed 24 hour per day traffic data by lane and half-mile intervals in 20-second increments is voluminous, difficult to work with, and difficult to understand in the best of cases. Data must be mapped to humanly understandable locations, aggregated, cleaned, and compared with other information to provide useful information to the planning process. In many applications determining patterns in variability, trends, and relative use for the entire system are what is desired. ITS data does provide more information than conditions on an average day and is a critical part of the causal analysis described in Section V.B. However, this must also be communicated and explained to be useful. Thought should therefore be given on how the ITS data will be summarized, and displayed to show both average and variable conditions in the system (see Ishimaru & Hallenbeck, 1999, Winick, 1998). The Seattle area has been using the FLOW system to measure the performance of its Freeway System for a number of years. The Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC) has developed the CDR Analyst system to summarize the detailed volume counts and a number of different visualization techniques to make the variation in system conditions understandable to decision makers and the public. Two examples are shown below. Figure V-13 Shows the variation in average weekday travel time by time of day along the I-5 Freeway corridor. The peaks and duration of congestion are clearly visible. The 90th percentile travel time also gives an indication of variation and reliability of travel time depending upon when the trip starts. Figure V-14 shows how the congestion varies by location along the corridor during the day (Ishimaru & Hallenbeck, 1999). Other displays can also show the likelihood of an incident or unusual congestion occurring, weather, and variations in volumes or travel times throughout the year. The importance of being able to bring disparate data together and analyze it for relationships and patterns (data mining) is discussed next. Data Management and Storage. ITS data collected for 24hours a day 360 days a year can take up megabytes of storage for a single locations. Data management issues relate to how much of this data should be kept, at what cycles, how it TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-92

Figure V-13 Example of Travel Time Variation along A Corridor Figure V-14 Example of Congestion Contours TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-93

should be aggregated and summarized, the ability to retrieve analyze and merge it with other sources, and its maintenance. In dealing with these issues the needs of different users, which can vary greatly, and the costs must be kept in mind. These issues are dealt with in depth elsewhere and summarized here (Margiotta, 1998, Brydia et. al. 1997, Turner et. al. 1999, ). Data storage requirements for San Antonio’s Phase 1 TransGuide loop detector data (26 freeway miles) were 12 megabytes per day in compressed ASCII Format (120 MB/day uncompressed), or 43.2 GB per year. Phase II will more than double the coverage and storage requirements. (Source: Turner, et. al., 1997). Whether all of the ITS data, aggregation/summaries, or both are stored; the length of storage and data retention cycles (all data for a year, daily summaries for 5 years, monthly and annual information permanent), and the information about the data (meta-data) are all important issues that impact how the data can be used and by whom. What data is saved routinely, and what capabilities are added to save additional information by special request also needs to be addressed. Different users have very different needs and wants that must be taken into account. For example, planners may want hourly volumes on a roadway by day and also annual weekday statistics (both by hour and daily) while traffic simulators would like 20 second or smaller “occupancy” and volume data by lane for specific days to validate their models. How these questions are answered impact the costs of maintaining the information and is one of the main functions of the dialog between stakeholders to resolve. Different systems and ways of organizing the information also impact the ability to retrieve and analyze the data and turn it into useful information. Texas Transportation Institute has defined four management functions increasing in sophistication: Data storage/management; Data query (browse summarize/report); Exploration/integration; and On-line Analytic Processing (OLAP) (Eisele, B, 2000). The most sophisticated OLAP provides data mining capabilities, what if scenarios and real time simulation and feedback. Easy access to data can be catalyst to new and unforeseen uses. However, the advanced data systems require specialized expertise and consultant assistance is recommended. The data providers, users, and collectors should work closely together to determine what retrieval and analysis is needed, how it impacts the data storage, and where the analysis should take place (as part of the data system, or in the users systems). At a minimum good planning is key to allow for potential integration of information in the future (common keys, reference systems, definitions) even if it is not done at present. It is very important that database maintenance and upkeep also be addressed and budgeted for as plans for using ITS data are being developed. This includes maintaining past archives and backups, updating formats, keeping relationships and file locations current, etc. In large systems this may require one or more dedicated staff. In smaller systems it still needs to be accounted for. Data quality control and error checking. One of the main concerns raised by planners regarding the use of ITS data is the lack of reliability and comparability with traditional sources for the average annual values of traffic, and passengers, or survey data that they are used too. This stems from two sources: 1. Data collected for operational use is often concerned more about detecting existing conditions and unusual events in the system rather than the accuracy of any one numerical measure; and 2. Users don’t recognize that the data is in a rawer form than they are used and requires additional quality control analyses, error trapping, and possibly imputation of missing values. Detectors are often down for brief periods, or report suspicious information. Traffic detector data from San Antonio’s TRANSTAR for October 1998 showed that “good” data was provided 76.5%, “suspect” data 1.0%, and missing data 22.5% of the time across all detectors. Missing data during some portion of each day for each detector was the more notable issue. They also found that where you install the detectors is important. Areas with high weaving movements and other variations in flow should be avoided. (Turner, 2000) TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-94

Recommendations to address quality control issues include (See, Turner 1999, Ishimaru & Hallenbeck, 1999).: • Understand the data accuracy and precision requirements of your users. • Provide ongoing error checking and loop maintenance • Report a reliability indicator on the information that is provided rather than leaving it blank or providing no information on its quality; • Develop algorithms and plans for accounting for missing data in the data streams (imputation, adjustment of averages etc.) At a minimum the nature and extent of missing and suspicious data should be reflected in the design and implementation of any data or analysis system. Access, Ownership, and Privacy These issues must be resolved and can become flash points in the use or perceived use of ITS data. Who should have access to the raw and/or processed and summarized information? Should the access be through the web, special on-line connections, or by special request? Will the archives be provided on electronic medium such as CDs, or only through queries to the central system? Ownership issues become extremely important as private sector partnerships are developed and independent service providers obtain and re- package the information. The public sector should be extremely careful not to give away their rights to information that they collect without careful study. Likewise, who is responsible for insuring that the data is maintained and used in a responsible manner is intrinsically linked to ownership issues. Last, privacy of individuals and firms information must be assured as part of the process. This is especially true when individuals probe, toll, and electronic fare data may be part of the ITS system, and for commercial carriers and other private enterprises. All of these issues should be part of the data dialog and how they are dealt with clearly established through memorandum of understandings and other agreements. Roles and Responsibilities. Many of the issues regarding the use of ITS data for planning boil down to establishing the roles and responsibilities of continuous and ongoing data collection, maintenance, analysis and distribution activities raised in the above issues. This is especially true since the collection and archiving of ITS data will often be performed by ITS operators or others that do not necessarily share the need for the information that planners require. How costs are shared and who has access at what price (will the information be sold?), and the relationships with the private sector are also important issues. These should be addressed in the dialog of stakeholders and included in the ITS regional architecture’s Concept of Operations as part of the ADUS implementation. Implementing ADUS is discussed next in the Application section. V.H.2 APPLICATION WITHIN THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK The above discussion provided the importance and potential use of ITS Data to provide the needed feedback to the Integrated Framework, and also meet traditional data needs. This section discusses the implementation of ITS Data Collection to meet these needs through the use of the newest ITS User Service: Archived Data User Service(ADUS). ADUS’ purpose is to provide the technical foundation within the National ITS Architecture on the use of ITS data for secondary sources such as feedback to transportation planning and management and operation of the system within the Integrated Framework. Implementation of ADUS and the ITS data used for planning should therefore be considered as part of the development of the Regional Integration Strategy and Regional ITS Architecture to meet TEA-21’s architecture consistency requirements. Highlights of ADUS are provided below. Within the National ITS Architecture ADUS defines the information flows and functions required when someone is considering saving and using ITS data. A new Center Subsystem, Archived Data Management System (ADMS), has been defined as part of ADUS. Figure V-15 shows the potential information flows and interfaces to and from the ADMS. Note, that while the Architecture defines the flows it does not define the location of the ADMS. In fact, depending on the needs several ADMS centers may be TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-95

developed in a region (e.g. a traffic center, a transit center, and a CVO center), and the ability to share/merge data center to center and archive to archive preserved. Five major functions are defined that are carried out as part of ADUS. These are: 1) Operational Data Control function to manage operations data integrity 2) Data Import and Verification function to acquire historical data from the Operational Data Control function 3) Automatic Data Historical Archive function for permanently archiving the data 4) Data Warehouse Distribution function, which integrates the planning, safety, operations, and research communities into ITS and processes data products for these communities 5) ITS Community Interface which provides the ITS common interface to all ITS users for data products specification and retrieval. Within the functions the Architecture now has defined many sub-functions and details to help areas think through their specific applications. It is therefore a very useful resource to use when planning for the use of ITS data. Figure V-15 ADUS Information Flows and Interfaces The organization and implementation of the ADMS can also be implemented in several different ways. At its simplest the data from a single source is simply collected and stored in its own database (a data mart). At its most complex the data from many different sources is brought together and merged for analysis of multi-dimensional issues (a data warehouse). “Data mining”, or the exploration of large amounts of information for new relationships and trends, is often part of the latter. To allow an area to tailor ADUS to meet its needs the Architecture provides three different “market packages” to choose from for implementing the local ADUS systems. These are: ITS Data Mart (Market Package): This market package provides a focused archive that houses data collected and owned by a single agency, district, private sector provider, research institution, or other organization. This focused archive typically includes data covering a single transportation mode and one jurisdiction that is collected from an operational data store and archived for future TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-96

use. It provides the basic data quality, data privacy, and meta- data management common to all ITS archives and provides general query and report access to archive data users. ITS Data Warehouse (Market Package): This market package includes all the data collection and management capabilities provided by the ITS Data Mart, and adds the functionality and interface definitions that allow collection of data from multiple agencies and data sources spanning across modal and jurisdictional boundaries. It performs the additional transformations and provides the additional meta-data management features that are necessary so that all this data can be managed in a single repository with consistent formats. The potential for large volumes of varied data suggests additional on-line analysis and data mining features that are also included in this market package in addition to the basic query and reporting user access features offered by the ITS Data Mart. ITS Virtual Data Warehouse (Market Package): This market package provides the same broad access to multimodal, multidimensional data from varied data sources as in the ITS Data Warehouse Market Package, but provides this access using enhanced interoperability between physically distributed ITS archives that are each locally managed. Requests for data that are satisfied by access to a single repository in the ITS Data Warehouse Market Package are parsed by the local archive and dynamically translated to requests to remote archives which relay the data necessary to satisfy the request. The steps for implementing an ADUS and providing feedback to the all cycles of the should be carried out as part of the integrated process. They include: 1. Gather Stakeholders. Bring the ITS operators and data collectors, data providers, and users together. 2. Determine needs and measures and attributes. From the stakeholder dialog and the previously defined performance measures develop a list of information needs that ITS data may be able to address. This is more than simply a list of measures and should include collection and storage frequency, aggregation levels, accuracy, access/privacy and other requirements. Determining how the information should be provided and feedback occur (reports, graphic displays, on-line queries) should also be part of this 3. Define architecture and operational design. This step determines which market packages to use (data marts, data warehouse, virtual data warehouse), and the basic structure of the ITS data collection and storage system. It must also plan for the ability to integrate and merge data when needed. Data validation, storage, and maintenance functions also need to be defined. 4. Develop concept of operations. Who should do what? Who is responsible for cleaning and providing the data? Who has access? How should the costs be shared? These are all part of the concept of operations. A general rule is to maximize “ownership” of functions and issues where those performing the functions are the same ones that they are important too. Where this is not possible some ongoing interaction between the collector and user(s) should be incorporated. 5. Develop phasing plan. An important observation is to keep it simple at the beginning, start slow and add functions. If the ultimate plan is to develop a virtual data warehouse integrating traffic, transit, and accident data the first step maybe to implement data marts for each designed with the final integration in mind. A phasing plan shows how the systems will ultimately come together and may help obtain cooperation of users, especially for functions/data that do not directly meet their needs. 6. Obtain agreements. Agreements and memorandum of understanding are essential for the long- term continued success of any data management system. They should include both sharing of responsibilities and costs. Where possible common goals and objectives associated with the performance measures should become part of each stakeholders own performance evaluation. Equally important they should clearly establish ownership and access rights, and privacy TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-97

procedures. This is important both for working between agencies and in interactions with the public, the private sector, and potential liability concerns. 7. Implement and provide ongoing feedback. Data can now be collected, stored and fed back to the decision processes. Questions to ask as this process continues include; is the information continuing to be reliable? Are the reports and other communications remaining useful? Are participants performing their functions? Long-term continuing functions such as ITS data storage are new to many transportation groups and feedback on the process itself is needed to insure that it remains viable. 8. Update. As new components are added, and new knowledge gained the processes for collection and feedback of ITS data will need to be updated. It is therefore very important that continual involvement of stakeholders be included in the overall plan. V.H.3 VARIATIONS BY SCALE, SETTING, AND INSTITUTIONS How systems for ITS data collection and distribution vary can depend upon a number of different factors. Primary among these are resources and institutional relationships. Other important factors include the sources of information and modes within a region, and the complexity of the issues that decision makers are trying to address. The collection, validation, maintenance, and communication of ITS data is not free. While it has the potential to be a rich data source and save overall resources it often places different burdens on different participants than traditional data collection. This must be addressed and the system designed so it can be maintained on a continual basis. Whether saved by individual agencies in data marts, or in a data warehouse, on-line or off-line, raw or aggregated, the resource requirements need to be tailored to local capabilities. Historical institutional arrangements and capabilities also play an important role. Virginia Department of Transportation is developing an integrated data management system and warehouse as part of its decision support system. Because it is department wide it is able to integrate many individual data sources. On the other hand, in a region with many transit and other operating agencies a physically integrated data warehouse may be impossible. MPOs may also be the logical data repositories for these new sources of information. One of the main functions of an MPO is to provide a forum for collaboration and liaison between participants in the planning process. Also, MPOs often have historically provided the data repository for planning functions. Each area must assess, who is best able to perform the data maintenance functions, and the level of integration needed to answer their questions. The number of modes and sources of ITS data will impact the overall ITS data system that should be implemented for a region. More modes may or may not lead to more complex systems. Weather the systems are complex, or simple, physical or virtual, planning still needs to take place to allow for integration of information. This may require new and non-traditional interactions across modes especially between transit and traffic operations staff. Last, the complexity of issues and problems facing the region will be an important factor. Areas with heavy congestion, multiple modes, and resource limitations may need to able to assess multiple relationships in a policy environment that requires very quick response to questions. Complex decision support systems such as OLAP may thus be called for. Other areas may have more persistent issues and problems that can be addressed by separate data marts and off-line merging of information when necessary. The key to the many different variations that can be implemented for ITS data storage and feedback is matching needs to resources. Thus, the first two steps discussed above in defining the data system are critical: bringing stakeholders together, and defining needs and measures. V.H.4 SECTION REVIEW AND TRANSITION ASSESSMENT This section described the importance of performance feedback and the use of ITS data within the Integrated Framework. ITS data has provides the opportunity to monitor traditional measures in a cost TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-98

effective way, provide new measurement of system variation, reliability, and customer satisfaction, and collect information for ITS benefits and costs and new analysis tools. However, ITS data also brings its own set of issues. These include: the quantity of data generated through 24/7 collection, the need for developing data cleaning and error checking processes to ensure that quality information is stored, how to store the information, and how to analyze the volume of data that is provided once it is stored. Also data cannot simply be stored once. The costs of data management and maintenance must also be accounted for. If it is to be useful to planners the data content, location of detectors, and coverage must also be considered. It is therefore very important to bring in potential data users as the ITS data collection system is being developed. Likewise, there is also almost too much information to be understood and useful to the decision making process as information. Data presentation and visualization must processes must also be developed as part of the feedback process. Other issues include access, ownership, and privacy concerns, and defining the roles and responsibilities within the overall concept of operations. The Archived Data User Service provides three Market Packages for the implementation of a data archiving system. These are: 1) ITS Data Mart; 2) ITS Data Warehouse; and 3) Virtual ITS Data Warehouse. Which to use should be determined as part of the overall integrated planning process. Table V-21 provides some self-assessment questions regarding ITS data and feedback. Mark where you think your area’s relative position is for each question. Table V-21 ITS Data, Performance Monitoring, and Feedback Self-Assessment Question NO YES Is ITS data currently being collected and archived for highway, arterial, or transit system performance? Is it being analyzed to assist in operational or other planning activities? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is system performance being continually monitored and used in the transportation decision process? Is ITS data being used in this process? NO - - - - - - - - YES Is there a data quality control and management program for ITS data? NO - - - - - - - - YES Are the costs for ITS data collection, maintenance of surveillance equipment, and maintenance and cleaning being accounted for in system plans? NO - - - - - - - - YES Mark the relative position of your area’s advancement. TECHNICAL: ITS DATA V-99