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

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VI CONTINUING CHALLENGES AND SOURCES FOR STAYING CURRENT VI.A CONTINUING CHALLENGES There are a number of remaining challenges that must be overcome as the standard practice evolves toward the integrated framework. These include: Final Planning Level Policy on and Guidance ITS Architecture Conformity: The Joint FHWA/FTA Planning Rule for Metropolitan and Statewide Planning update to incorporate the new requirements of TEA-21 including planning level ITS Architecture Conformity is still under review and comment. Experience with implementing the project level Final Rule and Policy is also being gained. Consequently, what constitutes good practice and how to address all situations is still being determined. Yet, the Rule and Policy are the first actual regulations calling for mainstreaming ITS. Case studies, “model” efforts, and dissemination of good practice are needed as lessons are learned and specific issues resolved. New Organizations and public-private partnerships: New organizations aimed at managing the overall transportation system, integrating and coordinating ITS services, developing ITS architectures are developing which carry out many near-to-mid-term planning and programming functions. As we move to the integrated planning process how these organizations interact with traditional planning and the roles and responsibilities of both the new and old, organizations are evolving. Likewise, actual working models of sustainable public-private partnerships and the role of the private sector in future transportation is still un- determined. The National ITS Program Plan’s vision assumes a growing role of Independent Service Providers (ISPs), and the market in provision of services. What remains to be seen is whether these services will actually develop, and if they develop will they do so in a way that is consistent with the overall management of the transportation system, and fulfillment of a region’s goals and objectives. Data Revolution (costs, models, and uses): New technology is revolutionizing the storage and analysis of data. The new Archived Data User Service (ADUS) has been developed in response. However, there are virtually no cases of integrating ITS data, and the new techniques for data warehousing, fusion, and mining into the standard practices of planning. Questions remain, regarding how to maintain the volume of data and its quality over time, the costs of different ADUS market packages, and the comparability between ITS collected data and data collected from traditional means. More important, ITS data provides new information on variability of the system, and customer satisfaction. New uses of the continuous information and how it may transform the planning/decision process remain to be seen. Predicting Technology: Predicting the new innovations in technology and its costs will be a perennial issue if ITS is to be fully incorporated into mid-long-range planning. Equally important, are predictions of market penetrations of technologies and services once they are deployed. Most ITS specialists are hesitant to predict the future beyond 5 to 7 years. Yet, 20 year forecasts are needed. In order to provide consistency in regional forecasts, and avoid duplication of effort by local and state agencies across the country a national base-line forecast may be needed. Synergies of Integrated Systems: While examples of individual ITS implementations, their costs and benefits and analysis methods are growing rapidly, little is known still about the impacts of integrated systems. These may defy simple sketch methods, and require incorporating the use of information and response to variability and non-recurrent incidents in the overall regional travel forecasting tools. The US DOT Metropolitan Model Deployment Initiative has provided a beginning on collecting and analyzing information on integrated deployments. However, this is only a beginning, and more information and tools for evaluating integrated ITS, as well as combined ITS and traditional solutions are needed. Putting it all together (no one is there yet): There are a growing number of areas that are beginning to incorporate ITS into their planning processes, and have included various aspects of the integrated planning process described here in their procedures. San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., Houston, Albany, and others all are on their way in the evolution. However, no area has fully re-focused their process on TECHNICAL: CONTINUING CHALLENGES VI-1

management and operations and the development path, or incorporated variation and ITS into their analysis techniques. This will come with time. There are, however, a number of initial actions that can be taken which are discussed next. VI.B SOURCES FOR CURRENT INFORMATION Since the development of this Guidebook began in April, 1998, significant changes have taken place in both the requirements for planning, the generally accepted principals of planning, and the practice of planning and ITS. TEA-21 was enacted including requirements for conformity to the National ITS Architecture, and the Management and Operations Planning Factor. Deployments of ITS systems have continued to grow and its benefits become more accepted. New methods for analysis have also appeared. With re-authorization of TEA-21 rapidly approaching, new guidance being developed on incorporating operations into planning, and shifting public priorities brought on by September 11, 2002, this change will only continue to occur. Consequently, a number of sources are provided below to help keep abreast of the continued evolution towards integrated planning. VI.B.1 ITS, OPERATIONS, AND THE CHANGING REQUIREMENTS AND PRACTICE FOR INTEGRATED PLANNING. Joint Program Office ITS Resource Guide: http://www.its.dot.gov/guide.html FHWA Planning For Operations http://plan2op.fhwa.dot.gov/ FHWA Planning http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/index.htm FTA Planning http://www.fta.dot.gov/office/planning/index.html ITS America’s Regional Planning http://www.itsa.org/metro.html National Dialogue on Transportation Operations http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/nat_dialogue.htm Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) http://www.ampo.org/ National Associations ITS Working Group (NAWGITS) Resource site http://www.nawgits.com/its_res1.html VI.B.2 INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES. Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) http://www.ampo.org/ ITE Regional Operating Organizations Site http://www.ite.org/library/Reg_Trans_Ops.htm VI.B.3 VISIONS, GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES. ITS Decision Support and Planning http://www.path.berkeley.edu/%7Eleap/ itsdecision_resources/decision.html FHWA Operations site on Performance Measures http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/ Travel/Deployment_Task_Force/perf_measures.htm National Dialogue on Operations http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/nat_dialogue.htm TECHNICAL: CONTINUING CHALLENGES VI-2

VI.B.4 ESTIMATING BENEFITS, COSTS, AND IMPACTS USDOT JPO ITS Benefits and Unit Costs Database http://www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov/its/benecost.nsf/ FTA Transit ITS Impacts Matrix http://web.mitretek.org/its/aptsmatrix.nsf Transit Capacity and Quality of Service site http://transit.kittelson.com/ FHWA Planning For Operations web site http://plan2op.fhwa.dot.gov/ ITS Decision Support and Planning http://www.path.berkeley.edu/%7Eleap/ itsdecision_resources/decision.html USDOT JPO ITS Evaluation web site http://www.its.dot.gov/EVAL/eval.htm Screening for ITS web site http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/steam/scrits.htm Cambridge Systematics IDAS web site http://idas.camsys.com/ McTrans IDAS web site http://www-mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/featured/idas/ FHWA Quick Zone Work Zone Analysis Tool http://www.tfhrc.gov/its/quickzon.htm. FHWA Operations Traffic Analysis Tools site http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Travel/ Traffic_Analysis_Tools/traffic_analysis_tools.htm FHWA Traffic Software Integrated System (TSIS) for simulation http://www.fhwa-tsis.com. Travel Model Improvement Program Clearinghouse http://tmip.fhwa.dot.gov/ FHWA Dynamic Traffic Assignment web site http://www.dynamictrafficassignment.org/ TRANSIMS http://tmip.fhwa.dot.gov/transims/ VI.B.5 ITS ARCHITECTURE’S AND STANDARDS National ITS Architecture Conformity www.its.dot.gov/aconform/aconform.htm National ITS Architecture ITS site: http://www.its.dot.gov/arch/arch.htm Online version of the National ITS Architecture http://www.iteris.com/itsarch/ McTrans Site for The Turbo Architecture http://www-mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/featured/turbo/ ITS America System Architecture Committee http://www.itsa.org/architecture.html ITSA Library of Regional Architectures (Click on link from site on the right) http://www.itsa.org/architecture.html ITS Standards and their development www.its-standards.net VI.B.6 ITS DATA AND ADUS. ITS JPO Travel Management ADUS Site http://www.its.dot.gov/TravelManagement/adus.htm ITS America ADUS Resources Page :www.itsa.org/resources.nsf/urls/adusr.html TECHNICAL: CONTINUING CHALLENGES VI-3

VI.B.7 ITS AND PLANNING TRAINING USDOT JPO ITS Training web site http://www.its.dot.gov/pcb/pcb.htm ITS Professional Capacity Building web site http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/ National Highway Institute Courses on Planning and ITS http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/coursec.html National Transit Institute Courses on Planning and ITS http://www.ntionline.com/Training.asp ITS Standards Training (Click on Training Tab) http://www.its-standards.net/ For additional information on the NCHRP Project 8-35 “Incorporating ITS Into the Transportation Planning Process” and its products please visit the Transportation Research Board web site and go to the NCHRP All Projects Tab (http://www4.trb.org/trb/crp.nsf/NCHRP+projects). The up to date project description is kept under Topic 8: Forecasting. TECHNICAL: CONTINUING CHALLENGES VI-4