The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) will sponsor a free webinar titled IntelliDrive Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis (AERIS). The webinar will discuss the AERIS program, which is an application that uses real-time transportation system information to enable system users and operators to promote more environmentally friendly travel choices and is based on the IntelliDrive(SM) initiative. This webinar will provide an overview of AERIS, discuss the policy context of AERIS, and strategies for the implementation of AERIS applications involving cars, trucks, and public transit.

The free webinar will take place on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, from noon to 1:30 p.m. CST.

This webcast hosted by Travel Information Services Program Track (TISPTC), part of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, will explore the way outsourced archived probe data is currently being used for performance measurement and planning by transportation professionals at all levels – national, regional, and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). Shawn Turner with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) will discuss lessons learned from the use of private sector speed data for historical performance monitoring. Michael Pack with the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT LAB) will present information regarding a tool developed using data from the I-95 Corridor Coalition Vehicle Probe Project (VPP). Andrew Meese with the Metropolitan Council of Governments will discuss how data from the VPP was used by his agency.
 

To participate in this free webcast, please RSVP to nhrebien@kmjinc.com (or Natalia Hrebien at 610-228-0207) by Monday, November 29, 2010. If you have any questions please contact Bill Stoeckert at 774-207-0367. The webcast will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2010 from noon to 1:30 p.m. CST.

This white paper by Transportation for America, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the Association for Commuter Transportation, and the University of Michigan SMART Initiative provides examples of current and emerging ITS technologies that have the capability to increase capacity, inform commuters, and expand and improve transportation options. The main goal of this report is to help demonstrate to the U.S. Congress, in light of the new transportation reauthorization bill, the money saving and job creation benefits associated with investments in ITS technologies that improve the existing transportation system.

The Advancing Metropolitan Planning for Operations: The Building Blocks of a Model Transportation Plan Incorporating Operations – A Desk Reference is a guide to assist transportation professionals to incorporate operations related objectives, performance measures, and strategies into a regional transportation plan. This reference provides an overview of planning for operations, examples of how to develop operations objectives, numerous samples of operations objectives with associated performance measures, and model transportation plans that have incorporated operations related elements into the plan. Transportation operating agencies should also be consulted, in conjunction with this guide, when developing a metropolitan transportation plan.

This talking freight webinar, hosted by the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Freight Management and Operations and the Office of Planning will discuss the results of the Cross-Town Improvement Project (C-TIP), a collaborative project involving the government and private industry in Kansas City, MO. The main goal of C-TIP was to move freight more efficiently over the transportation network through better information sharing capabilities between government and private entities.

The webinar will take place on November 17, 2010, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. CST.

The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway will soon have high-tech traffic forecasts, which will alert both operators and drivers of potential bottlenecks before they happen. The traffic forecasting technology has been able to predict traffic flows with up to 90 percent accuracy using complex computer models. The traffic forecasts will be displayed on existing highway message signs and drivers will have the option of receiving email or text message alerts. The same traffic forecasting technology is currently in use in Singapore and Stockholm.

Source: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2008. "The Netherlands: A Broader Horizon".

This synthesis explores Active Traffic Management (ATM) technologies and techniques in use in the U.S. and Europe, but primarily focuses on the more mature ATM technologies in Europe. The synthesis provides the European perspective of the lessons learned, experiences, operations results, and benefits associated with ATM techniques such as variable speed management, shoulder or line management, junction control, and directional routing. The synthesis concludes with potential benefits and challenges of deploying system-wide ATM applications in the U.S.

The Transportations Research Board’s (TRB) National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 664: Measuring Transportation Network Performance reviews ways to track transportation network performance through the development of new, or integrating existing, performance measures from different sources. Congestion management, linking planning and operations, and corridor coalitions are strategies available to agencies to build consistent transportation performance measures. Monitoring transportation network performance is important because it allows transportation professionals to easily identify areas that are under performing on a consistent basis throughout a system and provides insight into where future transportation investment will be needed.
CMAP currently measures the performance of the transportation system through its Congestion Management Process and the forthcoming regional indicators project, MetroPulse.

As part of the CMAP Congestion Management Process, staff has compiled performance measures for the regional freeways for 2009. The performance measures include congestion scans, travel time index, planning time index, and congested hours. Congestion scans show average speed by milepost by time of day for the freeway segment.

The travel time index is a measure of average congestion and indicates the average extra travel time required during peak period congestion. Travel time index is a ratio of the average peak period travel time compared to the free-flow travel time. For example, a value of 1.20 means that average peak travel times are 20 percent longer than free-flow travel times.

The planning time index is a measure of reliability. The planning time index is defined as the ratio of the total time needed to ensure a 95percent on-time arrival to the free-flow travel time. For example, a value of 1.4 means that, to arrive on-time 95 percent of the time, a traveler should budget an additional 8 minutes for a trip that takes 20 minutes during off-peak, free-flow conditions.
Congested hours are an indication of how many hours per day a facility is congested. Technically, "congested hours" are defined as the average number of hours in which at least 20 percent of the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on the instrumented segment is congested. For this measure, congestion is defined to occur when link speeds are less than 50 mph.

Chicago region freeway performance measures are available on the CMAP website.

I-290 from Canal St. to Wolf Rd. 2009 congestion scan.

The City of Naperville and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are holding an open house regarding the Route 59 Expansion Project. Attendees will learn about diverging diamond interchanges (DDI), an innovative design which is being considered for the I-88/Route 59 interchange. Compared to the conventional interchange design, the DDI offers many benefits, including fewer conflict points, reduced vehicular delay, and reduced environmental impact. No formal presentations will be given, but representatives from the City of Naperville, IDOT, and Teng and Associates, Inc. will be available to answer questions.

For more information regarding DDI, also referred to as double crossover diamond interchange (DCD), the U.S. Federal Highway Administration just released a tech brief [PDF]. The draft GO TO 2040 regional comprehensive plan endorses the development of innovative designs that reduce delay and improve safety.

This open house will take place Wednesday, July 14, 2010, from 5:00 to 7:oo p.m. at the Naperville Municipal Center, Council Chambers, 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL.  

First U.S. DDI interchange at I-44 and Route 13 in Springfield, MO.

Source: Missouri Department of Transportation

Seattle-area drivers are testing out the Smarter Highways initiative, deployed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) along the I-5 corridor, which helps alleviate congestion and delays caused by traffic incidents. The Smarter Highways initiative installed electronic overhead signs every half-mile which inform drivers of variable speed limits, lane status alerts, and real time traffic information. This information allows drivers to make more informed decisions, both on the speed in which they travel and the route they take in case of a major incident. The implementation of smart highways in Europe has had good results.

CMAP supports the development of initiatives like Smarter Highways in the Invest Strategically in Transportation section of the GO TO 2040 draft plan.

The Office of Operations in the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released the 2009 Urban Congestion Trends: How Operations is Solving Congestion Problems brochure. The brochure features trends in congestion over the last three years in 23 urban areas and examples of how transportation agencies are relieving congestion through innovative transportation operations.

CMAP supports innovative transportation operations to improve regional mobility in the Invest Strategically in Transportation section of the GO TO 2040 draft plan.

This flyer provides information on the Maintenance Decision Support Systems (MDSS) deployed by many local and state maintenance departments to consistently make effective decisions during weather events. The MDSS has assisted agencies to reduce winter maintenance labor costs, use less material in event response, improve situational awareness of weather conditions, increase confidences in winter maintenance decision-making, and continue maintenance improvements. The MDSS is intended to assist, not replace, the years of acquired expertise, skills, and judgment that reside in maintenance operators.