The National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) will conduct a free “Planning for Operations” webinar on August 2, 2011, from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT. The webinar, “Statewide Opportunities for Integrating Operations, Safety, and Multimodal Planning,” will cover the FHWA’s reference manual on this topic. The webinar will also cover real-world lessons learned of integrating these functions to improve investment decisions. The webinar is expected to help state and local agencies coordinate efforts in a multimodal context.

On January 11, 2013, the Federal Highway Administration released a request for comments on splitting the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) into two smaller documents. One document would have the federal requirements and the second document would include the recommended practices, which are not federal requirements.  Currently, the MUTCD is a single document that contains guidance and regulations on design and installation standards for traffic devices.  The proposed changes are meant to make the MUTCD more user-friendly and will not change or create any federal regulations.  The comment period ends March 12, 2013. 

On Tuesday, July 17, 2012, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations will host an “Overcoming the Challenges of Congestion Pricing” webinar on incident management and access for managed lanes from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. CT. The webinar will focus on the challenges and opportunities of incident management that arise from different types of managed lanes. The webinar will also provide tips, effective practices, and lessons learned of how incident management is handled on existing managed lanes projects in the U.S.

On Tuesday, June 19, 2012, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations will host a webinar launching the Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Public Outreach Toolkit from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT. The public outreach toolkit focuses on two laws, “Move It” (625 ILCS 5/11-402) and “Slow Down/Move Over” (Scott’s Law, 625 ILCS 5/11-907 (c)), enacted by Illinois and many other states to manage and clear traffic incidents quickly and safely. The “Move it” law requires motorists who are involved in a traffic incident to move their vehicles out of the lanes of traffic if they are able and it is safe to do so. The “Slow Down/Move Over” laws require motorists to reduce speed and move over when they see the flashing lights of emergency response vehicles. The toolkit will provide agencies with free customizable outreach tools to educate the traveling public on these two laws.

Also, immediately following the webinar until 2:00 p.m. CT, an optional “Media 101” training will be held to provide tips for partnering with the media in local public awareness campaigns.
 

Dynamic message signs (DMS) are used by transportation operating agencies to communicate traffic information to motorists. A webinar, hosted by the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Management Center Pooled Fund Study, will focus on the importance of consistent and effective DMS message design for highway traffic incidents and work zones. The webinar will also cover DMS message format, reading time, and legibility. The free webinar will take place on September 14, 2011, from 11:00 a.m. to noon CT.

A factsheet, released by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), examines the effect of traffic probe data on traffic signal operations through the concept of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) cooperation. With the growing availability of traffic probe data, transportation professionals can improve mobility, safety, and air quality through the optimization of traffic signals along arterial routes. Mobility along arterial routes can be improved by using real-time information to predict traffic, travel time, and number of stopped vehicles. From this data, traffic operators can create ideal traffic signal timing schemes to reduce the amount of delay a driver experiences along arterial routes. Intersection geometry and the ability to detect other vehicles in the area by using connected vehicle data can greatly improve the safety along arterial routes and intersections. The air quality can improve by optimizing signal phasing and timing to reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is conducting a National Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture user survey to get feedback on possible new or enhanced features for the update of the National ITS Architecture. The survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete and will influence the future direction of the National ITS Architecture. This update will also impact regional ITS architectures and the Turbo Architecture Software. The survey deadline is Friday, June 3, 2011.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Operations released a guidebook on successful work zone operations strategies currently practiced by transportation agencies around the country. The guidebook provides examples of best practices and the contact information for the agencies that have implemented these practices. The guidebook is not intended to provide operators with a single solution, but will allow them to see what has worked in other regions and tailor the best solution to their needs.

A new rule proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would require all railroads to establish a toll-free number that would allow the public to report unsafe crossing conditions at highway-rail grade crossings. Currently, only the larger passenger and Class I freight railroads have some type of system in place to be notified of unsafe crossings. The proposed rule would also require all railroads to immediately inform train operators of the unsafe conditions in an effort to avoid an incident. The toll-free number and crossing identification number would be required to be posted at all crossings.

A new red-light camera system that predicts and prevents vehicle accidents resulting from drivers running red lights is being tested in Marysville, California. The system predicts when a driver will run a red light and then holds solid red at all directions of the intersection until the potential red light runner has cleared the intersection. This collision avoidance system has the potential to save lives and money.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council released a report that studied the effectiveness of zig-zag pavement markings painted on streets to increase motorist awareness of upcoming bicycle and pedestrian trails. The study found that the markings installed in advance of bike/ped crossings made motorists more aware of their surroundings through a reduction in mean vehicle speed in the marked areas and survey responses that indicated an increase in awareness. The study recommends that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recommend to the Federal Highway Administration that this traffic calming technique be included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

An upcoming Envista webinar, “The City of Baltimore – A Case Study Highlighting Traffic Management in an Incident Command System,” will feature Pat Nowlan of the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management. He will discuss how Baltimore deployed a web-based, map-driven, real-time Incident Command System. Challenges, solutions, and lessons learned throughout the project development process will be reviewed. Mr. Nowlan will also share information on how to apply for a Federal Emergency Preparedness Grant.

This free webinar will take place on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CST.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently released the report Efficient Use of Highway Capacity Summary, which summarizes the implementation of safety shoulders as travel lanes as a method to increase highway capacity. The report provides an overview of efforts to use left or right shoulder lanes as temporary or interim travel lanes and reviews the safety and operational impacts of shoulder lanes.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) unveiled the new Every Day Counts (EDC) website. The EDC initiative’s objectives are to employ demonstrated innovative technologies to expedite project delivery, make the roadways safer, and protect the environment. The EDC website currently has tools available to assist highway agencies and contractors to shorten project delivery time. A flyer describing EDC is also available.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Operations has released the . This handbook explores advances in traffic incident management (TIM) programs and practices. The handbook also highlights the latest innovation in TIM tools and technologies.

As part of the CMAP Congestion Management Process, staff compiled an overview of highway traffic safety trends in the Chicago region. The causes of motor vehicle crashes are complex, owing to interactions between vehicles, roadways, and driver behavior. However, the report demonstrates that concerted efforts to improve vehicles’ ability to avoid crashes, vehicles’ crashworthiness, driver training and compliance with traffic safety laws, and highway safety engineering focused on addressing locations with high rates of fatal and serious injury crashes have had a strong positive effect over the past several years.

Highway traffic safety is an important indicator of how well our regional Transportation system is operating. CMAP will be monitoring this performance measure through our Regional Indicators Project, which is key to the successful implementation of GO TO 2040.