1 Regional Traffic Operators Committee February 23rd ITE/IMSA Joint Conference Stephanie Rossi, Puget Sound Regional Council Aileen McManus, King County Traffic Engineering Jill MacKay, IBI Group

2 Presentation Outline RTOC Background: Stephanie Rossi Regional Concept of Operations: Jill MacKay Regional ITS Implantation Plan: Aileen McManus Next Steps Questions

3 Puget Sound Regional Traffic Operators Committee Stephanie Rossi, PSRC

4 Demand for the transportation will continue to grow. Region expects to add 1.4 million people and 1.1 million jobs by 2040 Smaller household sizes Fewer households with children More racially & ethnically diverse Older population Different travel needs & preferences Different housing needs & preferences

5 5 Land Use Matters…and…Arterial congestion continues to grow: Forecast of change from 2000 to 2040 Source: PSRC, VISION 2040 EIS *Growth Targets Extended Alternative Increase in Average Seconds of Delay, per Vehicle, per Mile, compared to year 2000

6 Evolution of Operations within Central Puget Sound Region 1992: Incident Response Funding (WSDOT) : North Seattle Advanced Traffic Management Traffic Signal Data Sharing 2002: Regional Transportation Operations Workshop 2006: FHWA Regional Traffic Signal Assessment 2006: Traffic Busters 2007: Regional Traffic Operations Committee (RTOC) was formed

7 Moving towards Regional Operations Regional transportation financial constraints & public’s frustration 2006 NTOC Traffic Signal Report Card: D- grade for entire USA Spurred local, FHWA interest, led to regional assessment – completed 11/06

8 Puget Sound Regional Signal Review Also need Regional: Funding Information Sharing Training Performance Monitoring Uniformity Guidance “Build stronger regional leadership”

9 Regional Traffic Operations Committee (RTOC) Puget Sound Regional Council Committee Promoting a collaborative approach to regional traffic operations with emphasis on: – Traffic signal coordination; – Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) – Regional traffic operations (arterial & freeway)

10 RTOC Membership Summary Participants include King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap County, WSDOT, FHWA and over 30 local jurisdictions. Liaisons from transit, freight and emergency management Reports to the Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board

11 Why Regional Coordination? Facts: Arterials cross jurisdictional boundaries Arterials carry approximately 50% of the region’s Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Most jurisdictions maintain and operate their own signals on these arterials. Revising signal timing in one jurisdiction affects traffic flow in the next.

12 Regional Coordination Issues Jurisdictions have varying: Operational Standards Maintenance standards Operational budgets Signal controllers (equipment and software varies) Staffing levels Staffing Expertise

13 Regional Coordination Issues Operating expenses can be lacking for: Signal timing plans Timing plan implementation Real time Monitoring Timing plan updates

14 RTOC Projects Underway Regional Concept of Transportation Operations: Primary focus is on regional coordination of signal operations. Outcomes: – Strategies for developing a regional signal coordination program: administration, funding, operations and maintenance, – Memorandum of Agreement template to streamline future projects.

15 RTOC Projects Underway Regional Intelligent Transportation Systems Implementation Plan (RITSIP): Joint vision for investments across jurisdictional and institutional boundary lines. Outcomes: – Multijurisdictional, corridor-based approach, – Agreement on key arterial corridors, – Regional high-priority project list, – Cooperation in pursuing funding, project implementation, and operations

16 Regional Concept of Operations Jill McKay, IBI Group

17 What is an RCTO? Regional Concept of Transportation Operations “A management tool to assist in planning and implementing management and operations strategies in a collaborative and sustained manner”

18 What are characteristics of an RCTO? Program based, not project based Strategies, not technologies Emphasis on performance measures Geographical scope may vary Specific to a given functional area

19 What other jurisdictions have implemented an RCTO? Framework: – Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ – Bay Area, CA Pilot Cities: – Portland, OR: Traveler Information & Incident Management – Detroit, MI: Freeway & Arterial Operations – Tucson, AZ: Arterial Operations, Traveler Information, Work Zone Management – Hampton Roads, VA: Incident Management

20 What is the approach for the Puget Sound Region? Focus on Arterial Signal Operations Develop Operational Strategy for RITSIP Projects Emphasis on Coordination, Communication and Demonstrable Benefits

21 Vision, Mission, Goals, Objectives and Performance Measures (oh my) Vision: “An efficient, safe, reliable, environmentally-sensitive and seamless surface transportation system, brought about through inter-agency coordination and partnerships in the Puget Sound Region.” Mission: “The RTOC seeks to collaboratively apply advanced technologies and transportation management techniques to operate, maintain and integrate a regionally-coordinated freeway and arterial network.”

22 How will we get there? Best (“better”) Practices – Monroe County, NY – Denver Region COG – Pima COG – Metropolitan Washington COG – SE Michigan COG

23 How will we get there? Regional Strategy for Arterial Corridor Operations Signal Timing Guidelines – Overall Approach – Timing Plan Development and Maintenance Relationships and Procedures – Agreements – Off Hours Operations – Incidents – Implementation, Evaluation and Updates – Transit, Freight, Emergency Management Coordination

24 How will we get there? Next Steps and Resource Arrangements – Near term implementation plan for RITSIP projects Memorandum of Agreement – MOA template to facilitate and streamline interagency agreements

25 Regional ITS Implementation Plan Aileen McManus: King County DOT Co-Chair: Regional Traffic Operations Committee

26 Regional ITS Implementation Plan Background RITSIP Deliverables RITSIP Corridors RITSIP Corridor Attributes Next Steps

27 Regional ITS Implementation Plan Background: Many jurisdictions are implementing ITS improvements within their jurisdiction Individual ITS Strategic or Implementation Plans Large ITS projects in the region: Active Traffic Management (ATM), Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Major construction projects on the freeway system King County received grant funding for a Regional ITS Implementation Plan

28 Regional ITS Implementation Plan RITSIP: Joint vision for ITS investments across jurisdictional and institutional boundary lines. Deliverables Key Corridors for ITS/Operational Improvements ITS Implementation Plan Corridor inventory, needs and costs Communication Plan Center to Center and Center to Field Regional Advanced Traveler Information and Conditions Reporting system Integrating with revised WSDOT site for a single location for traffic information.

29 Regional ITS Corridors

30 Corridor Criteria  Freight Route  Transit Route  Multijurisdictional  V/C Ratios  Regionally Significant State Highway or Highway of Statewide Significance  Arterial Classification  Vehicle Miles Traveled  Serving Urban Centers  Alternate Route

31 Top 25 Regional ITS Corridors 5 Snohomish County 4 Pierce County 1 Kitsap County 15 King County

32 Equipment Inventory Inventory of Top 25 Routes Fiber Optic Cable Cameras Signal Controller/Cabinet type Connected to Central System Control Coordinated System Type of Coordination Other Existing ITS Devices

33 Inventory Project Map, Example

34 Regional ITS Corridor Elements Signal Interconnect via fiber optic cable Multijurisdictional coordination of signals – Incident, evacuation, and construction detour timing plans Real time traveler information (before and during trip) Remote operation of corridor from a Traffic Management Center(s) Ability to share data, video and possibly operation of corridor with other agencies Transit signal priority where applicable Performance measurement ability

35 Signal Interconnect via Fiber Optic Cable Ethernet Modems Communication Cabinet Patch Panel

36 Multi-jurisdictional Coordination Some Controller Changeout necessary Traffic System Modeling Agreed Upon Operational standards TraconexEconolite ASC 2 Eagle M50 Econolite ASC 3 Example Controllers Naztec 2070 Quixote Signal Timing Software & Simulation

37 Real Time Traveler Information

38 Real Time Traveler Information REAL TIME TRAVEL TIME License Plate Readers Travel Time Video Cameras

39 Real Time Traveler Information FLOW MAPS

40 Real Time Traveler Information VMS SIGNS

41 Corridor Operation and Monitoring

42 Example of Real time Traffic Management within Puget Sound Region Transit Signal Priority

43 Video/Data Sharing WSDOT Traffic Busters 1 Gigabyte Bandwidth Use of existing WSDOT fiber infrastructure Video Sharing among 22 jurisdictions Grant funded WSDOT project Project is in design phase

44 RITSIP Next Steps Complete inventory of 25 corridors Complete cost estimate for 25 corridors Provide Communication review and proposal for the corridors Regional Advanced Traveler Information and Conditions Reporting system

45 What’s happening RIGHT NOW?? Puget Sound Regional Call for projects Spring 2009 – Members of RTOC sponsoring projects … and for the long term: All RITSIP corridors input to Destination 2040 long-range plan.

46 Questions? Contacts Stephanie Rossi: Aileen McManus: Jill MacKay: