1. Implementation of the New Federal Performance-based Planning Requirements: Data and Information Needs of State DOTs
Data Collection and Analysis in Washington State Department of Transportation
Elizabeth Robbins, Manager, Planning Policy Innovations and Partnerships
AASHTO Joint Policy Conference: Connecting the DOT’s
July 18, 2018

2. Here’s what I’ll kick us off with
What WSDOT and our MPOs did
What went well 
Data we used
Where we’re going next
Challenges and things WSDOT needs to improve
Some important questions for us

3. What we did Collaboration structure Framework group
WSDOT/MPO technical team
WSDOT technical team for each performance measure
CMAQ Emissions technical team
Collaboration memorandum
Framework group: Quarterly meetings with the target-setting framework group (MPO and WSDOT directors) responsible for helping make final determinations.
Working group: WSDOT MAP-21 working group meetings that include division director level staff were conducted on an as-needed basis.
WSDOT/MPO technical team: Six meetings of the team responsible for agreeing on targets and developing consensus. This group joined the AASHTO Capacity Building Pool Fund Study – Task 4 to obtain access to a MAP-21 tool that helps in processing the required performance measures. Several demonstrations of the tool were part of the coordination efforts.
WSDOT technical team for each performance measure (safety, PM2, PM3, emissions) and associated target: Five meetings of WSDOT’s team responsible for MAP-21 implementation (i.e. conducting technical analysis of metrics and measurement and developing targets).
[may not need this detail, but have it in case there are questions]
·  Safety data was shared with each MPO, which included a breakdown for each safety performance measure that was specific to each of their metropolitan planning area boundaries.
·   Statewide pavement and bridge data was shared with each MPO.
·   Related to PM3 (system performance, freight, CMAQ), WSDOT was one of the state DOTs that bought into the Regional Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS), which is an automated data sharing, dissemination, and archiving system that includes many performance measure, dashboard, and visual analytics tools that help agencies to gain situational awareness, measure performance, and communicate information between agencies and to the public. The Office of Strategic Assessment and Performance Analysis worked with MPOs to allow them to better understand how the tool operates, the source of the data used in the tool, and ensured MPOs that the state was adopting targets in alignment with performance trends and setting future targets that are projected to be reasonably achieved.
·   MPOs shared information for all performance measures with their TACs and policy boards.
·   MPOs asked questions to WSDOT’s subject matter leads, and many WSDOT staff even traveled to TAC or policy board meetings to provide more information upon request.
·   Since targets must continue to be monitored, analyzed, and reported for future years, the RITIS tool will allow WSDOT and the MPOs to have valuable data on the front end, which will be compiled for use with respect to each performance measure, particularly system performance and freight movement.
·   Data for other performance measures will continue to be shared as the state and MPOs revisit the performance measures and update targets in future years.
·   The emissions measure technical team worked with MPOs to discuss their individual data and targets that rolled up to make the state target.
·   Following the adoption of state targets, MPOs have 180 days to either agree to support the state targets or set separate quantifiable targets. Since WSDOT and the MPOs have worked closely together on the various teams to review, understand, and analyze data that is used in setting state targets, MPOs have generally agreed to adopt resolutions for each target that support the state targets for each performance measure.
CMAQ Emissions technical team: Five meetings of the WSDOT/MPO team responsible for setting emissions reduction targets

4. What went well
getting our information out in plain talk in the form of technical folios
keeping these updated and online with target info as it was developed
documenting our efforts through a collaboration memo
getting our information out in plain talk in the form of technical folios (I’ll have examples)
keeping these updated and online with target info as it was developed
documenting our efforts through a collaboration memo

5. Data we used
existing internal databases such as collision, pavement, bridge, VMT, freight
modal system plans and WSDOT’s Corridor Capacity Report
data from the American Community Survey
RITIS (INRIX data)
[may not need this detail, but have it in case there are questions]
·  Safety data was shared with each MPO, which included a breakdown for each safety performance measure that was specific to each of their metropolitan planning area boundaries.
·   Statewide pavement and bridge data was shared with each MPO.
·   Related to PM3 (system performance, freight, CMAQ), WSDOT was one of the state DOTs that bought into the Regional Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS), which is an automated data sharing, dissemination, and archiving system that includes many performance measure, dashboard, and visual analytics tools that help agencies to gain situational awareness, measure performance, and communicate information between agencies and to the public. The Office of Strategic Assessment and Performance Analysis worked with MPOs to allow them to better understand how the tool operates, the source of the data used in the tool, and ensured MPOs that the state was adopting targets in alignment with performance trends and setting future targets that are projected to be reasonably achieved.
·   MPOs shared information for all performance measures with their TACs and policy boards.
·   MPOs asked questions to WSDOT’s subject matter leads, and many WSDOT staff even traveled to TAC or policy board meetings to provide more information upon request.
·   Since targets must continue to be monitored, analyzed, and reported for future years, the RITIS tool will allow WSDOT and the MPOs to have valuable data on the front end, which will be compiled for use with respect to each performance measure, particularly system performance and freight movement.
·   Data for other performance measures will continue to be shared as the state and MPOs revisit the performance measures and update targets in future years.
·   The emissions measure technical team worked with MPOs to discuss their individual data and targets that rolled up to make the state target.
·   Following the adoption of state targets, MPOs have 180 days to either agree to support the state targets or set separate quantifiable targets. Since WSDOT and the MPOs have worked closely together on the various teams to review, understand, and analyze data that is used in setting state targets, MPOs have generally agreed to adopt resolutions for each target that support the state targets for each performance measure.

6. Where we’re going next
Ensuring that responsible offices understand their role with upcoming and on-going MAP-21 operational efforts in addition to target setting processes
Making our information accessible to partners: ArcGIS Online tools (Community Planning Portal) and other tools
Exploring off-the-shelf tools like SugarAccess that can help us understand and use more multimodal accessibility data and information that may not be traditional
Creating a Performance Framework to explicitly consider how the transportation system is a means to larger economic and social objectives such as economic vitality, public health, social equity
Augmenting our data collection for HPMS purposes with cellphone data from INRIX’s NPMRDS data set in RITIS platform (University of Maryland).
Subscribing to StreetLight data for a year to provide a tool to regional planning staff to analyze congested corridors: carryout origin-destination analyses at segment level, look at travel times on parallel street etc. by time of day, look at the trend in volume, and travel time etc. over time.
Testing Mio-vision cameras at present and testing CLR technology to observe vehicle profiles with single loop soon.
Creating TracFlow software to process loop data on freeways to develop performance metrics for freeways in Seattle and Vancouver urban areas with the help of University of Washington’s TRAC

7. Challenges and things we need to improve
Find more accessible methods of sharing our data and analysis, particularly for asset management
How to prioritize across functional and funding programs
Incorporating local systems reporting
Dealing with and updating legacy databases
Shifting how WSDOT is seen by others, from just a money source to a true partner in managing people’s ability to get where they need to go

8. Some important questions for us
Who in our agency (which office) has lead responsibility to make sure that progress in being made? It’s not always in the Planning Office.
How does this affect various programming and/or budgeting parts of WSDOT and to create alignment between the performance outcomes and the funding that is available and/or needed to make the desired performance progress?
Are the leads connected to the appropriate long-range planning work, or flipping this, are the long-range planning processes truly contributing to and relevant to decision-making (from planning through implementation)?

9. Now, let’s talk!