Q: What is ITS?
A: Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) involve ways that technology can be added to transportation infrastructure and services to increase safety and efficiency. Some common examples of ITS include coordinated signal systems, road weather sensors, dynamic message signs to relay traffic information to the traveling public, and bus location and stop arrival time information.
Q: What is the purpose of an ITS architecture?
A: An ITS architecture documents how stakeholders envision how each agency’s systems will work together in the future and how that sharing of information and resources will help provide a safer, more efficient, and more effective transportation system for travelers in the region.
Q: What is the purpose of an ITS deployment plan?
A: An ITS deployment plan breaks down the services that are outlined in the architecture into smaller projects that the region can implement sequentially over time to move toward the goals for integration that are documented in the architecture. This plan shows the agencies involved and the public how the technology and information sharing processes can be placed into the transportation system. The ITS plan will lay out how all of the agencies and technologies will communicate and work together to improve the transportation experience in our region. Better travel through technology is a good reason to create an ITS Plan.
Q: Who is involved in developing the ITS Architecture and Deployment Plan?
A: Participants in the ITS architecture development process are representatives from many different groups in the region. The ITS update now underway is being managed by a small project management team consisting of representatives from governments that own, operate, and/or maintain transportation facilities and/or services in the region. A much larger group of stakeholders is being contacted to provide input into the ITS update. The stakeholders group includes representatives from transportation agencies, transportation user groups, and other groups in the region that have expressed an interest in the region’s transportation system.
Q: Why do we need an ITS Architecture and Deployment Plan?
A: In order to be eligible for funding of ITS projects from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), regions must show their projects are part of a Regional ITS Architecture. The region also needs to have an architecture and deployment plan so that the various groups involved in providing transportation facilities and services in the area can coordinate their efforts to avoid duplication, incompatibility, and communication problems.
Q: What steps are being taken to coordinate with other regional transportation planning efforts?
A: The architecture is a complement to other regional transportation planning efforts. Any ITS projects that are already identified in other planning documents have been included in the architecture to satisfy federal funding requirements. In the future the architecture and deployment plan will provide support to other regional planning efforts as they identify projects that in the future should be moved towards implementation and continue to provide the necessary documentation for federal funding. The development of our region’s ITS architecture and deployment plan is being coordinated with the area’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (Transportation 2040) and other MPO documents as well as being coordinated with local plans to install ITS technology on the transportation system.
Q: What do we gain from having an ITS Plan?
A: Tremendous investments have been made in the transportation system (roads, bridges, intersections, transit services, bike and pedestrian infrastructure) and those facilities and services have become vital parts of the community. Application of technologies can help solve some of the transportation problems in the area.
Some of the many ways ITS can be applied to improve travel in our region, but certainly not all of the ways, are listed below:
- Improved Signal Coordination: Fewer stops at traffic signals mean less fuel used and less time spent waiting by motorists. Improved traffic signal timing can provide more efficient flow of traffic along a roadway.
- Traveler Information: Knowing traffic conditions before you leave your house or while in route can help avoid delays and road closures due to accidents, severe weather or construction. Determining real-time road conditions with cameras, vehicle detectors and weather sensors can provide traveler information. Automated transit vehicle location systems can provide dispatchers with bus locations and on-time information. Dynamic message signs, web sites, and subscription services all use technology to provide traveler information.
- Emergency Services: Public safety dispatchers can see an accident scene and dispatch responders using shared traffic cameras. Emergency vehicles can use real time road conditions to avoid problem spots.
- Funding Eligibility: An ITS plan is a good planning tool and is a required tool if your region wants to ever use federal money to pay for ITS projects. To remain eligible for federal funding, the US Department of Transportation requires an ITS plan for the area. Benefits for the area from the ITS Plan come in many forms.