 January 2007 - ODOT ITS NEWSLETTER - VOL. 1, NO. 5
We hope you enjoy the 2006 Winter edition of ITS News, a quarterly publication produced by the Oregon Department of Transportation Maintenance Section, ITS Unit. Previous editions can be viewed at the ODOT ITS News and Events Web site. Please feel free to contact the newsletter editor, Jon Lazarus, ITS Project Manager, at (503) 986-6586, with any questions or comments.
Adrian Pearmine discusses a new role within ITS Oregon and its challenges.
What does it mean to keep local officials involved with ITS events and why is that important?
ITS News: Adrian, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Could we start with you giving us some background regarding your position within ITSOregon?
AP: The Government Affairs Representative position for ITS Oregon was created to fill a need that the organization had recognized for some time. ITS Oregon felt that some group should be involved with reaching out to our policy makers, offering support and education related to ITS and advocating for the investment in ITS. The only problem was finding someone that wanted to fill that role. When I approached ITS Oregon looking for how I might get involved, it sounded like a good fit, so we created the position.
One of the main reasons that ITS Oregon felt that somebody should be playing a more active role in advocacy and education of our regional policy makers, was to help support our local agencies in securing funding for ITS projects. For example, under the last federal transportation act (TEA-21), there were earmarks available specifically for ITS, but year after year, very little of that money was coming back to Oregon. We suspected that this was partly due to a lack of understanding of the value of ITS investment on the part of our delegates, and that someone needed to help get the word out. While the funding landscape has changed with the new transportation act (SAFETEA-LU), the need for advocacy is still there, at both the federal and local level.
ITS News: How new is this position within ITS Oregon ? What past accomplishments of ITS Oregon brought about the creation of this position?
AP: The position is about a year old now. The creation of the position wasn’t necessarily a direct result of any specific past accomplishments of ITS Oregon, although the organization has had many successful partnerships, workshops and other events, which have continued to build awareness and interest in the topic. Rather, the creation of the position was a result of an identified need to make sure that the awareness is there when ITS projects are competing for limited funding, whether at the local, regional or national level. When policy makers are making the tough decisions about where this limited funding should go, it’s a lot harder to support funding those projects that aren’t fully understood.
ITS News: What are your goals for the Government Affairs Representative during your term?
AP: The Government Affairs Representative position is treated as a committee chair position, as opposed to a true Board position. So there is no specific term associated with the role. I’ll be continuing the role for at least the next year or more, as momentum continues to grow.
As far as the goals of the position, we are currently going through the exercise of updating our organization’s Strategic Plan, in part to define those goals more clearly. At the highest level, the primary goals are to identify and nurture “champions” of ITS at the local, regional and hopefully, national level, and offer them the support they need to advocate for and/or authorize continued investment. Part of this includes reaching out to the general public, to the media and to businesses throughout the state, to educate them as to the benefits of ITS at all levels. It’s one thing for policy makers to hear from staff engineers, vendors or consultants, but the message is much stronger when it is coming from the constituents and business community directly.
ITS News: Could you give us some background regarding your full-time position with IBI Group and what you’ve accomplished there?
AP: My day job is running the Portland office of IBI Group, and through this, consulting for transit and transportation agencies in the planning, design and implementation of ITS and telecommunications technologies. Over the last several years we have worked with ODOT, WSDOT, TriMet, C-TRAN, Port of Portland and a number of other local and regional agencies around the state, often developing ITS Architectures and Implementation Plans first, and then helping design and implement specific projects and technologies down the line.
One example has been helping C-TRAN design and implement their new Computer Aided Dispatch and Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) system, which was a follow on project after developing their agency ITS Architecture. We are currently working with TriMet to help update their CAD/AVL system and update their Communications Plan, and working with the Port of Portland to design and implement wireless communications networks at marine port facilities for security and operational purposes.
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ITS News: I believe you are involved with the Vancouver Area Smart Trek (VAST) program. Could you share some of the success stories with VAST in partnering with government officials?
AP: For those who are not familiar with it, VAST is a consortium of transportation and transit agencies in the Vancouver metro area, that are coordinating on the design and implementation of ITS in the region. Participating agencies include the Cities of Vancouver and Camas, Clark County, WSDOT, C-TRAN and the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of Southwest Washington. The RTC coordinates VAST and Bob Hart from the RTC is a perfect example of a great local champion helping ensure success for ITS deployment in the region. VAST’s equivalent on the other side of the river is TransPort, and there is a lot of coordination and cross pollination between the two organizations, as ODOT, WSDOT, Metro, and RTC (among other agency representatives) participate in each other’s meetings.
While many of the VAST agencies have a number of their own individual ITS success stories, two areas really highlight the partnering that can go on with these consortiums. The first, is the creation of a Communications Infrastructure Committee (CIC), which was modeled after a similar effort in the Portland metro area. The CIC allows VAST partner agencies the benefit of sharing communications infrastructure, including fiber optic cable and eventually wireless systems, to communicate between facilities and with field devices, by utilizing one another’s networks, often at a fraction of the cost of building their own parallel infrastructure.
The second example, is the region’s investment in Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS). After developing a Business Plan for ATIS in the region, it was identified that WSDOT would make the ideal lead agency, including expanding their website, and eventually the 511 phone system, to include local arterial and roadway information, with enhanced links to transit and other options. WSDOT has been a great partner in this area, and has completed Phase 1 of the VAST ATIS expansion, which has included expanding coverage of cameras and flow map information into Oregon, as well as, local information and camera images from City of Vancouver and Clark County. We are now beginning the process of defining the next phase of this expansion and are excited about the potential of where this can go.
ITS News: There has been discussion about reduced federal earmarks for ITS projects. How will this affect the ITS industry for Oregon and the relationship with our elected officials?
AP: Its not that the Federal ITS Earmarks are being reduced for Oregon specifically, but new transportation funding law (SAFETEA-LU) eliminated this category of funding that was used for ITS earmarks. Previously under TEA-21, Congress used one of the funding categories to authorize funds for specific ITS earmarks. With the passage of the new SAFETEA-LU act, ITS has been “mainstreamed” into the existing transportation funding programs. This means that ITS projects must compete with other transportation projects or be integrated as part of other infrastructure projects, such as road widening projects, signal upgrade projects, etc. This is in part a recognition that ITS are not just neat new technologies, for the sake of implementing technology, but rather an important part of transportation system investment in general.
On the plus side, this means that a lot of additional dollars are theoretically available for investment in ITS. But it also means that state and local agencies need to rethink the way that funds are sought, and that ITS investments are not cut from projects when budgets are tight, as has often been the case in the past.
ITS News: Who would you say are our elected official ‘champions’ for ITS?
AP:Some of our best champions are illustrated in the list of speakers who participated in a recent breakfast session that we co-hosted called: Metropolitan Mobility the Smart Way. This breakfast was scheduled to coincide with the AASHTO Annual Meeting held here in Portland which started on October 26th (the day we held our session.)
All of our speakers showed great understanding and enthusiasm for continued regional investment in ITS. They included:
Gail Acterman, Oregon Transportation Commission
Rick Capka, FHWA Administrator
Sandra McDonough, President, Portland Business Alliance
Betsy Johnson, Oregon State Senator
Fred Hansen, General Manager, TriMet
Sam Adams, Portland City Commissioner
Rex Burkholder, Metro Counciler
Dr. Robert Bertini, Portland State University (PSU) and Oregon Transportation Research Education Consortium (OTREC)
We also had great attendance from local policy makers and the business community, and have had subsequent follow-up sessions with both the Westside Economic Alliance and the Portland Business Alliance. Both business groups have shown continued interest, which will in turn, be very important to the policy makers.
Outside of the Portland Metro area, folks in the Rouge Valley (Medford) in particular, as well as, representatives from Bend and Salem have shown significant interest in achieving the benefits that ITS investment can bring to their regions. Part of the ITS Oregon Strategic Planning effort has identified that increasing our presence throughout the state, in part, to help identify and nurture the champions in these other areas.
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At the Federal level, staff from Senators’ Wyden and Smith have shown interest in learning more about ITS, as well as, Congressional staff, including Blumenauer, DeFazio, Hooley and Wu. We are definitely looking forward to continuing our outreach and education with these folks, and look forward to identifying champions at this level.
ITS News: Where is a good reference to do some research on the ITS provisions of SAFETEA-LU?
AP:ITS America has some material on SAFETEA-LU on the Government Affairs section of their website. This includes a pretty detailed breakdown of the different “titles” under the law, and the opportunities for ITS funding under each.
http://www.itsa.org/safetealu/c193/Government_Affairs/SAFETEA_LU.html
FHWA also has some good information on their website, discussing how ITS is addressed in the new Act. This includes a power point presentation that Jeffrey Paniati, the Associate Administrator at FHWA in charge of Operations, gave at the ITS America Annual Meeting in May of 2006.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/speeches/its_america/2006/paniati_50706/itsa_safetea_lu_5706.ppt
As a side note, Jeffrey Paniati came out to the AASHTO conference held here in Portland in October, and attended the Metropolitan Mobility the Smart Way breakfast session that we put on. He also visited the ITS lab at Portland State University while he was here. Mr. Paniati was very complimentary of both the program that Dr. Bertini is spearheading at PSU, and of the breakfast session that morning. He went as far as to say that this was a model for how FHWA Operations Support Program funding (which helped sponser the event), should be utilized.
ITS News: Thanks for your time and the interview.
AP: Thanks.
For additional information on these programs visit the Oregon Department of Transportation's ITS unit's web site: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/ITS/
Following is an update on select Transportation Application Development (TAD) and ITS Unit projects currently underway. For more information on a specific project, see the ITS Internet projects page at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/ITS/projects.shtml.
 TripCheck Update -
We've updated the TripCheck frequently asked questions section with additional common questions we have been getting about TripCheck. Check out our FAQ's section at this link (http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/ATFAQ.asp) and you may learn something new about TripCheck!
Click here to see up-to-date statistics about TripCheck usage, or type this into your browser address line: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/ITS/its_stats.shtml
Check it out at http://www.tripcheck.com and find useful road and weather conditions at ODOT's TripCheck.com web site.
TripCheck users are dependable about providing feedback. Here are some of the excellent suggestions we've received along with the changes we've made:
-Added 2 new Ashland cameras, which are positioned around the chain-up area for travel over the Siskiyou Pass.
-Updated graphic in Medford to accurately reflect the position of the Medford Viaduct Northbound Camera.
-Updated icon placements on maps for more efficiency - We found a couple misplaced icons that were covering city names. We moved the icons to more accurately show their locations and re-arranged some of the city names based on your feedback. You may notice these changes on all the TripCheck pages, but the changes are especially noticeable on the Portland Metro map, where the icons get cluttered the most.
-Added NOAA (NWS, National Weaher Service) alerts to the alert bar on TripCheck.
-Added a Snow Zone page so motorists know the areas where they are required to carry chains or traction tires. When signs are posted in snow zones, motorists must carry chains or traction tires no matter what road or weather conditions exist. This new link can be found on the left hand navigation side, under Winter Travel with the link called "Req'd Carry Chain Areas". For those of you that just like to click, here is the URL:
http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp?mainNav=RoadConditions&staticNav=SnowZones
-There were several transit updates on TripCheck. You can view them at TripCheck's Bus Rail page.
-If you have any suggestions or feedback for us you can email us at TripCheck.Support.ODOT@odot.state.or.us
What to look for:
-Caltrans District 1 (Coastline) Camera images - We are currently discussing a partnership with Caltrans district 1 to add 3 new cameras, 2 on US101 and 1 on US199. This has been ongoing for some time, however, we are closer to being able to provide those images on TripCheck.
-There is a newly recognized Scenic Byway in Oregon. This new route showcases Mt. Hood and has a splendid trip from Troutdale south of I-84 to Hood River. Watch for this new Scenic Byway web page this spring.
-Regional Trip Planner is on the horizon and will deploy this Spring. This will replace the existing Bus/Rail page that is currently on TripCheck. Please see the story below for more details.
If you have any suggestions or feedback for us you can email us at TripCheck.Support.ODOT@odot.state.or.us
For more information related to TripCheck, please contact Glen Hammer, Glen.A.HAMMER@odot.state.or.us, at (503) 986-3977.
For more information related to the Oregon Travel Information Council, please contact Craig Tutor, craig@oregontic.com, at (800) 574-9397.
RTP Draft web page to be added to TripCheck where existing Bus/Rail page is currently.
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Regional Trip Planner -
The Regional Trip Planner Project (RTP) will upgrade and update TripCheck's current Bus/Rail page. RTP, when implemented, will collect and display comprehensive public transportation information (bus, train, shuttles and taxi's) for Oregon .
The web page has a unique feature in that the public will be able choose from different sort and query categories that help them get the best results (City or County, City to City, Special Accommodations, or an alphabetic listings are the choices).
This project includes the development of a Web Services based data administration interface. Transit providers will have the ability to use this interface to update their service information via the Internet. This information will in turn feed the RTP database and the TripCheck.com display.
The RTP system will launch in February of this year.
ODOT contracted with Pacific Intermedia Inc., from Portland Oregon , to develop and help implement the system.
For more information on the Regional Trip Planner project, please visit
Re-organization within ODOT moves ITS Unit to Office of Maintenance in 2006 -
In September 2006, ODOT's announced a re-organization to place more emphasis on System Management and Operations strategies within the Highway Division.Under the reorganization, the ITS Unit and the Traffic Systems Services Unit (TSSU) were relocated from the Traffic Engineering and Operations Section of Technical Services to the Office of Maintenance to form a new Office of Maintenance and Operations.Galen McGill, ITS Manager, and Bill Link, TSSU Manager, now report to Luci Moore the State Maintenance Engineer.
Douglas Tindal, Deputy Director of for Highway Division stated in his email to employees announcing the change, "Within the Tech Service portfolio, over the past three biennia, we have made travel information investments in TripCheck, 511, VMS, RWIS, Ramp Meters, Traffic Cameras, Signal Timing Systems, and Incident Response with great results. But one of the challenges to optimizing system operations has been that key functions, responsibilities and budgets for System Operations are housed in several parts of the organization."
He continued his email with "There is a clear affinity between Maintenance and Operations that the Maintenance Leadership Team has recognized for a number of years. In an effort to raise the emphasis and focus on Operations within ODOT...the ITS unit will become a part of the Office of Maintenance and Operations".
This change is one step in the process to begin implementing the policies in the new Oregon Transportation Plan that call for an increased emphasis on operations.
FHWA Systems Engineering Requirements
The previous federal transportation legislation, TEA-21, required the adoption of federal rules to ensure project compliance with the national ITS architecture and national ITS standards. These rules took effect in April 2001 (23 CFR part 940) for any ITS projects funded with federal funds. The rules gave regions until April 2005 to develop regional ITS architectures or to begin developing project specific ITS architectures. An ITS architecture is simply a system level view of how we want agencies and regional systems to work together to operate the transportation system. This would include items like traffic signal systems, traveler information systems, transit management systems, and emergency management systems. The architecture also identifies the national ITS standards available to help achieve the regional vision.
A less recognized portion of the federal rule is the requirement to utilize a systems engineering process for delivery of ITS projects. Systems engineering is common in the software industry. It provides a structured process for taking a project through its lifecycle from concept through design and construction to operations. FHWA is now requiring documentation from an agency receiving federal funding about how the systems engineering requirements will be met.
ODOT has worked with the FHWA division office to develop a systems engineering checklist form that will be supplemental to the project prospectus for construction projects or that will be an alternative to the project prospectus for projects that don’t involve roadside construction (e.g. software projects). The form should be simple to use for someone familiar with the regional ITS Architecture. The systems engineering process should be scalable to match the scope of the project. The systems engineering work to add another camera to an existing system should be fairly minimal while the effort to develop software for a new system will be more extensive.
The form as well as links to additional systems engineering resources are available on ODOT’s ITS Program web site at the following link*:
*These documents will be posted shortly - if you are wanting them earlier, email the editor, Jon Lazarus, ITS Project Manager.
Here is a list of items that you will see on the ITS Units' web page:
ITS Engineering Checklist
ITS Systems Engineering Guidebook
FHWA Systems Engineering web page
FHWA architecture rule
ODOT’s ITS staff are available to help regions complete the systems engineering form as part of the project scoping process. In addition, time to complete the Systems Engineering tasks is now included in the ITS project schedule template prior to the start of preliminary design.
Contact Nathaniel Price, FHWA (NATHANIEL.PRICE@fhwa.dot.gov or (503) 587-4709) or Galen McGill, ODOT ITS Manager ( Galen.E.McGill@odot.state.or.us or telephone (503) 986-4486) for more information.
Transportation Operations Center System: Event Management -
TOCs - Screenshot of software Interface
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Oregon has four Transportation Operations Centers (TOCs) with the goal to provide and track transportation information for dissemination to ODOT operations, law enforcement, other State and public transportation systems, and the general public through a series of mission critical services. The purpose of the TOCS project is two-fold:
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Enable all of Oregon’s TOCs to work in a coordinated and more tightly integrated manner by consolidating stand-alone systems, devices and processes into one.
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Provide enhanced communication, more complete information and immediate dissemination to ODOT customers and partners, both public and private.
Construction of the TOCS application is in full swing with different groups of developers working on different portions of the system. The Business Services Group at
Oregon
State
University
is currently working on the portion of the application that will perform the basic event management functions.
This work will provide the main event management screens for the system. An ODOT development team is currently working on the portion of the application that will handle geo-location of event records. Work is also underway on the system connection between the TOCS system and the CAD system operated by Oregon State Police. On-line business systems (contractor) is designing the connection between the OSP and ODOT systems. Public Safety Systems, Inc. (PSSI), the vendor for the OSP CAD system, will be modifying the OSP CAD system to send data to and receive data from the TOCS system. The next items to be worked on this coming quarter will be the system functions to enable event management to be shared among multiple operations centers, towing functions, and road and weather data entry screens.
Contact Lorena Lambert, Lorena.LAMBERT@odot.state.or.us, at (503) 986-4017 for more information.
ITS Travel Time Algorithm Assessment and Refinement -
ITS Travel Time on VMS sign located on I-205
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The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) currently utilizes an algorithm within their Advanced Traffic Management System (
ATMS
) to display travel time on strategic Variable Message Signs (VMS) along their Interstates. Over 500 freeway sensors collect 20-second speed, volume, and occupancy data used by the algorithm to estimate travel time. Previous research undertaken by Portland State University (
PSU
) has revealed promise for using ODOT’s current algorithm for travel time applications under normal traffic conditions.
Hau Hagedorn was leading this effort at ODOT and accepted a position as the Research Program Manager with the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) housed at Portland State University. One of her new duties working with OTREC was to continue this project. We wish her the very best with her new endeavour and are glad to continue to be working with her.
The project is currently undergoing the intensive data collection and assessment phases of the project. I-5 and Highway 217 have been selected as the test corridors based on the relatively good detector coverage, congestion challenges, and physical characteristics. These corridors will allow researchers to rigorously evaluate the performance of the current mid-point travel time algorithm and at least one other alternative travel time strategy. Even at the early data collection and evaluation stages, researchers are beginning to understand the effects of variables such as detector spacing, recurring traffic patterns, and physical highway characteristics on travel time accuracy.
Contact Galen McGill, Galen.e.McGill@odot.state.or.us, at (503) 986-4486 for ODOT specific information related to this project.
ITS TechBuzz - Questions and Answer for folks outside of ITS
Welcome to this new section for the ITS news called ITS Tech Buzz! We've had a number of questions over the years come in about "How does this work?", or "Why did you do it this way?", so we've created a section to answer some of these questions. We're also going to try to answer our questions in such a way that the non-ITS professional will understand. Let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions please pass them along to the editor, Jon Lazarus. Thanks.
TechBuzz Question of the Quarter:I would like to be able to access the same road conditions data that's found on TripCheck.com for my own web site. Is that possible?
Thanks for the awesome question! The simple answer is YES. The ITS unit made a strategic decision in February of 2006 to align itself with its goal to offer a simple way to share TripCheck's traveler information data. We recognized that the public and private sector companies could create specific products and services based on an infinite number of possibilities because of the variety of data. For example, we've had many requests to obtain data for the Portland Metro area only, instead of statewide data. Request varied between specific location data with or without construction incidents, some with weather data, some people wanted major alerts only, and some just wanted everything we had. Others wanted format specific data feeds, (i.e. data delivered in a friendly PDA format or a map to display on their cell phone). We realized there would not be a way to get everyone everything they wanted, no matter how good our web site was or how many other options we offered (e.g. cable television, mobile data delivery, phone system, etc).
TTIP Screen Print Image
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At the same time there were ongoing discussions with the local authorities, (i.e. City of Portland, Port of Portland, various counties, etc) on how we could work together. They expressed an interest to display their data on www.tripcheck.com because they recognized TripCheck as the source most people go to for travel information within Oregon.
From the combination of these two events, sprung the TTIP project, or otherwise known as TripCheck Traveler Information Portal. The goal was to have one data 'portal' where all agencies are able to contribute their data in real time and in a standard format. The data is made available in XML/SOAP (eXtensible Mark-up Language/Simple Object Access Protocol) and with minimal programming, you are able to filter the data and customize what you want to receive. ODOT reports on Oregon State Highways but most of the people requesting data also had local city roads or county roads they wanted to know about. TTIP's goal is to bring city and county road report information into the portal, so people don't have to know who is responsible for a section of road in order to see information on it. "Just the data, please." is a common expression we've heard and are trying to abide by.
We've seen an immediate response from subscribers such as BeatTheTraffic.com, Google, Inrixs, KATU_TV, Metro Networks, Navteq, Pamplin Media Group, TeleAtlas, Traffic.com, Traffic Gauge, TrafficCast, and Travel Advisory News Networks.
So without further ado, here is the URL for subscription to TTIP:
http://highway.odot.state.or.us/cf/ttip/
We hope this answers this quarter's ITS TechBuzz question, however, if you have further questions on this topic, please pass them along to the editor, Jon Lazarus. Thanks.
ITS CONSTRUCTION - List of current ITS construction projects
Following is a list of projects that are currently under construction:
I-5 at Ashland Northbound - Camera Screenshot
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Doak Mountain RWIS (Hwy 140 at MP 53.70). Project is currently under construction.
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I-5 North Santiam Highway to Kuebler Boulevard. This project includes two cameras to be operated by the NWTOC. The project is currently under construction.
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I-5 North Medford Interchange (I-5 at MP 27.3) Two traffic monitoring cameras and fiber optic installation. The project is currently under construction.
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I-5 South Medford Interchange (I-5 at MP 27.3) Traffic monitoring camera and fiber optic installation. The project is currently under construction.
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Modoc Point RWIS (US 97 north of Klamath Falls). The project is currently under construction.
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Portland Area VMS (I-205 at MP 11.66, SB and I-205 at MP 24.5, SB). These 2 variable message signs were added to the I-84 NE 105th to Troutdale (ATMS, CCTV & communications) project to create the Region 1 CCTV, Communications, & VMS project. The combined project consists of extending fiber optic network east along I-84 and installing nine new traffic monitoring cameras. Project will also place two existing variable message signs, a ramp meter and a RWIS on the network. Additionally, the project includes the construction of 2 new Type 1 variable message signs. Anticipate a January 2007 bid opening.
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Region 1 Rural VMS (US26 at MP 61.82, WB). The project has been completed.
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Region 2 Miscellaneous Operations Project: This project consists of 3 Highway Advisory Radios (HARs), with warning signals in the Eugene-Springfield area and an upgrade to the Cushman Flood Warning System near Florence on US 101. This system will report status into HTCRS, 511, and TripCheck systems. A camera will also be added for verification purposes. This project construction is completed. Currently commissioning by ITS Support coordinators.
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I-5 at Ashland Southbound - Camera Screenshot
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US97 South Madras VMS (MP 214.11 NB) and ORE138 Junction VMS (MP 97.13 NB). The project is currently under construction.
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Region 5, 2007 ITS project. This project consists of 1 Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) transmitter with three warning signs and traffic gates at two on-ramps to I-84. These gates will prevent traffic from entering I-84 during emergencies such as snow storms. Cameras are included for verification purposes. The project design is complete. Bids were opened in November 2006. Project currently under construction.
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I-5 North Albany VMS and Camera (I-5 at MP 236.8 NB). This project is currently under design. Bids were successfully opened in December 2006. Project currently under construction.
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Region 2 VMS and Traffic Cameras (I-5 at MP 186.9, NB; I-5 at MP 190.99, SB; OR 69 at MP 7.64, EB; and US 20 at MP 31.25, EB). This project includes four variable message signs and three traffic monitoring cameras located in and around Eugene and Springfield. The project is currently under construction. Bids were opened in November 2006.
Select projects in design include the following:
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Region 4 North Chiloquin (SB) and South Klamath Falls (NB) VMS (Type 1 VMS at MP 245.4 SB and Type 1 VMS at mp 278.9 NB). This project is currently in design. Late summer 2008 estimate for construction and installation.
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Burnt River Canyon Freight Improvement Project. This project consists of 3 variable message signs and traffic monitoring cameras, 4 speed indicating signs, and 2 road and weather information system (RWIS) stations along I-84 in the Burnt River Canyon corridor. The project is currently under design. Anticipate a November 2007 bid opening.
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Region 2 VMS Project 2007 (type 2 VMS on OR22 at MP 51.90, EB and type 2 VMS on OR 126 at MP 48.60, EB). The project is currently in design. Anticipate a May 2007 bid opening.
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Region 2 CCTV Project. Consists of adding cameras to the Eugene-Metro Area. The project is currently in design. Anticipate a December 2008 bid opening.
ITS METRICS - Get the Latest ITS Statistics
 TripCheck usage data -
A quarterly summary of the TripCheck and ODOT travel information phone system usage numbers follow. The ITS unit homepage added a statistics section to our ODOT web site for frequently asked questions about our statistics. Click here to see the latest and greatest stats or type this into your browser address line: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/ITS/its_stats.shtml
This page includes graphs of the current month's usage data for TripCheck visits, pages views, hits, and calls to the ODOT phone system.
The approximate TripCheck averages for the fourth quarter of 2006 (October, November, and December) are:
 2,041,020 visits per month**
20,291,756 page views per month**
104,369,778 hits per month**
This quarter last year (4th Quarter 2005) TripCheck.com had 1,639,139 visits per month; 16,720,928 page views per month, and 88,759,293 hits per month.
The phone system (including 511 calls) for this quarter-period is:
28,182 calls in October
314,940 calls in November
288,669 calls in December
The average for this period is 210,597 calls per month. The average for this quarter last year was 203,200 calls.
**Visit:A visit is a series of actions that begins when a visitor views their first page from the server, and ends when the visitor leaves the site or remains idle beyond the idle-time limit. The default idle-time limit is thirty minutes. This time limit can be changed by the system administrator.
**Page View: A hit to any file classified as a page. Contrast the value for "page views" with the value for "hits," which includes hits to files of every type.
**Hit: Each file requested by a visitor registers as a hit. There can be several hits on each page. While the volume of hits reflects the amount of server traffic, it is not an accurate reflection of the number of pages viewed.
Green Light Metrics -
The Green Light weigh station preclearance program is now serving 4,024 trucking companies with 40,804 trucks equipped with transponders.
Green Light sites precleared trucks 1,353,591 times in 2006, which is down 2% from the record-setting total in 2005. Several sites experienced technical difficulties in 2006. The system was down for several weeks at both the southbound and northbound Woodburn stations, for example, and technicians eventually had to install fiber optic cable to resolve a wireless communication problem.
Green Light Web site -- http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/GREEN.shtml
 Trucking Online Metrics -
More than 11,000 companies are signed up for Trucking Online, including 3,100 based in Oregon. There are about 24,000 companies with trucks registered in Oregon and now the ones doing business online include 53% of those based in another state or Canada and 35% of those based in Oregon. From January 2003 through December 2006, these companies used a home or office computer for 895,781 transactions or record inquiries that formerly required a phone call, fax, mail delivery or field office visit.
Trucking Online smashed the previous year record for the number of weight-mile tax credentials renewed online. Companies based out-of-state went online to renew 39% of all tax credentials they need for trucks that will operate in Oregon in 2007. That's up from 2005 when 27% of all tax credentials were renewed online.
In September, about 9,000 Oregon companies and 15,000 out-of-state companies received paperwork for renewing their truck registration or tax credentials. Oregon companies set the paperwork aside to go online and renew 6% of their Commercial accounts and 3% of their Apportioned accounts. But it's the out-of-state companies who truly embraced Trucking Online for renewing their tax credentials.
Part of the jump in activity was due to a new application that Trucking Online developers implemented this year for a select group of companies with vast fleets. Companies such as Swift and Schneider need to renew credentials for thousands of trucks, so by using a "Bulk Tax Renewal" application they submitted everything electronically and completed all transactions at once. This new feature was made available to just six companies, but next year it will join the standard menu of services that any company with large fleets can use.
As a result of online renewals, the Motor Carrier Division saved 230 reams of paper (a stack of paper that would reach 48 feet high), plus well over $11,500 in postage and staff time to process and mail renewal-related materials.
Online business was simply booming in 2006 as Trucking Online handled 44% more transactions than it did in 2005. It also handled 49% more records inquiries.
Visit the Trucking Online Web site for more information – http://OregonTruckingOnline.com
ITS MAINTENANCE - System Maintenance Updates
 ITS System Maintenance Report -
This section update shows some of the requests for work completed by our staff and gives a break-down of high-lights and areas where maintenance and enhancement work was done. TripCheck.com, 511 phone line, Herbicide line, and HTCRS are examples of the systems supported.
October 1 - December 31, 2006
117 new requests for work were received. Of these, 88 were for repairs or minor maintenance work, 13 for minor system enhancements, and 13 were assigned to small Information Systems projects.
124 requests for work were completed during this time period.
Significant ITS maintenance work that was completed between October and December, 2006 included:
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Corrected problems with web-based HAR software and readied it for use by TOC's.
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Updated RWIS Notifications tool with several enhancements.
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Implemented feed to import incidents received from OnStar into HTCRS.
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Implemented displaying alerts from NOAA onto TripCheck.
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Updated Scanweb to version 5.7
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Updated OnRamp to run on new web servers and SQL server database, and added new features
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Deployed 3 updates to HTCRS with many enhancements and bug fixes.
For questions contact Jim Weisgram at (503) 986-3211 or James.D.WEISGRAM@odot.state.or.us
ITS in the News
*US DOT's ITS/Operations Resource Guide Updated and Improved
[transport-communications] Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Link to further information from US DOT:
http://www.its.dot.gov/itsnews/new_resourceguide.htm
Link to guide: http://www.resourceguide.its.dot.gov
*Trucking Technology Finding Wider Audience: Industry Panel
[TCN] Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Link to story in Today's Trucking:
http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=17339
*Report Forecasts Red Hot Demand for Telematics, Safety, Security and Navigation Systems
[TCN] Tuesday, January 23, 2007
News Releases section:
http://www.topix.net/content/prweb/0994687504164689158108353049561882585148
*New from US DOT's ITS Joint Program Office
[TCN] Monday, January 22, 2007
- Free ITS News and Information Updates
Link to RSS subscriptions: http://www.itslessons.its.dot.gov/RSS
Link to e-mail subscriptions: http://itsdeployment.ornl.gov/ess_subscription/ess_main.asp
- ITS Initiatives 2007 Update, Plus New Congestion Initiative
http://www.its.dot.gov/itsnews/initiatives2007.htm
- New and Improved ITS Lessons Learned Knowledge Resource
http://www.itslessons.its.dot.gov/SE
Can we do better?
The Oregonian, Portland Oregon
January 21, 2007
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1169277921251280.xml?oregonian?lctop&coll=7
*Freeway Operations and High-Occupancy Vehicle Systems 2006
[TCN] Friday, January 19, 2007
Link to report from the Transportation Research Board:
http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=7205
Reports from US DOT's ITS Joint Program Office
[TCN] Friday, January 19, 2007
- Intelligent Transportation Systems for Traffic Incident Management - Deployment Benefits and Lessons Learned
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//JPODOCS/BROCHURE//14288.htm
- Advanced Parking Management Systems: A Cross-Cutting Study
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//JPODOCS/REPTS_TE//14318.htm
- Intelligent Transportation Systems for Traveler Information - Deployment Benefits and Lessons Learned
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//JPODOCS/BROCHURE//14319.htm
- Intelligent Transportation Systems for Work Zones - Deployment Benefits and Lessons Learned
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//JPODOCS/BROCHURE//14320.htm
- Intelligent Transportation Systems for Traffic Signal Control - Deployment Benefits and Lessons Learned
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov//JPODOCS/BROCHURE//14321.htm
*Systems Engineering Guidebook for ITS
[TCN] Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Link to guidebook from the Federal Highway Administration:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/cadiv/segb/index.htm
New ITS Standards Updates: January 2007
NTOC Talks Newsletter: January 17, 2007
http://www.standards.its.dot.gov/news.asp#jan07
Category > Breaking News: January 17, 2007 (U.S. DOT)
Oregon Transportation Research and Education Center gears up with funding
Oregon ITS news exclusive story
January 16th, 2007
The Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) Year 1 funding process is off to a terrific start. The first request for proposals (RFPs) resulted in a total of 54 proposals requesting a total of $2,598,735 in Year 1 funding. Given the constortium's interest in collaboration, it was extremely pleasing that 30 projects (56%) involved more than one principal investigator, and 10 projects (19%) involved collaboration across more than one Oregon university campus. All of this sends a very positive signal that OTREC will be a successful, collaborative endeavor. OTREC expects to award award approximately $1 million in funding in Year 1. The Year 2 request for proposals (RFPs) will be distributed in the March timeframe for next year (2008), and Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) will have approximately $2.5-3 million in funding available. Check the OTREC Web site (http://www.otrec.us) around that time for further information or please contact Hau Hagedorn, at hagedorn@pdx.edu.
*More States Use 511 for 411 on Traffic
[TCN] Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Link to story in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-01-15-511_x.htm
Link to 511 Deployment Coalition: http://www.deploy511.org/
Request for Public Sector Partners for the 2007 ITS Standards Testing Program
NTOC Talks Newsletter: December 20, 2006
http://hosting-source.bronto.com/458/public/Request.doc
Category > Opportunity: December 20, 2006 (FHWA)
ITS Benefit of the Month for December
NTOC Talks Newsletter: December 20, 2006
http://www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov/its/benecost.nsf/ByLink/BOTM-December2006
Category > Now Available: December 20, 2006 (JPO)
New Data Reveal America 's Traffic Congestion Getting Worse
NTOC Talks Newsletter: December 20, 2006
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/fhwa0614.htm
Category > Now Available: December 20, 2006 (FHWA)
511 Deployment Costs: A Case Study
NTOC Talks: December 6, 2006
http://www.deploy511.org/docs/511%20Costs%20Case%20Study%20-%20Nov%202006%20Final%20Version.doc
Category > Now Available: December 6, 2006 (511 Deployment Coalition)
ITS Benefit of the Month for November
NTOC Talks Newsletter: November 8, 2006
http://www.itsbenefits.its.dot.gov/its/benecost.nsf/ByLink/BOTM-November2006
Category > Now Available: November 8, 2006 (JPO)
Central Puget Sound Regional Fare Coordination "Smart Card" Project: Experience and Lessons
NTOC Talks Newsletter: November 8, 2006
http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/T3/s061019/s061019_puget_intro.asp
Category > Now Available: November 8, 2006 (FHWA)
*These stories provided by Bernie Wagenblast and The Daily ITS news, in the Transportation Communications Newsletter. For a free subscription send an e-mail to transport-communications-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or contact the editor, Bernie Wagenblast, at i95berniew@aol.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Stay informed about ODOT ITS activities across the state.
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 ITS OREGON Meeting
The next ITS Oregon Meeting, February 23, 2007, 9:00 am, location:
David Evans and Associates
7th Floor Large Conference Room
2100 SW River Parkway
Portland, OR 97201
http://itsoregon.wordpress.com/?s=ITS+Oregon+meeting
Visit the ITS site for more information about training opportunities. Link to site: http://itsoregon.wordpress.com/training/
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Oregon State University, National Center for Accessible Transportation
Transportation Seminar Friday Feb 2, 2007
Speaker: Dr. Donald Shoup, Professor of Urban
Planning, UCLA
Topic: The High Cost of Free Parking
When: Friday, February 2, 2007, 12:00-1:30 pm
Where: 204 Urban Center (www.pdx.edu/map.html)
Link to site:
Portland State University [link to event calendar
http://www.pdx.edu/events/12382/]
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2007 National Rural ITS Conference - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
due by Friday, February 16, 2007
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE 2007) Technical Conference and Exhibit, “Managing Congestion—Can We Do Better?” will highlight leading practice across the world and will identify new solutions and the integration of multiple solutions to address congestion issues in metropolitan areas. The conference will be held in San Diego, CA, on March 25-28, 2007. Registration will begin in December.
The Michigan Department of Transportation and the Michigan Chapter of ITS America are pleased to be hosting the 2007 National Rural ITS Conference. At this time we would like to invite you to submit an abstract for presentation at the conference. All abstracts must be received by Friday, February 16, 2007. For further details and submittal information, please see the attached form.
Stay tuned for more conference details available via this list-serve in upcoming weeks. The conference website will be coming online shortly and will include lodging, sponsorship and exhibit opportunities as well as activity information. We look forward to seeing you in Traverse City, Michigan in October!
Sponsored in part by….Federal Highway Administration/US Department of Transportation and ITS America
For assistance – Conference Coordinators:
Meetings Northwest, LLC
PO Box 2083
Missoula, MT 59806
TEL: (406) 273-7224
FAX: (406) 273-2494
info@NRITSconference.org
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ITS America Announces - Call for Entries for Student Essay Competition
due by March 16, 2007
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America announces a call for entries for the 2007 Student Essay Competition. ITS America's Student Essay Competition, which has been sponsored by PBS&J for six years, is designed to encourage student interest and future participation in the development of ITS solutions. One student will be honored during the opening ceremony of ITS America's 2007 Annual Meeting & Exposition on June 4, 2007 in Palm Springs, California. For the list of topics and entry guidelines, please visit www.itsa.org/amstudentessay.html. The deadline for entries is March 16, 2007.
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Operations Academy Senior Management Program,
March 12-23, 2007 and November 5-16, 2007
University of Maryland
University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) has announced the availability of a two-week, total immersion transportation management and operations Senior Management Program. Acceptance for the program is competitive, and requires the nomination of a local, State or Federal transportation agency. Nomination Forms are available at www.operationsacademy.org. It also requires a commitment on the part of those attending the program to satisfy the self-study requirements, and to spend two uninterrupted weeks participating in the program activities.
For additional information: www.operationsacademy.org
Contact: Kathleen Frankle, kfrankle@umd.edu
Phone: 410-414-2925
Link to site:
www.operationsacademy.org
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Save the Date: ITE 2007 Technical Conference and Exhibit,
March 25-28, 2007
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina • San Diego, CA
The ITE 2007 Technical Conference and Exhibit, “Managing Congestion—Can We Do Better?” will highlight leading practice across the world and will identify new solutions and the integration of multiple solutions to address congestion issues in metropolitan areas.
Link to site:
http://www.ite.org/Conference/
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ITS America ’s 2007 Annual Meeting & Exposition
June 4-6, 2007
Palm Springs, California
Registration is now open for ITS America’s 2007 Annual Meeting & Exposition, taking place June 4-6, 2007 in Palm Springs, California. Take advantage of the lowest registration rates, which are valid from November 1, 2006 through January 5, 2007. Details are available at http://www.itsa.org/amregistration.html.
Link to site:
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