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ITS News January 2008
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 January 2008 - ODOT ITS NEWSLETTER - VOL. 1, NO. 9
We hope you enjoy the 2007 Winter edition of ITS News, a quarterly publication produced by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Office of Maintenance and Operations, 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.
Deena Platman on her new role with Metro in the Regional Mobility Program
Regional Mobility Program – An introduction to Deena Platman and update on the Metro’s Regional Mobility Program.
ITS: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Jon Makler has transitioned to Parks planning and you’re the “go-to” person for this position. If we have not said it already, congratulations! Could you give us a brief background regarding your work and experience?
DP: Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself to the ITS community. In his relatively short time with Metro, Jon was able to increase the visibility of “system management and operations” in our region and I feel fortunate for the chance to continue advancing this area of transportation planning. For the past few years I’ve been Metro’s lead planner on regional freight issues and managed the development of a regional freight mobility plan. Prior to Metro, I spent close to 11 years with the Portland Office of Transportation working on a variety of long-range multimodal planning projects including the Portland Freight Master plan. I’m a proud UCLA Bruin and PSU Viking where I received a B.A. in Political Science and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, respectively.
ITS: When we interviewed John Makler back in July of 2006 we had asked if local agencies are involved with the Regional Concept of Transportation Operations (RCTO) initiative. Could you give us any updates, major milestones or achievements with that effort?Portland was one of three cities to be selected as part of the FHWA demonstration to see if RCTO would be good in practice. Has that study concluded?
DP: Work wrapped up on the Portland RCTO grant in December 2007. Jon completed the final report as his last act prior to moving on to his new endeavor. I’ll post a copy of the final RCTO report on Metro’s website to share with anyone interested.
As for achievements, the region’s goal for the RCTO was two-fold. First, it was an opportunity to target a couple of areas of transportation operations for improvement. Secondly, it was seen as a way to better integrate operations into the planning process. On both fronts, the RCTO project achieved success. The grant found its ripest opportunity in a partnership with the City of Portland on the issue of incident management. The most immediate and visible result of this work was the formation of the Portland Operations Steering Team (POST), a group of public and private sector stakeholders lead by Commissioner Sam Adams, who came together to improve incident management in the City of Portland. As a result of this alliance, the 2007 Oregon legislature passed a Move It law, designed to clear
non-injury incidents quickly by getting drivers to move their vehicles out of travel lanes as soon as possible.
The RCTO grant also achieved success in its effort to tie operations more firmly to the planning process. Most directly, it paved the way for my funded position here a Metro to work specifically on planning for transportation system management and operations, what we are calling the Regional Mobility Program.
ITS: Could you share some or your perspectives on what this position’s short term and long term goals are? What’s your vision of where we are going to be in 10 years?
DP: Right now, there is real interest and motivation for exploring system management strategies in the region. Congestion on our roads is increasing, even with investment. Recent studies at both the regional and the state levels raised awareness about the substantial cost of congestion on the economy.
Metro’s Regional Mobility program is charged with implementing the region’s Congestion Management Process, a federal requirement for metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) of our size. To this end, we will focus in the short-term on putting the pieces in place to do this work. We are just starting a process to create a comprehensive strategy for transportation system management and operations. Metro was awarded a Transportation & Growth Management (TGM) grant from the State to complete the plan. What makes this project particularly exciting is that the region has allocated $3 million from our 2009-2011 MTIP funds to spend on operations. We will work with our regional partners over the next 18 months figuring out how to spend it, as well as set a direction for future funding allocations. Also, we are developing a new approach to better understand and measure performance on the regional mobility corridors.
Long-term, I see a much stronger tie between transportation planning and operations. The spreading realization that we really can’t build our way out of congestion creates the opening to look beyond traditional planning solutions to include management and operation strategies. My hope is that the Portland region will be a recognized leader in innovative transportation management strategies. With sustainability being a guiding principle for transportation investment, we will find ways to merge our land use strategies with operation improvements and demand management strategies.
ITS: What do you see as the areas/skills you’ll be focusing on to accomplish the goals you just mentioned?
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DP: The benefit of working from a regional perspective is seeing the whole for the parts. Metro’s strength is the ability to coordinate issues and provide technical support. I see my primary roles as coordinator, educator, and advocate for system operations at the regional level.
ITS: What advantages do you see Portland having over other cities with regard to achieving RCTO’s goals? Is Portland ahead of the curve for a metropolitan city and its partners to be working together or is their still a lot of work to do to develop those partnerships?
DP: We have two advantages that put us in an enviable position relative to other regions. First, we have an established regional vision for how we grow – the 2040 Growth Concept. We’ve invested in a multimodal system that supports land use, creating an environment for successful implementation of operations and demand management strategies Secondly, the region already has a strong track record for regional cooperation it the area of operations. TransPort has been meeting for over a decade. The group completed and maintains the Regional ITS Architecture. Also, partnerships are in place at the transportation policy level with TPAC and JPACT, where the case will be made for increased integration of operations strategies in the planning and funding process.
ITS: We asked John Makler how this planning and funding help the average commuter in the long run. Are their any statistics or measurements you work with to show the problems and that we are moving ahead in the right direction, to lower commute times, provide better real-time data and better collaboration?
DP: Measuring system performance is a central goal of Metro’s regional congestion management process. Right now, we work with travel demand model outputs and, more recently, real-time data output from PSU’s PORTAL to evaluate the transportation system. Over the next year, I’m working with a team of staff and other agencies to create what we are calling a Regional Mobility Corridors Atlas, a first step in a comprehensive strategy to improve people and goods mobility. Ultimately, we will develop performance measures that will help us track conditions over time and better define improvement strategies. Our ability to capture, store, and maintain data to support a performance measure system will be critical. Partnerships will be key to the success of this program.
ITS: What other initiatives/projects does Metro have that would be of interest to commuters within the Portland Metro area?
DP: In addition to the system management plan, Metro is kicking off a High-Capacity Transit study to identify the where the next major transit corridors should connect. We are working on advancing the next light rail corridor, Portland to Milwaukie, to construction. Of course, the big effort is around the I-5 Columbia River Crossing and determining the best solution to addressing congestion and safety issues in this critical corridor.
At the policy level, the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan is moving into the next phase of development. The outcomes of the system management plan will be folded into this comprehensive transportation plan to put operations strategies on track for funding.
ITS: Thank you very much for your time and we wish you all the best.
DP: You’re welcome. I appreciate the chance to highlight Metro’s Regional Mobility Program.
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
Find useful road and weather conditions at ODOT's TripCheck.com web site at: http://www.tripcheck.com
TripCheck users are dependable about providing feedback. Here are some of the excellent suggestions we've received along with the changes we've made:
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Added 7 cameras on www.tripcheck.com:US 26 at Helvitia, US 26 at Cornelius Pass, US 26 at 185th, US 26 at Cedar Hills, US 26 at Washington Park, US 20 at Tombstone, and ORE380 at Paulina.
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Added a link on TripCheck for Portland Winter Travel Information. This link can be found on the Portland portion of the web site on the left hand navigation: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=45911 This new link provides Portland street specific information for commuters regarding Street Closures, News Releases, and Other Winter Travel Information.
What to look for:
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Region 1 (Portland) Camera images - We are currently working to sharpen the camera images and processing time from the Portland cameras to display on TripCheck. This project involves upgrading a number of hardware pieces, including servers and switches in the Flanders building in downtown Portland. This should have the effect of making the images from Portland much sharper and shorten the updating time on TripCheck for those images by about 40%.
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There is 1 new cameras on US30 at St John’s Bridge coming soon from the Portland Traffic Management Operations Center , TMOC.
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ODOT has finalized an agreement with TrafficLand.com. Among the benefits for our users, they will be delivering live streaming images back to ODOT servers for use on www.TripCheck.com! This means in the near future TripCheck will have a live streaming video option for the Portland metro area cameras.
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.
TripCheck Survey Launched on December 4 , 2007 -
The TripCheck Staff needed to gather more information about how TripCheck is being used and what enhancements you, the users, would like to see. Some of you may have noticed a pop-up asking you to complete a short 5 minute survey.
The survey is now over (ended January 4th, 2008) and we are compiling results from your input. We appreciate everyone’s time taken to answer our questions and we will review all the comments.
If you have any additional comments you would like to make to the TripCheck team, please email them to us at TripCheck.Support@odot.state.or.us.
For more information related to the TripCheck survey, please contact Glen Hammer, Glen.A.HAMMER@odot.state.or.us, at (503) 986-3977.
ATMS Upgrade from Oracle to SQL servers in Region 1 (Portland Metro) -
A long outstanding work item was to update the ATMS (Advanced Traveller Maintenance System) software from an Oracle database to SQL database. It was decided to also implement some upgrades, since this was going to be a major change. This was completed in December 2007. It improved the inter-operability of the back-end systems in the TMOC (Portland). It allows a faster transfer of information from when a Portland operator inputs an incident to when it shows on the web site www.tripcheck.com and mobile web site, www.tripcheck.com/mobile. This upgrade also allows for more growth potential when wanting to enhance our current process to add more data or functionality.
Additionally, the city of Vancouver will pilot using this ATMS version (now that the system is in SQL and compatible with their systems). The goal is that the city of Vancouver operators will be using the same software and be able to provide accidents, incidents, and construction information directly to the TMOC in Porland (and directly) to TripCheck.
Tim Banesek was the project manager and can be reached at: Timothy.BANASEK @odot.state.or.us
, at (503) 986-3169 for more information.
ITS I-84 Ramp Gates in operation in Region 5 (Northeastern Oregon) -
ITS Ramp Gate on I-84 in Northeastern Oregon
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Region 5 installed some ramp gates on I-84 on the Union Interchange. They will be used to stop traffic from entering the Highway during closures on Ladd and Meacham. This to allow the interstate to be closed for any major storm or obstruction and can it be done remotely.
Just as they were installed and working properly, the winter weather struck the area with 80+ mph winds, causing the arms of the equipment to break.
Mike Barry, District 13 Operations Coordinator said: "We are in the process of fixing them now. They did help to keep the traffic off the interstate and eliminated some manpower requirements."
Since the time of gathering this information, until the publish date (January 18th), Mike and the District 13 office has since fixed all the ramp gates. They are again operational and will help traffic if conditions take a turn for the worst. Good fast work. Way to go Mike and D13!
For more details (operational) contact Mike Barry, Michael.P.BARRY@odot.state.or.us, at (541) 963-8406.
For questions about this article, contact Jon Lazarus, ITS Project Manager, Jon.M.Lazarus@odot.state.or.us, at (503) 986-6586.
Transportation Operations Center System (TOCS):
Event Management STATUS PERIOD: OCT-DEC 2007 -
TOCS - Screenshot of software Interface 1
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Oregon has four Transportation Operations Centers (TOCs) that provide mission critical services to the public and several Operations, Maintenance and Event Response programs. These TOC operations include many independent software programs to perform a variety of tasks. TOCs share a common goal: to provide and track transportation information for dissemination to ODOT operations, law enforcement, and other State and public transportation systems for use in their respective service areas. The TOCS Event Management project will provide one consistent system for use across the state that will support closer operational ties, and provide enhanced dissemination of information to ODOT’s customers and partners, both public and private.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
ODOT and Oregon State University continue to work on development modules for managing incidents (e.g. crashes, flooding, hazardous material spills, etc.). When complete, this functionality will allow Operators to assign specific attributes unique to each incident that will enable dissemination to other systems such as TripCheck. In addition, ODOT will use this information to more effectively report on frequency and location of related event types.
ODOT has also prepared multiple statements of work to bid out the remaining development leading up to the system’s initial launch, planned for fall 2008. Solicitation of this work is expected to occur early in 2008 and will include functionality which addresses the following:
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Tracking and management of the issuance of tows for vehicles on state highways throughout Oregon
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System administration of TOCS operator profiles and custom settings.
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Generation of reports to support TOCS supervisors and administrative reporting of certain event types
PLANNED FOR NEXT PERIOD:
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Solicitation for Towing, System Administration and Reporting modules
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Continuing development on the Event Management module that will enable ODOT to track and manage highway incident responses across multiple operations centers and agencies.
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Continuing development on the Resource Management module that will enable TOC operators to manage and track ODOT, state and county resources to a range of event types, such as traffic accidents, hazardous spills, motor vehicle assistance calls.
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Finalizing the construction specifications for interfacing with ODOT’s Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS).
TOCS - Screenshot of software Interface 2
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Background:
The project is shifting focus from the functional screen design to technical component level design and development. Development of this system has been divided into a series of 16 development groups organized around the functionality as defined by the functional specifications.
ODOT has completed development of the geo-location and external communications interface with Oregon State Police. These development groups have been described in earlier ITS reports.
During the reporting period, ODOT focused design and development efforts around managing events and the resources called to respond to these events. Development activities on these two groups will continue into 2008 in addition to launching technical component design and construction with external vendors.
Contact Kelle Forbes, Kelle.Forbes@odot.state.or.us, or (503) 986-6568 for more information.
ITS TechBuzz - Questions and Answer for folks outside of ITS
LDI image from camera as seen on TripCheck
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Welcome to this 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:What happened to the Last Daylight Image I used to see on the cameras when I looked at TripCheck late at night or early in the morning?
This is a good question, and since we have answered a few emails regarding this issue, we felt it was worth an ITS Buzz question. For those that do not know about this feature, TripCheck calculates that last daylight image based on the Sunset time provided the U.S. Naval Observatory (TripCheck averages them for each month) and when it reaches that time, the camera image saves this image. We call this saved image the LDI or last daylight image. When a user is clicking on various camera images after the sunset time, they are able to see a link at the bottom, which says "Click here to see the Last Daylight Image". If the user clicks on that link they will see the screen shot, as it shows on the right here.
TripCheck used to display this image through the night, until sunrise the next day. In the summer of 2007 is was decided that 4 hours was ample time to display the LDI and for motorists to get an idea of what the conditions were like at sunset. As veteran travellers around the state are aware, conditions may change drastically overnight.
Motorists can check this extra service TripCheck provides on all its cameras, even the camera in Ontario (I-84 at Snake River), which is on Mountain Time. TripCheck recalculates the sunset time even with the hour change when changing time zones.
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:
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I-5 North Santiam Highway to Kuebler Boulevard. This project includes installing fiber optic cable and two traffic monitoring cameras along I-5. The cameras will be operated by the NWTOC. A project change order links the NWTOC with the fiber optic cable along I-5. The project is currently under construction. Anticipate the cameras to be operational summer 2008.
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I-5 North Medford Interchange (I-5 at MP 27.3). The project includes installing two traffic monitoring cameras and fiber optic cable along the Crater Lake Highway. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger project along the Crater Lake Highway in Medford. Construction is complete. Camera images will be available to the Region 3 Traffic Operations Center near the end of January 2008. Camera images will be added to ODOT’s Tripcheck website during the spring of 2008.
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US26 @ Cornelius Pass - Camera screen shot now on TripCheck
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I-5 South Medford Interchange (I-5 at MP 27.3). Project includes installing a traffic monitoring camera and fiber optic cable. The project is currently under construction. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger project constructing a new interchange on Interstate 5 in Medford. Anticipate the camera to be operational summer 2010.
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Region 1 CCTV, Communications, & VMS project. This project consists of extending fiber optic cable 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 road and weather information system (RWIS) station on the network. Additionally, the project includes the construction of 2 new Type 1 variable message signs on I-205. The project is currently under construction. Anticipate construction to be complete in the summer of 2008.
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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. Construction is complete and the systems are operational.
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I-5 North Albany VMS and Camera. This project installed a Type 1 VMS and traffic monitoring camera along I-5 at MP 236.8 NB. Construction is complete. Anticipate the sign and camera operational in February 2008.
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Region 2 VMS Project (I-5 at MP 186.9, NB and I-5 at MP 190.99, SB; OR 569, Beltline Highway at MP 7.64, EB; and US 20, Santiam Highway at MP 31.25, EB). This project includes four variable message signs and three traffic monitoring cameras located in and around Eugene and Springfield. Construction at the Santiam Highway location is complete. Anticipate this VMS to be operational in February 2008. Anticipate construction to be completed at the remaining three locations in summer 2008.
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Region 2 Variable Message Signs, 2007. This project proposes installing a Type 2 VMS on North Santiam Highway at MP 48.86, EB and a Type 2 VMS on McKenzie Highway at MP 47.14, EB). The project is currently under construction. Anticipate construction being completed by August 2008.
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US 97: China Hat Rd. – Baker Rd./Lava Butte Section. This project includes the installation of a Type 1 VMS on US 97 at MP 142.76 NB. The project is currently under construction. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger project along US 97. Anticipate construction of the sign being completed with the sign operational by February 2008.
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I-5: Capitol Hwy – Tualatin River Sec. This project includes the installation of a Type 2 VMS on OR 99 W at MP 7.87 NB. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger construction project along Interstate 5 south of Portland. Construction at the VMS location is complete. Anticipate the sign to be operational February 2008.
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TripCheck image of US30 at St John's Bridge to be added to TripCheck
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Burnt River Canyon Freight Improvement Project. This project consists of 3 variable message signs, 4 speed display signs, and 2 road and weather information system (RWIS) stations along I-84 in the Burnt River Canyon corridor. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger construction project along Interstate 84 east of Baker City. The project bid opening was held in December 2007. Anticipate construction to be complete in fall 2010.
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OR42: Hard Cash Line – Quite Mountain Road (Camas Mountain RWIS). This project proposes to install a Road and Weather Information Station with camera along Highway 42 at Camas Mountain. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger construction project along the Coos Bay – Roseburg Highway. The project design is complete. Anticipate a February 2008 bid opening.
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Spring Creek RWIS Project. This project proposes to install a Road and Weather Information Station with camera along US 97 at MP 240.9. The project design is complete. Anticipate a winter 2008 bid opening.
Select projects in design include the following:
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US 97: North Chiloquin (SB) and S. Klamath Falls (NB) VMS. This project proposes installing a Type 1 VMS at MP 245.4, SB and a Type 1 VMS at MP 278.9, NB. This project is currently in design. Anticipate an April 2008 bid opening with construction and installation completed in summer 2008.
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OR569: Beltline Highway at Coburg Road Interchange. This project consists of adding a traffic monitoring camera at the intersection of the Beltline Highway and Coburg Road. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger reconstruction project of the interchange. The project is currently in design. Anticipate a December 2008 bid opening.
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I-5 Beltline Interchange, Phase 2. This project consists of adding a traffic monitoring camera and fiber optic cable as part of the new interchange work. The ITS components installed in this project are part of a larger construction project at the I-5 and Beltline Highway Interchange. The project is currently in design. Anticipate an August 2009 bid opening.
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Region 2 CCTV Project. This project consists of adding traffic monitoring cameras in the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area. The project is currently in design. Anticipate a December 2009 bid opening.
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West Salem VMS and Salt Creek Tunnel Warning Signs: This project consists of installing a variable message sign on the Santiam Highway in the Salem area and two tunnel warning signs near the Salt Creek Tunnel on the Willamette Highway. The project is currently in design. Anticipate a December 2008 bid opening.
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Area 1 information and warning signs. This project proposes to install a Road and Weather Information Station on the Megler Bridge and will upgrade and add a camera to the existing Bradley Weigh Station RWIS. The project is currently in design. Anticipate a summer 2008 bid opening.
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ORE 213 & US 26 2007 Urban ITS corridor. This project details the installation of 16 VMS signs, and communications infrastructure to connect the signs to existing infrastructure along ORE 213 and US 26. This project is expected to provide for better mobility, safety and driver trip planning during incidents/inclement weather situations by providing real time traffic conditions information from the Agency's Traffic Management Operations Centers (TMOC in Portland) to drivers. The project is currently under design. Anticipate a June 2008 bid opening.
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A multi-year price agreement has been reached with Adaptive Micro Systems LLC for Type 3 and Type 4 VMS signs.
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 4th quarter of 2007 are:
 2,608,541 visits per month**
25,066,188 page views per month**
134,479,332 hits per month**
This quarter last year (4th Quarter 2006) TripCheck.com had an average of 2,041,020 visits per month; 20,291,756 page views per month, and 104,369,778 hits per month.
The phone system (including 511 calls) for this quarter-period is:
54,507 calls in October
314,940 calls in November
288,667 calls in December
The average for this period is 219,371 calls per month. The average for this quarter last year was 202,360 calls.
For the Record-
The highest yearly visits for TripCheck was just set in 2007 and is 19,419,383 visits. The highest yearly hits for TripCheck (2007) is 908,477,512 hits. Again, 2008 is looking to exceed these numbers.
TripCheck monthly record for visits: December 2007 with 4,598,691 visits.
TripCheck monthly record for hits: November 2006 with 249,194,480 hits.
On average (using visits) TripCheck isgrowing at 19% annually.
ITS phone systems (511 and 1-800-977-ODOT calls) monthly call record:January 2004 with 507,303 calls (note overall peak day was on 1/6/2004 with 60,369*^ 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.
*^Record ITS phone system call day is a calculated value.
Green Light Metrics -
Truckers traveling in Oregon saved an estimated 124,800 hours of travel time and $14.7 million in fuel, wear and tear, and other operating costs last year as they took advantage of the Green Light preclearance system to bypass weigh stations 1,498,042 times. Preclearance activity was up in every quarter and finished with a new record total that is 11% greater than 2006 and 8% greater than the previous record in 2005.
A total of 21 Green Light systems were operational throughout 2007. For the second year in a row, the Wilbur weigh station on I-5 in Southern Oregon was closed and could not contribute to preclearance numbers. That station and its Green Light system is still scheduled to be relocated at some point in the near future. The southbound I-5 Woodburn Port of Entry was the busiest of the Green Light sites in the state in 2007. It had more than twice the activity of the next busiest site, the northbound I-5 Ashland Port of Entry.
Oregon opened the first Green Light site in October 1997. It started keeping track of activity in January 1999 when it had four weigh stations preclearing an average of 51 trucks a day. In 2007, the 21 stations with Green Light systems precleared an average of 4,100 trucks a day. The program is now on track to preclear its 10-millionth truck in August 2008.
Green Light now serves 4,013 companies with 40,606 transponder-equipped trucks.
Visit the Green Light Web pagefor more information ( http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/GREEN.shtml)
Oregon Trucking Online -
Online activity was up again last year as Trucking Online handled 7% more transactions than it did in 2006.
It also handled 24% more records inquiries. For one particular activity at year-end, trucking companies topped the previous year record for the number of weight-mile tax credentials renewed online. Some are still completing the process, but as of January 17 Trucking Online had been used to renew 134,892 trucks. This represents a 14% increase in renewal activity compared with the previous year. Oregon companies set the paperwork aside to go online and renew 8% of their Commercial accounts and 5% of their Apportioned accounts. But it's the out-of-state companies who again embraced Trucking Online for renewing 45% of all tax credentials they need for trucks that will operate in Oregon in 2008. That’s up from 2006 when 39% of all tax credentials were renewed online.
This year, Trucking Online offered all companies with large fleets the chance to use a "Bulk Tax Renewal" application through which they could submit everything electronically and complete all transactions at once. This feature was used to renew twice as many credentials as the previous year when just a pilot group of six companies tested it.
As a result of all online renewals, the Motor Carrier Division has already saved 270 reams of paper (a stack of paper that would reach 56 feet high), plus over $14,000 in postage and staff time to process and mail renewal-related materials for 2008.
Visit OregonTruckingOnline.comfor more information.
ITS MAINTENANCE - Updates on completed maintenance items
 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, 2007
Patrick Hoke - New ITS Maintenance Manager. Welcome aboard!
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During October-December 2007, the ITS maintenance unit received 81 new requests for work. We also closed 50 requests for work, of which 2 were for projects or maintenance projects, 8 were small enhancement requests, and 40 were for system repairs or small services.
Patrick Hoke has been working with Jim Weisgram to complete the handover of the ITS Maintenance Coordinator position. Jim is retiring after 30 years with ODOT. Jim set a high standard for customer service and will be missed by those of us who work "behind the scenes" here at ODOT ITS.
A sampling of the work done in this period includes:
· Added some enhancements and bug fixes to the TripCheck Mobile project, a new feature in TripCheck that supports portable devices such as cell phones, Blackberries, etc.
· Our newest contract developer, Steve Hall, has made good progress on ITS system improvements, beginning with Camera Services, which processes images for TripCheck and other uses.
· Steve is also working to enhance TripCheck with motion video images for Portland area cameras.
· We added several new cameras and a new snow zone to TripCheck.
· We procured and are testing a new telephone line switch with which we expect to save ODOT money on telephone cost for our device communications.
· We developed enhanced reports to enable better tracking of Weather Station reporting activities and Weather Closures.
· We developed software to control I-84 Ramp Gates which are used in eastern Oregon due to weather closures.
· We have deployed a new version of software for controlling Highway Advisory Radio. Although the new version has been an improvement, we continue to work with the vendor to deploy an update to this with additional enhancements and bug fixes.
· We deployed a major system upgrade and new database platform for the Portland Traffic Management system (ATMS).
For questions contact Patrick Hoke at (503) 986-4416 or Patrick.HOKE @odot.state.or.us
ITS in the News - Noteworthy ITS news items
Note from the Editor:
Jon Lazarus - ITS Newsletter Editor
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To all of my colleagues and friends,
Heraclitus of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher (c.535 BC - 475 BC) said "The only constant is change".
I wanted to let you know that I have accepted a position within ODOT's Research division. I should start my new position effective February 1st.
In the short 5 years I have been with the ITS unit, we have set national standards, raised the quality "bar" across almost every business line, fostered relationships, and accomplished much more than I could list in this paragraph.
The ITS Project Manager job is the best "job" I have ever had. The team has the best group of people I have had the pleasure to work with and know. This position has always kept me on my toes. There has always been something to learn and smile about on a daily basis. My experiences, from the technicians in the field all the way up to the management chain, have been nothing but positive, constructive experiences. I am sad to leave, but excited about the new position and the adventures ahead.
I wish all of you the best and it has been my privilege to be apart of this team.
Jon Lazarus
TripCheck.com and 511 provide written, video and audio info for winter travelers
Friday, January 18, 2008
Link to story in the Roseburg News Review ©
http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080118/FEATURES02/501607904/-1/FEATURES
ITS Lesson of the Month
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 (JPO)
Link to story in ITS, JPO, US Dept of Transportation:
http://www.itslessons.its.dot.gov/its/benecost.nsf/DisplayXOTM?OpenForm&LOTM^LOTM
ITS Transit Fact Sheets Now Available Online
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Link to story on ITS America US DOT web site:
http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/factsheets/factsheets.asp
Chrysler to Roll with Web Links *
[TCN] Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Carmaker touts plans for auto-based access, in sync with tech trend of mobile Internet use.
Link to story in The Detroit News:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/AUTO04/801150360/1148/AUTO01
A Giant Boulder Blocks Highway, ODOT
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Link to story and video report on KEZI9-TV:
http://www.kezi.com/article.aspx?id=6967§ion=news&contentCat=local
Riding Shotgun with Google Street View's Revolutionary Camera *
[TCN] Thursday, November 22, 2007
Link to story in Popular Mechanics:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4232286.html
Hogging the Road
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Link to story in Mother Jones:
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2007/11/hogging-the-road.html
TriMet Launches TriMet TV*
[TCN] Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Link to story in the Willamette Weekly:
http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=9695
Link to news release from the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon:
http://www.trimet.org/news/releases/oct15trimettv.htm
Link to TriMet TV: http://www.trimet.org/tv/index.htm
ODOT turns to OSU for Traffic Management System
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Link to Portland Business Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/10/15/daily31.html
*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 will be:
Held in conjunction with the
NW Transportation Conference
February 5-6-7, 2008
Conference Location: Oregon State University
CH2M-HILL Alumni Center
Corvallis, Oregon
http://itsoregon.wordpress.com/
General ITS Oregon link:http://itsoregon.org
Visit the ITS Oregon site for more information about training opportunities. Link to site: http://itsoregon.org/training/
Northwest Transportation Conference,
February 5-6-7, 2008
Oregon State University
CH2M-Hill Alumni Center
Corvallis, Oregon
The theme is designed to address innovations that help us to maintain and improve transportation system service levels in an era of constrained funding and limited resources. In line with that theme, there will be sessions on transportation growth management, getting more capacity out of existing infrastructure, smart infrastructure investments, as well as long life and recycled materials. We hope to recruit nationally recognized keynote speakers to address these topics.
ITS Track for classes being offered:
Session 1A: ITS & Sustainability
Session 2A: New Concepts in Systems Operations & Management
Session 3A: The Intelligent Path to Congestion Management
Session 4A: Trends in Traveler Information
Session 6A: Saving Lives with ITS
For additional information:
Contact: Barney Jones, Chair
Link to site:
http://kiewit.oregonstate.edu/nwtc/
____________________________________________________________________
Talking Technology and Transportation (T3) Webinar: Lessons Learned Implementing Multi-Jurisdictional Transit Signal Priority Systems: King County Metro Transit and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
January 22, 2008, 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
T3 Webinars are sponsored by the US DOT's ITS Professional Capacity Building (ITS PCB) Program. Visit the ITS PCB website for more information about T3 and other ITS learning opportunities: http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/default.asp
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Center for Transportation Studies
Winter 2008 Transportation Seminar Series
Friday, January 25, 2008, 12:00-1:30 pm
Portland State University
204 Urban Center (www.pdx.edu/map.html)
Speaker: Art Pearce, City of Portland
Topic: Portland Aerial Tram Update
Link to event calendar http://www.pdx.edu/events/17412/
____________________________________________________________________
National Rural ITS Conference,
September 3-5, 2008
Anchorage, Alaska
Hosted by: Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Utilities
Link to site:
http://www.nritsconference.org/
____________________________________________________________________
National Rural ITS Conference,
August 23-27, 2009
Seaside, Oregon
ITS Oregon was awarede the right to host the National Rural ITS Conference in 2009! More details will unfold, but we do know the venue will be in Seaside, Oregon. Congratulations to ITS Oregon!
Link to site:
http://kiewit.oregonstate.edu/nwtc/
____________________________________________________________________
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