he various groups and input
from the regional team. There were 32 specific issues in total identified in the transportation summits. Of
the 32 needs, seven groupings or subcategories were identified as follows:
Traveler Information
s
Too few operational dynamic message signs with current traveler information
s
Poor traffic control at major trip generators and highway access points
s
Lack of real-time transit information, including travel times, pre-trip and at bus stops
s
Poor advance warning of and traffic control in work zones
s
Lack of user-friendly, customized traffic information
s
Lack of access to traveler information through kiosks and television
s
Poor availability and content of digital traveler information broadcasts to portable communication
devices (personal digital assistants, pagers, email, etc.)
s
Lack of information on park-and-ride facilities
s
Lack of remote, interactive voice access to location-specific traveler information
s
Lack of remote voice access to traveler information
Inter-jurisdictional Coordination
s
Lack of high-speed communications between traffic management centers for real-time information
s
Poor integration of transit with other modes (commuter)
s
Lack of coordination of transit vehicles across jurisdictional boundaries
s
Lack of electronic information sharing with frequent updates between law enforcement and
commercial vehicle operators
Traffic Signal Coordination
s
Poor signal progression
s
Poor traffic control at major trip generators and highway access points
s
Lack of signal preemption for emergency vehicles
s
Lack of signal priority for transit vehicles
Freeway Management
s
Peak hour freeway congestion needs to be addressed
s
Lengthy traffic delays and accidents caused by drivers paying attention to incident removal
s
Poor traffic control at major trip generators and highway access points
CVO
s
Insufficient commercial vehicle monitoring for safety or equipment violations
s
Lack of automated commercial vehicle compliance enforcement, including non-point of entry
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s
Lack of real-time commercial vehicle location for size and weight enforcement and for fleet
management
s
Inefficient commercial vehicle clearance at points of entry
Transit
s
Lack of incentives to use public transit
s
Lack of real-time transit information, including travel times, pre-trip and at bus stops
s
Poor bus schedule adherence and travel times
s
Lack of real-time transit vehicle location for schedule adherence and routing
s
Poor integration of transit with other modes (commuter)
s
Insufficient fixed-route transit operations, small service area and lengthy travel times
s
Lack of widespread electronic transit fare payment systems, including multiple transit fare structure
s
Lack of dynamic transit scheduling (adaptive demand responsive scheduling and routing)
s
Lack of information on park-and-ride facilities
s
Low level of personal safety for transit users
s
Difficulties in serving para-transit efficiently
s
Lack of signal priority for transit vehicles
Other
s
Lack of collision avoidance devices on passenger vehicles
Some of these needs fit in multiple categories and are shown as such.
Several needs that were not identified in the Metrolina Regional summit were identified in one or more of
the urban regional meetings. Some of these needs, and some identified in the urban summits, have been
identified as linkages to statewide or extra-regional needs.
This information was grouped into market packages to develop a regional ITS architecture. This process
is described in detail later in this report.
Regional Strategic Plan
The basic premise for this ITS Strategic Deployment Plan is to identify the transportation problems and
needs in North Carolina and to select ITS technologies that can be used to address these needs. The
ITS technology selection process begins with identifying appropriate ITS user services. User services
represent functions performed by ITS technologies and organizations for the direct benefit of the traveling
public.
The national ITS program plan defines the term users as: "a wide range of individuals and organizations
including drivers, travelers, service providers, and transportation policy makers." The NIA currently
defines 31 user services for urban areas. Table 5 lists all 31 user services listed in the NIA and provides
a brief definition. Metrolina Regional ITS Deployment Plan
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Table 5. ITS User Services.
1
Pre-Trip Travel Information
Provides information for selecting the best transportation mode,
departure time, and route.
2
En-Route Driver Information
Provides advisories and in-vehicle signing for convenience and
safety.
3
Route Guidance
Provides travelers with instructions on how to reach their
destinations.
4
Ride Matching and Reservation
Makes ride sharing easier and more convenient.
5
Traveler Services Information
Provides a business directory, or "yellow pages," of service
information.
6
Traffic Control
Manages the movement of traffic on streets and highways.
7
Incident Management
Helps quickly identify incidents and implement a response.
8
Demand Management and
Operations
Supports policies to mitigate the environmental/social impacts of
traffic.
9
Emissions Testing and Mitigation
Provides information for monitoring air quality.
10
Highway Rail Intersection
Provides improvements to automated crossing control systems.
11
Public Transportation Management
Automates operations, planning, and management of public
transit.
12
En-Route Transit Information
Provides information on public transportation after the trips
begins.
13
Personalized Public Transit
Provides flexibly routed transit to offer more convenient service.
14
Public Travel Security
Creates a secure environment for transportation patrons and
operators.
15
Electronic Payment Services
Allows travelers to pay for transportation services electronically.
16
CVO Electronic Clearance
Facilitates domestic and international border clearance.
17
Automated Roadside Safety
Inspection
Facilitates roadside inspections.
18
On-Board Safety Monitoring
Senses the safety status of a commercial vehicle, cargo, and
driver.
19
CVO Administrative Processes
Provides electronic purchasing of credentials, etc.
20
Hazardous Material Incident
Response
Provides immediate description of hazardous materials.
21
Commercial Fleet Management
Provides communication between drivers, dispatchers, and
providers.
22
Emergency Notification and Personal
Security
Provides immediate notification of an incident and immediate
request for assistance.
23
Emergency Vehicle Management
Reduces incident response time for emergency vehicles.
24
Longitudinal Collision Avoidance
Helps prevent head-on, rear-end or backing collisions between
vehicles, or between vehicles and other objects or pedestrians.
25
Lateral Collision Avoidance
Helps prevent collisions when vehicles leave their lane of travel.
26
Intersection Collision Avoidance
Helps prevent collisions at intersections.
27
Vision Enhancement for Crash
Avoidance
Improves the driver's ability to see the roadway and objects that
are on or along the roadway.
28
Safety Readiness
Provides warnings about the condition of the driver, vehicle, and
roadway.
29
Pre-Crash Restraint Deployment
Anticipates an imminent collision and activates passenger safety
systems before the collision occurs, or much earlier in the crash
event than is currently feasible.
30
Automated Vehicle Operation
Provides a fully automated hands-off operating environment.
31
Archived Data User Service
Provides for automated historic data archiving and sharing. Metrolina Regional ITS Deployment Plan
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Regional Plan Development Methodology
The objective of this task was to determine, based on stakeholder input, which of the 31 ITS user services
need to be implemented in the Metrolina Region and how to phase their implementation (i.e., in the short-
term or long-term timeframes). Since delivering a user service takes more than just one piece of
equipment, the ITS architecture groups equipment into market packages.
While user services help us define what is needed, their corresponding market packages describe how to
develop those services. Each market package consists of a group of elements (equipment packages) that
work together to deliver a particular user service. To identify the specific technology groups that will be
needed to provide the selected user services, market packages corresponding to each selected user
service were identified in this task.
The activities of this task were divided into three key steps aimed at producing a well-defined, integrated
user service plan, as follow:
s
Identification and prioritization of applicable user services based on previously identified
transportation needs of each region and development of user services deployment timeframes
s
Development of specific user objectives and performance criteria
s
Selection of market packages
The following describes the above steps in more detail. The remainder of this section of the Report
provides a complete description of each activity associated with these steps.
The first step in this task focused on identifying the user services appropriate for North Carolina based on
previously identified regional needs. First, the original statements of problems and concerns gathered
through stakeholder meetings in each of the summits were assembled into a comprehensive list. Ne