NORTHWEST PA REGIONAL OPERATIONS PLAN PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING DISTRICT 1-0

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF MEETING (FINAL) PROJECT: PURPOSE OF MEETING: LOCATION: PENNDOT Agreement E00229 Open-end Agreement for ITS, Traffic and Highway Safety Engineering Services Work Order 015- District 1-0 Regional Operations Plan (ROP) NW PA Regional Operations Plan Task Force Meeting #1: Traveler Information / Communications PennDOT District 1-0 Office Oil City, PA DATE OF MEETING: March 6 th, :30 AM 10:00 AM ATTENDEES: PennDOT Engineering District 1-0 (D-1) Randy Brink ( / rabrink@state.pa.us) Tom McClelland ( / thmcclella@state.pa.us) Cheryl Pastor ( / cpastor@state.pa.us) Mike Kapp ( / mkapp@state.pa.us) Sue Roach ( / sroach@state.pa.us) PennDOT Engineering District 10-0 (D10) Dave Tomaswick ( / dtomaswick@state.pa.us) PennDOT Engineering District 11-0 (D11) Jason Previte ( / jprevite@state.pa.us) PennDOT BHSTE Brenda Murphy ( / bremurphy@state.pa.us) Bob Pento ( / rpento@state.pa.us) via conference call FHWA Jim Hunt ( / Jim.Hunt@fhwa.dot.gov) Northwest Commission Bob Skarada ( / bobs@nwcommission.org) Pennsylvania State Police Brad Allen ( / brallen@state.pa.us) Douglas A. McGee ( / dmcgee@state.pa.us) Erie County Emergency Management Agency Brian Mesaros ( / BMesaros@ecdops.org) Dale Robinson ( / DRobinson@ecdops.org) Page 1 of 6

2 Edwards and Kelcey (EK) Keith Mullins ( / kmullins@ekmail.com) Megan Gould ( / mgould@ekmail.com) The purpose of the Regional Operations Plan (ROP) Task Force Meeting: Traveler Information and Communications is to confirm the high level needs identified during Workshop #1 for Traveler Information. Project concepts will also be identified by the group. Overview/Operations Concepts and Projects The meeting opened with introductions and Keith Mullins (EK) gave an overview of the ROPs purpose and how the Task Force Meetings will provide the opportunity to define projects for the NW PA Region. Bob Pento (BHSTE) was participating via conference call and provided an overview of Traveler Information and the 511 system from a statewide perspective. He explained how the Transportation Systems Operations Plan (TSOP) projects relate to Traveler Information. TSOP 04- Incident Management Traveler Information addresses a statewide need for information or content on: Weather, Construction, Incidents/Road Closures, Tourism, Travel Service, and Intermodal. The Roadway Closure Reporting System (RCRS) is a key source for roadway information data. The VISITPA number is a useful tool for tourism information and can be enhanced under TSOP 04. Bob shared what has been done to date with the 511 system. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has provided money for planning the system implementation. 511 will incorporate Amber Alerts and Real-time Travel Information. Bob shared information on the 511 Coalition and opportunities to stay informed on the progress of implementing 511 statewide. The coalition meets quarterly or as needed for strategic guidance on the project. Any interest in participating in the coalition can be sent via to Bob Pento (rpento@state.pa.us) for updates on 511. The schedule for 511 currently is ongoing with Web 511 Turn-on in July 2008 and Voice Turn-On in April Bob shared other projects under the TSOP that have not yet kicked off. These include better processes for traffic management and developing improved Inter-agency incident information exchange. He stressed that coordination during an incident is important, especially consistency in sharing information. Bob also addressed the ITS Field Device Master Plan that will be provided to ROP teams to identify gaps in ITS coverage on the Interstates. A question was asked to Bob whether there is a statewide policy on the control of the on/off access to interstates. Currently there is no policy, but it has been recognized that a policy is needed, especially after the February 14 th winter storm. Another question was brought up on the capability of the 511 system being used with neighboring states. For instance if you are traveling near a state border would a motorist be able to dial 511 and find out what is happening in the bordering state. Bob stated that he is not aware Page 2 of 6

3 of direct information sharing, but if a motorist is close to a state border it will be possible to dial in to the bordering states 511 system. An RWIS Strategic Plan was brought up as something that will be useful for the region and statewide to look at how RWIS are being utilized. Road weather information is a priority statewide and the content may need to be supplemented from other sources until the statewide RWIS is fully available. It was expressed that there needs to be more support for RWIS to support ITS operations in addition to maintenance. The new version of ATMS has the ability to retrieve information from RWIS. Discussion Keith begins by addressing the NW PA Regional Operations Plan: Project Matrix for Traveler Information that was handed out to everyone. He explains that the high level needs were developed out of the Workshop Meeting in January and that the project concepts were drafted by EK based on the needs addressed. As a group the focus is to discuss the project concepts that best fit the NW PA Region so that EK can identify potential projects. The task force then engaged in a discussion on needs specific to Traveler Information. The following comments were collected during the discussion: En-Route Traveler Information If District 1-0 is to plan for a new operations center and additional ITS deployments, then there would be a need for more staff to help with operations. Additional HAR deployments especially on Interstates 80 and 79 Weather information via kiosks at the Welcome Centers o Camera shots of weather conditions on roadway o National Weather Forecasts reports- data, satellite image CCTV that requires minimal infrastructure o Currently do not have CCTV for incident detection o Possible use of T1 lines or wireless in lieu of fiber communications o Useful for the media to disseminate live images to the public Pre-trip Traveler Information 511 Statewide Effort Maintenance of DMS and HAR o I-80 HAR need replacement Operations Personnel needed o DMS operated by personnel at home during off-peak hours Improve PennDOT Operations Traffic Management Center o Right sized TMC located in the Erie Metropolitan Area o Right sized TMC located in the District 1-0 Office Page 3 of 6

4 Regional TMC in Pittsburgh will be capable to operate 24/7 and will run District 1-0 operations in the off hours in the future Deployment of a Right sized TMC should follow standard design for the state The discussion continued to address the needs specific to Communications. The following comments were collected during the discussion: Include conduit in construction jobs Fiber can be costly to deploy, a T1 line can be used as an alternative TSOP 13 ITS and IT o Addresses the statewide standards to follow for field-to-center and center-to-center communications o Statewide Document being completed that includes plans and processes to integrate ITS/Operations needs and IT requirements o District 1-0 needs a Communications Plan that builds on TSOP 13 At the close of the Communications discussion, Jim Hunt from FHWA passed out a memo on ITS for Traveler Information. The memo discusses the deployment benefits and lessons learned from other ITS projects. Questions / Comments If additional information is needed or documents wanted about the ROP, the ROP website is The website includes updated information on meetings, ROP background and the process. Next Steps / Action Items The 2 nd Taskforce Meeting has been set for April 3 rd at 8:30 am at the PennDOT District 1-0 Office. Someone needs to provide EK with the Interstate Completion Plan for ITS devices; Someone needs to contact the Central Office weather coordinator; EK will send out Task Force Meeting #2 invitation to the stakeholders; EK will develop the Project Deployments based on the Needs and Project Concepts discussed at the Task Force meeting; and EK will encourage the planning partners to attend the Task Force Meetings. We believe the foregoing minutes to be an accurate summary of the meeting and related decisions. Failing written notification to the contrary, after ten (10) days, we will consider these minutes a statement of facts. Page 4 of 6

5 Minutes prepared by: Keith R. Mullins, P.E. Edwards and Kelcey cc: All Meeting Attendees EK Project File EK Project Team Y:\2004 Projects\ \WO-15\Documents\Project Management\Meetings\ROF Meeting \PENNDOT D 1-0 ROF Meeting Minutes DRAFT.doc Page 5 of 6

6 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVATIONS ATMS AVL CCIP CCTV DMS FHWA HAR ITS PEMA PennDOT PSP RCRS ROF ROP RTMC RWIS STMC TAC TSAMS TMC TSEI TSOP USDOT Advanced Traffic Management System Automatic Vehicle Locator Congested Corridor Improvement Program Closed-Circuit Television Dynamic Message Sign Federal Highway Administration Highway Advisory Radio Intelligent Transportation System Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Pennsylvania State Police Roadway Closure Reporting System Regional Operations Forum Regional Operations Plan Regional Traffic Management Center Roadway Weather Information System Statewide Traffic Management Center Transportation Advisory Committee Traffic Signal Asset Management System Traffic Management Center Traffic Signal Enhancement Initiative Transportation Systems Operations Plan United States Department of Transportation Page 6 of 6