BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3 - (Page 10)

147 freeway management agencies had a trafﬁc management center (TMC). Schuster asked that while it is hard to document the precise amount of trafﬁc congestion relief TMCs have provided, “how much worse would it be without it? And it certainly would be worse.” Between 1997 and 2005, coverage of real-time trafﬁc data collection technologies rose from 16 percent of all freeway miles to 38 percent, while ramps controlled by ramp meters reached 16 percent, miles under lane control were 9 percent, those by variable message signs reached 46 percent, and miles covered by highway advisory radio increased to Technology advances New ITS technologies being developed or put into use are announced, explored, promoted, or reﬁned frequently. One of the foremost is the vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) initiative, and ITS America took its VII Technology Showcase to Detroit last October for the Society of Automotive Engineers Convergence 2006. A core group of companies—Econolite, Technocom, Raytheon, Connexis, and TS/ Communications—joined General Motors and the Michigan DOT in demonstrating vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure collision-avoidance technologies in a parking lot near Cobo Center. that will allow motorists to book a parking space electronically. Homeland security “Homeland security concerns are similar to ITS concerns,” Schuster said. “For example, an overturned Hazmat truck is still a safety problem,” whether caused by a terrorist or not. “We’ve been reaching out to the Department of Homeland Security to show it what we can do,” he said, and predicted, “We’ll see more ITS in homeland security. Technology has been developed to automatically turn all lanes in a city hit by a terrorist attack, plant explosion, or natural disaster into outbound lanes, which would have been of high value in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.” Vehicle tracking Public acceptance of intelligent transportation is growing, enhanced by a rapid growth in 5-1-1based and other trafﬁc-trouble reporting systems and motorist aids like the OnStar system. 22 percent. In May 2006, the U.S. DOT announced a new national strategy to reduce highway congestion, with ITS to play “a central role,” Paniati said. The cost picture The ready availability of ITS technologies and the fact that the DOT continually evaluates its cost and beneﬁt ratio fosters more deployment and lower costs, Schuster said. “Cost is coming down as you get economies of scale.” ITS America estimated in 1995 that $6 billion would be needed to implement ITS. How does the cost picture look today? “Now, cost is not a big issue,” Schuster said, citing the cost of congestion and accidents as $300 billion a year. He added, “ITS will be a small price tag compared to new roads, and are a reasonable alternative.” A recent FHWA technical report concluded that through 2005, the capital cost for deploying ITS infrastructure elements in the 75 largest metropolitan areas in the United States so far was $15.5 billion, with a remaining cost/investment of $28.7 billion. Integration and more extensive use of new technologies is getting more attention. ITS interests, private and public, are working on a holistic approach that ties port container security, emergency management, and truck movement of goods out of a congested port using new all-inclusive TMCs and satellite-based location technology. GeoDecisions has developed such an approach, and “what you’re seeing is the integration of geospatial information systems and ITS beyond typical ITS,” said Catangui. Another valuable ITS technology is parking information. Schuster noted the frustration motorists feel when they drive to a public parking lot, only to ﬁnd the lot full. Parking space availability information is needed “while you are in motion,” he said. “San Francisco has cut congestion and pollution by giving motorists travel times by mode and telling you if parking is available at the Oakland Rockridge Bay Area Rapid Transit District or if the lot is full.” And a pilot project is “coming down the road” The GPS as a way to manage ﬂeets was not around 16 years ago, and there were no cell phones to use in tracking. Now, location-based information is not only helpful in ﬂeet management, but also in personal travel—for instance, to help ﬁnd a restaurant, a hotel, a gas station, ofﬁce building, or the nearest hospital. Government agencies spend more than $1 billion a year, by some estimates, on tracking trafﬁc. In Atlanta, two companies—IntelliOne and AirSage—are tracking cell-phone signals in cars to see how fast they are moving, if at all, and can then let motorists know which roads are clogged. Media outlets can buy this information on trafﬁc conditions and pass it along to drivers. IntelliOne plans to cover 40 more markets by November 2007. AirSage has partnered with Sprint Nextel in four contracts with state transit departments and, with the Georgia DOT, will extend coverage between Atlanta and Macon. But privacy advocates in Atlanta have expressed concern about being tracked. Schuster said that the VII program directly addresses the privacy issue by telling consumers, “Here are the rules on how we will use the data.” The VII drafted privacy principles and took them to various groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “The ACLU said, ‘You’re on the right track,’” Schuster said, “so it’s a start.” 10 BE MAGAZINE | Volume 4, Issue 3

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3

Contents Rising to the Challenge News BE Newsletter Highlights More ITS Sightings Racing Concrete Canoes Lights, Camera, Action! Making the Cut People’s Choice Awards 2007 Executive Keynotes Building Clear Vision of a Dream Concrete Results Reaching New Heights Building News From Bentley Golden KIWI Awards 2007 Civil A Coordination of National Highway Proportions Training Troops Beautifying Highways, One Sign at a Time Civil News From Bentley Geospatial Facility Facelift Planning for Uncertainty Geospatial News From Bentley MicroStation at the Heart of LiDAR Surveying Solutions Plant Making the Grade Data Deja Vu Data Clouds Provide Clear Visual of Underground Saving Precious-Metal Mining Time Plant News From Bentley Advertisers Index Special/Academic The Art of Visualization Training Is Key To Delivering State-of-the-Art Solutions Bridging the Information/Infrastructure Gap

BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3

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