Successful Integration of ITS in the Regional Transportation Planning

Process at MRCOG

Nathan Masek, AICP18th ITS World Congress,

October 2011

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Presentation Outline:

I. MRCOG and the Transportation Planning Process

II. ITS Subcommittee, roles, activity, products

III. Convergence of Subcommittees: ITS and CMP

IV. ITS and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

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Section 1

MRCOG and the Transportation Planning Process

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• An MPO is a “Transportation Policy-Making Organization” Responsible for the Continuing, Cooperative, and Comprehensive (3 C) Transportation Planning Process for a Surface Transportation System for Transportation Management Areas (TMAs)

• Multi-Modal• Safe and Efficient

• Considers All Federal, State, and Local transportation funding –“Financially Constrained”, ie, matching projects to avail. funding

• Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) - 6 yr “Implementation”• Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) - 20 yr “Planning Horizon”

• …the Process Shall be Consistent with Federal Rules, Including the Regional ITS Architecture Rule 940

MRCOG as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

……What does this mean?

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Federally Mandated (23 CFR) Responsibilities:

Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP)Congestion Management Process (CMP) ITS Regional Architecture

Maintenance (Rule 940)

MRCOG as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

……What does this mean?

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ITS …”Official” Definitions per Code of Federal Regs (23 CFR)

§ 940.3   Definitions.Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) means

electronics, communications, or information processing used singly or in combination to improve the efficiency or safety of a surface transportation system.

Regional ITS architecture means a regional framework for ensuring institutional agreement and technical integration for the implementation of ITS projects or groups of projects.

The Integration of These Two is the Key………

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Metropolitan Transportation Board

(MTB)

Metropolitan Transportation Board

(MTB)

Technical Coordinating Committee

(TCC)

Technical Coordinating Committee

(TCC)

Public Involvement Committee

(PIC)

Public Involvement Committee

(PIC)

Transportation Program Task Group

(TPTG)

Transportation Program Task Group

(TPTG)

Congestion Management Process

Committee

(CMP)

Congestion Management Process

Committee

(CMP)

Intelligent Transportation Systems

Committee

(ITS)

Intelligent Transportation Systems

Committee

(ITS)

Where is ITS in MRCOG’s Transportation Planning & Decision Making?

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Where is ITS in MRCOG’s Transportation Planning & Decision Making? (con’t)

Existing Project Status Update

[mid-August - mid-Sept.]

MPO staff conducts Initial

Screening

Agencies Prepare TIP

Project Proposals

[Deadline mid-Nov.]

TPTG Evaluates Projects for TIP

[Dec. & J an.]

Devel.Funding

Estimates by Oct. 1

Analyze(air quality, CMP,

financial, etc.)& RefineDraft TIP

[end of Feb.]PIC Reviews & Eval. Projects for TIP

[Dec. & J an.]

TCC Initial

Recom.

Formal Public

Comment Period

(inc ludingPublic

Meeting)

MTBApproval

[April]

NMDOTApproval

[May]

PIC Review & Recom.

FederalApproval

[J une]

Mid-Region Metropolitan Planning Organization TIP Development Process

TPTG Finalizes Proposed TIP

[March]

TPTG Devel. 1st Draft TIP

[February]

FY 2010-15 TIP Amend.

Effective[J uly 1st]

FY 2012-17 TIP

Effective[October 1, 2011]

CMP Comm. Evaluates Projects for TIP

[Dec. & J an.]

List of CMP Projects to

TPTG [end-J an.]

CMPComm.Assess-

ment

ITS Reviews Conform. to ITS Architecture

[Dec. & J an.]

Recom. to TPTG [end-J an.]

Recom. to TPTG [end-J an.]

ITSComm.Assess-

ment

Comments to TCC, if any

TCC Final Recom.

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Where is ITS in MRCOG’s Transportation Planning & Decision Making? (con’t)

TIP Project Submittal Form:

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Section 2

ITS Subcommittee; Planning and Support Activity, Deliverables

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ITS Subcommittee Planning Activities:

• ITS Subcommittee Coordinates with TPTG, Reports to TCC and MTB• Is well established as the Inter-Agency ITS Planning and Coordinating Body

of the MPO

• Architecture Maintenance• Keyed - in to TIP/MTP programming cycle (2 yr)• “Addendum” to baseline doc, project Mkt Pkgs, deployment summaries/maps

• ITS as one of the Congestion Mitigation Strategies in the MTP and CMP• Projects ranked on congestion mitigation criteria; V/C, delay, crashes, transit

service, pedestrian accessibility, etc. • Project Ranking in CMP

• MRCOG is Identified as the Agency to Manage the RTMC• New Project - RTMC with Co-Location of Transportation and First

Responders• City of Albuquerque Owns Building, Stakeholders will Co-Locate , MRCOG to

Operate

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ITS Subcommittee Planning Activities:

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Excerpt of TIP Project Table with MPs “mapped”:

ITS Corridors Map

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ITS Corridor Profiles

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Section 3

Convergence of Committees:ITS Subcommittee and the CMP

Committee

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CMP and ITS Committees

• Crossover Attendance• Many ITS Subcommittee members are also

on the CMP Committee

• Shared Priorities• ITS is a Common Strategy

• CMP Points for ITS Elements • CMP discussion can lead to ITS

Project/Planning Considerations for agencies

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CMP and ITS Corridors

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Section 4

ITS and the Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Frontier

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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and ITS

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ITS New Mexico…..Next Steps

Economic Benefits of Efficient Transportation System Expand Partners across the State

▪ Multi-Mode, Public, Private, Commercial Technology-enabled coordination and cooperation

We Must Be Ready to Tie in to Emerging “Smart Infrastructure”

“Transport is the Lifeblood of the Economy”, Ray LaHood, US Transportation Secy

ITS Community Includes the Entire World We Can Learn From It

The Bottom Line is this….Our Current Infrastructure Cannot Handle Our Projected Growth

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ITS Next Steps…how do we get there?

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Focus Issues in New Mexico: Weather Incident Management Traveler Information - ATIS Recurring and Non-Recurring Congestion

Make ITS a “Mission Critical Component”

Continue Exploring New Technologies ITS New Mexico Can Showcase ITS to

Districts, MPOs, Civic and Business Groups

ITS Next Steps…how do we get there? Con’t

Project Planning and Development Framework MPO TIP and MTP Process Integration RPO Integration

Data Collection - Counts, Speed, Veh Classif. Crash Common Framework, Platforms, Formats New Data Available – Congestion, Delay, Incident

Response Times

Regional Transportation Management, RTMC22

Nathan P Masek, AICPTransportation PlannerMid Region Council of GovernmentsAlbuquerque, NM505) 724-3620nmasek@mrcog-nm.gov

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