DALLAS AREA-WIDE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PLAN

This report documents the development of a comprehensive plan for implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) in the Dallas area. Objectives, findings, and recommendations are summarized as follows: 1. Develop a Broadly Based Steering Committee - A committee was formed with representatives from various transportation-related agencies including ten cities, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Dallas County, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), universities, several consultants, and other private sector companies. 2. Assess Existing Traffic Management System (TMS) and Potential ITS Technology - An inventory of existing TMSs and transportation facilities was compiled. Thirty of the cities in the study area were surveyed to determine incident management procedures and to identify particular problems or needs. 3. Identify Institutional Issues and Legal Barriers - A workshop was held to examine any potential institutional issues which might be barriers to area-wide traffic management. It was generally agreed that a regional concept was essential, but not necessarily as a regional control center. The cities still wanted to have control of traffic management within their particular jurisdiction but were open to cooperative operation for incident conditions across city limit lines. Under incident conditions, predetermined, jointly developed signal timing plans would be called for from a Dallas Area Transportation Management Center (DATMC). 4. Develop an Implementable, Area-Wide Multi-Jurisdictional ITS Plan - Projects are defined for both freeway and surface street systems. Included are Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), Advanced Traffic Information Systems (ATIS), Advanced Public Transit Systems (APTS), Advanced Vehicle Safety Systems (AVSS) [formerly Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS)], and Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) elements and their interaction. The DATMC will be operated by TxDOT but with sharing of video images and traffic data among the various operating agencies over a wide-area network. Since a communications backbone network will not be in place for some time, much of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system will initially be in compressed video format transmitted over leased Integrated Serviced Digital Network (ISDN) lines. The recommended plan reflects both State and National Architecture efforts. 5. Develop Costs, Benefits, and an Implementation Plan - Costs, benefits, and a staged implementation plan were developed and emphasize near-term improvements to incident management procedures, mobility assistance patrol upgrades, and other ITS elements. A medium- and long-term implementation plan is specified. A benefit-cost ratio of 17:1 was estimated for the recommended plan.