Best Practices of Rural and 

Statewide ITS Strategic Planning

135

154

246

192

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166

BUELLTON

LOMPOC

SOLVANG

101

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A

SANTA

 BARBARA

 COUNTY

135

SAN LUIS OBISPO 

MORRO BAY

ATASCADERO

PASO ROBLES

ARROYO GRANDE

SAN

 LUIS 

 OBISPO

 COUNTY

KERN COUNTY

58

58

1

166

33

41

41

229

227

46

1

166

CARPINTERIA

1

101

225

SANTA 

BARBARA

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46

PISMO BEACH

GROVER BEACH

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SANTA 

MARIA GUADALUPE

166

101

This is an illustration of the type of ITS applications 

that exist in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties. 

Due to the scale, the map is not intended to pinpoint exact 

locations, but to provide general locations of where they exist. 

Legend:

Interconnected Signal System/Signal Pre-emption

Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)

Changeable Message Signs (CMS)

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)

Call Boxes

Interactive Traveler Information

Systems

Ramp Metering

CMS

Study Area/County Boundaries

Adjacent County Boundaries

PACIFIC 

OCEAN

PACIFIC 

OCEAN

July 2002
Acknowledgement

This document has been prepared as part of U.S. DOT’s Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program activities to develop

guidance for implementation of ITS in Rural and small urban areas. The 

development of this guidance was undertaken by the U.S. DOT’s rural 

ITS support contractors – Science Applications International Corporation 

(SAIC), Castle Rock Consultants, Transcore and the Western

Transportation Institute within the framework of the Rural ITS Support 

Services contract. This document identifies best practices for rural and 

statewide ITS strategic planning process from across the nation.
Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship 

of the Department of Transportation in the interest of 

information exchange. The United States Government 

assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof.
1. Report No.

FHWA-OP-02-037

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

EDL #13608

5. Report Date

July, 2002

4. Title and Subtitle

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Planning 6. Performing Organization Code

HOP

7. Authors

Charles Dankocsik (Transcore), Mohsen Zarean Ph.D, P.E., David Register, Karen 

Timpone (Science Applications International Corporation)

8. Perfor ming Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

Science Applications International Corporation / Transcore

8301 Greensboro Drive, M/S E-7-6 35 So. Raymond Avenue, Suite 200

McLean, Virginia 22102-3305 Pasadena, California 91105-1931 11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-98-C-00073

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report

April 2000 – April 2002

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

United States Department of Transportation

ITS Joint Program Office, HOIT

400 Seventh Street, SW

Washington, DC 20590 14. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-98-C-00073

15. Supplementary Notes

Michael Freitas, James Pol

16. Abstract

The "Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning" document investigates the transferability of rural and 

statewide ITS planning efforts to other locations and provides "lessons learned" during the ITS planning process in many 

locations. The goal of this document is to identify factors that should be considered by agencies undertaking rural and statewide 

ITS planning projects. It describes factors that should be examined if components of successful rural and statewide ITS planning 

efforts are to be transferred and replicated els ewhere. It also documents the benefits of rural and statewide ITS planning so that 

these benefits can encourage future ITS strategic planning efforts nationwide.

The primary objective of this document is to capture and document best practices rural and statewide ITS planning and to present 

an overview of the “typical” ITS planning process. To do this, 12 in-depth case studies and 18 shorter survey forms were 

developed to record and analyze the opinions, views, and experiences of the people involved in each ITS planning initiative and to 

derive recommendations and pointers that can be adapted for future projects. This document addresses more institutional rather 

than technical issues; its emphasis is on the complex decision-making processes required for the ITS strategic planning. This 

process includes agency interactions, processes and procedures, organizational structures, and institutional involvement.

17. Key Words

Intelligent Transportation Systems, ITS, Rural ITS Planning 

Process, Resources Document, Deployment, Best Practices

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions. This document is available to the public from: The 

National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

N/A

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

N/A

21. No. of Pages

226

22. Price

N/A

 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized.
Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................1-1

Best Practices – Background..................................................................................................1-1

Best Practices – Purpose ........................................................................................................1-1

Best Practices – Scope ...........................................................................................................1-2

Best Practices – Target Audience ..........................................................................................1-3

2. METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................................2-1

Project Approach....................................................................................................................2-1

Case Studies...........................................................................................................................2-1

Survey Forms .........................................................................................................................2-3

Prepare Best Practices Document ..........................................................................................2-5

3. ITS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.......................................................................3-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................3-1

What is an ITS Strategic Plan? ..............................................................................................3-1

Characteristics of an Effective ITS Planning Process............................................................3-1

What is a Regional ITS Architecture? ...................................................................................3-2

Why Develop a Regional ITS Architecture? .........................................................................3-4

How to Develop a Regional ITS Architecture .......................................................................3-4

4. GOALS & OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................4-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................4-1

Reasons for Conducting an ITS Strategic Plan......................................................................4-1

Why Update an Existing ITS Strategic Plan? ........................................................................4-2

5. STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION ...............................................................................5-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................5-1

Organization, Coordination, and Management......................................................................5-1

Successful Tactics for Generating Stakeholder Participation................................................5-2

6. OUTREACH, EDUCATION, & MARKETING ACTIVITIES......................................6-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................6-1

Best Practices.........................................................................................................................6-1

7. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES & SOURCES...................................................................7-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................7-1

Mainstreaming ITS ................................................................................................................7-1

Potential Federal Funding Sources ........................................................................................7-1

Private Funding Potential.......................................................................................................7-2

8. OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, & MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS ..........8-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................8-1

Early Consideration of O&M.................................................................................................8-1

Agency Capabilities and related costs ...................................................................................8-1

O&M Responsibilities...........................................................................................................8-2

O&M Costs............................................................................................................................8-2

Other Costs.............................................................................................................................8-2

9. COSTS...................................................................................................................................9-1

Introduction............................................................................................................................9-1

Strategic Plan Cost/Level-of-Effort.......................................................................................9-1

Public Sector Level of Effort.................................................................................................9-3

Private Sector Prices ..............................................................................................................9-4
Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page ii

Planning Level Cost Estimates ..............................................................................................9-6

10. POTENTIAL BENEFITS .................................................................................................10-1

Introduction..........................................................................................................................10-1

How Benefits were Determined...........................................................................................10-1

Benefits of Conducting an ITS Strategic Planning effort....................................................10-2

11. GUIDANCE HIGHLIGHTS FROM CASE STUDIES..................................................11-1

Introduction..........................................................................................................................11-1

Strategic Planning -- Overview............................................................................................11-1

perform Regional Inventory & Define needs.......................................................................11-2

Develop ITS Vision.............................................................................................................11-3

Identify/Screen Market Packages & ITS Concept Plan.......................................................11-3

Identify Desired Functional Capabilities & Potential Projects............................................11-4

Define ITS Regional Framework Including Architecture ...................................................11-4

Define Operational & Implementation Strategies................................................................11-5

Regional ITS Implementation Program...............................................................................11-5

Outreach Activities ..............................................................................................................11-5

LIST OF EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1.1 - Best Practices Document Contents.........................................................................1-3

Exhibit 2.1 – Case Study Location and Scope of Plan ................................................................2-1

Exhibit 2.2 – Information collected for each Case Study............................................................2-2

Exhibit 2.3 – List of Regions or States that were surveyed .........................................................2-3

Exhibit 2.4 – List of Questions Included in Each Survey............................................................2-4

Exhibit 3.1 – Planning Process Frequently Used for ITS Strategic Plans...................................3-3

Exhibit 9.1 - Level of Effort and Price for Strategic Planning ....................................................9-3

Exhibit 9.2 - Public Sector Cost Level –of Effort........................................................................9-4

Exhibit 9.3 - Private Sector Contract Value .................................................................................9-4

Exhibit 9.4 - Cost Estimates to Complete ITS Strategic Planning Effort....................................9-5
Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page iii

List of Appendices

APPENDIX A – IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDY PROJECTS

APPENDIX B – PROJECT SURVEY FORMS

APPENDIX C – CASE STUDY AND SURVEY FORM RESULTS SUMMARY
Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page iv

LIST OF COMMON ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMNS

ITEM DESCRIPTION

APTS Advanced Public Transportation Systems

ATIS Advanced Traveler Information Systems

ATMS Advanced Transportation Management Systems

CAD Computer Aided Dispatch

Caltrans California Department of Transportation

CCTV Closed Circuit Television

CHP California Highway Patrol

CMS Changeable Message Sign

COG Council of Governments

COTS Commercial-Off-The-Shelf

CRC Castle Rock Consultants

CVO Commercial Vehicle Operations

DMS Dynamic Message Sign

DOT Department of Transportation

DPW Department of Public Works

EMS Emergency Medical Services

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

FTA Federal Transit Administration

HAR Highway Advisory Radio

HazMat Hazardous Materials

ISP Information Service Provider

ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (1991)

IT Information Technology

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems

MOE Measure-of-Effectiveness

MOU Memorandum-of-Understanding

MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization

NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

NWS National Weather Service

O&M Operations and Maintenance

PCB Professional Capacity Building

RFP Request for Proposal
Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page v

ITEM DESCRIPTION

RTIP Regional Transportation Improvement Plan

RTPA Regional Transportation Planning Agency

SAIC Science Applications International Corporation

SDO Standards Development Organization

STIP Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan

TCS Traffic Control System

TEA-21 Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century

TIP Transportation Improvement Plan

TMC Transportation Management Center

TransCore TransCore ITS, Inc.

U.S. DOT United States Department of Transportation

VMS Variable Message Sign

WTI Western Transportation Institute (Montana State University - Bozeman)
1. Introduction

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 1-1

1. INTRODUCTION

BEST PRACTICES – BACKGROUND

In recent years, it has become increasingly common for states and regions across the country to 

consider Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) solutions to meet the transportation needs of 

their rural and small urban areas. Some of the most progressive states also have examined these 

opportunities from a statewide perspective. However, while there is a growing body of

experience in planning, developing, and deploying ITS, this experience is not being shared 

effectively among all potential user groups. Consequently, each group that embarks on these 

efforts typically starts from scratch and proceeds without the benefit of experience garnered on 

similar efforts.

In order to make this body of experience more accessible, the United States Department of 

Transportation (U.S. DOT) commissioned the development of Best Practices on the planning, 

development, and deployment of Rural ITS. The purpose of this document, Best Practices of 

Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning, is to support those agencies and groups that are 

beginning the process of Rural or Statewide ITS deployment planning. Documenting past efforts 

will support the transferability of ITS planning steps that "make sense" to other locations and in 

so doing help identify and avoid or mitigate problems that have been encountered elsewhere. In 

this manner, the best practices document can make a positive impact in the transportation

industry and contribute greatly to improving future rural and statewide ITS planning efforts.

BEST PRACTICES – PURPOSE

The rural ITS best practices series consists of two (2) main components:

?? A previously published Rural Toolbox (or resources document) that identifies successful 

Rural ITS Projects and Statewide ITS planning initiatives from across the country

(available as publication number FHWA-OP-01-030)

?? This best practices document that guides users through proven processes for the

preparation of a rural or statewide ITS deployment plan

This document is the second of these components, the best practices document. It investigates 

the transferability of rural and statewide ITS planning efforts to other locations and provides 

"lessons learned" during the ITS planning process in many locations. The best practices 

document's ultimate goal is to identify factors that should be considered by agencies undertaking 

rural and statewide ITS planning projects. This document describes factors that should be

examined if components of successful rural and statewide ITS planning efforts are to be 

transferred and replicated elsewhere. It also documents the benefits of rural and statewide ITS 

planning so that these benefits can encourage future ITS strategic planning efforts nationwide.

The U.S. DOT is actively promoting the planning and deployment of ITS as directed within the 

Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). In order to more effectively

advance ITS deployment throughout the country, the U.S. DOT has developed a plan for 

ensuring that the nationa l transportation workforce is adequately prepared for this task. This 

effort includes a number of components such as the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) 
1. Introduction

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 1-2

program, the Technical Assistance program, and the ITS Peer-to-Peer program. Each of these 

programs encompasses a wide variety of instructional, guidance, and training tools aimed at 

educating the public, transportation practitioners, and elected officials about ITS.

Furthermore, in April 2001, Part 940 of Title 23 in the Code of Federal Regulations became 

active. The regulation seeks to foster integration through the development of a regional ITS 

architecture tailored to address the local situation, ITS investment needs, and the subsequent 

conformance of ITS projects to the National ITS Architecture and appropriate standards. To this 

end, the U.S. DOT has developed the Regional ITS Architecture Guidance document (available 

as publication number FHWA-OP-02-024)1 to assist stakeholders in developing, using, and

maintaining an ITS architecture for their region.

Working together with these other programs, rules, and documents, this best practices document 

promotes a number of common ITS themes such as inter-agency involvement and cooperation, 

regional planning and deployment needs, and desired integration strategies as the foundation for 

subsequent rural ITS planning, development, and deployment activities.

BEST PRACTICES – SCOPE 

The primary objective of the Best Practices Document is to capture and document rural and 

statewide ITS planning and to present an overview of the “typical” ITS planning process. To do 

this, 12 in-depth case studies and 18 shorter survey forms were completed to record and analyze 

the opinions, views, and experiences of the people involved in each ITS planning initiative and 

to derive recommendations and pointers that can be adapted for future projects. This document 

addresses more institutional rather than technical issues; its emphasis is on the complex decisionmaking process required for ITS strategic planning. This process includes agency interactions, 

processes and procedures, organizational structures, and the level of institutional involvement. 

Exhibit 1.1 clarifies what sub elements of the process are included in the best practices

document.

 

1

 This document may be obtained on-line through the ITS Electronic Document Library (#13598), available through 

http://www.its.dot.gov.
1. Introduction

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 1-3

Addressed in Document Not Addressed in Document

Analysis of ITS Strategic Planning Experiences (12 

Case Studies and 18 Survey Forms)

??Review plans, documents, and studies

??Record planners’ opinions, perspectives, 

and viewpoints

??Subjective evaluation

??Factual data and information “highlights”

??Level of effort each strategic plan required

ITS Strategic Plan Evaluation

??Comprehensive factual data and 

information

??Objective analysis

??How well the strategic plan performed or 

met its objectives

??How well the strategic planners interacted 

with one another and worked together

??Quality of the strategic plan 

1. Highlights of the Most Important Strategic Plan 

Facts and Milestones

??Sufficient background information to 

establish the appropriate context

??Sufficient background information to “set –

the –record straight”

In-depth History of Each Strategic Plan

2. Strategic Plan Decision History

??Why certain decisions were made

??The issues involved

??Planner recommendations of what they 

would do again

In-depth Analysis of Strategic Plan Decisions 

Pointers and Guidance

??Best practices

??Pitfalls to avoid

??Lessons learned

??Unique characteristics

??Variations on a theme

Guidelines

??ITS project recommendations 

??Design guidelines

??Equipment recommendations

??Requirements development & selection

??Functionality recommendations

Exhibit 1.1 - Best Practices Document Contents

BEST PRACTICES – TARGET AUDIENCE

This best practices document is designed to assist a broad range of users who have or who may 

have a stake in the planning and eventual deployment of ITS in rural regions or on a statewide 

basis. It is intended to engage traditional transportation stakeholders, including:

?? Transportation Agencies (e.g., Federal, State, County, City)

?? Local Government Agencies

?? Public Transit Agencies

?? Toll Authorities

?? Regional Planning Agencies

?? Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs)

?? Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)

?? Councils of Governments (COGs)
1. Introduction

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 1-4

In addition to these more traditional stakeholders, successful planning and deployment of ITS 

should also engage stakeholders not traditionally involved in the transportation planning process, 

including:

?? Emergency Medical Community

?? Public Safety and Law Enforcement Agencies

?? Fire and Rescue Groups

?? National Parks

?? Business and Industry Groups

?? Information Service Providers (ISPs)

?? Communications Carriers

?? Tourism Bureaus

??Weather Services

?? Other Government Agencies and Departments

Their participation in the ITS planning process should not be overlooked due to the unique 

perspectives and opportunities that they can bring to the table.
2. Methodology

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 2-1

2. METHODOLOGY

PROJECT APPROACH

The principal method for collecting data for this document was through telephone interviews 

with the project managers for each ITS strategic planning effort. Additionally, an in-depth 

review of relevant plans, studies, and deliverables was conducted. 

The following activities were performed to develop the document:

?? Identified candidate ITS strategic plans for analysis

?? Prepared case study templates

?? Prepared survey form templates

?? Conducted document reviews

?? Conducted telephone interviews

?? Developed case study and survey form summaries

?? Prepared lessons learned document

CASE STUDIES

In order to collect appropriate lessons learned, 12 in-depth Case Studies were conducted. The 

states and regions investigated were selected based on their completion status (preferably 100%), 

the ability to obtain in-depth information on the strategic plan, and broad geographic

representation. The 12 areas selected for case studies are shown in Exhibit 2.1:

Case Study Location Scope of Plan

Arizona Statewide

Central Coast (California) Regional 5 Counties

California-Oregon Advanced Transportation Study (COATS) Regional 2 states and 8 counties

Colorado Statewide

Kansas Statewide

Minnesota Guidestar Statewide

Montana Statewide

Nebraska Statewide

New Mexico Statewide

New York Statewide

Oregon Statewide

VENTURE Washington Statewide

Exhibit 2.1 – Case Study Location and Scope of Plan

Exhibit 2.2 shows the list of data or information collected for each case study. Appendix A 

contains the complete case studies, and Appendix C contains a matrix that summarized the 

results of both the case studies and survey forms.
2. Methodology

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 2-2

Goals

?? What were the plan's goals and objectives?

?? What were the stakeholders trying to accomplish?

Approach

?? What was the rationale behind the development of the plan?

?? What was the organizational approach or decision-making structure used to develop 

the plan?

?? What was the technical approach or scope-of-work undertaken to develop the plan?

?? What agencies, firms, or interests were involved in developing the plan?

Contents

?? What were the key ITS projects or activities identified in the plan?

?? What architecture issues were addressed? 

?? What deliverables were part of the planning activity?

?? What were the organizational issues faced in developing a plan?

?? Did the plan include any outreach, marketing, or education activities in order to 

promote ITS awareness and acceptance?

?? Did the plan identify any potential funding opportunities or sources that could be used 

to deploy identified ITS Projects?

Current Status

?? What is the current status of the plan?

?? What is the status of mainstreaming ITS Projects into the transportation planning 

process?

?? Were operations and maintenance (O&M) considerations taken into account?

Future Activities Planned

?? Have any additional activities been identified to advance the plan’s utility?

?? What is the deployment status of ITS projects identified in the plan?

Cost Information

?? What was the public agency level of effort to develop the plan?

?? What was the dollar value of the plan’s consultant contract? (if applicable)

Benefits

?? What were the benefits realized by the state and region by developing the plan?

Lessons Learned

?? What lessons did the agencies or firms who developed the plan learn?

References & Contacts

?? What plan documents were reviewed?

?? Who is the primary agency contact for further information on the plan?

?? Is there an Internet web-site address to obtain more information about the Plan?

Exhibit 2.2 – Information Collected for Each Case Study
2. Methodology

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 2-3

SURVEY FORMS

To supplement the Case Study information for developing the planning guidance, 18 survey 

forms were prepared and delivered to sites based on geographic representation, the availability of 

information about the site’s strategic plan, and the plan’s completion status (preferably at least 

50% complete). A lit of questions included in each survey form is shown on Exhibit 2.4. The 18 

regions or states that completed survey forms are shown in Exhibit 2.2:

Survey Location Scope of Plan

Alaska Statewide

Arkansas Statewide

Tahoe Gateway Counties (California) Regional 4 Counties

Tahoe Basin (California & Nevada) Regional 2 states 5 counties

Sierra Nevada (California) Regional 9 Counties

Illinois Statewide

Idaho Statewide

Iowa Statewide

Maryland Statewide

Michigan Statewide

Missouri Statewide

I-80/US 395 Corridor (Nevada) Regional Statelines (California to Utah)

South Dakota Statewide

Tennessee Statewide

Vermont Statewide

Virginia Statewide

Wisconsin DOT District 1 Regional 10 Counties

Wyoming Statewide

Exhibit 2.3 – List of Regions or States That Were Surveyed
2. Methodology

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 2-4

Exhibit 2.4 – List of Questions Included in Each Survey

Contact Information

?? Who are the primary agency contacts for further information on the plan?

?? Is there an Internet web-site address to obtain more information about the Plan?

Participating Stakeholders

?? What specific public agencies, private sector firms, or academic institutions were 

involved in developing the plan?

Plan Duration

?? How long did it take to develop the plan?

?? What were the project start and end dates?

Agency Level-of-Effort

?? What was the public agency level-of-effort to develop the plan?

Consultant Support

?? Was consultant support used to develop the plan?

?? What was the dollar value of the consultant contract?

Plan Driving Force

?? What was the rationale behind the development of the Plan?

Goals & Objectives

?? What were the plan's goals and objectives?

?? What were the stakeholders trying to accomplish?

Plan Highlights

?? Were any elements or features of the plan emphasized?

Needs Determination

?? How were the agency’s needs, opportunities, and challenges determined?

ITS Architecture Considerations

?? Was a regional ITS architecture developed?

?? What were the architecture issues encountered?

?? What architecture deliverables were developed?

Funding

?? Did the plan identify any potential funding opportunities or sources that could be 

used to deploy identified ITS Projects?

?? What is the status of implementing ITS Projects through these funding sources?

Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Considerations

?? Have O&M considerations been taken into account?

?? How were O&M concerns determined?

Costs & Benefits

?? How were ITS costs calculated?

?? How were benefits associated with ITS identified?
2. Methodology

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 2-5

Exhibit 2.4 – List of Questions Included in Each Survey (Continued)

PREPARE BEST PRACTICES DOCUMENT

The case studies and survey forms served as the primary sources of information for developing 

the best practices document. Additional information was obtained by reviewing each strategic 

plan, and then following-up with telephone interviews of the key plan developers. Case studies 

were developed based on reviewing the plans and interviewing and incorporating the completed 

survey forms. In order to ensure that contents were accurate, the completed case studies were 

sent back to the respective agency contact for review. 

Lessons Learned

?? What were the benefits realized by the state and region by developing the plan?

?? What were the lessons learned by the agencies and firms who developed the plan?

Current Status

?? What is the current status of the plan?

?? What is the status of "mainstreaming" any ITS projects into the transportation 

planning process?

?? Have any additional activities been identified to advance the plan's utility?

?? What is the status of deploying ITS projects identified in the plan?
3. ITS Strategic Planning Process

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 3-1

3. ITS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

INTRODUCTION

This section describes what an ITS strategic plan is and identifies some "typical" steps to follow 

to develop one. In addition, this section discusses the need for coordination of the ITS strategic 

planning process with the development of a regional ITS architecture.

WHAT IS AN ITS STRATEGIC PLAN?

The strategic plan is a road map on how to implement a system of technology-based strategies 

over a period of time. It provides a starting point for bringing ITS projects and systems together 

into an integrated plan.

An ITS strategic plan (or assessment) for a state, metropolitan area, region, or rural environment 

is a joint effort by involved agencies/stakeholders to develop a framework for ITS deployment in 

the region that makes the most of ITS opportunities to address regional transportation needs. 

This framework primarily addresses the institutional and operational elements needed for ITS to 

function as an effective, integral part of the statewide or regional transportation system. A 

strategic plan usually results in the identification of a set of ITS elements to be implemented over 

time. It is aimed at achieving specific transportation goals and addressing needs, and is

coordinated with a variety of other planning activities, both locally and regionally.

It is expected that ITS systems and technologies will be increasingly incorporated into the 

transportation infrastructure over a period of time. Therefore, the strategic plan’s importance 

grows as it becomes the framework to assure that all the pieces will ultimately fit together, not 

only with each other, but with other potential transportation improvements.

There are several important points to remember when considering whether or not to develop an 

ITS strategic plan

?? There is no single “right” approach

?? An ITS strategic plan may need to be updated over time as conditions change

?? Strategic planning is most effective when undertaken as an integral part of the

metropolitan or statewide transportation planning processes.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE ITS PLANNING PROCESS

The development of an ITS strategic plan should follow a structured process to ensure proper 

coverage of relevant transportation issues, permit key input from transportation stakeholders 

within the region, and identify cost-effective and integrated solutions that can evolve as the stateof-the-art progresses. Exhibit 3.1 illustrates a typical process that has been used in previous 

efforts to develop ITS strategic plans in a number of metropolitan areas and states. In addition, 

most of the case studies in Appendix A also contain diagrams that depict the study process used 

to develop an ITS strategic plan. Please note that all of these approaches are depicted to serve as 

examples, not mandates.
3. ITS Strategic Planning Process

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 3-2

As seen in Exhibit 3.1, the planning process moves from an identification of needs or objectives 

to the development of an implementation plan for inclusion in the regional transportation plan or 

Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). Within the planning process, there are a number of 

steps (or tasks) to perform to ensure that a thorough, strategic assessment is conducted. 

Regardless of the exact steps taken, there are basically two main phases common within every 

planning process:

?? Phase 1 - ITS Concept Definition. This phase examines the individual ITS elements that 

should be included in an area's regional framework for an integrated ITS. It includes 

visionary, top-down planning, as well as bottom-up identification of potential solutions 

that address specific problems.

?? Phase 2 - ITS Framework Development and Implementation Plan. This phase 

identifies how the individual ITS elements fit and work together. It results in a set of 

implementable ITS projects and programs that are coordinated with non-ITS strategies, 

and suggests the institutional responsibilities for implementation. 

Please note that there is no single right approach to develop an ITS strategic plan and that 

strategic assessment need not delay the implementation of important ITS projects for which 

funding is available. The steps and phases are not intended to be followed in rigid fashion, but 

rather to indicate a general approach or structure. Agencies should feel free to elaborate upon 

the steps presented so that the ITS strategic plan responds to local conditions and needs.

To gain more specific insights on the steps taken by other states and regions to develop their ITS strategic 

plans, please refer to each case study's "Approach" section (Appendix A). A broader interpretation of 

these steps is summarized for each Survey Form and can be found in Question #'s 7-14 (Appendix B).

WHAT IS A REGIONAL ITS ARCHITECTURE?

A regional ITS architecture guides the development of ITS projects and programs and is

consistent with ITS strategies and projects contained in applicable transportation plans and ITS 

strategic plans. It fundamentally describes system elements, their relationship to one another, and 

how the ITS projects in the Strategic Plan will work together in a coordinated manner. The 

regional ITS architecture ensures institutional agreement and technical integration for the

implementation of ITS projects or groups of projects. It is on a scale commensurate with the 

scope of ITS investment in the Region and includes the following at a minimum:

?? Description of the region

?? Identification of participating agencies and other stakeholders

?? Identification of ITS projects and systems to be implemented

?? An operational concept that identifies agency roles and responsibilities in the operation 

and implementation of the identified ITS projects and systems

?? Agency agreements required for the operations and maintenance of the ITS projects 

identified 

?? System functional requirements

?? Interface requirements and information exchanges with planned and existing systems

?? Identification of ITS standards to be used for supporting Regional and National

interoperability

?? The sequence of ITS projects required for implementation
3. ITS Strategic Planning Process

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 3-3

Exhibit 3.1 – Planning Process Frequently Used for ITS Strategic Plans 
3. ITS Strategic Planning Process

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 3-4

WHY DEVELOP A REGIONAL ITS ARCHITECTURE?

In April 2001, Part 940 of Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations became effective. This 

rule/policy was issued in order to implement Section 5206(e) of TEA-21, which requires that ITS 

projects funded by the Highway Trust Fund and the Mass Transit Account conform to the 

national ITS architecture, as well as to U.S. DOT adopted standards. Conformance with the 

national ITS architecture is interpreted to mean the use of the national ITS architecture in

developing a regional ITS architecture, and the subsequent adherence of all ITS projects to that 

regional ITS architecture. Development of the regiona l ITS architecture should be consistent 

with the transportation planning process for statewide and metropolitan transportation planning 

and with any existing or planned ITS strategic planning efforts.

HOW TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL ITS ARCHITECTURE 

The U.S. DOT has developed a "Regional ITS Architecture Guidance Document" (available as 

publication number FHWA-OP-02-024)2 to assist stakeholders in developing, using, and

maintaining an ITS architecture for their region. The agencies and other stakeholders

participating in the development of the regional ITS architecture should develop and implement 

procedures and responsibilities for maintaining the regional ITS architecture as needs evolve in 

the Region. A regional ITS architecture is critical to the success of the regional ITS strategic 

plan because the architecture is the framework within which the system carries out the functions 

to support the system objectives. 

 

2

 This document may be obtained on-line through the ITS Electronic Document Library (#13598), available through 

http://www.its.dot.gov

For further information on how other ITS strategic plans led to regional ITS architectures, please 

refer to each case study's "Architecture Issues" section (Appendix A) and the summary of the survey 

question #10 (Appendix B).
4. Goals & Objectives

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 4-1

4. GOALS & OBJECTIVES

INTRODUCTION

This section presents reasons why a strategic planning process should be undertaken as well as 

the factors that contribute to its eventual development. In addition, this section discusses desired 

end-results of the strategic planning effort as well as national ITS goals that should be considered 

at the outset of an ITS strategic plan.

REASONS FOR CONDUCTING AN ITS STRATEGIC PLAN

There are several reasons why a state or region may find it advantageous to conduct an ITS 

strategic plan. These generally fall into one of the five categories described below:

Focus a Numbe r of Disparate ITS Initiatives or Transportation Plans 

One of the most compelling reasons to develop an ITS strategic plan is to combine or coordinate 

a number of individual ITS planning efforts within a region or state. This type of coordination 

promotes cost-efficiencies throughout the entire system life-cycle (e.g., planning, design,

implementation, construction, O&M, management, etc.), added functionality realized through 

integrated and coordinated ITS systems, economies of scale through coordinated procurement, 

and improved agency cooperation. 

Improve Coordination of Transportation Operations

An ITS strategic plan can also be the catalyst for promoting greater consideration of systems 

management and operations as a part of a state or region's overall approach to addressing their 

existing and anticipated transportation needs. The ITS strategic plan can often provide the 

mechanism for bringing stakeholders together to address transportation operations and

management issues that may affect multiple agencies or organizations. Then, the ITS strategic 

plan can be used to "jump-start" ITS deployments for a broad cross-section of organizations in 

states or rural regions.

Meet the Regional Architecture Requirements of the DOT Policy

Another reason why a state or region may find it advantageous to develop an ITS strategic plan 

is to establish conformance with the National ITS Architecture. While the national ITS

architecture is extremely useful for several reasons (as discussed in Section 3), primary among 

these are that it determines agency funding eligibility, promotes system integration for improved 

functionality, and assures consistent use of standards.3

 

3

 The DOT policy can be accessed through the Code of Federal Regulations online at 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/23cfr940_01.html
4. Goals & Objectives

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 4-2

Prioritize or Select Specific Projects for Inclusion in State Transportation Plans

With the limited availability of funds, priority needs for specific ITS projects and programs can 

be defined within the framework of the region's overall transportation program in state or 

metropolitan transportation plans. However, these plans may not include the level of detail 

needed to ensure cost-effective implementation and coordinated ITS operations. In such cases, 

the ITS strategic plan represents the kind of specific ITS planning effort that will provide the 

requisite level of detail. 

Support Special Events or Major Construction Projects

In some instances, on-going or planned construction activities (e.g., roadway widening, resurfacing, etc.) or special events such as the Olympics have become the driving force to deploy 

ITS elements or conduct ITS strategic planning.

WHY UPDATE AN EXISTING ITS STRATEGIC PLAN?

There are many reasons why a State or Region may find it advantageous to update an existing 

ITS strategic plan. These include:

?? Original ITS strategic plan may not have considered all modes of transportation or 

geographic areas in the region

?? Original ITS strategic assessment may have been more focused on a specific project than 

an overall regional plan or approach

?? The national ITS architecture (and corresponding Turbo Architecture software), which 

may not have been readily available at the time of the original ITS strategic assessment, 

can be used to guide development of a structured regional framework for ITS 

implementation

?? The institutional structure may have changed or new players may now be interested in 

ITS

?? The diminishing costs of and new advances in ITS technology may have created new 

opportunities for ITS that were not previously available 

?? Transportation needs in the region may have changed, additional needs identified, or 

priorities re-evaluated

?? Further need to strategize and articulate the ITS program's goals and objectives in support 

of upcoming ITS business plans or budget appropriations

?? Original ITS system capabilities need to be expanded, modified, or enhanced

?? Geographic expansion of an ITS system may be needed (e.g., deployment of roadway 

surveillance systems on additional roadways to increase coverage density).

To gain more specific insights as to why particular ITS strategic plans were undertaken, please refer 

to each case study's "Approach" section (Appendix A) and each Survey Form's Question #6 (Appendix 

B).
5. Stakeholder Participation

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 5-1

5. STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

INTRODUCTION

This section presents the outreach efforts used to identify and involve all traditional and nontraditional stakeholders in the ITS strategic planning effort. In addition, representative

organizational structures are discussed, decision-making processes presented, and consensus 

building approaches identified.

ORGANIZATION, COORDINATION, AND MANAGEMENT

Defining an Organizational Structure

One of the most important aspects of conducting ITS strategic planning is to organize the 

stakeholders so that everyone knows their roles, responsibilities, and what's expected from their 

agency's participation. An ITS strategic plan can be initiated by any agency involved in

transportation or implementation; the effort does not always have to be led by a state DOT 

(although most efforts have been in the past). Regardless of who is the lead agency, interested 

stakeholders should be actively engaged in a process of education and training related to the 

implementation of ITS, highlighting potential system functions and benefits. Each stakeholder 

can then become more actively involved in the planning, design, and implementation of the 

strategic plan. Then, stakeholders become more informed decision makers of ITS and better 

understand what ITS can do for them and their region. 

At this early stage of the ITS Program, it is important to develop a decision-making structure and 

agency review and approval process to proactively manage the strategic planning effort. The 

primary decision-making authority (or oversight group) is commonly referred to as the steering 

committee. In addition, sub-committees or advisory councils that address specific functional 

areas such as transit, Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO), architecture, traffic management, 

technology, funding) or that represent particular geographic interests should also be established. 

It is important to involve regional FHWA and/or FTA staff because of their experience in

mainstreaming the ITS strategic planning process across the country, their knowledge of the 

region, and their role in determining conformance with the regional ITS architecture. FHWA 

and/or FTA participation as an actual member of the Steering Committee is recommended.

Consensus Building and Sustainment

Just embarking on an ITS strategic planning effort is quite an accomplishment, but even more 

important is an agency's sustained participation in the regional ITS program. One way to 

establish this coordinated involvement is to get all of the stakeholders to agree up-front that they 

will all focus on the needs of the state or region versus the desires of their individual agency or 

department. Then, stakeholders should all explore interagency cooperation and cross-boundary 

operational needs, identify critical areas of operation and potential conflict, and define the roles 

and relationships between and within agencies, especially for on-going O&M of the regional ITS 

program. In addition, they should review contracts, legislation, and regulations as they relate to 
5. Stakeholder Participation

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 5-2

ITS in order to identify legal and policy barriers to deployment and develop implementation and 

operational guidance tools so that Agencies/staff know what is expected of them.

SUCCESSFUL TACTICS FOR GENERATING STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

Participation

Methods to obtain and maintain stakeholder interest and commitment in the ITS strategic plan 

can be a challenging undertaking. Successful ITS deployment requires not only effective 

technology, but also the often elusive and challenging institutional, policy, and financial

foundations critical to implementing that technology. Therefore, it is important to identify, 

develop, and cultivate relationships among a wide range of stakeholders since the regional and 

statewide planning process requires participation from many state and local agencies. 

Stakeholders should include the following at a minimum:

?? Agency support staff (e.g., telecommunications, information technology, contracts, etc.)

?? Metropolitan and regional planning agencies

?? Other non-traditional groups (e.g., tourism boards, National Park Service, emergency 

responders, etc.)

?? Private sector interests (e.g., casinos, communications firms, ski resorts, etc.).

Participation should also include relatively high-level management of each involved agency so 

that broader program impacts to the agency will be fully understood and to facilitate internal 

support throughout the organization. In addition, it is critical to have at least one representative 

from each agency represented on the steering committee attend every stakeholder meeting. 

Participation of a diverse mix of stakeholders is critical to getting a well-rounded assessment of 

regional needs and showing that agencies are committed to addressing those issues and

promoting the ITS program.

Maintain Participation 

Managing agency and stakeholder priorities and expectations is critical to the success of the ITS 

strategic planning effort. In addition, the ITS strategic plan should craft the agreements and 

partnerships that will sustain ITS implementation. Maintaining stakeholder participation beyond 

the conclusion of the ITS strategic planning can be better assured through continued meetings of 

the steering committees and by joint participation of agencies and organizations in the resulting 

deployment activities. This works best when the “right” people, that is the people who need 

successful deployment of ITS, serve on the steering committee and work groups. Broad, 

regional buy-in to ITS initiatives can be assured by establishing regional teams on a geographic 

basis. Rotating steering committee meeting locations throughout the study area can also be 

beneficial in ensuring that the project is not focused on just part of the region and is also not 

perceived as such.

Stakeholder Interest

The planning will be more successful when stakeholders understand what ITS is and what it can 

do for them. This can be accomplished by providing short seminars regarding ITS applications. 

Planning is also more successful when stakeholders focus their efforts on those areas such as 
5. Stakeholder Participation

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 5-3

articulating transportation needs and defining ITS projects, rather than focusing on architecture 

development or the planning process, which many be better addressed by others. Stakeholder 

interest is also stronger (and thus, the planning effort more successful) when potential ITS 

projects are identified early in the planning process. “Early Winners” maintain agency and other 

stakeholders’ interest and provide a stronger vision of potential accomplishment.

ITS Champions

Lessons learned on similar ITS Strategic planning efforts throughout the country have shown 

that the single most important factor in the successful implementation of ITS projects in rural 

areas is identifying ITS project "champions". Finding, developing, and maintaining ITS

champions in each agency can make them even more committed to the success of the Regional 

ITS Program since their staff is actually leading the planning, design, and/or implementation 

efforts.

Public-Private Relationships

Private sector participation (e.g., casinos, ski resorts, lodging associations, chambers of

commerce, etc.) in the ITS planning process is important for a number of reasons. Private sector 

businesses such as resorts, for example, have a solid understanding of traveler characteristics and 

travel patterns that would facilitate development of ITS applications. 

This participation can be encouraged by demonstrating that potential ITS solutions promote 

economic vitality that supports the private sector. Stakeholder commitment can also be

maintained by interacting with private and public sector stakeholder groups by attending their 

meetings to discuss ITS and obtain their input and feedback. It is important to recognize the 

learning curve that might be associated with non-traditional contractual arrangements (such as a 

public-private partnership) and to learn to work with private sector interests as partners rather 

than as clients.

New Roles & Responsibilities

Since ITS applications can directly affect agency operations and staffing needs, the ability to 

support these operations is a key consideration of ITS feasibility and acceptability. Therefore, 

agencies will need to assess their current staffing capabilities and determine if additional staffing 

or training is required to support the regional ITS program. One new responsibility, for example, 

is that Metropolitan Planning Organizations or Regional Transportation Planning Agencies often 

become responsible for updating the Regional ITS Architecture and for ensuring conformance 

when additional ITS projects are implemented.
5. Stakeholder Participation

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 5-4

State DOT Role

It is important that all organizations within the state DOT (e.g., regions, operations, maintenance, 

etc.) are involved in the rural ITS planning process to ensure that support at all levels is obtained 

for ITS. This support can best be garnered through inclusion of relevant state DOT organizations 

in the process at the earliest point possible. One state DOT reports it learned that it may not 

always be the lead agency in designing and deploying ITS projects while another noted the need 

for an ITS coordinator in each of their regions to serve as a resource within the region and a 

point-of-contact to other stakeholders.

To gain more specific insights on organizational structure and consensus building approaches found 

in other ITS Strategic Plans, please refer to each case study's "Approach" and "Organizational 

Issues" sections (Appendix A). 
6. Outreach, Education, & Marketing Activities

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 6-1

6. OUTREACH, EDUCATION, & MARKETING ACTIVITIES

INTRODUCTION

Section 6 presents various educational, marketing, and outreach activities that can be used to 

inform stakeholders of the concepts of what ITS is and how ITS can help. In addition, tools that 

can be used to keep stakeholders up-to-date about ITS and ideas that can help sell the strategic 

plan to stakeholders ranging from elected officials to community residents are also discussed.

BEST PRACTICES

Educational Workshops

To better manage agency and stakeholder expectations of ITS, the ITS strategic planning process 

should include a half-day educational workshop that describes ITS, the functionality ITS

applications can provide, and potential benefits and costs of ITS. In addition, half-day 

workshops that describe the national ITS architecture, its components, and the regional ITS 

architecture development process, conducted in a step-by-step graphical manner and in layman's 

terms, can provide knowledge to stakeholders to allow them to more effectively participate in the 

planning process.

Outreach Materials

The ITS strategic planning process should also develop outreach materials based on an accurate 

gauge of stakeholder understanding of ITS so that the right stakeholders are provided the right 

information at the right time. The region should make full use of the FHWA's ITS resources 

(e.g., the PCB program, the regional ITS architecture guidance document, the Rural ITS

Toolbox, etc.). In addition, the region could create ITS newsletters, fact sheets, brochures, 

videos, and other materials to keep stakeholders informed and up-to-date on project activities. 

Another useful tool for outreach is a site-specific, frequently updated, and content-rich web site 

that provides relevant information regarding the project.

Obtain Regional Input

Input from stakeholders across the region is needed to ensure that:

?? Planners obtain a complete understanding of issues affecting ITS project selection.

?? Planners obtain buy-in from as many stakeholders as possible.

Conduct interviews or workshops with key stakeholders to allow them the opportunity to express 

their opinions and viewpoints on the ITS strategic planning effort. These meetings are most 

effective if they take place across the region for fullest participation. Contacting potential 

attendees in advance of the workshop ensures that the most appropriate people can attend. 

Meaningful materials (e.g., an agenda, a set of questions that will be addressed at the meeting, an 

ITS newsletter, fact sheets, etc.) should also be distributed in advance so that stakeholders are 

better prepared for valuable participation. Using survey forms to solicit input can be useful for 

collecting input from stakeholders who cannot attend. 
6. Outreach, Education, & Marketing Activities

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 6-2

At these meetings, encourage open discussion and brainstorming so that all stakeholders have the 

opportunity to present their ideas and opinions. It is useful to have a knowledgeable facilitator 

lead the meeting to ensure that the meeting is interactive and progresses at an appropriate pace, 

that all stakeholders may participate and no one dominates, and that the meeting remains 

focused. It is useful to visibly record key discussion items on flip charts or white boards and 

have a scribe type notes directly into a computer.

Learning About ITS

The ITS strategic planning process should include scanning tours, or visits, to other ITS

deployment sites to gain first-hand insight on system functionality, O&M concerns, funding 

mechanisms, etc. In some instances, the FHWA or the FTA can provide funding for these tours. 

In addition, there are a number of ITS conferences (e.g., the Rural Advanced Technology and 

Transportation Systems Conference, ITS America’s annual meeting, Regional ITS Chapter

meetings, the ITS World Congress, ITE annual meetings, and local ITE district meetings) that 

are useful for exchanging information and learning of the latest developments in the ITS 

industry. At a regional level, Stakeholders should strive to get ITS listed as a regularly

scheduled agenda item at local Board/Commission meetings.

To gain more specific insights on the educational, marketing, and outreach activities and materials in 

other ITS strategic plans, please refer to each case study’s “Outreach, Marketing, and Education 

Activities” section (Appendix A).
7. Funding Opportunities & Sources

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 7-1

7. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES & SOURCES

INTRODUCTION

Implementation of an ITS program for a state or region will require adequate funding to achieve 

the desired goals of most stakeholders. Funding is required to implement the system as well as 

to operate and maintain the system over time, and to upgrade the system as technology

capabilities and system needs evolve. In this section, “mainstreaming” ITS into the traditional 

transportation planning process is presented, funding opportunities and sources are discussed, 

and the potential for private sector financing is investigated.

MAINSTREAMING ITS

ITS can be viewed as an integrated element of other transportation programs, and thus, ITS 

funding can be approached as a part of the funding of an entire package of improvements. For 

example, ITS projects or elements could be incorporated as part of major construction,

operations, or maintenance activities (e.g., capacity expansion, new roadway construction, lane 

widening, re-surfacing, HOV lane addition, or re-construction). For example it is logical to 

deploy variable messages in conjunction with adding HOV lanes; to deploy camera systems as 

part of new highway construction; or to implement a GPS tracking system when upgrading 

maintenance or transit vehicles. In these cases, ITS funding might be a relatively small part of 

the total funding package.

Alternatively, ITS can be treated as a separate set of implementations with separate funding. In 

this case, ITS is often viewed to be in competition for funding against other projects, and 

obtaining funding tends to become part of an advocacy process. It is not the intent of this 

lessons learned document to advocate either approach, since either can be effective and 

successful. The intent of this document is to provide information that will assist agencies to 

explore and pursue funds for ITS either as an integrated part of other funding or as stand-alone 

funding for individual ITS projects.

POTENTIAL FEDERAL FUNDING SOURCES

The following funding sources from the federal government are available to assist with the 

funding of ITS Programs: 

?? National Highway System (NHS) funds

?? Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds

?? Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds

?? Federal Transit Funds

?? Interstate maintenance funds

?? Interstate discretionary funds

For further information on the extent to which ITS strategic plans mainstreamed their ITS Projects to 

be included as part of the traditional transportation planning process, please refer to each case 

study's "Funding Opportunities and Sources" and "Mainstreaming ITS" sections (Appendix A) and 

survey results for questions 11 and 12 (Appendix B).
7. Funding Opportunities & Sources

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 7-2

?? U.S. DOT safety initiatives (e.g., 511 and Mayday)

?? U.S. DOT Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) University

Transportation Centers program

?? Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds

?? Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program funds

?? Scenic Byways Program funds

PRIVATE FUNDING POTENTIAL

A relatively new and growing funding source is based on public/private partnerships. This is the 

situation in which the private entity provides ITS services and/or system elements, but instead of 

direct reimbursement from a public agency, some or all of the private entity's costs are recouped 

by selling ITS-based services to other private entities including end users. For example the 

private entity could collect a user fee each time a customer receives a service such as a 

customized road report by email, or special consideration at toll booths. Or, the private entity 

could charge for advertisements included as part of the phone message when a user makes a 

phone call for a specialized weather report. A public/private partnership offers the possible 

advantage of public cost reduction, and it offers the public agency the opportunity to capitalize 

on the private sector's market orientation, which could be helpful in initially “selling” the ITS 

service to the public.

Typical Areas for Public/Private Partnerships

?? Private agency marketing and sales of in-vehicle and portable devices to provide realtime traveler information and routing

?? A government agency provides access to highway right-of-way (ROW) to a private firm, 

which in return install and maintains a communications network (such as a fiber line) that 

the government agency uses for reduced cost. The private communication firm recoups 

the cost of deploying the communication system by using it to provide communications 

services to other users (e.g., other private entities) and charging for this service.4

?? Private entity collection, marketing, and sale of real-time traveler information supported 

by advertising (e.g., the Weather channel).

 

4

 Refer to http://www.its.dot.gov/tcomm/tcomm.htm for more information on ITS telecommunications 

resource sharing

For specific information on how other ITS Strategic Plans identified funding opportunities and 

sources, please refer to each case study's "Funding Opportunities and Sources" section (Appendix A) 

and survey questions 11 and 12 (Appendix B).
7. Funding Opportunities & Sources

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 7-3

Basic Principles in Developing Public/Private Partnerships

?? Assist the private sector in areas of ITS that are profitable business ventures 

?? Be willing to take calculated risks but address these in the structure of the arrangements 

made for a particular ITS Project

?? Be willing to alter the traditional role or make legislative changes related to procedures 

for interaction of state, MPO, Rural Transportation Planning Authority (RTPA), and local 

governments 

?? Provide an atmosphere of stability and establish long-term commitments to engender the 

confidence of the private partners

?? Devise balanced mechanisms (e.g., legal agreements and cost-/profit-sharing 

arrangements) that protect both parties but do not squelch the opportunity 

?? Be willing to give up responsibilities where there are opportunities for privatization. 

?? Leave room for competition

For further information on how other ITS Strategic Plans identified funding opportunities and 

sources, please refer to each case study's "Funding Opportunities and sources" section (Appendix A) 

and survey questions 11 and 12 (Appendix B).
8. Operations, Maintenance, & Management Considerations

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 8-1

8. OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, & MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

INTRODUCTION

Successful ITS implementations include more than initial hardware and software installation. 

There is also on-going operations and maintenance (O&M), including costs and responsibilities. 

O&M requires an adequate staff of available and well-trained system operators and maintenance 

personnel, up-to-date documentation on all system components, an adequate budget for spare 

parts and expendables, and a long-term commitment on the part of the transportation agencies to 

utilize the system to its full potential. It should be noted that the size and low population density 

in many rural regions might make many ITS solutions a challenge to operate and maintain.

In this section we discuss a number of O&M issues that need to be addressed in the ITS planning 

process and how they are typically addressed. Areas of emphasis include examining when and

how O&M issues are considered in the planning process, how agency and staff O&M

capabilities feed into ITS decisions, and O&M costs. 

EARLY CONSIDERATION OF O&M

The operation and maintenance of an ITS system must be considered in the planning and 

implementation process. Most strategic planning activities do not go far enough in addressing 

ITS O&M. Examining the strategies for operation of a system in detail will ensure that there are 

not gaps in the O&M plan and will help to ensure there are not overlapping, unnecessary, or 

unproductive O&M activities. This planning will help in reducing costs and will help to protect 

the initial investment.

It is recommended that O&M staff participate in the planning process so that the ITS Strategic 

plan can continue to obtain O&M input throughout the planning process in order to continually 

assess agency roles and activities. An O&M section is an important section of an ITS strategic 

plan. This section would detail which agencies will be responsible for specific areas of ITS 

implementation, operations, and maintenance.

AGENCY CAPABILITIES AND RELATED COSTS

Providing qualified personnel and staff with available equipment to operate and maintain the ITS 

system is essential. Within each region, the O&M requirements for the planned systems must 

match the availability of proper personnel, equipment, and budget resources for O&M. The 

Region could out-source O&M contracts to other agencies or private sector firms as an

alternative to providing its own staff.

If the region performs its own O&M it should have training programs for staff on operations, 

maintenance, and management issues to ensure that the necessary skills are available and that 

continued professional capacity development is made available because of the changing nature of 

ITS technologies. 
8. Operations, Maintenance, & Management Considerations

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 8-2

O&M RESPONSIBILITIES

Stakeholders should plan and identify which departments within their organizations will be 

responsible for operation and maintenance of ITS systems and components within the covered 

region. These departments should be notified of and trained for their future responsibilities so 

that funding and personnel needs can be properly budgeted.

O&M COSTS

Stakeholders should discuss O&M issues and costs with other agencies who have deployed 

similar systems, and with personnel within their own organizations who currently maintain 

similar components. It may be found for example, that replacing components (for example, 

LEDs) on a pre-determined schedule is cheaper and/or more efficient than replacing them as they 

break.

OTHER COSTS

Especially for operations, stakeholders should consider what supporting staff, hardware and 

software is needed to run the planned systems. For example, it may be found that multiple 

systems can be more efficiently operated from a central location by a dedicated staff. It is also 

very important to plan and budget for proper system integration, both within a system’s various 

components, and between multiple systems. Communications issues can be a problem and 

should be given consideration early in the strategic planning period.

Stakeholders should also consider and identify any special tools/equipment and training 

necessary to properly operate, maintain and repair their planned deployments. 

The high-level structure (components covered and length of coverage period) of system and 

component warranties should also be considered during strategic planning. 
9. Costs

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 9-1

9. COSTS

INTRODUCTION 

This section presents representative costs of undertaking an ITS strategic planning effort. These 

costs come from two areas: the costs of the public sector’s efforts and the costs for contracting 

with the private sector. This section discusses both. In addition, this section discusses

representative costs associated with each step of an ITS strategic planning effort (as outlined in 

Section 3). Note that all costs are representative values, based on an amalgamation of what other 

agencies have found, and do not indicate the actual costs that your agency or region may incur. 

Too much variance between regions (e.g., the type and number of stakeholders involved, the 

level of detail desired for the effort, the type and number of deliverables, the size of geographic 

region covered, and the extent of outreach required) precludes direct correlation. 

This section does not present cost information on the design, development, procurement,

installation, or O&M for individual ITS projects that may be identified during the planning 

effort. The reader is asked to contact agencies who have deployed similar ITS applications for 

this cost information.

STRATEGIC PLAN COST/LEVEL-OF-EFFORT

Exhibit 9.1 summarizes the costs and levels of effort incurred to complete the ITS strategic 

planning effort for each region for which we analyzed a case study or survey form. Information 

is provided for both the public sector level of effort and the private sector contract value. 

For more detailed information refer to the "Cost" section of each case study (Appendix A) and questions 

4 and 5 of each survey form (Appendix B).

Strategic Plan

Public Sector 

Cost

(staff hrs/mo.)

Price for 

Private 

Sector

($)

Comments

Arizona N/A N/A

Central Coast (CA) 20 $370,000

COATS (CA and OR)

Caltrans staff

Oregon DOT staff

Coordinating group

100-120

80

15

$314,200

As lead agency, Caltrans has higher time 

commitment 

Private sector costs derived from "Project 

Task" table (Appendix A)

Colorado N/A N/A

Kansas 60-64 $447,882 Private sector cost included 2 year 

evaluation period
9. Costs

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 9-2

Strategic Plan

Public Sector 

Cost

(staff hrs/mo.)

Price for 

Private 

Sector

($)

Comments

Minnesota Guidestar

Strategic Plan (1992)

Rural Scoping Study 

(1994)

NOVA Strategic Plan 

(1997)

30

$37,000

60

$300,000

$100,000

$150,000

Additional public sector staff attendance 

at workshops

Montana

MDT staff

Steering committee

100-120

8

$200,000

Nebraska

Omaha EDP (1995)

Statewide ITS Plan 100-120

$450,00

$60,000

Statewide ITS plan leveraged efforts and 

followed Omaha EDP methodology

New Mexico

NMSHTD staff

Steering committee

100-120

10

$130,000

New York N/A $405,000

Oregon 30 $150,000 DOT PM at 20 hrs/mo. Support staff 10 

hrs/mo.

Washington

Statewide ITS Plan 

(1993)

I-5/I-90 Corridor Study 

(1997)

80

80

$500,000

$500,000

Alaska 80 $270,000

Arkansas N/A $185,000

Tahoe Gateway 

Counties (CA)

20 $315,000

Tahoe Basin (CA and 

NV)

24 $330,000

Sierra Nevada (CA) 80 $500,000 Public sector costs reflect different staff 

with varying levels of effort over time

Illinois N/A N/A

Idaho $90,000 $330,000

Iowa N/A $300,000

Maryland CHART 16 $70,000

Michigan N/A $90,000
9. Costs

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 9-3

Strategic Plan

Public Sector 

Cost

(staff hrs/mo.)

Price for 

Private 

Sector

($)

Comments

Missouri N/A N/A

Nevada I-80/US 395 

Corridor

20-30 $250,000

South Dakota 80 $115,000

Tennessee 50 $100,000 Public sector costs include ITS 

Coordinating Committee meetings and 

preparation twice a month.

Vermont 25 $30,000

Virginia Smart Travel N/A N/A

Wisconsin 120 $850,000 Private sector costs include preliminary 

engineering for high priority ITS projects

Wyoming N/A $275,000

Exhibit 9.1 - Level of Effort and Price for Strategic Planning 

PUBLIC SECTOR LEVEL OF EFFORT

The level of effort data presented in Exhibit 9.1 shows that development of an ITS strategic plan 

can in some cases require a substantial commitment of staff resources. In addition, case studies 

indicate that commitment of additional staff resources will not necessarily reduce private sector 

costs. For example, the median and average price for private sector efforts using 64 (the 

average) or fewer staff hours per month were $250,000 and $229,000, respectively. 

Corresponding prices for private sector efforts involving more than the average number of public 

sector staff hours were $500,000 and $403,000. This appears somewhat counter-intuitive. 

Clearly, the relationship between public sector staff hours and private sector costs is driven by 

the overall scope and project complexity which are not considered in the above comparison. It is 

simply worth noting that close attention should be paid to the scope and complexity of the 

planning efforts described in the case studies because there is no simple relationship between the 

number of public sector staff hours and the amount of private sector funding. 

As can be seen in Exhibit 9.2, the average amount of time that a public agency spent per month 

to participate in the ITS strategic planning effort is 64 hours. This value most likely represents 

the staff commitment for only the Lead agency since the lead agencies provided the cost 

information. This means that agencies leading an ITS strategic planning effort should commit at 

least 40% of one staff member's time (or the equivalent from multiple staff) for the effort. 
9. Costs

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 9-4

Ranking Staff-Hours per 

Month % of Time per Month

High 120 75%

Average 64 40%

Low 16 10%

Exhibit 9.2 - Public Sector Cost Level – of Effort

Other agency participants or stakeholders would probably need to commit at least 10 to 12 hours 

per month, which is derived from the average steering committee’s level –of effort noted in 

Exhibit 9.1. 

Please note that the hours incurred by public agency staff can be affected by a number of factors 

including, other staff members’ level of involvement, the level of private sector support, personal 

motivation and interest, workload on other activities, project duration, the number and depth of 

deliverable reviews, and extent of the project study area.

For further information on the level of effort expended by public agencies to develop ITS strategic plans, 

refer to the “Cost” section of each Case Study (Appendix A) and question # 4 of each survey form 

(Appendix B).

PRIVATE SECTOR PRICES

The price of private sector work (that is, the value of the planning support contract) for each ITS 

strategic planning effort studied is shown in Exhibit 9.1. Exhibit 9.3 shows the high, average, 

and low prices.

Ranking Contract Value ($$)

High $850,000

Average $350,000

Low $30,000

Exhibit 9.3 - Private Sector Contract Value

The average private sector contract value of $350,000 includes the performance of all of the ITS 

strategic plan "steps" identified in Section 3 because these steps were part of the strategic 

planning efforts with contract costs close to the average. 

Exhibit 9.4 presents representative low, average, and high cost estimates to complete an ITS 

strategic planning effort in another way. Cost estimates are shown for each of the strategic 

assessment steps identified in Section 3.
9. Costs

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 9-5

Planning Process Step

(from Exhibit 3.1) Low Cost Average Cost High Cost

Regional Stakeholder Involvement --

Outreach, Education, & Consensus 

Building

$15,000 $30,000 $45,000

Regional Inventory -- Existing & 

Planned $15,000 $25,000 $30,000

Define Problems & Existing System 

Issues $15,000 $25,000 $30,000

Develop ITS Vision $5,000 $10,000 $15,000

Identify/Screen Market Packages & 

ITS Concept Plan $30,000 $50,000 $70,000

Identify Desired Functional 

Capabilities & Potential Projects $20,000 $40,000 $60,000

Define ITS Regional Framework 

(Including Architecture) $25,000 $50,000 $75,000

Define Operational & Implementation 

Strategies $30,000 $50,000 $75,000

Regional ITS Implementation Program $10,000 $20,000 $30,000

Project Administration/Management 

(Approx.10-15% of Total) $25,000 $50,000 $70,000

TOTAL $190,000 $350,000 $500,000

Exhibit 9.4 - Cost Estimates to Complete ITS Strategic Planning Effort

Exhibit 9.4 shows that public agencies pay at least $190,000 for private sector support for ITS 

strategic planning. As seen from Exhibit 9.4, the "typical" ITS strategic assessment would cost

approx. $350,000 with the high-end budget around $500,000.

Please note that the actual contract value amount public agencies need to budget may vary from 

the above results because of a number of factors such as the extent of the project study area, the 

level of transportation planning traditionally performed in the region, the status of the system 

inventory, knowledge of needs and problems, institutional hurdles such as the ability to develop 

MOUs, the anticipated level of outreach activities, the type and number of materials to be

produced, the type and number of interviews and workshops to be conducted, the variable nature 

of the processes used to develop an ITS vision and a market package plan, the existence or extent 

of a regional ITS architecture, the extent of technology review required, project duration, and 

the number and depth of deliverable reviews. 
9. Costs

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 9-6

For further information on the value of consultant support contracts refer to "Cost" section of each case 

study (Appendix A) and question #5 of each survey form (Appendix B).

PLANNING LEVEL COST ESTIMATES

Planning level cost estimates are needed to develop and prioritize individual projects to develop 

the broader ITS program. The Cost Analysis document found on the National ITS Architecture 

CD-ROM provides a wealth of cost information that can be used for ITS strategic planning, 

corridor or area studies, or other planning activities. Some of the principles identified through 

the case studies and surveys should be considered in developing planning level cost estimates 

include:

?? Do not be overly conservative or liberal on cost estimates; however, one should probably 

err on the high side so as to retain credibility of the program by minimizing cost overruns

??Work on an installed unit cost basis (e.g., per intersection, per mile, per ramp, per bus, 

per control center, etc.), but also take into account major features

?? Estimate full life-cycle costs, including design, development (especially software),

procurement, installation, integration, acceptance testing, evaluation, O&M,

management, and spare parts inventory

?? Document assumptions so that adjustments in the costs can be more easily made if costs 

or quantities change

?? Distinguish any systems or components that will be funded from other sources, so that 

this can be accounted for properly (and identified in the appropriate other plan such as the 

Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP))

?? Use cost data from your own sources and experiences when possible

?? Assess potential costs by analyzing the results and costs of similar projects successfully 

deployed in other regions

?? Incorporate ITS programs into new transportation projects to facilitate funding,

construction coordination, and lessen the perceived cost of ITS (which is typically a small 

portion of other projects such as highway construction or rehabilitation)

?? Commit sufficient funds and staff resources to adequately conduct strategic planning

?? Make use of the helpful cost information provided in the case studies

?? Software development costs should not be underestimated since they are often higher 

than planned

?? Communication costs are large compared to equipment costs and should be carefully 

scrutinized
10.Potential Benefits

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 10-1

10. POTENTIAL BENEFITS

INTRODUCTION

In this section, selected potential benefits associated with ITS strategic planning are presented. 

These are primarily in the form of qualitative measures and perspectives (e.g., institutional and 

procedural) with quantitative measures and efficiencies (e.g., financial and operational) provided 

to the extent possible.

HOW BENEFITS WERE DETERMINED

This section discusses how benefits listed in this section were assessed. The methodology used 

by the study team consisted of examining lessons learned and the experiences of various regions 

where ITS strategic plans were prepared, assessing regional goals and objectives, and examining 

technology selection in the region. Issues addressed in determining benefits are summarized 

below. 

Look at What Other Regions Have Done

?? Assessed based upon area needs that would be addressed by the ITS Projects

?? Assessed by looking at successes in other areas

?? Consideration of benefits has been very qualitative through providing example benefits 

from ITS deployments in other States

?? Some quantifiable ITS benefits were based upon the FHWA's "ITS Benefits Update 

(September, 1999)"

?? Benefits were estimated based on findings from recent Model Deployment Initiatives 

(MDIs), field operational tests, and established projects

Base on Goals/Objectives & Performance Criteria

?? All ITS goals have specific measurable objectives that can be evaluated and assessed for 

their corresponding benefit

?? The benefits were measured using an evaluation methodology based on various weighted 

performance criteria (e.g., crashes, LOS, trip predictability, etc.)

?? ITS Projects should be evaluated as deployed in order to assess to what extent they are 

meeting user needs and performance criteria (quantitative and qualitative)

Technology Selection Criteria

?? During the selection of near-term projects, benefits of each technology were presented in 

terms of the extent to which each technology:

?? Addressed the needs along the corridor

?? Met the goals and objectives of the study

?? Ready for deployment

?? Projects that ranked high in this evaluation methodology will likely be the first 

projects deployed

?? Actual benefits may depend on a number of factors such as congestion levels and the 

extent of ITS system coverage
10.Potential Benefits

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 10-2

BENEFITS OF CONDUCTING AN ITS STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORT

This section describes potential benefits that can be derived from ITS strategic planning. These 

benefits generally fall into the following categories:

?? Development of deliverables that could be used in preparing ITS projects

?? Improved coordination among agencies

?? Stakeholder involvement and education 

Development of Necessary ITS Deliverables

A major benefit of ITS strategic planning is the preparation of plans and analyses that can be 

used to support development of ITS applications. The main benefit of the Statewide ITS 

planning process was a “doable” plan; that is, a plan that provided stakeholders with guidance for 

proceeding with a Statewide ITS program. Other benefits in this category include, but are not 

limited to, the following:

?? Specific deliverables developed:

?? ITS concept-of-operations

?? Identification of recommended ITS Projects for implementation

?? ITS deployment schedule

?? ITS procurement strategy

?? Long-term outreach strategy

?? Regional ITS Architecture (and associated deliverables)

Coordination Among Agencies

Improved coordination among agencies is a major benefit of the ITS strategic planning process. 

A solid ITS strategic planning process brings together many agencies that heretofore may have 

attempted limited, if any, coordination. The process typically improves understanding of the 

challenges confronting other organizations and serves to identify opportunities for common

approaches. The result is frequently a strengthening of close-working relationships between ITS 

stakeholders across jurisdictional boundaries as evidenced by the creation of ITS Coordinating 

Groups that continue to meet after the strategic assessment has been completed. Other benefits 

include:

For further information on the potential benefits found in other ITS Strategic Plans, please refer to 

each Case Study's "Benefits" section (Appendix A) and each Survey Form's Question #'s 14 and 15 

(Appendix B).
10.Potential Benefits

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 10-3

?? Agency/County support for the ITS Strategic Plan

?? Receipt of "achievement awards" promotes stakeholder participation, team mentality, and 

solidarity

?? Inter-agency cooperation among regional stakeholders promoted through Steering

Committee meetings and other outreach efforts

?? Encouraging different agencies to participate in discussion and decision-making 

regarding ITS has led to each Agency having a much better understanding of the other 

agency’s perspectives, goals and capabilities

?? Provides an overall statewide framework to help District-level initiatives work better 

together

Stakeholder Involvement & Education

One of the main benefits in this area is improving stakeholders’ understanding of ITS and 

eventual commitment to ITS as an alternative approach to addressing transportation issues. 

Benefits include:

?? Introducing the private sector to the strategic planning process has introduced new

perspectives, ideas and opportunities, and it has also broadened the “buy-in” to the 

resulting plan

?? The process of completing the strategic plan had benefits in terms of creating ITS 

awareness among State agencies and formulating partnerships for future deployments

?? Increases awareness of ITS throughout the State

Other benefits to preparing an ITS strategic plan may include increased public/private

partnerships, organizational changes at transportation agencies, and improved mainstreaming of 

ITS into the traditional planning process. While the use of public-private partnerships has 

brought many challenges, it has also brought many benefits including the opportunity to leverage 

different sources of funds, increased “buy-in”, broadened understanding of how each sector 

operates and of the constraints within which each has to carry out its work. State DOTs have 

examined their organizational structures and, in at least one case, have established a dedicated 

branch/group to work specifically in the area of ITS and to focus on the needs of ITS deployment 

in the state. 
11. Guidance Highlights From Case Studies

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 11-1

11. GUIDANCE HIGHLIGHTS FROM CASE STUDIES

INTRODUCTION

In this concluding section, a series of guidance “highlights” derived from case studies are 

presented. While some lessons learned may appear to be obvious to the more experienced 

reader, this section will nevertheless serve as a valuable review tool prior to starting a new 

project. For easy reference, guidance highlights are organized by the "typical" steps found in the 

FHWA ITS Strategic Planning Process illustrated in Exhibit 3.1

STRATEGIC PLANNING -- OVERVIEW

Implementation

The ITS Strategic assessment should ensure that adequate resources are dedicated to

implementation. Specific projects for implementation should be identified and targeted

deployment schedules established.

Strategic Plan Updates

Since ITS technology and practices are evolving so quickly and given the novelty of ITS to many 

Stakeholders, and since regional circumstances are continuously evolving frequent ITS strategic 

planning is as important as having a written plan. Therefore, updating planes annually is a useful 

undertaking. Regional Stakeholders should monitor continuing ITS project deployments in the 

region, and then maintain and update the project database in order to evaluate the expected 

benefits.

Projects vs. Process

Balancing the ITS planning process with the selection of recommended ITS projects is the key to 

maintaining stakeholder interest while satisfying federal and state guidelines. Most non

transportation agencies do not get involved in ITS until real, funded projects are begun. Usually 

these other agencies will only be willing to contribute resources or initiate new projects when 

they begin to comprehend benefits to them. Care should be taken, however, to ensure that the 

Region-/Statewide Strategic Plan is not just a “cookie cutter” study; each strategic assessment 

requires targeted, creative application of ITS.

Communication & Coordination

Communication between stakeholders and coordination of ITS initiatives is important to longterm success of an ITS program. Coordinated planning helps ensure that ITS deployments are 

integrated into the state’s broader architecture. Coordinated, concurrent deployments and

parallel efforts among different regions are helpful to ensure that systems work together and to 

avoid redundant or superfluous efforts. 
11. Guidance Highlights From Case Studies

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 11-2

In addition, close communication between the state DOT and district-level staff at the outset of 

the planning effort can very useful. If there is coordination, then early winners or early

successful implementations by a district become known at the state level and can then be shared 

with other regions.

Multi-Modal & Transit

While developing a multi-modal focus for the state/region may be difficult due to the multi-State 

nature of CVO systems and the fragmentary nature of Regional transit systems, it is an attainable 

(and desired) goal. Given the rapid proliferation of ITS technologies throughout the transit and 

CVO communities, a multi-modal focus should be central feature of ITS strategic plans.

Focus on Needs, not Available Technologies

Finally, make sure that the ITS Strategic Plan does not involve “technology in search of a 

problem”; should be taken that needs are identified first, so that potential ITS solutions can be 

identified that address the needs (not vice-versa). Therefore, one of the most important aspects 

to consider when developing an ITS Strategic Plan is to make sure that ITS solutions are 

"connected" to the identified transportation needs (i.e., traceability). For example, one

stakeholder thought that their strategic plan was innovative at the time in that it was needsfocused, rather than technology-focused; this approach made the plan’s recommendations more 

amenable to ITS Architecture development in subsequent years. In addition, transportation

problems that are identified need to be specific in terms of their location and nature in order to 

better gain elected official support. 

PERFORM REGIONAL INVENTORY & DEFINE NEEDS 

Needs Assessment and Regional Inventory

Regional needs and problem identification must come from the bottom up and be defined by 

those who are closest to them the stakeholders of the region, their elected officials, Agency staffs 

responsible for the transportation system, and the customer (e.g., commuters, long-distance 

travelers, community residents, tourists/visitors, bus riders, etc.). As a component of the needs 

assessment, the region needs to conduct a comprehensive system inventory and transportation 

assessment. This assessment will provide understanding of what the region currently has, and 

will allow the further identification of “gaps”. 

To develop this system inventory, planners need to review existing transportation planning

documents, conduct stakeholder workshops/interviews, and distribute survey forms to their 

respective target audiences. With this information in-hand, planners can create tables, graphical 

map displays, and visuals of needs and inventory results to facilitate analysis and outreach

activities.

After identifying the needs the planners can organize individual needs into broader categories 

(e.g., User Services, Market Packages, etc.) to clarify the context in which it is more fully 
11. Guidance Highlights From Case Studies

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 11-3

understood. With direct Stakeholder input, the next step is to prioritize the needs. Finally, the 

stakeholders should "map" the needs to potential ITS solutions to begin to develop an ITS vision 

for the Region. 

Rural Environment

Rural areas contain a set of unique transportation-related needs that cannot easily be addressed 

by traditional design/build methods. Therefore, the needs found in rural areas should be

examined and addressed to ensure a consistent level of service for all roadways across the 

State/Region. For example, using a location-based, needs driven approach, one State DOT was 

able to focus more attention on Rural ITS applications and on applications other than congestion 

relief; this helped to sell ITS to a broader range of stakeholders.

DEVELOP ITS VISION

By using the National ITS Architecture's "User Services" and "User Service Objectives", the 

planners can reduce their efforts and streamline the process of developing their ITS vision. It is 

recommended that workshops and focus groups be conducted to develop goals and objectives for 

the ITS program that map to the identified needs. It is also useful for the goals and objectives to 

be associated with short-, medium-, and long-term solutions and cross-referenced to individual 

user services and user service bundles (categorized by Rural and Urban categories).

The ITS user services objectives should be defined on a regional basis. They should address 

specific objectives, meet customer needs, and target solutions to specific problems

IDENTIFY/SCREEN MARKET PACKAGES & ITS CONCEPT PLAN

The first activity within this step is to develop performance criteria or measures-of-effectiveness 

(MOEs). These are used to assess system performance criteria and evaluate the potential value 

and feasibility of Market Packages under consideration. It is important that these MOEs are 

practical in nature and easily quantifiable to allow for subsequent evaluation.

Planners should make use of the National ITS Architecture's "Market Packages" in order to 

minimize the work effort and streamline the decision-making process. Stakeholders can screen 

the Market Packages through a series of assessments and analyses as follows:

?? Environmental Scan: Analyze what Regions/States with similar characteristics selected

?? SWOT Analysis: Consider the Regions'/States' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and 

threats to deploying ITS

?? Goals Mapping: Analyze each Market Package to determine its ability to meet the 

identified Region-/Statewide transportation goals, objectives, and problems

By documenting the results of the screening process, a clear association between Market

Packages and the identified needs/problems can be developed. It is important that these 
11. Guidance Highlights From Case Studies

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 11-4

associates are recognized early in the concept development process so that ITS Project ideas can 

be carried forward into the systems development and implementation stages. Planners can then 

distribute the selected Market Packages by location (e.g., Statewide, Region-wide, Corridorwide, County-specific, Local, etc.) and prioritize them by short-, medium-, and long-term 

implementation timeframes.

IDENTIFY DESIRED FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES & POTENTIAL PROJECTS

Functional Requirements

The region should use the system goals/objectives as the initial source of desired system

functionality. Through an iterative process, stakeholders can develop the state's/region's

fundamental system functional requirements by breaking down previously documented system 

goals and objectives. These fundamental system functional requirements should then be

allocated to functional areas necessary to support the system.

One of the first steps is to identify the Urban and Rural ITS functions to incorporate in the 

region/state. With stakeholder involvement, the planners should define what the system should 

do, performing requirements, and who is responsible for making it all work. Information for this 

"concept-of-operations" can be drawn from material developed as part of the National ITS 

Architecture and enhanced with additional information developed locally by stakeholders and/or 

consultant support. 

ITS Projects

The next step is to make the transition from Market Packages to ITS Projects by identifying 

initial ITS project elements that cover specific geographic areas, determining specific location(s) 

for deployment, and assigning Agency roles/responsibilities (e.g., procurement, deployment, 

O&M, etc.). At this stage, the planners should begin to consider technology options and start to 

identify concrete project implementation timeframes (i.e., short-, medium-, long-term).

Stakeholders should relate the ITS projects back to the needs/problems and goals/objectives 

identified earlier in the process to make sure that the ITS Strategic assessment is still on-track. 

As appropriate, it is recommended that ITS projects be defined early in the planning process to 

keep stakeholders actively engaged.

DEFINE ITS REGIONAL FRAMEWORK INCLUDING ARCHITECTURE

The planners should take advantage of FHWA's investment in the National ITS Architecture, 

supported training, and technical assistance to minimize the work effort and streamline the 

decision-making process. The planners should schedule/conduct workshops to educate

stakeholders on the National ITS Architecture (and its components) and the Regional ITS 

Architecture (and its deliverables).
11. Guidance Highlights From Case Studies

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 11-5

When developing the Regional ITS Architecture, stakeholders should consider undertaking the 

following tasks:

?? Map existing systems and connections to the National ITS Architecture 

?? Group selected Market Packages into subsystems and map to the National ITS

Architecture 

?? Identify and classify connectivity between subsystems

?? Review individual Market Package Architecture Flows and tailor to the region/state

?? Tailor connections between subsystems to reflect actual agency relationships (i.e.,

Organizational Architecture)

?? Identify appropriate ITS Standards and status of development activities

Regional ITS Architecture deliverables should be agreed-upon prior to project initiation and 

specifically identified through agency MOUs and/or consultant contract/SOW. The Regional 

ITS Architecture for a large geographic area needs to be developed at a level of detail

appropriate for the budget, and the understanding that further deployment efforts may be needed 

to enhance the base architecture.

DEFINE OPERATIONAL & IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

Within this activity, the planners should review, document, and evaluate the state-of-the-art of 

the available system components and technologies. This includes their system interaction, 

interconnection, and integration capabilities, life-cycle costs, and O&M considerations. Then, 

specific technologies should be applied to short-term or Early Winner projects only.

It is important that the planners recognize that rapid technological advances are taking place in 

the ITS industry, temper recommendations accordingly, and ensure that selected technologies are 

consistent with the Regional ITS Architecture.

REGIONAL ITS IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM

The Regional ITS Strategic Plan should focus on a list of ITS projects to deploy, their

implementation timeline (i.e., short-, medium-, and long-term), integration approach, available 

funding sources, and procurement methods. The plan should also outline the institutional 

framework to deploy, operate, maintain, and manage the Regional ITS system (e.g., approach, 

roles, responsibilities, etc.). In addition, it should serve as the primary resource in the on-going 

consensus building associated with the ITS Program. Furthermore, it should be used as a 

primary source of input for inclusion in the next updates of the RTPs, TIPs, and other

transportation planning documents.

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Once the ITS Strategic Plan is complete, it is necessary to gain further acceptance from elected 

officials, travelers, and other community members. Adequate time needs to be reserved at the 
11. Guidance Highlights From Case Studies

Best Practices of Rural and Statewide ITS Strategic Planning Page 11-6

end-of-the-project to make presentations to Agency officials (e.g., Transportation Technical

Advisory Committees (TTACs), County Board of Supervisors, etc.) in order to ensure program 

approvals and obtain their continued support. In addition, stakeholders should distribute ITS 

newsletters, brochures, and videos as an effective tool for ITS education/awareness. 

For further information on the Lessons Learned from other ITS Strategic Plans, please refer to each Case 

Study's "Lessons Learned" section (Appendix A) and each Survey Form's Question #15 (Appendix B).
To access an electronic version of this publication

and other ITS-related publications, visit the

ITS Electronic Document Library (EDL):

www.its.dot.goc/itsweb/welcome.htm

EDL Document Number: 13608

Visit our ITS Website

The ITS Joint Program Office:

www.its.dot.gov

Publication Number: FHWA-OP-02-037

HOIT/2000-5-02
Appendix A

In Depth Description of

Case Study Projects
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Arizona Strategic Plan for the Statewide Deployment of ITS

Goals

To promote Arizona as a test bed for ITS solutions due to its predominantly rural character, the 

unique transportation characteristics of its highway network, the significant geographical and 

climatic variations across the state and the high volume of out-of-state visitors. With these 

factors in mind, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) Strategic Plan for

Statewide Deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems was designed to serve as a roadmap 

for ITS technologies in Arizona’s rural areas. The plan was developed to address the following 

goals: 

?? Develop a strategic plan for deployment of ITS in rural Arizona

?? Build a long term coalition of stakeholders in both Arizona and neighboring states

?? Create a compatible and integrated system of its technologies throughout Arizona and 

with the boarding states of, California, and New Mexico

Approach

ADOT undertook its second rural ITS study which complements the ongoing efforts of the Early 

Deployment Plans (EDP) for the recently completed I-40 ITS Strategic Plan as well as additional 

early deployment plans for Maricopa and Pima counties. The main objective of the study was to 

complete the state’s ITS early deployment planning efforts by conducting a comprehensive, 

statewide research of rural transportation-related needs and issues that could be addressed

through deployment of ITS technologies. The Strategic Plan serves as a guide for implementing 

ITS technologies and programs throughout the state.

Rationale Behind the Strategic Plan

The development of The Strategic Plan for Statewide Deployment of Intelligent Transportation 

Systems in Arizona addresses the need for improvements in surface transportation through

technological advancements as defined by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Safety Act 

(ISTEA). ADOT in conjunction with the FHWA initiated the Strategic Plan in October of 1997. 

This is the second rural ITS study undertaken by ADOT and was launched shortly after the 

completion of the I-40 Strategic Plan and coincides with the continued efforts of AZTECH, who 

may eventually lead the statewide ITS planning efforts, and the Freeway Management Systems 

in Phoenix. Additional support and project guidance was provided by The Technical Advisory 

Committee (TAC) composed of representatives from ADOT, FHWA, and the Arizona

Department of Public Safety.

ADOT’s main objective included completing the state’s ITS early deployment planning efforts 

by conducting an extensive, statewide research of rural transportation-related needs and develop 

ITS solutions for the addressed needs. The study area is comprised of the state of Arizona 

excluding the I-40 corridor and metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Approach to Developing the Strategic Plans

Several broad guidelines were developed by ADOT to ensure a well-defined and integrated 

Strategic Plan was developed. The first steps entailed the development of an extensive list of 

stakeholders complied by ADOT that included:

?? Government agencies (federal, state, county, and municipal)

?? Regional government councils/planning groups

?? Native American communities and organizations

?? Community, tourists and traveler information services

?? Educational institutions

?? Private trucking and transportation companies and associations

?? Emergency Management Services (EMS) and assistance providers

?? Media

ADOT then pursued the public relations plan for The Strategic Plan with a focus on rural

applications of ITS technologies and how such solutions would benefit Arizona’s transportation 

systems. The public relations plan served as an educational tool for informing and encouraging 

participation of statewide rural transportation stakeholders and the media. Through a proactive 

communications outreach process the public relations plan was distributed via several

community presentations, press releases and project newsletters, which also served as a means of 

soliciting stakeholder input. The state was divided into three coalition areas; the Western Desert 

Coalition, East Central Mountains Coalition, and the Southeastern Boarder Coalition as a means 

of tailoring three architectures for these specific areas. Participation and input from users was 

crucial to the success of the study therefore, Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings, 

Coalition meetings, focus group workshops and six outreach presentations were structured to 

encourage participation from attendees so that a sufficient amount of input from users would be 

incorporated into The Strategic Plan. Stakeholders who did not attend the meetings were still 

able to provide input to the study by directly contacting the TAC. The ADOT Community 

relation’s office collaborated closely with the TAC by maintaining public relations throughout 

the development of the plan.

With the completion of the initial public outreach process the next step included, identifying the 

critical transportation needs, problems, and opportunities within the rural areas of the state and 

applying the appropriate technological solution. The needs assessment efforts included holding 

four public focus groups and two Rural Intelligent Transportation workshops. The main goal of 

the workshops were to further inform and educate local government agency staff, public safety 

and transportation leaders about the potential solutions of Intelligent Transportation Systems 

while at the same time compiling a list of user needs. Those who lead the workshops included 

participating consultants, university professors and member from the FHWA.

Feedback and findings were placed into a database and were condensed into 76 critical needs and 

placed into Critical Program Areas (CPA). The CPA served as means for prioritizing and placing 

the needs with the appropriate user services as defined by The National ITS Architecture. The 

National ITS Program defines the term users “as a wide range of individuals and organizations 

including drivers, travelers, service providers and transportation policy makers.” 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The five-step process below further clarifies how the needs were derived and placed with the 

users services:

?? Stakeholder Input Through focus Groups

?? Comprehensive Listing of Problems and Concerns

?? Generalized Problem Statements

?? Derived Corridor Needs – ITS User Services

?? Selected User Services

Contents

The study identified the needs of Arizona’s rural transportation stakeholders and has matched 

them, where possible, to one or more of the ITS market packages as defined by the National 

Architecture. Of the 56 market packages currently defined by the National Architecture, 43 were 

identified as suitable for deployment in Arizona.

Projects and Activities

Phase 1 (1999-2001) of the Strategic Plan For Statewide Deployment of ITS includes activities 

in the following areas:

?? Broadcast traveler information including the provision of an interface to public broadcast 

media and the coordination and expansion of driver information dissemination with

neighboring states

?? CVO fleet maintenance including the installation of electronic clearance stations in most of 

Arizona’s Ports of Entry, the coordination of in-vehicle device use (for example, AVI and 

AVL) with the trucking industry and equipping maintenance vehicles with automated vehicle 

status mileage and fuel reporting features

?? Electronic clearance of commercial vehicles meeting selected criteria using PrePass

technology and the use of weigh-in-motion (WIM) to identify potentially overweight

vehicles

?? Emergency response systems including the evaluation of free-standing call boxes along 

remote rural routes and the installation of emergency phones in rest areas and bus stops, the 

revision of ADOT and EMS practices to comply with opportunities provided by E911, the 

provision of computer-aided dispatching for law enforcement and EMS agencies, CCTV and 

audio monitoring of rest areas and border crossings, an increase in motorists service patrols 

along remote rural routes and the installation of traffic signals pre-emption systems

?? Emissions and environmental hazards sensing including the installation of visibility

sensors and other weather alert systems linked to VMS to alert drivers to adverse weather

?? Fleet administration including the coordination of ADOT maintenance scheduling to

improve effectiveness and the exchange of data between ADOT, other public-sector and 

private-sector fleet management centers

?? Freeway control including Traffic Management Center (TMC)-to-TMC wireline or highbandwidth wireless communications for traffic data and making improvements to “truck 

route” signing
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Incident management systems including the evaluation of systems to improve the incident 

location process and the establishment of common communications channels within Arizona 

and with neighboring states

?? Interactive traveler information including the continued deployment of the Highway

Closure and Restriction System and the exploration of information dissemination

opportunities provided by cable TV and cellular telephone services

?? International border electronic clearance including the tracking of commercial vehicles 

through NAFTA corridors and improvements to CCTV surveillance at Ports of Entry

?? ITS planning including the standardization of ITS data collection and processing methods 

between agencies and the development of a centralized, on-line GIS-based database of traffic 

information

?? Network surveillance including the installation of additional CCTV cameras and other 

detectors (loop, acoustic and video), the establishment of a toll-free number to allow travelers 

to report traffic incidents and the introduction of vehicle speed monitoring and display to 

alert drivers to their current speed

?? Surface street control including synchronization of traffic signal systems

?? Traffic information dissemination including exploring different ways to disseminate

traveler information (including portable VMS, small LED-type information displays coupled 

with kiosks and web-based tourist and traveler information systems) and the development of 

an statewide information clearinghouse(s)

Architecture Issues

Although The Strategic Plan for Statewide Deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems 

was built upon the I-40 Strategic Plan, a comprehensive effort was made to recognize the varied 

and unique needs of the statewide users. Therefore a separate framework was developed by 

ADOT that focused on a comprehensive statewide architecture for deploying integrated and 

interoperable ITS technologies. In addition to the I-40 area, three regional architectures were 

created, one for each of the areas in the statewide effort: the Western Desert Coalition, the East 

Central Mountains Coalition, and the Southeastern Boarder Coalition. User needs were

identified based on the three areas through a series of stakeholder meeting, focus group and two 

Rural ITS Workshops. A consultant then mapped out the user needs and placed them with the 30 

appropriate user services as defined by the National ITS Architecture. In addition to the 30 user 

services 6 rural user services were developed by the Advanced Rural Transportation Systems 

(ARTS) to better suit the unique needs of rural areas. Following the selection of the appropriate 

user services, market packages corresponding to the selected user services were identified, which 

would serve as building blocks for the statewide architecture. 

The National ITS architecture was complied with while developing the regional architectures 

through the use of a database to map architectural relationships. Adherence to the National ITS 

Architecture provided data flows between the regional and national levels that were not initially 

identified and included.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Exhibit 1 further illustrates the development of the statewide architecture process:

Exhibit 1 – Arizona Statewide Architecture Development Process

Institutional Involvement

ADOT’s community relations office along with consultant support established and maintained a 

comprehensive list of stakeholders and divided the stakeholders into three separate coalitions; the 

Western Desert Coalition; the East Central Mountains Coalition and the Southeastern Boarder 

Coalition. The list served as a method of identifying participants for Coalitions and focus groups

as well as a mailing list for newsletters, flyers and meeting announcements. Arizona’s

stakeholders identified for this study included representatives from:

?? Government agencies (federal, state, county, and municipal)

?? Regional government councils/planning groups

?? Native American communities and organizations

?? Community, tourist and traveler information services

?? Educational institutions

?? Private trucking and transportation companies and associations

?? Emergency Management Services (EMS) and assistance providers

?? Media

Identify and 

Gather 

Stakeholders

User Needs

I-40 

EDP

National ITS 

Program Plan

ARTS 

Community

User 

Services

National ITS 

Architecture

Selected Market 

Packages Statewide 

Architecture
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Organizational Issues

Although a formal management team had not yet been chosen, the plan anticipates that it would 

be logical that the Metropolitan Planning Organization and councils of Government with

ADOT’s lead, be responsible for overseeing the future statewide ITS program in Arizona. 

Additional support and planning efforts would be provided by the AZTech program, which may 

eventually become known as the ITS program for the entire state. On the regional level the plan 

recommends that the district engineer with experience with communication systems oversee the 

maintenance and operations of the deployed ITS technologies. 

Outreach & Marketing 

The initial outreach process by ADOT included a series of stakeholder meetings designed to

educate and inform stakeholders of the benefits of ITS solutions as well as address the needs of 

the stakeholders. In addition to the stakeholder meetings a proactive communication program 

was launched by the ADOTs community relations office. Project newsletters and public

forums/presentations were used to inform, educate and solicit input from highway users and 

stakeholders throughout the state. 

ADOT along with the FHWA sponsored two Rural ITS Workshops and four focus group 

meetings throughout the state that were designed to further educate and give attendees a more 

detailed look at ITS solutions. During the workshops and focus group meetings a significant 

amount of time was spent identifying and refining the needs of the users. The following groups 

participated in the workshops and focus groups:

?? ADOT District staff

?? ADOT Transportation Planning Group

?? Mayors, city council persons, and other key city staff

?? County supervisors

?? Tribal leaders

?? Major Transportation industry representatives

?? Department of Public Safety representatives

?? Office of Tourism representatives

?? Chambers of Commerce

?? National Parks

?? Representatives of major private and public tourist attractions

?? The general public

Education Activities

The Western Institute of Transportation Institute along with Arizona State University, Northern 

Arizona State and the University of Minnesota all participated and followed the project through 

meetings and newsletters. 

Funding Opportunities and Sources

The plan briefly states the level of private funding is estimated at 2.5 times the public 

investment, which is approximately $233 million over the next 20 years. Private funding sources 

were not mentioned.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Current Status

The Strategic Plan has been completed and plans for implementing systems highlighted in Phase 

2 are moving forward. Currently Arizona is in the deployment and operational stages of the 

following projects:

?? Alternate Route Interactive System

?? Advanced Snowplow Operations

?? Variable Speed Limit Signs

?? Dynamic Message Signs

?? Road and Weather Information Systems

?? Commercial Vehicle Operations

Future Activities Planned

A long-term evaluation plan has been developed by ADOT, however ADOT will identify the 

organization that will be responsible for conducting the evaluation process. The responsible 

agency could be one of the following, ADOT, a non-profit entity interested in promoting ITS 

throughout the state, a state university, a coalition of Councils of Governments, or a consultant. 

The long-term evaluation plan will test the effectiveness of the deployed ITS technologies in 

rural Arizona, through the short, medium, and long term deployment process and will address the 

following. 

?? Assess or quantify improvements in transportation service and performance

?? Identify which ITS projects have been more productive in improving transportation 

service and performance

?? Identify possible enhancements to ITS systems deployed in the state

?? Recommend geographic expansion of individual projects and systems in future years

Evaluation reports will be shared with the Technical Advisory Committee members and the key 

stakeholders on each project. Positive results will help strengthen support between the public 

sector partners, private sector partners, key stakeholders and the general public. 

Furthermore performance measures will evaluate how well system-wide objectives were met on 

a quantitative and qualitative basis. The performance criteria will consist of the following

measures. 

?? Number of trucks stopped at the ports of entry

?? Number of truck by-passing the POE, due to lack of capacity

?? Number of trucks by-passed because of prior clearance

?? Mayday performance

?? Mayday system coverage

?? Coverage of driver early warning systems

?? Emergency service call-outs

?? Number of “hits for traveler information web pages (www.azfms.com)

?? Number of calls to 1-888-411-ROAD number

?? Accident rates

?? Availability of traveler information
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Coverage of driver early warning systems

?? Number of fatal accidents

?? Number of visitors

?? Timelines and traveler data

?? Tow truck service calls

?? Availability of traveler information

?? Conformance/response to messages

?? Customer survey data

?? Level of service

Additional systems are highlighted within the Strategic Plan as those which will be implemented 

and deployed in Phase 2 and by 2008 and beyond and are as follows:

?? Commercial Vehicle Administrative Processes

?? Dynamic Toll/Parking Fee Management

?? Emergency Routing

?? HAZMAT Management

?? Information Service Provider-Based Route Guidance

?? Lateral Safety Warning

?? Longitudinal Safety Warning

?? Mayday Support

?? On-board CVO Safety and Roadside CVO Safety 

Participating Institutions

Public:

Arizona Association of Governments, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona 

Department of Transportation, Arizona Division of Emergency Management, Arizona 

Office of Tourism, Arizona State Parks, Chambers of Commerce, Cities and Towns, 

Counties, Department of Corrections, Federal Highway Administration, Marine Corps 

Air Station, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, National Park Service, Native

American Tribes, Police, Private citizens, Radio Stations, Railroad, Rural Fire

Department, Western Transportation Institute, Arizona State University, Northern

Arizona University, University of Minnesota and U.S. Forest Service.

Private: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.

Cost Information

Title Date

Public Sector for 

The 15 Year 

Period

Private Sector

Strategic Plan For Statewide 

Deployment of Intelligent 

Transpotation System in Arizona

December 1998 $108,478,000 Unknown
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Lessons Learned

Although developing a Statewide ITS Architecture is a complex task, the state of Arizona 

created ITS solutions by way of establishing the appropriate scope and focused leadership. The 

following steps helped to properly address the needs of the users and facilitate successful ITS 

solutions.

?? Create Manageable Regional Coalitions

?? Develop and identify a wide range of stakeholders

?? The use Community Relations Office helped to refine user needs

?? Create and maintain agency and public buy-in

?? Utilize resources such as, knowledgeable and experienced consultants, the National 

ITS Architecture, and technological alternatives to face to face meetings

References and Contact Information

Documents Reviewed

1. Arizona Department of Transportation. “Strategic Plan For Deployment of Intelligent

Transportation Systems in Arizona,” Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. December 1998;

2. Federal Highway Administration. “Statewide ITS Architecture Development, A Case Study, 

Arizona’s Rural Statewide ITS Architecture,” ITS Joint Program Office and Demonstration 

and Innovation, through The Federal Transit Administration. 

Contact for further information

Steven R. Owen, PE

Transportation Research Engineer

Arizona Department of Transportation

2739 E. Washington St.

Phoenix, Arizona

(602) 712-6910

stowen@dot.state.az.us
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Central Coast ITS Strategic Deployment Plan

Goals

The Central Coast Region of California has just completed its initial ITS investigations with the 

results placing a significant emphasis on planning, deploying, and coordinating ITS initiatives 

throughout the Region. Specific objectives for the Central Coast Region include the following:

?? Integrate ITS systems/technologies into the transportation system on a strategic basis

?? Address congestion and safety problems

?? Enhance emergency preparedness

?? Provide pre-trip and en-route traveler information

?? Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Agency operation and maintenance

activities

?? Support transportation planning and system management functions

?? Ensure ITS deployments are aesthetically-pleasing

Approach

Organizational Approach

The Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan was established to take advantage of available funds from 

the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to forward the deployment of a

coordinated, statewide ITS program. Initially, Caltrans' ITS focus has been on its major 

metropolitan areas but since 1995, it has been setting aside ITS planning funds for various 

geographic regions in more rural environments. The project's 5-County study area (Santa Cruz, 

San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara) is encompassed within the

jurisdiction of Caltrans District 5. When Caltrans District 5 became aware that ITS opportunities 

were available from a statewide perspective, they ensured that funding was available for the 

Central Coast's ITS strategic planning effort. It was felt that since Caltrans District 5 and a 

number of other Central Coast transportation agencies had already or were starting to deploy 

certain ITS systems/technologies, that funds spent to coordinate these efforts on a regional basis 

would provide for a seamless transportation network and scale-of-economies. In addition, 

coordinated planning early-on in the process would allow each County a better chance of

securing funding for future deployments by mainstreaming ITS projects into their traditional

planing/programming process.

Technical Approach

The Consultant's technical approach to the Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan is listed below:

?? Outreach & Consensus Building (via focus groups, interviews, surveys, phone calls, 

questionnaires, web-sites, newsletters, awareness seminars, brochures, etc.)

?? Inventory Existing Transportation System/Projects

?? Determine User Needs & Challenges

?? Develop ITS Vision

?? Develop ITS Market Package Plan
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Develop Regional ITS Architecture & Functional Requirements 

?? Screen Technology Options/Alternatives

?? Identify Early Winners

?? Develop Strategic Plan [including specific project location(s), responsible agencies, 

cost estimates, implementation schedule, etc.]

The above steps are graphically depicted in "Exhibit 1 - Central Coast Task Interrelationship 

Diagram" and "Exhibit 2 - Central Coast ITS Study Process" diagram presented at the end of this 

case study.

Contents

The contents of the Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan focused on identified needs and

opportunities, Market Package selection, Regional ITS Architecture development, and

recommended ITS Projects. Basically, the guiding thought process used to develop the Strategic 

Plan's contents is based on the "Goals & Objectives" presented above. To summarize the 

Strategic Plan's contents, the Central Coast's ITS Strategic Direction is presented below from the 

Regional perspective. The reader is directed to the actual Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan for a 

County-by-County view.

Central Coast Regional ITS Strategic Direction

?? Establish a Transportation Management Center (TMC) to coordinate Regional ITS 

activities

?? Monitor traffic flow and roadway conditions via roadway sensors and closed 

circuit television (CCTV) cameras

?? Control ramp meters to improve traffic flow on congested roadways

?? Serve as a focal point for regional multi-modal traveler information using

changeable message signs (CMS), highway advisory radio (HAR), and kiosks to 

allow long-distance traffic and residents to avoid major incidents and road

closures

?? Improve coordination activities concerning incident management, special events 

management, CHP/Caltrans dispatching, and other Regional and Local TMCs

?? Increase the availability and quality of multi-modal traveler information though

enhancements to Internet websites and telephone call-in systems

?? Improve traffic flow along arterial roadways through signal upgrades,

communications enhancements, and coordination strategies

?? Provide for a consistent "smart card" approach for seamless operation among transit 

systems, parking systems, and toll operations

?? Use the Internet to its maximum potential to share information between Agencies and 

with the public

?? Encourage and work with communications companies to expand cellular phone

coverage into more rural areas to support a range of information delivery options and 

"mayday" applications
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Support enhancements and upgrades to CHP and emergency response agency radio 

systems

?? Improve emergency vehicle response times and transit vehicle schedule adherence 

through traffic signal priority/override systems

?? Expand the motorist aid call box system on targeted roadways

?? Use "smart" call boxes at selected locations that equip existing call boxes with

roadway and/or weather sensors 

Architecture Issues

One important component of the Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan was the development of the 

Regional ITS Architecture. The step-by-step process used is graphically depicted in "Exhibit 3 -

Central Coast Architecture Development Process" diagram presented at the end of this case 

study. As can be seen, the initial steps focused on the following Central Coast-to-National ITS 

Architecture "mapping" exercises:

?? Identified needs/problem areas to User Services and Market Packages

?? Existing transportation systems to the Physical Architecture

From this foundation, certain components of the National ITS Architecture were then

specifically "tailored" to the Central Coast to form the Regional ITS Architecture described 

below:

?? Functional Architecture (Planned)

?? User Service Plan

?? Market Package Plan

?? Diagrams presenting the selected Market Packages, their interrelationships, and 

links to ITS Projects

?? Physical Architecture (Existing & Planned)

?? Tailored “sausage” diagrams (subsystem interconnect diagrams) that present the 

selected Market Packages, links to ITS Projects, and interconnections

?? Diagrams created for each County

?? Turbo Architecture Database File (Existing & Planned) 

?? System Inventory

?? Market Package Association

?? Organizational Architecture

??Tailored subsystem interconnect diagrams

??Diagrams present the hierarchical interactions between Agencies and 

their systems/projects

?? Architecture Flow Diagrams

??Tailored data flow diagrams between subsystems

??Represent Existing or Planned system flows 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

This Architecture Development Process was used in the Central Coast for the following reasons:

?? Participants were comfortable with the balance between the selection of ITS Projects 

and the process used to identify them

?? Anticipation that "new" Federal planning regulations were being enacted that required 

conformance with the National ITS Architecture

?? Assurance from their FHWA representative that the Central Coast process was far 

along the path to Architecture conformance, especially through the use of Turbo 

Architecture

?? Understanding that conformance with the National ITS Architecture and use of

current/emerging standards would ensure that their ITS Projects were eligible for 

Federal funding

The Central Coast decided upon these Architecture deliverables for the following reasons:

?? Initially, the scope-of-work (SOW) asked for by the Central Coast Agenc ies and 

presented by the Consultant were not specific enough to develop deliverables in

conformance with the National ITS Architecture

?? Therefore, a meeting between AMBAG, Caltrans, FHWA, and the Consultant was 

conducted at the beginning of the Architecture portion of the project:

?? Determined Regional ITS Architecture deliverables (above)

?? Development of the Regional ITS Architecture would be "on-hold" until the FHWA's 

"Turbo Architecture" software program was available for use

?? Turbo Architecture would establish the Central Coast far along the path to

Architecture conformance

?? Turbo Architecture would allow various architecture "perspectives" to be developed 

(e.g., Central Coast Region, AMBAG jurisdiction, each County, etc.)

?? Turbo Architecture would ensure that each County/Agency could manage their

Architecture portion as well as "bubble-up" pertinent components that were of

Regional significance

Institutional Involvement

The Central Coast ITS Program is based on the active participation of the public sector, private 

sector, and academia. The program has successfully brought together different offices in

Caltrans, CHP, FHWA, AMBAG, five (5) Counties, local Cities, transportation agencies, and 

transit properties to further ITS deployment in the Central Coast. Public sector interaction is 

presented in the "Organizational Issues" below.

At this time, participation of the private sector has been solicited through a series of

interviews/workshops to determine their needs, ITS Project ideas, and areas of potential

involvement. It is envisioned that future involvement will consist of traditional Request For 

Proposal (RFP) solicitations and through more innovative mechanisms such as public-private 

partnerships.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Academia support was provided by the University of California Polytechnic Institute (Cal-Poly). 

Cal-Poly participated in most ITS Steering Committee meetings and is furthering an ITS

Research & Development (R&D) project that focuses on the use of low-cost ITS applications to 

improve transit system operations in and around San Luis Obispo County [e.g., automated 

vehicle location (AVL), coordinated dispatching, schedule adherence, transit information

dissemination via kiosks and call-in systems, etc).

Organizational Issues

The Central Coast's organizational structure was defined to maximize participation from public 

agencies, private sector, and academia. This structure and lines of decision-making continue to 

evolve as the ITS Program develops. Current organizational structures are as follows:

?? ITS Steering Committee - Members include key technical staff from the involved public 

agencies and served as the decision-making body for ITS Program direction, Regional ITS 

Architecture development, and for establishing consensus among participating stakeholders

?? ITS Coordinating Group - An offshoot of the ITS Steering Committee that will continue in 

a post-Strategic Plan role to assist ITS deployments, guide ITS investments, and update the 

ITS Strategic Plan

?? ITS Video Review Board - Sub-group of the ITS Coordinating Group that will

comment/review the video's content, format, and style/look 

?? Technical Working Committees - Sub-groups of the ITS Steering Committee that focused 

on the ITS Strategic Direction for specific technical areas (e.g., Architecture,

Communications, Transit, etc.) 

?? County/Agency Technical Advisory Committees (TTACs) - Existing Agency structures 

used to gain consensus on the jurisdiction's ITS Strategic Direction, recommended ITS 

Projects, and budget forecasts

?? County/Agency Boards - Existing Agency structures that have decision-making authority to 

"mainstream" recommended ITS Projects into the traditional

planning/programming/investment process 

Outreach, Marketing, & Education Activities

The Central Coast project contained an extensive outreach, marketing and education program 

that consisted of the following activities:

?? Monthly ITS Steering Committee meetings to discuss program status, determine 

program direction, and build Agency consensus

?? Individual interviews and workshops with ITS stakeholders (public and private) to 

identify needs and ITS Project ideas

?? Series of ITS educational workshops targeted at ITS stakeholders (public and private) 

to promote what ITS is, what ITS can do, and ITS benefits 

?? Creation of the ITS Newsletter (whose purpose and content paralleled the ITS

educational workshops) for use as a participant "take-home" product

?? Development of the ITS Brochure to educate/promote the ITS Strategic Plan's

Strategic Direction, recommended ITS Projects, and Next Steps
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Presentations to Agency/County TTACs and Boards to ensure their understanding 

and support of the ITS Strategic Plan's contents/direction

?? Use of Caltrans District 5 Internet website to post the ITS Strategic Plan, ITS 

Newsletter, and ITS Brochure

?? Development of the ITS Video to further ITS awareness in the community and to 

describe the ITS Strategic Plan's contents/direction

Funding Opportunities and Sources

At the Local level, funding for the Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan will rely on Agency/County 

efforts to "mainstream" individua l ITS Projects into their traditional planning process [Regional 

Transportation Plans (RTPs), Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), Congestion 

Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds, etc.]. In Santa Barbara County, the Board is 

discussing the creation of an "ITS Fund" that would be used specifically for ITS investments 

only.

Within Caltrans District 5, they have already established a 10-Year ITS Program Budget and are 

continually ensuring funding availability for its subsequent implementation. In parallel, Caltrans 

District 5 is currently using internal agency-based State Highway Operations Protection Program 

(SHOPP) funds to deploy portions of their ITS Program (e.g., roadway sensors, ramp meters, 

CCTV, traveler information via the Internet, TMC start-up investigation, etc.).

Current Status

?? Agency/County TTAC and Board support for the ITS Strategic Plan (March-June, 

2000)

?? Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan completed (June, 2000)

?? Caltrans District 5 SHOPP activities get underway (September, 2000)

?? ITS Video delivered (December, 2000)

?? ITS Coordination Group's first meeting (December, 2000)

?? ITS Projects "mainstreamed" into traditional planning process (per project priority 

and as submitted before Agency/County Boards at monthly meetings)

Future Activities Planned

1. Formation of the "Central Coast ITS Coordinating Group", an off-shoot of the ITS Steering 

Committee that would meet on a periodic basis and provide the following role:

?? Guide ITS project planning and implementation activities

?? Provide input on ITS project design, deployment, and integration issues

?? Assess the extent to which the Strategic Plan has been implemented

2. Development of the "ITS Coordinator Position", a one-year effort to obtain ITS assistance 

throughout the Central Coast Region in the following manner:

?? Update both the ITS Strategic Plan and Regional ITS Architecture (at discretion of 

ITS Coordinating Group)

?? Assist the MPOs/COGs in updating their portion of the Regional ITS Architecture

?? Ensure ITS projects incorporate current/emerging standards

?? Prepare materials (e.g., fact sheets, newsletters, brochures) and be available for

presentations on ITS to Agency and Community stakeholders 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

3. Actual deployment of ITS projects as identified in the Strategic Plan, for example:

?? Caltrans District 5 ? roadway sensors, ramp meters, and CCTV along US 101 (Santa 

Barbara Co.) and SR 1 (Santa Cruz Co.)

?? SBMTD ? AVL system and transit information dissemination via kiosks

?? Central Coast TMC ? Traveler information and lane closures via Internet web-site

Participating Institutions

 Public:

Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG)

Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC)

Council of San Benito County Governments (SBCOG)

Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC)

San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG)

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)

Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (SBMTD)

Caltrans District 5 (District 5)

Caltrans New Technology & Research Program (NTRP)

California Highway Patrol (CHP)

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

 Private: TransCore

VRPA Technologies

 Academia: University of California Polytechnic Institute (Cal-Poly)

Cost Information

The following are estimates of how much each of the Central Coast's activities cost:

Title Duration Public Sector Cost Private Sector 

Cost

Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan 18 mos. 20 hrs. per month (per 

Agency staff)

$370,000

Central Coast ITS Video 2 mos. 10 hrs. per Agency $20,000

Central Coast ITS Coordinating

Group

N/A 120 hrs. per year (per 

Agency staff)

N/A

Central Coast ITS Coordinator

Position

12 mos. 10 hrs. per month 

(AMBAG staff)

$80,000
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Benefits

Quantifiable ITS benefits in the Central Coast are based upon FHWA's "ITS Benefits Update 

(September, 1999)". Actual benefits in the Central Coast will depend on a number of factors 

such as congestion levels and the extent of ITS system coverage. Individual benefits from ITS 

deployments will depend upon Agencies' subsequent evaluation efforts.

Qualitative ITS benefits in the Central Coast include the following examples:

?? Development of the Regional ITS Architecture

?? Strengthening of close-working relationships between ITS stakeholders across

jurisdictional boundaries as evidenced by the creation of the "ITS Coordinating

Group"

?? Agency/County support for the ITS Strategic Plan

?? Identification of recommended ITS Projects for implementation

?? Assurances from Agency/County Boards to "mainstream" ITS into the traditional 

planning processes

?? Recipient of the 1999 Award of Excellence for the "Best California Rural ITS 

Project" from the California Alliance for Advanced Transportation (CAATS)

Lessons Learned

From a public sector point-of-view, lessons learned include the following examples:

?? Importance of bringing different public agencies, many with very diverse needs and 

objectives, together in a single forum to examine the potential offered by ITS

solutions

?? The need to involve County/Agency staff early enough in the process so that the 

needs of each can be addressed

?? Private sector can play an important role in deploying ITS and their

involvement/participation needs to be cultivated

?? Funding for ITS does not just exist in some "magical pot-of-money"; but rather, ITS 

needs to be "mainstreamed" into the traditional planning process

?? Agency/County staff will be responsible for updating the Regional ITS Architecture 

and for ensuring conformance when "new" ITS Projects arise

From a private sector viewpoint, lessons learned include the following examples:

?? Regional ITS Architecture deliverables should be agreed-upon prior to project

initiation and specifically identified in the Contract SOW

?? Adequate time needs to be reserved at the end-of-the-project to make Agency/County 

presentations, receive their comments, and obtain their support

?? The use of ITS newsletters, brochures, and videos are an extremely effective tool for 

ITS education/awareness and for gaining Agency and Community support

?? The need to balance the ITS planning process with the selection of recommended ITS 

Projects is the key to maintaining stakeholder interest while satisfying Federal/State 

guidelines

?? At the end of the project, presentations to Agency Transportation Technical Advisory 

Committees (TTACs) and Board of Supervisors goes a long way to ensuring

awareness of and support for the ITS Strategic Plan 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

References and Contact Information

Documents reviewed

1. Working Paper #1 - Issues & Opportunities (January, 1999)

2. Technical Memorandum - ITS Performance Measures/Evaluation Criteria (January, 1999)

3. Technical Memorandum - Summary of Problems & Needs (March, 1999)

4. Working Paper #2 - ITS Vision for the Central Coast (April, 1999)

5. ITS Market Package Plan for the Central Coast (May, 1999)

6. Central Coast ITS Strategic Deployment Plan

?? Volume I - ITS Strategic Plan (June, 2000)

?? Volume II - ITS Project Implementation Guide (June, 2000)

?? Volume III - Project Documentation (June, 2000)

7. Central Coast ITS Brochure (Spring, 2000)

8. Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan -- Agency Presentations

?? SBCAG (March, 2000)

?? SLOCOG (April, 2000)

?? SCCRTC (April, 2000)

?? SBCOG (April, 2000)

?? TAMC (April, 2000)

?? AMBAG (June, 2000)

Please note that all documents were prepared by TransCore and VRPA.

Contact for further information

Kate McKenna, AICP

Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG)

445 Reservation Road

Marina, CA 93933

Tel: (831) 883-3750

FAX: (831) 883-3755

E-mail:kmckenna@ambag.org 

To view the Central Coast ITS Strategic Plan and ITS Brochure:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/planning
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Central Coast ITS Strategic Deployment Plan

Central Coast

Task Interrelationship Diagram

Concept-o f--

Operations

User

Services

Market

Packages

Task 3

Define Transportation--

Related Deficiencies

and Opportunities

Task 4

Identify Objectives

and ITS Vision

Task 5

Establish

Performance

Criteria

Task 10

Identify and Screen

Technology

Options

Task 12

Develop Strategic

Deployment

Plan

Task 9

Define Market

Package Functional

Requirements and

Develop Regional

ITS Architecture

Task 6

Identify and 

Screen

Market Packages

(Project Concepts)

Task 11

Identify 

“Early Winner”

Projects

Task 8

Identify and

Analyze Functional

Areas

Task 2

Inventory

System Resources/

Assets

Task 7

Develop ITS

Market Package

Plan

National ITS Architecture

Task 0 -- Project Management

Task 1 -- Build/Maintain Regional Consensus

Local 

Organizational 

and Physical 

Layers

Communications

Institutional and

Transportation

Layers

Forums Workshops Interviews Reviews Newsletters Internet

Postings

Exhibit 1 - Central Coast Task Interrelationship Diagram
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Central Coast ITS Strategic Deployment Plan

Central Coast

Tas k Interrelationship Diagram

Concept--o fOperationsUser

Services

Market

Packages

Task 3

Define TransportationRelated Deficiencies

and Opportunities

Task 4

Identify Objectives

and ITS Vision

Task 5

Establish

Performance

Criteria

Task 10

Identify and Screen

Technology

Options

Task 12

Develop Strategic

Deployment

Plan

Task 9

Define Market

Package Functional

Requirements and

Develop Regional

ITS Architecture

Task 6

Identify and 

Screen

Market Packages

(Project Concepts)

Task 11

Identify 

“Early Winner”

Projects

Task 8

Identify and

Analyze Functional

Areas

Task 2

Inventory

System Resources/

Assets

Task 7

Develop ITS

Market Package

Plan

National ITS Architecture

Task 0 -- Project Management

Task 1 -- Build/Maintain Regional Consensus

Local 

Organizational 

and Physical 

Layers

Communications

Institutional and

Transportation

Layers

Forums Workshops Interviews Reviews Newsletters Internet

Postings

Exhibit 2 - Central Coast ITS Study Process Diagram
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Central Coast ITS Strategic Deployment Plan

Central Coast

Tas k Interrelationship Diagram

Concept--o fOperationsUser

Services

Market

Packages

Task 3

Define Transportation -

-

Related Deficiencies

and Opportunities

Task 4

Identify Objectives

and ITS Vision

Task 5

Establish

Performance

Criteria

Task 10

Identify and Screen

Technology

Options

Task 12

Develop Strategic

Deployment

Plan

Task 9

Define Market

Package Functional

Requirements and

Develop Regional

ITS Architecture

Task 6

Identify and 

Screen

Market Packages

(Project Concepts)

Task 11

Identify 

“Early Winner”

Projects

Task 8

Identify and

Analyze Functional

Areas

Task 2

Inventory

System Resources/

Assets

Task 7

Develop ITS

Market Package

Plan

National ITS Architecture

Task 0 -- Project Management

Task 1 -- Build/Maintain Regional Consensus

Local Organizational 

and Physical 

Layers

Communications

Institutional and

Transportation

Layers

Forums Workshops Interviews ReviewsNewsletters Internet

Postings

Exhibit 3 - Central Coast Architecture Development Process Diagram
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Rural California/Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems 

(COATS) Strategic ITS Deployment Plan

Goals

Rural regions in the states of Oregon and California approximately between Eugene, Oregon and 

Redding, California have more in common in terms of transportation challenges with each other 

than with the rest of their respective states. The California/Oregon Advanced Transportation 

Systems (COATS) project seeks to build upon these common needs by unifying member 

agencies and focusing on a seamless, state-of-the art, multi-modal transportation network 

benefiting travelers, goods movement, economic activity, and transportation operators in Oregon 

and California. The project’s goals include the following:

?? Improve the safety and security of the Northern California/Southern Oregon Region 

rural transportation system users

?? Enhance personal mobility and accessibility to services and enhance convenience and 

comfort of motorists traveling in and through Northern California/Southern Oregon

?? Increase operational efficiency and productivity of the transportation system focusing 

on system providers

?? Enhance economic productivity of individuals, businesses and organizations

?? Reduce energy consumption, environmental costs and negative impacts

?? Develop and foster long-term partnerships that will result in the demonstration of ITS 

initiatives and traditional solutions that address rural needs of the region

?? Ensure compatibility with statewide and national ITS initiatives

?? Incorporate ITS into the State Transportation Improvement Program planning efforts

The project is intended to provide for effective and efficient ITS development, demonstration, 

delivery, and the promotion of safety, mobility, trip enhancement, and environmental quality.

Approach

Organizational Approach

In 1991, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) investigated rural concerns 

dealing with advanced transportation technologies, and in 1995 initiated a Program for

Advancing Rural Transportation Technologies (PARTT). This was a rural ITS scoping study that 

broadly identified the transportation needs and concerns of rural transportation in California. As 

a result of PARTT, Caltrans designated a geographic area in northern California as a study area 

to further refine the need and application of ITS in a rural environment. To maximize resources 

and foster cooperation, Caltrans and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)

expanded the northern California study area into southern Oregon and partnered to investigate 

the feasibility of ITS throughout a bi-state study area. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 

Regional Pooled-Fund Program funds were secured to fund the project. 

A business plan (1) was developed early in the COATS project that provided for the

development of a Steering Committee, a Governing Board, three Regional Teams and Task 

Forces. These groups are discussed in more detail later.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Technical Approach

The project includes four general types of activities:

?? Identifying the transportation and informa tion needs within the study area

?? Determining ITS solutions that would be beneficial, cost-effective, and

implementable for demonstration within the study area on the basis of the identified 

needs

?? Identifying, designing, demonstrating and evaluating initial, small-scale (“earlywinner”) projects/systems on a multi-year basis to test feasibility of rural ITS

?? Developing a Strategic ITS Deployment Plan that describes a strategic approach for 

implementing rural ITS strategies on a larger scale

As shown in Exhibit 1 (presented at the end of this Case Study), the Strategic ITS Deployment 

Plan summarizes the results of these other project tasks. While other project deliverables are 

technical documents intended for the Steering Committee, the Strategic ITS Deployment Plan is 

intended for a more general audience. The focus of the plan is to describe, in broad terms, the 

inputs and process involved in identifying candidate projects for deployment. The plan serves as 

a reference point to the other project documents for readers who are interested in more detail. 

Using this approach will allow the results of the COATS project to be disseminated more 

broadly throughout the study area, even to those who have no background in intelligent

transportation systems. 

Contents

The plan is oriented toward the general public as well as the transportation community. Its 

primary purpose is to summarize previous documentation efforts done throughout the project, 

and in doing so provide a vision for ITS in the future. It is organized into five major parts. 

(References are indicated to show how project documents map to the Strategic ITS Deployment 

Plan.)

?? The first part provides background information regarding the administrative structure 

of the project and various outreach efforts (1,2). It also highlights several reports that 

document regional transportation needs (6, 7, 8, 10)

?? The second part describes a vision for the COATS region, including goals and 

objectives agreed to by the COATS Steering Committee (1) as well as key user 

services and ITS applications

?? The third part highlights the regional architecture (9), in order to demonstrate

consistency with the National ITS Architecture

?? The fourth part looks at how the COATS vision gets put into the ground, through 

prioritizing project implementation (3, 4), considering operations and maintenance 

needs (5), and examining ITS integration issues 

?? The final part of the plan documents the future direction of the COATS project, 

which includes additional deployments, extended organizational outreach,

architecture enhancement, and increased private sector involvement
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Projects

An early-winner project (4) at Siskiyou Pass includes the following components, which will be 

integrated with existing transportation management centers in Oregon and California:

?? Road and weather information systems

?? Closed-circuit television surveillance

?? Changeable message signs

?? Information kiosks 

?? Regional incident management plan

This project may be expanded to include cable television traveler information and dynamic 

warning variable message signs (such as for vehicles traveling at excessive speeds).

Similar technologies are planned for deployment in other parts of the study area. Other

technologies that have been identified as candidates for deployment include:

?? Spot warning systems, such as animal-vehicle collision warning systems, visibility 

warning systems, and intersection advanced warning systems

?? Highway advisory radio

?? Motorist safety systems, such as motorist-aid call boxes and in-vehicle mayday

systems

?? Transit and mobility systems, such as vehicle routing and scheduling, park-and-ride 

lot surveillance, automatic vehicle location, and parking management systems

?? Commercial vehicle systems, such as weigh-in-motion and electronic pre-clearance 

systems (3)

Future deployments will depend on funding levels and future direction as identified by the 

Steering Committee.

Principal Deliverables and Activities

The principal deliverable from the COATS planning effort is a Strategic ITS Deployment Plan, 

scheduled to be complete in draft form by December 2000. The following deliverables were 

produced during the COATS effort as products contributing to the Strategic ITS Deployment 

Plan. Figure 1 shows how these deliverables relate to one another and to the final Strategic ITS 

Deployment Plan document.

Business Plan (1), July 1998

This document provided stakeholders with a framework by which business decisions would be 

based and an organizational structure to support those decisions. It was important to get

acceptance from all the participants on how to do business and clarify the various roles and 

responsibilities of the members, staff and WTI. By establishing a management structure, the 

interest and involvement of the COATS project members can continue. 

Stakeholder Outreach Summary (2), June 1999

This report summarizes the challenges and opportunities identified at a series of workshops held 

throughout the COATS study area. The workshops were viewed as critical to the project’s 

success because they promoted awareness of the opportunities ITS can offer to rural areas and 

created a way in which local priorities can be reflected in the statewide planning process.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Technical Memorandum One, Volume One: Review of Legacy Systems (6), November 1998

This report summarizes existing transportation systems and planned transportation improvements 

within the COATS region and includes them in GIS maps. This review of legacy systems, 

including both advanced technology-related and traditional systems, helps to avoid redundancies 

and to identify opportunities for building on existing efforts. 

Technical Memorandum One, Volume Two: Conditions and Performance (10), November 1998

This document provides an overview of the transportation challenges in the COATS region and 

defines areas of geographical focus for potential solutions. The data presented in this report was 

subsequently used to define potential projects for implementation. By using quantifiable criteria, 

this report provides an engineering perspective on where certain transportation challenges are 

most significant.

Traveler Needs Survey Report (7, 8), September 1998

The purpose of the traveler needs survey was to document what travelers perceived to be 

challenges in the COATS study area, and the relative perceived value of various ITS solutions. 

The survey sought to establish: what information the rural traveler needs and wants, the medium 

through which information would be presented to the traveler, and where the traveler would want 

this information presented. 

Project Infrastructure Report (3), March 1999

This report documents potential ITS technologies that may help to address local challenges. This 

was used to help educate Steering Committee and Regional Team members in prioritizing 

locations for infrastructure deployments out of those areas identified in the Conditions and 

Performance Report.

Market Package Exercise, March 1999

Steering Committee and Regional Team members were surveyed regarding what market

packages they perceived to be as a priority in the COATS study area. This produced a list of 

priority market packages for short term and long-term deployment in the region. This was an 

important input into the process in order to get the more subjective perspectives reflecting the 

experience of the members of the Steering Committee and Regional Teams.

Ope rations and Maintenance Guidance Document (5), March 2000 (draft)

This document assesses the technical, financial and institutional issues associated with operations 

and maintenance of ITS devices in the COATS region. Consideration of these issues in advance 

of deployment was felt to be critical to ensure the long-term viability of ITS in the study area.

Regional Architecture Report (9), June 2000 (draft)

This document describes efforts in developing a regional architecture for the study area (see 

below). 

Architecture Issues

The COATS project included the development of a regional architecture that is consistent with 

National ITS Architecture. The process used to develop this architecture is shown in Exhibit 2 

(presented at the end of this Case Study). Deve lopment of the architecture was not undertaken as 

an independent exercise, but instead built heavily upon data collected in earlier phases of the 

project. Six architecture workshops were held throughout the study area to confirm and correct 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

information that was gathered in these earlier phases. The four steps in developing the

architecture as follows.

?? Identify Stakeholders and Systems. Through the Steering Committee and Regional 

Teams and various outreach efforts, lists were developed of existing stakeholders and 

systems. These lists were mapped to subsystems and terminators from the National 

ITS Architecture.

?? Define Regional Needs and Challenges. Feedback from the architecture workshops 

built upon the information gathered in other project efforts.

?? Craft Regional Architecture. A Communications and Information Survey was mailed 

to hundreds of stakeholders to identify current and future information sharing needs. 

The purpose of this survey was to help in building a “strawman” architecture that 

could be reviewed and modified during the architecture workshops. 

?? In identifying new ITS opportunities, the project used the National ITS Architecture 

market packages as an entry point for establishing what stakeholders wanted to see 

for ITS. Four different rankings of market packages were developed in order to reflect 

the perspectives of users, operators and managers. 

?? Findings from the Traveler Needs Survey were adapted to develop a prioritized 

list of market packages.

?? Steering Committee and Regional Team members completed a Market Package 

Exercise (described above).

?? If a particular ITS opportunity was supported by at least three of the four

stakeholder outreach workshops, it was given a priority ranking. 

?? Steering Committee members also completed Project Infrastructure worksheets, 

which prioritized various ITS technologies; these priorities were mapped back to 

market packages.

?? Project-Level Architecture. A more detailed architecture was developed for the earlywinner project at Siskiyou Pass, in order to provide stakeholders with an

understanding of how the National ITS Architecture could be used to support

deployment.

The size and complexity of the COATS study area complicated how the architecture could be 

presented to stakeholders. Therefore, the Architecture Report (9) presents the COATS

Architecture in three levels.

?? A region-wide physical architecture, showing high-level interactions between

different subsystems. This product had the advantage of being accessible to those 

familiar with the National ITS Architecture, but did lacked not have adequate detail at 

a sub-regional or local level to be of value to many local stakeholders.

?? To improve accessibility to local stakeholders, the study area was divided into four 

subregions. Because the COATS project stresses connectivity between regions,

architectural connections are provided between different subregions through

statewide organizations, such as Caltrans, ODOT and the state police/highway patrol. 

The subregional architecture was presented by selecting individual systems from the 

larger regional architecture database and depicting all information flows to/from these 

systems. It was felt that this would be a useful diagram for stakeholders to review and 

modify the architecture as needed.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? A project-level architecture was developed for the early winner project.

It was agreed between project sponsors and research staff that the project budget was inadequate 

to develop a fully detailed, local-level architecture for the entire COATS study area.

Consequently, the regional architecture uses placeholders to reduce the number of systems (such 

as using “Redding-Area Municipal Planning Agencies” to refer to dozens of cities’ municipal 

planning agencies in the Redding vicinity). In addition, generic assumptions were made about 

interconnections between subsystems where information was inadequate. It was assumed that 

stakeholders would review the subsystem-level architectures before the architecture would be 

used to guide further deployment and design decisions.

Institutional Involvement

As is shown under the following section, the organizational structure of the project permitted 

stakeholders at many levels to get involved, depending upon their knowledge of regional issues 

and interest in the project. 

The institutions most heavily involved in the project include the two state DOTs at several levels, 

including their statewide ITS divisions, their traffic management centers, and their maintenance 

districts. Other project partners included:

?? Oregon State Police/California Highway Patrol

?? Regional Tourism Agencies, including marketing organizations and managers of

significant tourist destinations, such as National Parks 

?? Commercial Vehicle-Related Organizations (governmental and membership

organizations)

?? Transit Agencies

?? County/Local Government Officials

?? Private Sector Organizations, such as economic development organizations, fleet 

managers and casino operators

Other organizations have attended various outreach meetings and are included among the

“Friends” of the project.

Organizational Issues

As shown in Exhibit 3 (presented at the end of this Case Study), the business plan (1) organized 

stakeholders into four primary groups. 

?? The Governing Board, an executive board, provides long-term direction and resolves 

politically sensitive issues

?? The Steering Committee functions to provide a forum to decide program direction 

and focus, and to approve deliverables

?? The Regional Teams’ purpose is to provide an environment that will encourage ideas, 

outreach, and consensus to meet local needs and other Regional Team priorities

?? Technical Task Forces provide an opportunity to address detailed technical issues, as 

required

Their roles, leadership, membership and meeting frequency are described in greater detail in 

Exhibit 4 (presented at the end of this Case Study). Together, these groups are arranged to 

emphasize the group’s ability to meet its objectives and lessen administrative obstacles. Their 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

role is to create an atmosphere that will expand institutional linkages to reach consensus in 

developing ITS in Northern California and Southern Oregon.

A fifth group, a Coordinating Group, was formed well into the project, to assist in coordinating 

deployment efforts between the two state departments of transportation. 

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

Much of the COATS project was directed toward outreach and education, because most

stakeholders in the study area had little or no background with intelligent transportation systems. 

Some of the outreach and education activities include:

?? Four outreach workshops held at the beginning of the project, which included an 

educational component and solicited input for the project

?? Steering Committee meetings, held every two to three months, which were open to 

new stakeholders (although only members could vote) and were rotated among

several cities around the study area to encourage broader regional participation

?? Six architecture workshops, which also attracted new stakeholders to the project and 

therefore had an educational component

?? A project brochure, which describes the study area, project objectives, and anticipated 

benefits

?? A newsletter, Rural COATS Perspective, which updated those on the project mailing 

list of current COATS activities and the relationship of key stakeholders to the project

?? A Web site (http://www.ruralits.org/projects/coats) that includes a description of the 

project scope, an archive of minutes and agendas from Steering Committee meetings, 

as well as links to project documents

Once the Strategic ITS Deployment Plan is approved by the Steering Committee, further

outreach is anticipated to county and local planning organizations to promote additional regional 

support of the project.

Funding Opportunities and Sources

Initial project funding (State Planning and Research, Part 2, Pooled Funds) provided for the 

preparation of a Strategic ITS Deployment Plan and the research, demonstration and evaluation 

of an “early winner” project. This funding served as a catalyst for the two states to secure other 

funding for further rural ITS projects in the COATS study area. Other projects, called

“Showcase” projects, have had funding secured through Caltrans and ODOT.

WTI is also collaborating in these Showcase projects through the U.S. Department of

Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) University

Transportation Centers program. Their contribution of $1.6 million will go toward demonstration 

and evaluation of the Showcase projects.

Other Key Features

The COATS Strategic ITS Deployment Plan will include extensive research on operations and 

maintenance (O&M) considerations. While most ITS strategic plans include an estimate of O&M 

costs, little or no consideration is given to the institutional issues. This is especially critical in 

rural areas, where poor operations and maintenance practices may have significant safety

consequences. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Current Status

The draft Strategic ITS Deployment Plan is currently being finalized. It is anticipated that the 

draft will be presented to the Steering Committee and Regional Teams for review by October 

2000. Caltrans and ODOT staff will secure acceptance of the Plan from other organizations not 

formally a part of the Steering Committee. For example, in California, there are 11 Regional 

Transportation Planning Agencies responsible for transportation planning and programming 

activities within their county. Each agency will be individually consulted to secure acceptance of 

the plan.

The early winner project, centered around Siskiyou Pass Project on the Interstate 5 corridor 

between Medford, Oregon and Redding, California, will be in place before winter 2000-2001. 

Pre-deployment evaluation activities for this project are underway.

In California, parts of the other proposed projects are being funded by funds from the State of 

California as well as WTI (through the UTC program).

Future Activities Planned

The Strategic ITS Deployment Plan is intended to be a guidance document for ongoing ITS 

planning in the COATS region. Recognizing that ITS planning is dynamic, Caltrans and ODOT 

are expected to continue their efforts to ensure that the COATS Strategic ITS Deployment Plan 

is mainstreamed into state and regional transportation planning and programming.

The Showcase (demonstration and evaluation program) is expected to continue through June 

2004. Showcase projects are being deployed in a manner consistent with the COATS project 

vision. They include a variety of technologies, such as closed-circuit television cameras, variable 

message signs, road and weather information systems, traffic detection stations, slide detection 

systems, and integration of field devices with satellite traffic operations centers. In addition, the 

evaluation of various ITS projects in the California portion of the COATS study area (in

collaboration with Oregon) will be conducted. 

Participating Institutions

Public:

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) – project co-sponsor

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) – project co-sponsor

California Association for Coordinated Transportation

California Highway Patrol (CHP)

California Trucking Association

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Humboldt County Association of Governments

Lassen County

National Park Service

Oregon State Police (OSP)

Redwood Empire Association

Rogue Valley Council of Governments

Rogue Valley Transportation District

Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association

Southern Oregon Visitors Association

Private: Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University-Bozeman

R.C. Ice and Associates (assisted with architecture development)
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Cost Information

The total project cost is roughly $955,000, with 60 percent of funding coming from Caltrans and 

40 percent of funding from ODOT. 

Title Date Public Sector Cost Contractor Cost

COATS Project 1998-

2000

$121,400 (supports staff, Steering 

Committee and Regional Team travel) $823,600

Of the project budget, $325,000 is allocated for design and deployment of the early-winner 

project. The budget allocated specifically for the preparation of the Strategic ITS Deployment 

Plan is $23,700. This amount reflects that significant work components covered in the Strategic 

ITS Deployment Plan were developed in other project tasks and summarized in earlier reports. 

The estimated costs of selected other project deliverables are as follows.

Project Task Cost

Legacy Systems Report $ 51,800

Conditions and Performance Report $ 69,600

Traveler Needs Survey $ 27,100

Stakeholder Outreach Summary $ 16,900

Project Infrastructure Report $ 47,500

Market Package Exercise $ 3,800

Operations and Maintenance Document $ 13,800

Regional Architecture $ 60,000

Additional costs were borne by Caltrans and ODOT as project sponsors, and by organizations 

that participated in the Governing Board, Steering Committee and/or Regional Teams. The 

following table estimates the average amount of time spent per month on the project. (The 

amount of time fluctuated by month depending upon when deliverables were offered for review 

and when meetings were held.)

Level of Involvement Cost

Caltrans Staff (per person)* 25-30 hours per week

ODOT Staff (per person) 20 hours per week

COATS Coordinating Group 15 hours per month

Steering Committee 10 hours per month

Regional Teams 2 hours per month

Governing Board 1 hours per month

?? - Caltrans has a higher time commitment since they served as lead state
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Benefits

The COATS project, through Steering Committee meetings and other outreach efforts, has 

promoted increased inter-agency cooperation among regional stakeholders. As the Strategic ITS 

Deployment Plan is still under development, however, the benefits of its deployment cannot be 

adequately assessed. 

Evaluation of deployed projects is a major focus of the COATS project. The Siskiyou Pass early 

winner is being evaluated, with results expected to be complete by June 2001. Showcase projects 

will also be evaluated after they are deployed.

Lessons Learned

?? The Business Plan was a critical guidance document to direct the project and provide 

a framework for organizational interrelationships to be developed.

?? Having a diverse mix of stakeholders, not only from state transportation agencies but 

also from tourism, emergency services, law enforcement and other organizations, is 

critical to getting a well-rounded assessment of rural needs.

?? Developing a multi-modal focus for the region was difficult due to the multi-state 

nature of CVO systems and the fragmentary nature of the region’s transit systems.

?? Using quantifiable criteria for identifying regional challenges was analytically strong. 

However, the exercise of ranking several hundred locations for short, medium or 

long-term deployment of solutions proved to be a significant work burden for

committee members.

?? The development of the Regional Teams is critical to ensuring broad, regional buy-in 

to ITS initiatives. 

?? Rotating Steering Committee meetings throughout the study area was beneficial in 

ensuring that the project was not perceived as being focused on any particular part of 

the region.

?? The regional architecture for such a large geographic area needs to be developed at a 

level of detail appropriate for the budget, understanding that further deployment 

efforts will need to enhance the base architecture.

?? The terminology of the National ITS Architecture proved to be difficult for many 

stakeholders to grasp, so significant efforts had to be made to bridge that knowledge 

gap.

References and Contact Information

Note: Strategic ITS Deployment Plan is not yet available.

Documents Reviewed

1. California / Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems Project Regional Stakeholder

Partnership Business Plan Working Paper. Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman

[MT]: June 1998. 

2. California / Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems (COATS) Stakeholder Outreach

Workshop Summary. Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: March 1999. 

3. California / Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems: Project Infrastructure. Western

Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: March 1999.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

4. California / Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems: Candidate Early-Winner Projects. 

Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: April 1999.

5. California / Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems Operations and Maintenance

Technical Report. Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: March 2000. 

6. Cuelho, Eli and Amy Gill, COATS Technical Memorandum One: Volume One, Review of 

Legacy Systems. Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: November 1998.

7. Harry, Scott R., Randy W. Carroll and John M. Mounce, Northern California / Southern 

Oregon Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Areawide Travel and Safety

Improvement Project: Traveler Needs Survey (Volume I). Western Transportation Institute, 

Bozeman [MT]: September 1998.

8. Harry, Scott R., Randy W. Carroll and John M. Mounce, Northern California / Southern 

Oregon Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Areawide Travel and Safety

Improvement Project: Traveler Needs Survey Significance Testing (Volume II). Western 

Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: August 1998.

9. Hunter-Zaworski, Katharine, Christopher Strong and Ron Ice, California / Oregon Advanced 

Transportation Systems Regional Architecture. Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman 

[MT]: June 2000. 

10. McGowen, Pat and Alyssa Reynolds, COATS Technical Memorandum One: Volume Two, 

Conditions and Performance. Western Transportation Institute, Bozeman [MT]: November 

1998.

11. Carson, Jodi L., Scott R. Harry and Randy W. Carroll, “Understanding Traveler Perceptions 

Related to Northern California/Southern Oregon Corridor Challenges: A First Step in

Deploying Advanced Traveler Information Systems in Rural Areas,” ITE Journal, January 

2000 (volume 70, number 1, January 2000, pp. 40-44.

Contact for further information

Frank Cechini

ITS Manager

Federal Highway Administration, California Division

Telephone: (916) 498-5005

E-mail: Frank.Cechini@fhwa.dot.gov

Nathaniel Price

Operations Engineer

Federal Highway Administration, Oregon Division

Telephone: (503) 399-5749

E-mail: Nathaniel.Price@fhwa.dot.gov

Coco Briseño

Chief, New Technology and Research Program

California Department of Transportation

Telephone: (916) 654-6980

E-mail: Coco_Briseno@dot.ca.gov
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Robert Fynn

Senior Transportation Operations Specialist

Oregon Department of Transportation

Telephone: (503) 986-3588

E-mail: Robert.K.Fynn@odot.state.or.us

To view the COATS Internet web-site:

http://www.ruralits.org/projects/coats

COATS Strategic ITS

Deployment Plan

Project

Infrastructure

Report (3)

Conditions and

Performance

Report (10)

Traveler Needs

Survey Report

(7, 8)

Legacy Systems

Report (6)

 Outreach

Workshops

Summary (2)

Market Package

Exercise

Communications

and Information

Survey

Architecture

Workshops

COATS Business

Plan (1)

Early Winner

Report (4)

Selection of Early

Winner

Needs and

Challenges ITS Opportunities

Regional

Architecture

Architecture

Report (9)

Stakeholder

Outreach

Workshops

Traveler Needs

Survey

Early Winner

Evaluation Report

Operations and

Maintenance

Document (5)

Legend

- Deliverable

- Data Collection / Action Item

Exhibit 1 - COATS Project Flow Chart
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Engage Stakeholders/Build Consensus

Regional Architecture Development

Identify

Stakeholders

and Systems

Define Regional

Needs and

Challenges

Define

Early Project

Architectures

Craft

Regional

Architecture

• Law Enforcement

• Emergency Services

• Depts of Transportation

• Planning Agencies

• Parks & Recreation

• Tourism

• Trucking

• Motorists

• Public Transportation

• Media

• Outreach Workshops,

Newsletters

• Conditions &

Performance

• Existing Infrastructure

• Motorist Needs Survey

• Legacy Systems

• Communication &

Information Survey

• Market Package

Exercise

• Six Regional

Workshops

• Identification of Early

Winner

• Siskiyou Pass

Deployment

• Incident Management

Plan

• Evaluation Plan

Exhibit 2 - Development of the COATS Regional Architecture

Appendix A – Case Studies 

Governing Board

Steering Committee Chair

Co-Chair

Technical Task

Force(s)

TBD

Friends of the

Committee

(Other Regional

Stakeholders)

Policy

Project

Direction

Regional Team

CA North

Coast

CA North

East

OR

Exhibit 3 - Organization Chart

Appendix A – Case Studies 

Organization Role and Responsibility Leader Membership Frequency of 

Meeting

Governing 

Board

Policy guidance on issues that exceed Steering

Committee authority

Issues relating to agency roles/responsibilities, funding 

sustainability, and politically sensitive matters

Governing Board

Chairperson

FHWA Federal ITS

Staff

DOT planning staff,

traffic operations

managers and

regional directors

State police/highway

patrol

ITS America chapter

presidents

4 – 6 months 

(or as

needed)

Steering 

Committee Provide strategic direction and oversight

Review project progress

Review project deliverables, including technical

memoranda and reports

Participate in project workshops

Provide input and guidance to the Western 

Transportation Institute, MSU

Ensure that available funds are programmed for short 

and long-term ITS demonstrations, operations, and

maintenance

Encourage community participation

Review new technologies and concepts

Steering Committee

Chairperson and

Co-Chairperson 

from CA and OR

Executive Director

(liaison and contract 

manager) CoChairperson from

CA and OR

FHWA District ITS

Staff

DOT ITS managers,

district maintenance

chiefs

Regional Team

representatives

State police/highway

patrol

Commercial vehicle 

organizations

Tourism organizations

Approx. every 

2 months

Regional 

Teams Build regional public/private stakeholder consensus

Identify “friends of the committee”

Assist with identifying regional needs

Participate in workshops

Advise Steering Committee

Caltrans, ODOT or

WTI will facilitate

DOT district

maintenance 

managers

County/regional planners

State police/highway

patrol

As needed
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Task Force(s) Provide detail investigation on specific issues

Potential area include but are not limited to 

Operations, Partnerships, Finance and Policy

TBD Members of the 

Regional Teams

As needed

Coordinating 

Group

Discuss and coordinate project implementation

Prepare recommendations for Steering Committee 

regarding integration and institutional issues

Caltrans or ODOT

will facilitate

DOT staff

WTI

Monthly

Exhibit 4 - Components of the COATS Organizational Structure.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Colorado ITS Strategic Work Plan

Goals

In recent years, Colorado has experienced record growth; this in turn has brought with it new 

challenges to the state’s existing transportation system. The Colorado Department of 

Transportation (CDOT) developed its Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Strategic Work 

Plan in an attempt to identify areas where ITS solutions could help address these new challenges 

and as a result, help improve efficiency and enhance capacity, safety and the overall quality of 

life. 

The ITS Strategic Work Plan was intended to give direction to CDOT’s efforts through its 

vision, its mission, its goals, and its objectives. At the highest level, the goals of the planning 

effort were to:

?? Improve Safety

?? Reduce Delay

?? Increased Reliability

?? Enhance Information for Mobility Options

?? Reduce Environmental Impacts

?? Increase Personal Empowerment

?? Enhance Economic Benefit

From a more specific transportation point-of-view, the Strategic Work Plan also aimed to:

Reduce Congestion and Enhance Traveler Information

?? Enhance the current ATMS system

?? Develop Urban technologies that are compatible with the rural program

?? Merge all available transportation operations and data within Denver and Colorado 

Springs

?? Integrate the data and control of the two systems to provide operational support 

?? Develop the infrastructure that allows the transportation agencies and the private 

sector to deploy ATIS services.

Rural Areas

?? Enhance the current ATMS systems and integrate into the CTMC or adjacent centers

?? Enhance rural emergency response by providing real-time and accurate data

?? Develop Rural technologies that provide accurate data and are cost effective

?? Merge all available rural transportation data within CTMC

?? Integrate the data and control into the CTMC to provide 24hr / 7day a week

operational support

?? Develop the infrastructure that allows the transportation agencies, commercial vehicle 

companies and private sector to deploy ATIS services in the rural area
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Information Sharing

?? Traveler information center

?? Information dissemination and traveler services

?? Information Collection

Commercial Vehicle Operations

??Weight in Motion

?? CVO electronic credentialing (CVEC)

Approach

Rationale Behind the Project

The first ITS Strategic Plan for Colorado was completed in 1993 as part of the ENTERPRISE 

program. Through a series of workshops attended by predominantly CDOT personnel, user 

needs were established. These were subsequently matched up to potential ITS solutions. The 

Plan also developed an organizational structure (including the development of an IVHS/New 

Technologies Group) for the parts of CDOT responsible for ITS. 

As one of the first statewide ITS planning activities, this Plan pre-dated much of the national 

guidance available to transportation professionals today. It also pre-dated the development of the 

national ITS architecture and its supporting documentation and concepts. Although it did 

include some deployment activities, the main focus of this Plan was placed on ITS as part of the 

research and development environment.

In 1998, recognizing the emergence of ITS solutions as part of the transportation mainstream, 

CDOT embarked on developing a new Statewide ITS Strategic Plan to provide a vision for ITS 

in Colorado into the 21st Century and to provide guidance for decisions on project selection and 

implementation. In addition to identifying transportation needs and proposing ITS solutions (as 

the earlier Strategic Plan had done), this planning effort also placed emphasis on:

?? Increasing stakeholder buy-in to the planning process and to the recommended

solutions

?? A business-oriented approach to recommending projects

?? A clear identification of fiscal constraints to ITS development and deployment

?? Support for the incorporation of ITS projects into the Statewide Transportation

Improvement Program (STIP)

Approach to Developing the Strategic Plans

In developing its Statewide ITS Strategic Plan, CDOT’s ITS Office placed great emphasis on the 

involvement of stakeholders. In particular, the ITS Office identified CDOT Regions, the

Municipal Planning Organizations and Transportation Planning Regions (TPR), the ITS industry, 

local municipalities, neighboring states, potential partners, and other users such as the motor 

carriers and the ski industry as key stakeholders who should be involved in the planning process. 

The development of the ITS Strategic Work plan was carried out by private sector consultants 

Parsons and Pat Noyes and Associates.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The participation of this broad cross-section of stakeholders state was also intended to ensure 

that the ITS planning process were coordinated and compatible with other statewide

transportation planning efforts.

CDOT’s ITS Office developed and distributed stakeholder information packets which included 

information on the Statewide ITS Planning Process, project request forms, time lines, for

submittal of project request forms, guidelines for partnering and criteria for selection of ITS 

projects. After the completed project request forms were returned to the ITS Office, a Regional 

Forum for Project Discussion was held. Stakeholders outside of CDOT and partners in ITS, 

which include commercial vehicle operators, commuters, system owners, planners and managers

at the federal state and local levels, were invited to the forum. Based on the results of this 

meeting, an initial project list was prepared by the ITS Office. 

Exhibit 1 - The Outreach and Initial Development of the Statewide ITS Strategic Plan.

The selection of projects for inclusion in the Strategic Plan (the Selection Process in the last box 

in Exhibit 1) involved a series of review and consultation exercises involving CDOT’s ITS 

Office and ITS Steering Committee. Using screening and evaluation criteria developed by the 

ITS Office and ITS Steering Committee, projects were prioritized on the basis of their alignment 

with Strategic Plan, its vision, its mission and its goals, and on their consistency with state and 

regional transportation plans amongst other criteria. 

Exhibit 2 shows this selection process in more detail.

Exhibit 2 - The Selection Process

ITS Office 

Forwards 

Screening 

Information to 

the ITS 

Committee

ITS Steering 

Committee 

Screens Long 

Project List 

Using the 

Screening 

Criteria

ITS Steering 

Committee 

Takes Screened 

Project List to 

Regions for 

Input

ITS Office 

Forwards 

Evaluation 

Information 

Onto The ITS 

Steering 

The ITS 

Steering 

Committee 

Produces the 

Project List

The 

Recommended 

Project List is 

forwarded into 

the Approval 

Process

Generate and 

Distribute 

Stakeholder 

Information Packet

Stakeholders 

Complete and 

Submit the Project 

Request Forms

ITS Regional 

Forum for Project 

Discussion is Held

Initial Project List 

Assembled and is 

forwarded to the 

Selection Process
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The process for approving projects was intended to explore funding opportunities and to take the 

final step toward the implementation of individual ITS projects and inclusion in the STIP and 

TIPs. Led by CDOT’s ITS Office, this process explored funding opportunities such as federal 

funding, public /private partnerships, inclusion in regional construction projects, and local

funding options. 

The deliverables from the statewide planning process include:

?? Development of the methodology for project selection and approval

?? Formulation of the business plan

Using the results of the approval process, the ITS Steering Committee subsequently led the 

development of an ITS Business Plan. This consisted of two major elements:

?? the recommended Project List

?? an identification of fiscal constraints

This Business Plan identified ITS projects and identified how these projects were to be funded. 

Responsibility for approval of the ITS Business Plan lay with the Transportation Commission. 

The full Commission will be presented with the recommendation from the Colorado

Transportation Management Center (CTMC). Subject to the Transportation Commissions 

approval of the Business Plan, its constituent projects would be forwarded for inclusion in the 

STIP. Exhibit 3 shows this approval process and the organizational structure of the three 

committees in greater detail.

Exhibit 3 - The Approval Process of the Statewide Strategic ITS Plan

Contents

Projects and Activities:

The Statewide ITS Business Plan identifies the following list of projects and activities:

I. Congestion and Traveler Information

A: Denver Metropolitan Area

?? Metropolitan area speed map

?? Traffic Signal Interface

?? Voice paging

?? CCTV deployment

ITS Steering

Committee 

formulates 

ITS Business

Plan 

ITS Office and 

ITS Steering 

Committee 

forward Business 

Plan to CTMC 

Committee

CTMC 

Committee 

forwards the ITS 

Business Plan to 

full 

Transportation 

Commission

With Transportation 

Commission approval, the 

ITS Business Plan is 

incorporated into the 

Statewide Transportation 

Improvement Program
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? RTD Transit Integration

?? I-25 truck climbing lanes

?? 1-800 Roadway information

B: Colorado Springs

?? Metropolitan area speed map

?? Denver and Colorado Springs Traffic Operations Center Integration

?? Traffic signal interface

?? Voice paging

?? VMS deployment

II. Rural Areas

?? All corridors equipped with state speed map

?? Deployment of VMS in region 4 and 5

?? Deployment of HAR on I-25 in region 4

?? Auto traffic recorders on I-25 in region 4

?? I-25 incident management (Denver Tech Center to Colorado Springs)

III. Information Sharing

?? Traveler information center

?? Information collection (25 CCTV cameras, fixed wing aircraft, mobile probes and 

radio scanner)

?? Information dissemination and traveler services (TIC equipment hardware, cellular 

211, traveler advisory telephone system, smart traveler, cable television studio,

traveler website and ITS marketing)

?? ATMS Expansion

?? Internal and External Data Integration

?? Low speed device communications link

IV. Commercial Vehicle Operations

??Weigh in motion

?? CVO electronic credentialing (CVEC)

Architecture Issues

The Plan does not define an ITS Architecture for Colorado. The current ITS Strategic Work Plan 

will adhere to the National Architecture as part of both the development and deployment process. 

Solutions that address interoperability and communication issues on an intrastate and interstate 

level between systems will be developed using the National Architecture. 

Institutional Involvement

The Plan recommends that partnerships be built between CDOT and other agencies (local, state, 

and federal) and between CDOT and private industry. Relationships such as this were seen as 

ways to expand the traditional limit of CDOT’s service and funding to enhance service to the 

users and managers of transportation system. However, CDOT decided that it was not within the 

remit of the planning process to actually build these relationships. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The Plan also proposes that CDOT seek partnerships for sharing information such as:

?? Exchanging road and weather data with other agencies

?? sharing or integrating facilities with neighboring states

?? leveraging infrastructure investments through shared resources such as

communication networks

?? developing alternative funding sources through facility leases or information access 

fees

CDOT initiated a strong partnership model with private sector agencies through the Revised 

Model Deployment Initiative (RMDI). The RMDI included an RFP for the design, build and 

maintenance of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC). CDOT solicited request from three private 

sector firms and has now laid the groundwork for public/private partnerships through the

Colorado Transportation Management System (CTMS) effort. 

CDOT is currently working with Odesta, who is developing CDOT's fiber optic networks.

Organizational Issues

The Plan identifies CDOT’s ITS Office as being best place to take a strong leadership role in 

initiating and developing contacts with all stakeholders, developing partnerships including

intergovernmental agreements and developing new methods for identifying legislative barriers, 

coordinating solutions and implementing new efforts to breakdown barriers. Based on this, an 

organizational structure was developed to ensure appropriate roles were assigned. These roles 

include:

ITS Office 

?? Project Tracking

?? Development of Statewide and Inter-Regional ITS Projects

?? Initiation of Outreach

?? Leaders in Procedures

?? Leaders in Legislative Change

?? Champions of CVO

?? Education of Stakeholders

?? Statewide Integration of Projects and Project Development

?? Liaison to the Regional and National ITS Efforts

ITS Steering Committee

?? Development of Statewide ITS Protocols, Specifications, and Standards

?? Individual Members are Liaisons with the CDOT Regions

?? Providing and Acting on Feedback to Constantly Maintain a Customer Focused 

Process

CDOT Regions

?? Tracking ITS Projects

?? Development of ITS Projects

?? Link to Stakeholders
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Exhibit 4 is a map of Colorado's six regions which actively participate in the Statewide ITS 

Planning Process, by providing a communication link between the ITS Office, the ITS Steering 

Committee, the Regions and the Stakeholders. 

Exhibit 4 - Statewide ITS Planning Process Regions

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

To date, much of the outreach, education and marketing has been focused on soliciting

stakeholder buy-in to the planning process and securing their approval of the resulting Strategic 

Plan. Much of this effort focused on the development of stakeholder information packets and on 

the meetings and Regional Forum for Project Discussion held in support of the project selection 

process. 

The Strategic Plan also recommends that the ITS Office develop and implement a public 

relations program, a technology transfer program and a market analysis for educational and long 

term customer focus purposes

Other Key Features

Not Available

Funding Opportunities and Sources

The plan does not identify specific funding sources. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Current Status

It is recognized that projects identified as part of the Statewide ITS Planning Process have to be 

included in the STIP. Coordination with the preparation of the STIP is intended to occur as part 

of the ongoing Statewide ITS Planning and the maintenance of the ITS Business Plan. It has 

been recommended that in future years, the ITS planning process be merged with the

development of the STIP process by including the outreach portion of the Statewide ITS 

Planning Process in the STIP process. In this way, it is anticipated that the TPRs will be 

encouraged to include future range ITS development needs in the regional planning process.

The ITS Strategic Work Plan is currently in the beginning stages of refinement and will be a 

continuation of the original plan. CDOT along with private consultant Dye Management are 

currently formulating working groups and developing strategies that will address a new series of 

statewide ITS needs. The development of the current strategic plan will remain consistent with 

the original outlined Vision, Mission and Goals. The plan is scheduled for completion in

October 2002. 

Top priority projects within the new ITS Strategic Work Plan include:

?? Continued installation and development of fiber optic networks along I-70 westbound 

from Denver, I-25 north and south and state highway 160 from I-25 west to Alamosa 

as well as connecting several regional maintenance operation facilities

?? Merge all available transportation operations and data within Denver and Colorado 

Springs

?? Connecting existing systems with fiber optic to both the Denver Traffic Operations 

Center (TOC) and Traffic Management Center (TMC)

Future Activities Planned

Future plans include ensuring that ITS activities are included within the STIP following the 

process outline above.

A series of ITS Performance Measures have been developed to address the intended benefits of 

past and future Statewide Strategic ITS projects. The performance measures will address 

specific corridor and statewide projects and evaluate their effectiveness through a series of

analytical ITS specifications.

Participating Institutions

The planning initiatives were led by CDOT and Parsons Transportation provided consulting 

services.

 The following stakeholders were included in the development of the ITS Strategic Work Plan:

?? Travelers

?? Commercial Vehicle Operators

?? Commuters

?? System Owners

?? Planners

?? Managers at the federal, state, and local levels
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Cost Information

Title Date Public Sector Cost Private Sector Cost

ITS Strategic Work Plan October 1998 Unknown Unknown

Benefits

Direct benefits of the 1998 ITS Strategic Work Plan included:

?? Education of those within CDOT on emerging uses and benefits of ITS programs

?? Identified a broad perspective of statewide ITS projects

Lessons Learned

The importance of a common vision and strong leadership roles from the onset of the Strategic 

Work Plan has been emphasized by CDOT. Likewise, coordination of ideas within committees 

as well as between all participating agencies is essential for developing a common vision and a 

set of goals and objectives. Planners need to play a more significant role in the development of 

future strategic plans. Adherence the National ITS Architecture needs to be placed on the 

development of future plans. A greater level of outreach, marketing and education on the local 

level to inform regions on the full range of benefits ITS solutions. Furthermore, clear articulation 

of the needs and benefits the solutions will address and provide to policy makers will ensure 

future approval of ITS programs. 

The importance of broad stakeholder participation has been emphasized by CDOT. CDOT 

found it important to maintain this involvement beyond the conclusion of the study, both through 

continuing meetings of the Steering Committees and by joint participation of agencies and 

organizations in the resulting design and deployment activities. Lastly CDOT will seek to 

incorporate ITS programs into new transportation projects in order to facilitate coordination 

among CDOT. 

References and Contact Information

Documents reviewed

“C-Star Program – Strategic Plan for Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems in Colorado”, Castle 

Rock Consultants, March 1993

"Colorado ITS Strategic Work Plan", Parsons Transportation, October 1993 

Information regarding the status of Colorado's current transportation programs and projects will 

be available on a quarterly basis through www.cotrip.org.

Contact for further information

Bruce Coltharp

ITS Office

Colorado Department of Transportation

Tel: (303) 512-5807

Email: bruce.coltharp@dot.state.co.us
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Kansas Statewide ITS Plan

Goals

The Kansas Statewide ITS Plan is a strategy for the deployment of ITS technologies throughout 

the state of Kansas with the main focus being on rural applications. The state DOT (KDOT) has 

already started the deployment of several ITS technologies. KDOT identified five goals for this 

strategic plan, they are:

?? Mainstream ITS into standard KDOT business procedures

?? Integration of ITS technologies into the KDOT structure

?? Increase the awareness of ITS opportunities and benefits educating KDOT personnel and 

the state public

?? Identification of potential ITS projects and funding opportunities, especially for rural 

areas

?? Set Priorities for ITS project areas

The main goal in the plan was integration of urban, rural, and CVO into one coordinated plan for 

the state. The goals in the plan were meant to be generic. They were determined such that no 

one would be left out of the ITS arena due to project scope. The State felt that the most 

important service they could provide to the rural communities was information for the traveler 

with easy and safe methods of obtaining the information. More specifically, the plan attempts to 

achieve these goals:

?? Increase the operational efficiency of freeways, arterial roads and transit services by 

implementing optimized signal timing and coordination and improving incident

management.

?? Improve travel information regarding road conditions, construction work zones, detours 

and projects and make this information available in a variety of ways such as Variable 

Message Signs (VMS), Highway Advisory Radio (HAR), media outlets, hotlines, Kiosks 

and the Internet.

Approach

Rationale Behind the Strategic Plan

Kansas completed the plan to provide direction for the future of ITS and to eliminate possible 

“stovepipes” caused by other state agencies, other KDOT offices and communities not knowing 

what is being done elsewhere in the state. The driving force behind the plan was to manage the 

development of ITS in a coordinated manner.

Matt Volz, the State ITS Engineer and KDOT Management were responsible for moving this 

project forward.

Approach to Developing the Strategic Plan

The consultant’s technical approach to the Kansas Statewide ITS Plan included the following 

activities:

?? Assess ITS needs

?? Identify transportation problems

?? Determine traveler needs 

?? Inventory existing transportation projects
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Identity and solicit input from stakeholders

?? Establish Statewide ITS goals

?? Establish KDOT needs and goals

?? Develop the Kansas ITS vision

?? Develop Plan for Outreach and Mainstreaming Activities

?? Identify ITS user services

?? Develop Regional ITS Architecture

?? Identify ITS projects

?? Develop Strategic Plan. The plan will be evaluated for a period of two years until 

March 2002. Any revisions will be incorporated in final plan. 

?? Deployment of high priority projects

The above steps are graphically depicted in Exhibit 1 presented at the end of this Case Study. 

Institutional/Organizational Approach

Work force was the driving force behind consultant use. The ITS Unit in Kansas was composed 

of two persons at that time and couldn’t devote all their time to the Statewide ITS Plan. The ITS 

Unit and the Consultant Team combined worked as a team to complete the project. There were 

numerous team meetings during the development of the Statewide Plan. The team felt that this 

method was very necessary to complete the manner in a coordinated effort.

The steering committee is made up of KDOT, Kansas Highway Patrol, University Staff, and 

FHWA personnel. The steering committee meets quarterly and discusses ITS issues and updates 

of projects and programs. They are heavily represented in our local ITSA chapter and education 

opportunities provided by the FHWA Service Plan.

Contents

Projects & Activities

To help analyze and integrate the different Kansas ITS projects, the Statewide ITS plan grouped 

similar projects into program areas. A total of five program areas were identified:

1. Priority Corridors - This program area includes rural ITS projects that are being

deployed on a specific corridor such as Interstate 70. Technologies that are being

deployed or considered for deployment include Advanced Traveler Information Systems 

(ATIS), Weigh-In-Motion (WIM), and fiber optic communications. Other planned

projects include VMS and HAR deployments.

2. Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) - An ITS/CVO business plan is currently under 

development in the State. This plan will define a CVO/ITS architecture as part of the 

FHWA sponsored Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN ). 

The system architecture for the CVO program is anticipated to contain new deployments 

to the administrative center, roadside, and vehicle systems that will allow improved CVO 

processes. These improvements potentially include electronic credentialing, electronic 

data transfer, electronic roadside screening, and improved data record access.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

3. Maintenance - Maintenance related ITS applications include projects such as Automatic 

Vehicle Location (AVL), Road/Weather Information Systems (RWIS) and others. 

4. Traffic Operations - This program area focuses on ITS projects that are aimed at 

improving traffic operations in metropolitan and statewide areas. Two examples in this 

program area are the Wichita Traffic Operations Center and the Kansas City Scout 

Project.

5. Rural Safety and Mobility - This program focuses on all safety-related projects that 

have a bearing on the rural traveler as well as rural transit. Work zone applications, 

Automatic Collision Notification (ACN) and Mayday Systems are few examples in this 

program area.

With regard to the Telecommunications infrastructure and, the plan included the following

activities:

?? Conform to ITS communications standards

?? Make efficient use of the fiber optic resources and the 800 MHz radio network

?? Interconnect the fiber network with the microwave network where feasible

?? Expand the optical fiber backbone throughout Kansas

?? Create a telecommunications unit within KDOT

Architecture Issues

The Kansas Statewide ITS architecture will tie each of the identified program areas together in a 

way that will ensure an interoperable statewide ITS system. This architecture is consistent with 

the National ITS Architecture and will include existing and future ITS implementations. 

In addition to the subsystems and agencies that are a part of the Kansas Statewide ITS

Architecture, there are also a number of external interfaces including other states, local agencies, 

media, emergency personnel, rail operators and metropolitan planning organizations. Exhibit 2 

shows a high-level depiction of the Kansas Physical ITS Architecture (presented at the end of 

this Case Study).

Regarding the use of the ITS Architecture and the Telecommunication Infrastructure, the 

Statewide plan suggests the following implementation strategies:

?? Evaluate how future projects fit into the Statewide ITS Architecture

?? Establish a schedule for periodically reviewing and updating the ITS Architecture

Institutional Involvement

The Kansas Statewide ITS Plan was developed by a group of participating institutions

representing the public sector, private sector and academia. 

From the public sector, the following were involved: personnel from the state’s six Districts 

offices, Bureau of Design, Bureau of Traffic Engineering, Bureau of Transportation Planning, 

Bureau of Construction and Maintenance, Bureau of Program Management, Bureau of Computer 

Services, City and county public officials, Transit and paratransit providers, EMS/Law

enforcement, and Farming and business interests

Public-private opportunities have been discussed for each of the six program areas identified in 

statewide plan. The level of involvement of the private sector ranges from limited as in the case 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

of the Maintenance Program Area to extensive as in providing wireless communication services 

to remote areas as described in the program area for Rural Safety and Mobility.

The University of Kansas through the active involvement of Dr. Eric Meyer, has participated in 

the development of the Statewide plan.

Organizational Issues

Integrating or mainstreaming ITS into the KDOT business process is key to the successful

deployment of ITS programs in the State of Kansas. In order to achieve that, funding,

contracting, planning, design, operations and maintenance of ITS projects needs to be addressed 

in all bureaus of KDOT. The following key recommendations were made:

?? Continue to strengthen the role of the KDOT ITS Steering Committee, which is 

responsible for providing guidance, suggestions and feedback

?? Promote interagency coordination by establishing informal working groups that

consist of representatives from each of the agencies involved. The CVO Executive 

Working Group, which is comprised of KDOT, Kansas Department of Revenue 

(KDOR), Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), FMCSA, Kansas Highway Patrol 

(KHP) and Kansas Motor Carrier Association (KMCA), is a current example of this 

kind of interagency coordination

?? Contact other states to solicit ITS standards and detail sheets if they are available

?? Develop checklists for projects and bureaus to help identify potential ITS elements in 

KDOT projects

?? Integrate rural and urban ITS programs. These two areas of ITS are often treated 

independently with the urban programs focusing on reducing traffic congestion while 

the rural programs are focusing on improving safety. Potential strategies for

integrating the two include:

?? Establish informal working groups to facilitate coordination between the 

two programs

?? Develop a statewide operations center

Examples of sponsoring agencies include the Department of Commerce and Housing which 

subscribed to the DTN kiosks at two welcome centers in Kansas. These kiosks provide weather 

information to the traveling public that stops at the welcome centers. Another sponsor is the 

Kansas Highway Patrol that has AVL systems installed in their patrol cars in the northeast part of 

the state and wants to expand to cover the whole state.

Outreach, Marketing, & Education Activities

In the process of developing the Kansas Statewide ITS Plan, two rounds of ITS awareness 

seminars were held in each KDOT district and at headquarters. Among the attendees of these 

seminars were KDOT and Federal (FHWA) personnel; city and county public works officials; 

transit and Para transit providers; EMS/law enforcement; and farming and business interests. 

Following each seminar, the attendees were then encouraged to share their thoughts on ITS in 

general and to discuss ITS applications specific to their field of work in particular.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

In addition to the awareness seminars, the plan made several recommendations to help in the 

marketing and outreach efforts in the State of Kansas, among these recommendations are the 

following:

?? Designate ITS “champions” in the different KDOT bureaus to help facilitate the 

mainstreaming of ITS into their work area

?? Identify and encourage the rapid deployment of ITS projects that have a high

potential for providing substantial benefits or projects with a high-level of visibility to 

the traveling public

?? Conduct various internal and external publicity campaigns to promote the advantages 

of these projects

?? Develop a continuing process of education for KDOT personnel

?? Obtain buy-in from the ITS Steering Committee on important decisions relating to 

ITS

Funding Opportunities and Sources

Due to the nature and size of ITS deployment projects, funding is a crucial factor in planning; 

prioritizing and deploying selected ITS application. The Kansas Statewide ITS Plan identified a 

number of potential sources for funding:

?? Existing funding sources from Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT funding 

category)

?? ITS Set-Aside Funds (KDOT funding category)

?? Federal and State Research Funds

?? Other Funding Strategies

Other Key Features

State-to-State Coordination -A key issue considered in the development of the Kansas

Statewide ITS Plan was the value of cooperation and coordination with other states. Significant 

benefits can be achieved by forming multi-state alliances for the deployment and operation of 

ITS. Consistency and integration across state lines is critical for some applications, particularly 

commercial vehicle applications and Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS).

Traffic Management System in Kansas City (Scout) -Currently, there is a bi-state partnership 

between Kansas and Missouri to develop a shared Traffic Management System (TMS) called 

Scout. The Traffic Operations Center (TOC) building will be located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, 

and will be operated and maintained by MoDOT personnel. It will be used to monitor and 

manage traffic conditions on freeways in both Missouri and Kansas.

ITS Heartland - ITS Heartland is a regional chapter of ITS America that is made up of the states 

Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. The purpose of this organization is to increase

interregional coordination between the member states on ITS-projects and research. This

includes conducting pooled fund studies, sharing ITS data, and ensuring interoperability between 

ITS systems.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Current Status

The Kansas Statewide ITS Plan was completed on March 2000. However, this plan is a living 

document for at least two years from the date it was published. The state DOT (KDOT) has 

already started the deployment of several ITS technologies. The status of the top five systems 

being implemented in the state is summarized below:

1. The Kansas City Scout is in the final plan stage and is scheduled to be let in June 2001. 

The project will take 24 months to construct and it is a coordinated effort between KDOT 

and MoDOT. 

2. The Wichita ATMS is still in the beginning stages. Money has been allocated by KDOT 

to get the project started and currently is waiting on commitment by the City and County. 

3. The Statewide Fiber Optic network is just about complete. Kansas will have

approximately 700 miles of fiber when the system is complete. It is a private/public 

partnership that will provide the backbone for our ITS within the state.

4. The CVISN plan is complete and Kansas is currently working to become Level 1 

compliant.

5. On the transit side, Kansas is currently working toward obtaining a Project Manager to 

study, design, deploy and train two rural transit providers for and integrated AVL/CAD 

system. The state hopes that all rural providers can eventually use this system statewide. 

The plan has been reviewed and approved by the DOT Program Review Committee. It has been 

reviewed by counties, cities, and MPO’s throughout the state.

Future Activities Planned

1. Establishing a periodical review process of proposed ITS projects to:

?? Identify potential cost sharing opportunities and minimize unnecessary system

redundancies

?? Identify potential data sharing opportunities

?? Maintain the project database

2. Updating the Statewide ITS Architecture and the Statewide ITS Plan

3. Encouraging the coordination of efforts within KDOT and with neighboring states. To help 

accomplish this coordination, ITS deployments should be evaluated and finding disseminated 

through outreach campaigns. 

4. Identifying and developing design standards and guidelines for agencies and individuals 

considering ITS deployments in Kansas.

5. Staffing needs and training requirements:

?? Continue the role of the ITS Steering Committee

?? Consider hiring additional staff trained to operate, administer, manage, and provide 

the ITS field devices or the optical fiber backbone

?? Train staff that will be involved with ITS deployment and operation

6. Evaluating the progress in the state two years after the Kansas Statewide ITS Plan was 

published. The evaluation period will last three months starting on March 2002. The entire 

team responsible for putting together the initial plan will participate in the evaluation process.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Participating Institutions

Public:

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Personnel from the State’s Six Districts

Bureau of Design

Bureau of Traffic Engineering

Bureau of Transportation Planning

Bureau of Construction and Maintenance 

Bureau of Program Management

Bureau of Computer Services

City and county public officials

Transit and paratransit providers

EMS/Law enforcement

Farming and business interests

Private:

TranSystems Corporation

Sparling Corporation

Cambridge Systematics

Jane Mobley Associates with eTc Institute

Academic: Dr. Eric Meyer, University of Kansas

Cost Information

The cost to complete the plan along with a 2-year evaluation period was $447,882. KDOT staff 

put in approximately 15 to 16 hours per week. 

Benefits & Lessons Learned

The Kansas Statewide ITS Plan is a living document. The team responsible for putting together 

the plan will be monitoring any ITS project deployments in the State, maintaining and updating 

the project database and evaluating the benefits. 

This close monitoring will last for two years after which, the team will meet again in March 2002 

to revise and update the Statewide ITS Plan. This evaluation is needed to justify the funding that 

was dedicated to the project. These evaluations will be used for future projects. As future 

revisions of the statewide plan are released, the realized benefits to date will be added for 

reference.

Some potential benefits include:

?? In the area of commercial vehicles, the benefits include improved speed and safety of 

goods movement

?? In the area of maintenance operations, benefits include a more efficient management 

of resources and labor, the elimination of redundant processes and improved roadway 

safety and travel conditions

?? The deployment of Traffic Operations Centers (TOC) will help reduce the

incremental costs of adding new components

?? Reduced emergency response time when accidents occur
Appendix A – Case Studies 

References and Contact Information

Documents reviewed

Report Summary, Kansas Statewide ITS Plan (March, 2000)

Contacts for further information

Michael Floberg, P.E., ITS Engineer

Kansas Department of Transportation

DSOB, Room 830

915 SW Harrison

Topeka, KS 66612-1568

Phone: (785) 296-5652

Fax: (785) 296-8168

email: floberg@ksdot.org

For information on the Kansas Department of Transportation, please visit:

http://www.ink.org/public/kdot/
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Personal Info 

Access

• TV/Radio

• Cell phones

• PCs

• Laptops

• 1-800-585-ROAD

Remote Traveler 

Support

• DIN Terminals

• other kiosks

Traveler Subsystems

• KC Scout

• Wichita TOC

• Statewide TOC

• Local TOC

Traffic 

Management

Transit 

Management

• regional CAD

• regional AVL

• Electronic 

Credentialing

• Automated 

Fee Payment

Fleet 

Management

Commercial 

Vehicle Admin

• Automated 

Permit System

• IRP 

Clearinghouse

• CVISN

Emergency 

Management

• KHP Dispatch

• Kansas CAN 

Center

• Statewide ATIS

• DTN Center

• 1-800 hotline

• KDOT web site

Info. Service 

Provider

• RWIS

• KDOT AVL

• RCRS

• CDRS

Roadway 

Maintenance Toll 

Administration

KTA

Wide Area Wireless Communications

(mobile communications)

Wireline Communications

(fixed point to fixed point)

• AVL

• MDT

• 2-way radio

• Cell phones

Transit 

Vehicle

Commercial 

Vehicle

• KTAG

• Other 

Transponder

Vehicle

• Cell phone

• KTAG

• CAN Device

• in-vehicle 

navigation

Emergency 

Vehicle

• KHP AVL

• KHP MDT

Maintenance 

Vehicle

• AVL/MDT

• Infrared radar

Vehicles

Center Subsystems

Roadside Subsystems

DSRC

Roadway

• VMS

• RWIS Stations

• loops

• signals

• CCTV

• HAR

• Work Zones

• Rail Crossings

Commercial 

Vehicle

• WIM

• Roadside 

Screening

• Electronic 

Records

Toll 

Collection

• KTAG

Exhibit 1 – Kansas Statewide ITS Plan Technical Approach
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Exhibit 2 – Kansas Statewide ITS Physical Architecture

Appendix A – Case Studies 

Minnesota Guidestar - Statewide ITS Planning

Goals

Minnesota is recognized as one of the pioneering states in ITS and as part of maintaining this 

leadership role, stakeholders place a significant emphasis on planning and coordinating ITS 

initiatives throughout the State. To date, much of this work has been carried out under the 

umbrella of Minnesota Guidestar; the State’s ITS research, testing and deployment program. Its 

overall objective is to use advanced technologies to save lives, time and money. Today, its 

specific objectives are: 

?? Expand ITS outreach and education efforts

?? Facilitate innovative partnerships

?? Provide strategic direction to policy-making bodies

?? Mainstream ITS into the statewide transportation planning and implementation

process

?? Promote conformance with the state and national architecture, standards and

protocols

Approach

Minnesota Guidestar was established to direct the State’s public, private and academic efforts in 

ITS and partly in response to the 1991 Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 

(ISTEA). Since its establishment, a series of plans reflecting research, testing and the

deployment of ITS on a statewide basis have been prepared. These include the: 

?? Minnesota Guidestar Strategic Plan (1992)1

?? Minnesota Guidestar Rural Scoping Study (1994)2

?? Polaris Statewide Architecture Project (1995)3

?? Minnesota Guidestar Statewide Business Plan for Commercial Vehicle Operations 

(CVO) (1995)4

?? Minnesota Guidestar NOVA Strategic Plan (1997)5

?? Minnesota Guidestar Board of Directors’ Statewide ITS Strategic Plan 20006

Rationale behind the Strategic Plans

Minnesota Guidestar’s first Strategic Plan prepared in 1992 acted as a basis on which the various 

ITS projects starting to emerge from different parts of Mn/DOT, from the private sector and from 

the University of Minnesota could be coordinated and managed. It focused primarily on urban 

applications of ITS, building on Mn/DOT’s strengths in traffic management and traveler

information, particularly in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It also marked the elevation of 

Minnesota Guidestar to the status of a separate Office within Mn/DOT1.

Recognizing the 1992 Plan’s focus on urban transportation, the 1994 Rural Scoping Study

focused on the needs of travelers in rural parts of the state and proposed potential ITS solutions 

to address these needs2. Further recognizing the need to unify the State’s urban and rural ITS 

planning activities, Mn/DOT’s 1995 Polaris Statewide Architecture Project could be argued to be 

Minnesota’s first truly statewide ITS planning initiative. Drawing on input from state agencies 

who provided ITS-related services, it defined a high-level architecture within which existing, 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

emerging and future ITS components throughout the state could be interrelated on a common 

basis3.

 In 1994, a new CVO section within Minnesota Guidestar was charged with expanding the 

contents of the 1992 Strategic Plan to identify a more defined course of action for CVO in the 

state. As a result of extensive consultations with state agencies and the motor carrier

community, the CVO section prepared the Minnesota Guidestar Statewide Business Plan for 

CVO. This recommended the re-engineering of CVO-related processes to improve commercial 

vehicle regulation in the state4. 

The current Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan 2000) guides the continued implementation of what is 

now an integrated statewide program of ITS. Unlike previous Strategic Plans, which typically 

solicited stakeholders views through a series of workshops, Strategic Plan 2000 was developed 

by and therefore primarily reflects the Minnesota Guidestar’s Board of Directors’ direction for 

future ITS deployments. This change in direction was based on the emergence of the Board of 

Directors as a body to develop consensus among public, private and academic sector

stakeholders at a senior management level and which set strategic directions for ITS in the State. 

Although primarily intended for the Board’s use, it is also intended to be used by the broader ITS 

community within the state6. 

Approach to developing the Strategic Plans

The development of Minnesota Guidestar strategic plans is typically initiated by soliciting input 

from stakeholders around the state. For example, as part of developing the program’s initial 

Strategic Plan (1992)1, a series of stakeholder workshops were held, each workshop bringing 

together stakeholders from similar backgrounds to identify and discuss their needs. As shown in 

Exhibit 1, based on initial work conducted by Mn/DOT’s support consultants, each workshop 

began by introducing stakeholders to the potential offered by ITS technology. With this as 

background, stakeholders were invited to discuss their own specific needs; after the workshops, 

technologies to help address each of these needs were identified and a draft Strategic Plan

prepared. As this process pre-dated any national ITS planning guidelines, it was based entirely 

on state-specific requirements and information.

Global review

of ITS

technologies

Review of

ongoing/

planned ITS

activities

Development

of draft

Strategic Plan

Training and

education of

Mn/DOT staff

Identification

of costing and

funding options

Implementation

of organizational

structure for ITS

activities in

Minnesota

Finalize and

publish

Strategic Plan

Stakeholder

workshops

Exhibit 1 - Approach to developing 1992 Minnesota Guidestar Strategic Plan

The NOVA Strategic Plan5 was based on ITS user services which by 1997, had been agreed 

nationally. As shown in Exhibit 2, needs and requirements were developed as a result of a twoday workshop attended by 162 people from around the state. Using consultant support, other 

successful ITS deployment activities from around the U.S. were examined in order to identify 

ITS solutions which could potentially be transferred to Minnesota. The needs and requirements 

were translated into ITS user services and matched with the potential ITS solutions. As a result, 

a Strategic Plan was developed. Using the Plan as a basis, Mn/DOT solicited project proposals 

from its Districts, the solicitation requiring that each proposing District contributed funds and/or 

resources. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Stakeholder

workshops

Investigation of

other ITS

deployment

initiatives

Development

of Strategic

Plan

Development of strategic

concepts based on workshop

results and identified ITS

proven solutions

Exhibit 2 - Approach to developing 1997 Minnesota Guidestar NOVA Strategic Plan

By contrast, the current Strategic Plan (2000)6 was primarily on the results of a Board of

Directors’ retreat conducted in 1999. As shown in Exhibit 3, it also drew input from the other 

Minnesota Guidestar committees and from other key stakeholders. As with the previous 

Strategic Plans, it was developed with consultant support.

Board of

Director's

retreat

Review of other

Minnesota ITS

plans and 

initiatives

Input and review 

byother Guidestar

Committees and

stakeholders

Draft Strategic

Plan

Finalize

Strategic Plan

Exhibit 3 - Approach to developing 2000 Minnesota Guidestar NOVA Strategic Plan

Contents

To be of most use to readers, this “Contents” section draws information from all of the above 

sources. However, the majority of information is drawn from the current strategic plan, the 

Minnesota Guidestar Board of Directors’ Statewide ITS Strategic Plan 20006.

Projects and Activities

The current Strategic Plan 20006 includes the following activities:

ATMS and ATIS 

?? Designing and implementing a statewide communications infrastructure based in part 

on fiber optics, 800 MHz communications, microwave and infrared

?? Implementing a statewide advanced traveler information systems

?? Deploying a Regional Traffic Management Center in the Twin Cities Metro Area and 

continuing its program of deploying Transportation Operation and Communications 

Centers across the statewide

?? Completing the deployment of its ORION model deployment initiative in the Twin 

Cities

?? Implementing ITS technologies (such as CCTV, VMS and advisory speed limits) on 

interregional corridors

Intelligent Vehicle Initiative 

?? Deploying systems such as the Smart Plow

Transit-Related

?? Expanding public transit system support (including AVL/GPS, trip reservations, 

computer-aided dispatch and emergency response) across the state

CVO

?? Continuing to implement the plan for CVISN in Minnesota
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Other Related Activities 

?? Improving infrastructure safety, management and operations such as snowplows, 

bridge de-icers, flood warning systems, etc.

?? Increasing awareness of new technology (such as head-up displays, auditory signals, 

etc) aimed at assisting drivers

Architecture Issues

The architecture developed as part of the Polaris project was designed to unify the growing 

number of application- or project-specific ITS architectures that had been developed in the state. 

As shown in Exhibit 4, it was based on a analyzing market research data gathered from

Minnesota travelers across the state and from institutional stakeholders through a series of focus 

groups and telephone surveys. This data was used to identify the most important transportation 

needs, service requirements, and levels of satisfaction with the current transportation system3. 

This state-specific data was translated into the context of the national ITS user services; the 

relevant national user services were subsequently translated into eleven Minnesota-specific user 

services that the ITS architecture would have to provide. The ITS components necessary to 

support these state-specific user services were then defined followed by their constituent

functions and sub-functions and the flows of data between them. This provided the basis for the 

functional architecture.

The physical architecture was developed using the existing architecture as a basis. Existing 

architecture components were identified and analyzed in order to define their exact roles and to 

identify the data exchanged with other components. A series of candidate future physical

architectur es (ie introducing the components necessary to provide the state-specific user services 

into the existing physical architecture) were defined and reviewed by a series of working teams. 

These comprised agencies responsible for providing each of the services in question. Through a 

comprehensive analysis trading-off advantages and disadvantages of each candidate architecture, 

the optimal architecture for Minnesota was selected. System requirements and data flows were 

subsequently allocated to each of the components in the selected architecture. This acted as a 

basis for defining all component interfaces and requirements for the Minnesota ITS architecture. 

Requirements

gathered

Requirements

analyzed

System

components

specified

Requirements

translated into

ITS User

Services

Implementation

Plan prepared

System

requirements (ie

functions,

subfunctions, data

flows, etc) defined

Functional and

physical

architectures

defined

Exhibit 4 - Approach To Developing Statewide ITS Architecture As Part Of Polaris Project

Deliverables prepared as part of the Polaris study were:

?? Minnesota Traveler Wants and Needs - documents the transportation wants and needs 

information collected from Minnesota residents during ten focus groups held across 

the state

?? Minnesota Transportation Agency Wants and Needs - documents the transportation 

wants and needs information collected from Minnesota stakeholder agencies during 

seven agency group discussions held across the state

?? ITS Architecture Wants and Needs - uses the previous wants and needs documents to 

establish, prioritize and document national ITS user services and consequently, the 

Minnesota-specific user services
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Statewide ITS As-Is Agency Reports for Minnesota - describes the existing

transportation systems and the existing physical architecture

?? ITS System Specification - identifies functions, interfaces and requirements

associated with the Minnesota-specific user services and Components

?? ITS Components Specification - identifies physical interface and requirements

allocation for each Minnesota ITS component

It should be noted that Polaris pre-dated the finalization of the National ITS Architecture. 

However, recent, urban-oriented architecture activities are compliant with the National

Architecture and there are firm plans for the migration of Minnesota’s remaining ITS

architectures (including the statewide architecture) towards compliance through the use of ITS 

standards (see Future Activities Planned).

Institutional Involvement

Minnesota Guidestar is based on the active participation of the public sector, the private sector 

and academia. Originally focusing on the needs of travelers and public agencies in the Twin 

Cities metropolitan area, the program has been increasingly successfully in bringing different 

offices in Mn/DOT and cities and countie s from around the state together to further the

development of ITS in Minnesota. 

Participation of the private sector has been solicited though traditional RFPs and through more 

innovative mechanisms such as public-private partnerships where the private sector partner is 

expected to contribute to the cost of the project and to share some of the risk.

Academia in the form of The University of Minnesota plays a key role in identifying critical 

issues in transportation and using multidisciplinary approaches to identify the potential for ITS to 

address them. 

Recognizing the diverse organizations now involved in the Program, the Strategic Plan includes 

a series of action items designed to ensure their active participation and ultimately, their buy-in 

to the Program’s goals, objectives and initiatives. These action items include:

?? Overcoming the general lack of knowledge regarding ITS benefits to its main

constituencies - the public, customers within agencies, legislators and policy makers 

for example

?? Overcoming institutional barriers to communication and cooperation between and 

within public institutions

?? Overcoming public/private sector cultural differences

?? Expediting the transfer of research results into practical applications

Organizational Issues

The program’s original organizational structure as described in the 1992 Strategic Plan was 

defined to maximize participation from both the public and private sectors and from academia. 

The organizational structure and the mechanisms to continue this broad-based participation have 

evolved as the program has developed. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The current organizational structure shown in Exhibit 5, comprises:

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Mn/DOT State ITS

Leadership Team

Technical Working

Committees

Mn/DOT

Office

of

Advanced

Transportation

Systems

(OATS)

Exhibit 5 - Current Organizational Structure

?? The Board of Directors - Includes officers from both public and private sector 

organizations with representatives from the general public, it serves to develop

consensus among stakeholders at a senior management level

?? The Executive Committee - Reports ideas and initiatives to the Board of Directors 

and functions on its behalf between the Board’s quarterly meetings

??Mn/DOT’s State ITS Leadership Team - Coordinates public sector activities and 

resources, establishes business objectives and monitors progress toward those

objectives though project and program initiatives

?? Technical Working Committees - Composed of project teams which monitor and 

coordinate the day-to-day operations of the individual projects 

??Mn/DOT Office of Advanced Transportation Systems - Manages the Minnesota 

Guidestar program and provides administrative support to the committees

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

Minnesota Guidestar is renowned for its outreach, marketing and education activities. These 

have included:

?? Hosting of forums geared toward the business community and key opinion leaders 

and decision makers for ITS in Minnesota

?? Creation of a traveling exhibit for conferences such as ITS America

?? Videos on ITS and Minnesota Guidestar

?? Program brochures

?? A newsletter geared toward Mn/DOT employees and city/county engineers
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Creation of abstracts on individual Minnesota Guidestar projects

?? Development of an ITS lesson plan for science classes or college courses

?? Distribution of program material to libraries across the state

?? Regular news media events

Funding Opportunities and Sources

A variety of funding sources, both traditional and innovative have been used in funding

Minnesota Guidestar. The program has received significant funds through Congressional

earmarking over the past nine years. Additionally, Mn/DOT and the local cities and counties 

have made significant ITS-related transportation investments using state and local funds.

Through the mechanism of public-private partnerships, Minnesota Guidestar has leveraged

private sector contributions towards many of its projects and activities. These have typically been 

in the form of in-kind contributions of labor resources and/or equipment. 

Current Status

The program is currently being run on the basis of the Board of Directors’ Statewide ITS 

Strategic Plan 2000 which was implemented in Spring 2000. The Plan contains a number of 

action items, some of which are already being pursued (see Future Activities planned). 

Future Activities Planned

Before the end of 2000, Minnesota Guidestar will initiate a project to develop an ITS Standards 

Migration Plan for the state. The need for such a Plan originated during Mn/DOT’s ITS 

Standards Workshop held in November 1999 and attended by national standards experts and 

representatives of a number of state agencies. The results of this workshop showed that despite 

the significant efforts Mn/DOT has made to keep abreast of emerging ITS standards, the pace of 

standards development makes it is difficult to keep all stakeholders up-to-date and to ensure that 

the latest, most relevant standards are being used. 

Recognizing that the key to the full integration of systems is the use of commonly accepted 

standards, Mn/DOT is initiating a study which will result in the development of a Standards 

Migration Plan. This study will:

?? Document Minnesota-specific systems

?? Define a vision of what the migration plan should consist

?? Define details of what the migration means to Minnesota

?? Define education, training and outreach activities to ready stakeholders for migration

?? Carry out the migration activities

Each ITS standard will be reviewed, assessed and prioritized; the prioritization being based on 

each standards’ relevance to the latest Minnesota ITS architecture (the architecture developed for 

the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area which is fully compliant with the National ITS Architecture). 

The Migration Plan will be based around this prioritization of standards - it will chart the 

migration from the current state of standards use in Minnesota to a situation where standards are 

used in a manner fully consistent with the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area ITS architecture and 

therefore, with the National ITS Architecture. By implementing the highest priority standards 

identified in the architecture flows, Mn/DOT will begin to implement its ITS architecture.

In addition, there are also substantial plans to develop projects and activities in the program’s 

areas including ATMS, ATIS, IVI and APTS (see Contents - Projects and Activities).
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Participating Institutions

Public:

Mn/DOT Office of Advanced Transportation Systems (OATS), Mn/DOT Metro Division, 

Mn/DOT Districts and Maintenance Divisions, University of Minnesota Center for

Transportation Studies, representatives from many of Minnesota’s cities and counties.

Private: 

Cambridge Systematics Inc., Castle Rock Consultants Inc. Lockheed Martin Federal 

Systems and SRF Consultants Inc. have each provided support during the development of 

plans listed above.

Cost Information

The following are estimates of how much each of the Minnesota Guidestar plans cost to prepare.

Title Date Public Sector Cost Private Sector 

Cost

Minnesota Guidestar Strategic 

Plan

1992 Estimated to be 30 hours/month 

over 12 month period (Mn/DOT 

staff). Additionally, staff 

attendance at workshops. 

$300,000 consultant 

contract

Minnesota Guidestar Rural 

Scoping Study

1994 $37,000 over 6 months including 

two Mn/DOT staff attending 

each of six Focus Groups.

$100,000 consultant 

contract

Minnesota Guidestar Polaris 

Statewide Architecture

1995 Undefined at present $3,750,000 budget 

with additional 

$788,000 contribution 

from private sector

Minnesota Guidestar Statewide 

Business Plan for Commercial 

Vehicle Operations (CVO)

1995 Undefined at present Undefined at present

Minnesota Guidestar NOVA 

Strategic Plan

1997 Estimated to be 60 hours/month 

over 6 month period (Mn/DOT 

staff). Additionally, staff 

attendance at two-day 

workshop. 

$150,000 consultant 

contract

Minnesota Guidestar Board of 

Directors’ Statewide ITS 

Strategic Plan 2000

2000 Undefined at present Undefined at present

Benefits

As already stated, Minnesota Guidestar comprises many ITS projects. Benefits of those project 

already completed and evaluated are widely documented. However, several quantitative benefits 

arising through the evolution of ITS strategic plans in Minnesota are apparent including:

?? Encouraging different agencies to participate in discussion and decision-making 

regarding ITS has led to each agency having a much better understanding of the other 

agency’s perspectives, goals and capabilities

?? Introducing the private sector to the strategic planning process (with the Strategic 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Plan 2000) has introduced new perspectives, ideas and opportunities. It has also 

broadened the “buy-in” to the resulting plan

?? The use of public-private partnerships has brought many challenges but has also 

brought many benefits including the opportunity to leverage different sources of

funds, increased “buy-in”, broadened understanding of how each sector operates and 

of the constraints within which it has to carry out its work

 Lessons Learned

Public sector lessons learned include:

?? As stated above, the importance of bringing different public agencies, many with 

diverse needs and objectives, together in a single forum to examine the potential 

offered by ITS solutions. This has to be initiated early enough in the process so that 

the needs of each agency can be addressed

?? Reaffirmation of the essential role that the private sector can play in any ITS-based 

transportation system

?? How to establish the better public-private partnerships and to understand exactly what 

the private sector can realistically bring to any partnership

?? The importance of all understanding all project participants’ priorities and

expectations

Private sector lessons learned include:

?? Appreciating the learning curve that all offices of a state agency have to go through 

when working under a non-traditional contractual arrangement such as a publicprivate partnership; for example, review and approval of non-traditional draft contract 

documents may take longer than usual to be completed

?? Learning to work with public agencies as a “partner” rather than as a “client”

?? As a counter-point the third public sector lesson learned, the private sector has to 

appreciate exactly what the public sector can and cannot bring to any partnership

?? Appreciating the way public sector organizations work
Appendix A – Case Studies 

References and Contact Information

Documents reviewed 

1. Minnesota Guidestar Strategic Plan, Castle Rock Consultants Inc. (1992)

2. Minnesota Guidestar Rural Scoping Study, Castle Rock Consultants Inc. (1994) 

3. Polaris Executive Summary, Lockheed Martin Federal Systems (1997)

4. Proposal for CVISN Model Deployment, Mn/DOT (1996)

5. Minnesota Guidestar - NOVA ITS Strategic Plan, SRF Consulting Inc., Castle 

Rock Consultants, Inc. and Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (1997) 

6. Minnesota Guidestar Board of Directors’ Statewide ITS Strategic Plan 2000, SRF 

Consulting Inc. (2000)

Contact for further information

Steve Bahler

Deputy Director of OATS

Tel: (612) 296-0152

email: steve.bahler@dot.state.mn.us 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Montana Statewide ITS Strategic Plan

Goals

The vision of Montana’s ITS program, as outlined in the strategic plan, is to use “advanced 

technology applications to benefit or enhance existing and future elements of the Montana 

surface transportation infrastructure by supporting rural and urban applications to enhance safety, 

mobility and economic vitality in order to meet the specific needs of the Montana traveling 

public.” The plan’s goals are primarily focused on developing projects, program integration, 

education and outreach, funding and deployment. These goals, which are stated in fairly general 

terms, were expected to yield the following benefits for Montana travelers:

?? Construction zone and maintenance operations systems that ensure the safety of

Montana’s travelers and field operations personnel

?? Collision warning devices, including animal detection, to minimize incidents

involving foreign objects on the roadway

?? Commercial vehicle operations (CVO), including electronic clearance, to enhance the 

efficient transport of goods and services, and to increase the economic viability of 

Montana

?? Traveler information services that assist with mobility, pre-trip planning, mode and 

route selection, destination and attraction details and reducing the impacts of weather 

and traffic incidents, en-route

?? Emergency communications devices to assist stranded or injured travelers in

communicating with emergency response providers

?? Public transit operations and fleet management to effectively handle capacity

demands and efficient transport of citizens

Approach

Organizational Approach

As intelligent transportation systems (ITS) gained broader deployment across the U.S. in the 

early to mid-1990s, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) was interested in

examining the potential of ITS for Montana, although it was not sure that ITS would necessarily 

be a good fit for Montana. If ITS turned out to be a good fit, MDT planned to engage in a more 

formal strategic planning effort. For the first part of this effort, MDI contracted with the Western 

Transportation Institute at Montanan State University to study the status and applicability of ITS 

in Montana (1). This document, completed in 1996, identified needs and potential benefits of ITS 

in Montana, existing systems and related activities in Montana and the rest of the United States, 

potential ITS systems, and potential funding sources. It concluded with a set of recommendations 

to ensure the success of Montana’s ITS program in the future. As this report concluded that ITS 

had potential in Montana, MDT decided to pursue a Strategic Plan, which was completed in June 

1999 (2). 

A Steering Committee was established to provide guidance on key agency contacts and

presentation content in order to educate Montanans on ITS applications, how ITS may affect 

their business transactions, and potential benefits of ITS applications. Its membership consisted 

of representatives from several MDT divisions, MDT district offices, the Federal Highway

Administration, tourism, and public works personnel. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Concurrent with the development of the strategic plan, MDT completed an ITS/CVO business 

plan in 1998 (3). The business plan’s purpose is to encourage coordinated, efficient and safe 

CVO throughout Montana, and to promote inter-agency and regional cooperation as ITS/CVO 

projects are developed and deployed. It discusses Montana’s CVO priorities and how Montana is 

addressing them, with current and planned projects discussed. The plan document was authored 

by MDT staff who were also involved in the Steering Committee.

A consultant-led project team carried out the Strategic Plan.

Technical Approach

MDT’s request for proposals (RFP) for the Strategic Plan (4) included the following tasks:

?? Refine goals and objectives

?? Obtain stakeholder involvement

?? Define ITS in Montana since, according to the RFP, “...while the National ITS 

Program has specific definitions for ITS, Montana may have special advanced

technology needs that are not recognized or defined at that level...”

?? Identify applicable ITS technologies

?? Identify statewide ITS needs and requirements

?? Develop recommendations for the most cost-effective communications system(s) 

required to efficiently deploy pertinent ITS technologies

?? Determine human and financial resources necessary to operate and maintain the ITS 

infrastructure

?? Develop a process by whereby an ITS project can proceed from concept through to 

implementation

?? Develop an organizational structure, including the most logical and efficient location 

for an ITS program within MDT, and program name

?? Develop performance measures that will gauge the degree of success and failure and 

progress of the ITS program and projects

?? Identify necessary funding types and levels

?? Recommend changes to laws, policies or regulations as necessary to support or 

enhance the ITS program

?? Meet with Montana’s three (3) metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transit 

organizations (through the Montana Transit Administration), MDT administrators, 

and the Montana Transportation Commission to explain the general concept and 

benefits of the ITS program

Contents

The plan is organized according to the outline of the RFP, devoting one chapter to each task in 

the scope. The plan “provides the framework for the development of an ITS program in the State 

of Montana.” Its emphasis is not on recommending specific projects, but rather in developing a 

process by which projects can be implemented in the future. Key elements in the plan include:

?? Development of a program vision, mission, goals and objectives

?? Identification of stakeholders and champions

?? Assessment of Montana transportation needs and definition of ITS program services 

to meet those needs
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Review and analysis of applicable technologies and communications structure to meet 

transportation needs, with short, medium and long-range project recommendations

?? Evaluation of fiscal considerations, including potential funding sources and strategies

?? Integration of project development processes within the MDT capital improvement 

program

?? Development of the ITS organizational structure within MDT

?? Review of statutory and policy considerations involving ITS technologies and

implementation

Short-Term Projects

The plan defines potential ITS deployments in six (6) needs areas:

?? Information needs

?? Safety needs

?? Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) needs

?? Emergency Management needs

?? Transit needs

?? Traffic Management needs

The plan did not provide specific locations for deployment, but identified the following

applications as good candidates for implementation in Montana within a one-year time frame:

?? Changeable Message Signs (CMS)

?? Fog and pavement condition detection systems

?? Integrated train detection and traffic control

?? Advanced traffic monitoring

?? Cellular connection to emergency services

??Weather information by FAX

?? Traveler information on the Web

Other short-range ITS strategies identified in the plan include:

?? Interactive kiosks

?? Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)

?? Rail crossing early warning systems

?? Animal/vehicle collision avoidance systems

?? Transit Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) systems

?? Computer-aided paratransit scheduling and reservations

??Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) sensors/devices

?? Electronic CVO credentialing

?? Automated CVO safety and credential inspection

?? Electronic CVO pre-clearance

Architecture Issues

The plan includes a statewide architecture that is based on the National ITS Architecture. It 

includes a modified “sausage diagram” to depict the communications required to support the 

various short-term projects identified in the plan. It does not define specific subsystems where 

actions will take place, and it does not define information flows occurring between subsystems 

or organizations. During the time of plan development, it was perceived that there was limited 

Federal guidance about architecture conformity, so that not a lot in this area was expected.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

In the chapter on architecture, the plan describes the interrelationships between MDT’s ITS 

Coordinator and other organizations in developing and implementing projects. 

Institutional Involvement

Many public-sector partners were engaged in the development of the strategic plan, starting with 

several divisions and districts across MDT, and including other state agencies, as well as Federal 

and local organizations. The primary point-of-contact for public-sector participation was in the 

Steering Committee, with other agencies engaged through the various outreach and education 

efforts. In exploring inter-agency partnerships in the future of the ITS program, the plan provides 

a summary table of agencies that may have a future relationship to MDT’s ITS program.

Private-sector involvement was focused primarily on defining transportation needs. This

involvement was obtained through outreach workshops, with one particular workshop devoted to 

educational outreach to individual trucking companies.

Participation by academia was represented by the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) at

Montana State University-Bozeman. WTI provided support as a project subcontractor, assisting 

with stakeholder outreach efforts. Per the RFP, WTI is also included in the plan as a “viable 

source of information, research and technical support” in future ITS project development. 

Organizational Issues

The Montana ITS Steering Committee was comprised of representatives from several MDT 

divisions (motor carrier services, transportation planning, maintenance, engineering, right-ofway), MDT district offices, the Federal Highway Administration, emergency services (State 

Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Department of Military Affairs’ 

Disaster and Emergency Services Division), tourism (Travel Montana), transit (Fergus County 

Council on Aging, Helena Dial-a-Ride) and public works (Cities of Billings and Missoula) 

personnel. The Steering Committee provided guidance on key agency contacts and presentation 

content to educate Montanans on ITS implications, how ITS can affect their business

transactions, and the benefits of ITS applications. It met every two to three months to review 

project deliverables presented by the consultant.

As its primary purpose is to define the Montana’s ITS program, the plan maps out roles for the 

ITS coordinator, project development teams, and supporting organizations in implementing ITS 

projects in Montana. The decision on where to place the ITS coordinator position within MDT’s 

divisions is left to MDT’s Administrative Division. The organizational structure envisioned for 

Montana’s ITS program is shown in Exhibit 1 presented at the end of this Case Study.

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

An education effort was performed as a part of developing the strategic plan. This was beyond 

inreach efforts within key agencies. The outreach effort consisted of selecting outreach groups, 

mailing a presentation showing potential ITS applications, and making phone calls to go through 

the presentation. Personal meetings, following a similar format, were held with two groups: the 

9-1-1 Advisory Council, which serves to combine resources to develop 9-1-1 and enhanced 9-1-1 

coverage statewide; and individual trucking companies. The desired result of all these efforts was 

to generate enthusiasm, buy-in, and the necessary commitment to successfully deploy ITS 

throughout the state.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The plan also included outreach efforts to define transportation needs and identify candidate ITS 

applications. Three workshops were held in cities across the state selected to capture different 

local geography, transportation infrastructure, and traveler and resident demographics. Over 600 

stakeholders were invited to participate in the focus groups, including stakeholders from law 

enforcement, city/county planning, tribal government, transit agencies, state Parks, tourism, 

trucking, and metropolitan planning organizations. Meeting invitations also included a

questionnaire that allowed those who could not attend to provide their perceptions of

transportation challenges, potential ITS solutions and barriers to ITS implementation.

Other activities related to outreach, marketing and education included the following.

?? The MDT web site provided information about the project’s existence, as well as a 

point-of-contact. Documents were not furnished on-line

?? There were a couple of presentations to executive-level MDT staff during the course 

of the project to provide information on project progress

Funding Opportunities and Sources

The plan reviews Federal and state sources that may be used to fund ITS applications. At the 

Federal level, the plan details the funding capabilities of the Transportation Equity Act for the 

21st Century (TEA-21), passed during the completion of the plan document. At the state level, 

the plan suggests partnering with commerce or tourism agencies and highway safety agencies to 

support traveler information systems, and using air quality management funds to support ITS 

technologies that help to manage congestion. The potential of using local sources is mentioned, 

although specific agencies or organizations are not identified and it is emphasized that the 

benefits of the ITS must be demonstrably clear. Private sector funding is mentioned as a 

possibility for some ITS elements, such as new technologies that are in an operational test phase, 

systems tha t may accept advertising (e.g. kiosks) or systems that can discriminately benefit select 

users and assess usage fees (e.g. cellular phone services). 

The plan uses case studies from across the country to show how funding sources may be mixed 

for capital and operations and maintenance costs. The plan does not identify specific funding 

levels required to support ITS in Montana.

Mainstreaming ITS into Planning Process

The plan has a significant emphasis on mainstreaming ITS into the project development and 

deployment process. It describes how ITS projects may be initiated through several avenues, 

including at the district level, the division level, from the ITS Coordinator, and from other 

agencies outside of MDT. A review of projects by the various divisions within MDT (Highways 

and Engineering, Rail, Transit and Planning, Maintenance, and Motor Carrier Services) will 

facilitate incorporation of ITS activities into all functional areas at several project process levels.

The plan also describes how ITS will fit in with MDT’s Performance Programming Process, 

which will take candidate applications from concept to fully deployable project plans. 

Other keys to integrating ITS into the planning process include identifying ITS champions within 

the various MDT divisions, and demonstrating projects’ potential cost-effectiveness through a 

comprehensive assessment of estimated costs, including project design, development,

implementation, and operation and maintenance.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The plan describes how ITS projects can fit within state programs. This would be done by 

aligning the project with TranPlan 21 (Montana’s statewide transportation plan) policy goals, 

verifying that proper national standards are being used for data exchange, verifying that the 

necessary transportation infrastruc ture is planned or in place, ensuring the project is not

redundant to other existing or planned programs, verifying the project has buy-in from all 

affected parties, and confirming that project goals and objectives are consistent with those of 

Montana and the nation.

Operations and Maintenance

The plan presents estimates of operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for those short-term 

projects where case study information was available. O&M costs were subdivided into separate 

operations and maintenance components, with each component subdivided into monetary costs 

(for parts, fuel, etc.) and staff costs (in terms of maintenance personnel hours). Case study costs 

were factored up to a statewide basis for Montana based on estimated deployment quantities. 

Travel time was mentioned as a significant portion of staff costs but was not financially included, 

primarily because the plan did not include specific deployment locations.

Other Key Features

?? One chapter is devoted to the communications infrastructure required to support 

Montana’s ITS projects, with communication recommendations and cost estimates 

provided for each short-range project

?? The plan includes a section addressing liability issues for each of the immediate-term 

(one-year) technologies proposed in the plan. Also included are discussions of

information use and privacy and resource sharing

 Current Status

The strategic plan was completed and subsequently approved by MDT Executive Staff (see 

Exhibit 1) in June 1999. The project resulted in the creation of a statewide ITS coordinator 

position in MDT’s Planning Division. 

Future Activities Planned

Currently, no dedicated funding for ITS projects is provided, so proposed projects must compete 

for funding with “traditional” projects in MDT’s statewide transportation planning process. 

There are no current plans to create a more deployment-oriented strategic plan. The Steering 

Committee dissolved with the completion of the Strategic Plan, and no replacement group of 

similar membership was subsequently formed.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Participating Institutions

Public:

Montana Department of Transportation (Motor Carrier Services, Transportation Planning, 

Maintenance, Engineering, and Administration Divisions) – Project Lead

Travel Montana

Montana Department of Military Affairs

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services

Billings Public Works

Missoula Public Works

Fergus County Council on Aging

Helena Dial-A-Ride

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Private: Castle Rock Consultants, Inc. – Prime Contractor

Advanced Technologies Applications Associates – Subcontractor

Academic: Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University-Bozeman – Subcontractor

Cost Information

The strategic plan budget was approximately $200,000, with 80 percent Federal and 20 percent 

State funding. The plan did not provide funding for deployment, evaluation, or estimating

benefits of deployed projects.

Title Time Contractor Cost

Statewide ITS Plan 1997-1999 (25 months, between notice-to-proceed 

and receipt of final document) $199,864

Project Task Cost

Regional Architecture $ 60,000

Level of Involvement Cost

Steering Committee (per person) 8 hours per month

MDT Staff (per person) 25-30 hours per month

Benefits

The plan did not include funding to evaluate projects after deployment to quantify their benefits. 

It did develop candidate objectives for each of the potential ITS deployments deployed in the 

plan, which could provide a starting point for future assessments of project benefits.

Lessons Learned

Public Sector

?? The cost information provided through case studies of individual technologies is very 

helpful in evaluating future ITS investments

?? The strategic plan needs to lay the groundwork for future program sustenance,

through the creation of a standing ITS committee, as well as specific plans for future 

deployment
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Private Sector

?? Greater emphasis needs to be placed on distributing the results of the Strategic 

Planning process to those who attended stakeholder workshops

?? Significant work was required to bring in local or non-MDT stakeholders because 

little outreach was done outside of the three workshops. Outreach tools such as a Web 

site or brochures would have been helpful

References and Contact Information

Documents Reviewed

1. Kwapy, Patrick, The Status and Applicability of Intelligent Transportation Systems in 

Montana: Final Report. Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University,

Bozeman [MT]: May 1996. 

2. Castle Rock Consultants, Inc., Western Transportation Institute, and Advanced Technologies 

Applications Associates, Montana ITS Strategic Plan. June 1999. 

3. State of Montana ITS/CVO Business Plan. Montana Department of Transportation, Helena 

[MT]: 1998.

4. Montana Department of Transportation, “Statewide Intelligent Transportation Plan” Request 

for Proposal, Number #HWY-305080-DT, September 18, 1996.

Contacts

Bob Seliskar

Federal Highway Administration, Montana Division

Telephone: (406) 449-5303, ext. 244 

E-mail: Bob.Seliskar@fhwa.dot.gov

Ross Tervo

Statewide ITS Coordinator

Montana Department of Transportation

Telephone: (406) 444-9237

E-mail: rtervo@state.mt.us
Appendix A – Case Studies 

ITS Rocky

Mountain WTI MDT ITSCoordinator

Montana

Department of

Tourism

Montana

Department of

Public Safety

Montana

Department of

Commerce

MDT Executive Staff

MDT Division

Administrators

Consultants and

Contractors

Traveling

Public

Local

Transportation

Officials

Media

Exhibit 1 - Proposed Organizational Chart for Montana’s ITS Program

Appendix A – Case Studies 

Nebraska ITS Statewide Strategic Plan

Goals

The goals of the Nebraska Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Statewide Strategic Plan 

were developed for each of eight critical program areas (CPA), and are shown in the following 

table.

Critical Program Area Goals

Traveler Safety and Security 1. Improve railroad grade crossing warning

2. Improve traveler road information 

Emergency Services 1. Improve statewide radio communications for 

emergency services 

2. Improve availability of, and access to, 911 systems 

statewide

3. Improve patient transport and transfer capabilities in 

emergency situations

4. Improve interstate, highway, and state road incident 

management and incident reporting

Tourism and Traveler 

Information Services Goals 

and Objectives

1. Improve accessibility to traveler/ tourism information

2. Assess feasibility of conducting “commerce” on rightof-ways using smart cards

3. Improve communication and coordination regarding 

ITS and ITS infrastructure among state agencies

Public Traveler Services/ 

Public Mobility Services

1. Increase coordination among transit providers in rural 

communities

2. Improve provision of transit services in rural 

communities

Infrastructure Operations and 

Maintenance

1. Improve maintenance management systems 

statewide

Fleet Operations and 

Maintenance

1. Improve ability to locate and track fleet vehicles

2. Implement mechanisms for prioritization/ reassignment for fleet maintenance vehicles

Commercial Vehicle 

Operations

1. Improve accessibility to existing data

2. Improve conditions for seasonal transport

3. Improve efficiency of vehicle clearance at weigh 

stations and safety inspections

4. Improve hazardous materials incident response

5. Improve information exchange/ dialogue for planning 

(trucking companies, state agencies, railroads, 

communities)

Communications 1. Improve statewide radio communications for 

emergency services

2. Improve statewide geographic information systems 

(GIS) use and access for ITS

These goals are subdivided into a total of 59 objectives, which are detailed in the plan document 

(1). These objectives provide more detail as to specific technologies and applications that may be 

used to help realize these goals.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Approach

Organizational Approach

The Strategic Plan was motivated by the need to provide direction to ITS efforts in Nebraska, 

and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encouragement of similar efforts. It was initiated 

in late 1997, prior to large-scale implementation of ITS in the state, but after the completion of 

an early deployment study for Omaha. The approach used in the Omaha study was viewed by 

Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) staff as very successful, and consequently was adopted 

in the statewide plan.

NDOR’s ITS Coordinator acted as project manager and liaison to other NDOR divisions to 

ensure access to information needed in the planning process. NDOR’s Assistant ITS Coordinator 

assisted by providing additional research materials, data and professional ITS contacts. The 

statewide ITS planning study was conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, under the 

oversight and guidance of a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee, whose membership is 

discussed later, served to monitor progress of the study and focus on key issues pertinent to 

developing the plan.

The members of the Steering Committee were assigned into eight teams by critical program area 

(CPA). Working assignments were matched to members’ professional experience; some

members of the Steering Committee served on more than one CPA. These working groups were 

responsible for assessing needs within their own CPA, and identifying potential solutions. This 

approach allowed working groups to be smaller in number with a higher level of interest in 

topics. The potential deficiency of this approach – a lack of collaboration among stakeholders of 

different CPAs – was avoided through regular meetings of the Steering Committee throughout 

the project.

Technical Approach

The research team followed the Rational Planning Model, as shown in Exhibit 1, in the

development of the plan. This framework was intended to provide a more generalized approach 

to the ITS planning process that would be adaptable to the complexity of program, committee 

and political structures in Nebraska. The model was applied with the following steps:

?? A need assessment (Phase I), which relied on a series of interviews, a focus group, 

several surveys, several meetings and extensive review of existing documents

(including other Nebraska statewide plans)

?? Design of alternatives (Phase II), which was based on technologies and management 

systems implemented by other regions, states and countries, with consideration of 

cost, user acceptance, proven project success, cultures and environments

?? Estimating the consequences of ITS alternatives (Phase III), which involved an

annualized assessment of benefits and costs

?? Selection of project alternatives for further action

The remaining steps shown in Exhibit 1will be under the direction of NDOR and other key 

stakeholders as the plan proceeds into implementation.

The research team had considered a technical approach based on the National ITS Architecture 

and its established user services. This approach was rejected because 1) many user services had 

limited applicability to rural Nebraska; and 2) certain user service bundles did not match the 

expertise or interest of Steering Committee members. The team assessed that pursuing this 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

strategy would have risked losing the interest of project stakeholders, reducing their participation 

in the planning process.

Contents

The plan consists of two volumes: a summary report and a volume of technical appendices (1). 

The report is focused primarily on describing the projects that resulted from the planning

process, with a presentation of associated costs and benefits. It includes a description of the 

methodology used in developing the plan, a review of goals and objectives, and a blueprint for 

implementation of ITS projects in Nebraska. The following section describes some of the major 

points of emphasis of the plan in greater detail.

Top Needs and Priorities

The assessment of needs and identification of potential solutions was done by Critical Program 

Areas (CPA), using the seven identified by the Federal Highway Administration, plus an eighth 

area of communications. This eighth area was viewed as critical to the success of ITS in

Nebraska across the other CPAs and was therefore included as a CPA in and of itself. 

Needs within each CPA were identified through a combination of surveys, focus groups,

interviews, and other appropriate statewide plans and documents. Needs were translated into a 

series of priorities within each CPA. Each priority was restated as a goal, which was then

partitioned into several objectives.

Projects identified through the plan were divided into short, medium and long-range projects. 

Some of the 39 short-term projects described in the plan include:

?? Variable messages signs, surveillance and highway advisory radio on I-80 between 

Lincoln and Omaha

?? Kiosks at major activity centers throughout the state

?? An Internet-based traffic information system

?? Automatic vehicle location and computer-aided dispatch to facilitate coordination and 

improve efficiency of rural transit

Many other short-term efforts are focused on system requirements and feasibility studies to 

support medium and long-term elements of the ITS deployment. Medium and long-term 

elements include:

?? Test deployment of safety warning systems at private railroad-highway grade

crossings

?? An interoperable radio communications system

?? A coordinate-based address system

?? Statewide coordination of rural transit service

?? Implementing a statewide traffic management center (TMC)

?? Adding weather stations that are capable of TMC remote access

?? Integration of incident management systems with the TMC

?? Deploying smart work zones

?? Adding automatic vehicle location to snow plow and patrol vehicle fleets for realtime tracking at the TMC

?? Additional automated pre-clearance and weigh-in-motion sites

?? Implementation of a communications master plan
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The costs and number of projects associated with each time are as follows:

?? 39 short-term projects, targeted for implementation in 2000-2005, at an estimated cost 

of $12 million

?? 38 medium-term projects, targeted for deployment by 2010, at an estimated additional 

cost of $226 million

?? 31 long-range projects, intended for deployment by 2020, at an additional cost of $79 

million

Architecture Issues

The plan includes a statewide architecture that was not developed directly from the National ITS 

Architecture. The architecture included in the plan shows connections between a statewide traffic 

management center and a multitude of transportation systems around the state. It indicates in 

broad terms the data exchange needs between systems, and is guiding development of initial 

functional requirements of systems, such as the statewide traffic management center.

Since the completion of the plan, NDOR has had Tier I and Tier II Architecture workshops. The 

goal of these workshops was the development of a regional architecture with a focus on incident 

management in the I-80 corridor between Omaha and Lincoln. The Tier I workshop included an 

orientation to the National ITS Architecture, an overview of Federal interim guidance on ITS, 

and a presentation by the National ITS Architecture Team. The first day of the Tier II workshop 

included a general introduction to ITS architecture, and an overview of national and regional

ITS-related resources and activities. The second and third days included a series of briefings and 

breakout sessions intended to provide information required to develop the incident management 

architecture. 

Conformity to the National ITS Architecture will be pursued on a project level, as projects 

proceed from concept to design to deployment. Broad participation in the Tier I and Tier II 

workshops was intended to ensure that everyone who is considering involvement with ITS 

projects in the future knows wha t is expected and how to comply with Federal guidance.

Institutional Involvement

Institutional involvement in developing the plan focused primarily on public, state-level 

organizations, from the highway, transit, trucking, public safety, and tourism communities. It 

proved to be easier to engage state-level organizations since they generally had some knowledge 

of the applications and benefits of ITS through previous involvement in the Omaha Early

Deployment Plan. Engaging regional and local stakeholders, especially from the rural parts of 

the state, proved challenging, because of their lack of experience with ITS. The primary avenue 

of institutional involvement was the Steering Committee. 

There was limited involvement from the private sector in the planning process. In general, 

private companies did not want to get involved in the plan without being able to see how ITS 

would benefit their bottom line.

For implementing ITS projects, the plan discusses the utilization of public-private partnerships in 

order to leverage funding and share risks. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which played a significant role in the Omaha Early

Deployment Plan, was tasked with putting together the statewide plan, and therefore had a

primary role in every aspect of the project.

Organizational Issues

The overall project organizational chart is shown in Exhibit 2 presented at the end of this Case 

Study. An ITS Steering Committee was formed to monitor and guide the ITS planning process 

for the State of Nebraska. Members represented several divisions within NDOR as well as the 

following organizations:

?? Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles

?? Federal Highway Administration

?? Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Division of Tourism

?? Nebraska Department of Administration Services, Division of Communications

?? Nebraska State Patrol

?? Nebraska Health and Human Services System

Additional responsibilities of Steering Committee members included participating in CPA work 

group meetings, providing additional key contacts, supplying documents, recommending ITS 

projects and strategies, and creating ITS awareness within their respective organizations.

Eight work groups, one for each critical program area, served to identify transportation needs and 

potential ITS applications. They met approximately every month. 

A CVO focus group, which met approximately every two or three months, was used to provide 

additional information. It was intended to be a forum for significant private-sector involvement, 

but did not succeed in doing this for reasons cited earlier.

The plan recommended the creation of an ITS Implementation Committee to succeed the 

Steering Committee. This committee would ensure the deployment of projects as defined in the 

plan, through the following activities:

?? Initiation and oversight of several forums (EMS communications, traveler and

tourism information, rural transit, CVO and communications)

?? Establishment of priorities for project implementation

?? Identification of funding sources and lead agencies for ITS project implementation

?? Promotion of public/private partnerships appropriate for the implementation of ITS 

projects

?? Updating of the ITS plan on a regular, continuing basis

The membership of the Implementation Committee was envisioned to extend beyond

organizations represented on the Steering Committee to include broader representation from the 

commercial vehicle community (including State Patrol’s Motor Carrier Enforcement,

Department of Environmental Quality’s Hazardous Materials Transportation Division, and the 

Nebraska Motor Carriers Association) and the railroad industry. This goal was completed with 

the formation of an ITS Action Team after the plan was approved.

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

Several outreach methods were used through the CPA work groups to identify needs, establish 

goals and objectives, and generate ideas for potential projects; these include:

?? A survey by mail of 695 Nebraska highway superintendents, public works and

city/county officials
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? A survey of 490 fire chiefs, ambulance drivers and rescue squads throughout 

Nebraska

?? Interviews with over 150 transportation officials, including public and private

transportation officials, ITS officials and ITS equipment vendors

?? A CVO focus group, which represented various commercial carrier backgrounds

?? Outreach to various organizations to assess communications needs, including radio, 

television, telecommunications, electric utilities, and railroads

The plan did not include any other marketing activities as a part of its development.

During the development of the plan and in the time since its approval, NDOR has conducted ITS 

awareness sessions across the state, both for NDOR personnel as well as cities and counties. This 

ongoing educational process has helped to promote buy-in for ITS initiatives.

The plan identified six statewide committees and organizations within Nebraska whose

objectives are similar to the intent of the Nebraska ITS planning and deployment study. The plan 

describes the need to perform outreach to these different groups as part of fulfilling the

deployment objectives of the ITS plan.

Funding Opportunities and Sources

The plan lists a series of Federal, State and regional/local funding sources that may be used for 

ITS projects. Federal sources identified include the Surface Transportation Program (STP), 

National Highway System (NHS), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)

Improvement Program, Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) Act, Highway Bridge 

Replacement and Rehabilitation Program, Scenic Byways Program, Congestion Pilot Pricing 

Projects, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. Other Federal agencies may be 

included as partners, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of 

Agriculture, Office of Rural Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

At the State level, the plan emphasizes the use of interagency partnerships among the following 

organizations: State Patrol, Health and Human Services, Department of Economic Development, 

Department of Administrative Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Nebraska 

Department of Roads. 

Potential local funding sources include metropolitan/regional planning organizations and city 

governments.

Non-traditional funding sources, such as public/private partnerships and grant seeking/writing, 

are also listed. Public/private partnerships are viewed as a key tool to achieve what neither party 

can do alone, thus circumventing funding constraints. 

The plan does not provide additional detail about the levels of funding available at each level. 

Currently, NDOR has about $400,000 in Federally earmarked funding with a $400,000 state 

match dedicated for ITS. New leadership at NDOR has promised dedicated funding to ITS 

initiatives at a level to be determined.

Mainstreaming ITS into Planning Process

The plan does not prescribe guidelines for mainstreaming ITS into the NDOR planning process. 

The ITS Action Team is expected to facilitate mainstreaming efforts.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Operations and Maintenance

In assessing the consequences associated with each project, the plan included annualized

estimates of operations and maintenance costs. These were estimated at 10 percent of capital 

costs.

Other Key Features

The plan described hindrances to the implementation of ITS in Nebraska, including the staffing 

and educational needs of transportation agencie s, the development of design and performance 

standards, liability associated with public/private partnerships, and privacy issues associated with 

surveillance and sensing equipment. 

 Current Status

The Nebraska ITS Statewide Strategic Plan was completed in December 1998. The plan has now 

proceeded into the implementation phase through the ITS Action Team, a group with similar 

membership to the Steering Committee. Some current or recent deployment activities include:

?? A request-for-proposals for functional requirements for a statewide transportation

management center

?? Deployment of nine dynamic message signs in the omaha area

?? Deployment of 15 tourism and weather kiosks at rest areas, under the leadership of 

the state’s division of tourism with some private-sector participation

??Weigh-in-motion and pre-clearance installation at two additional weigh scale stations 

between Lincoln and Omaha

A recent re-structuring of NDOR has resulted in dedicated funding for ITS projects. NDOR’s 

ITS program will continue to seek funding beyond this allocation.

Future Activities Planned

NDOR is continuing to pursue deployment activities, primarily in the eastern part of the state. 

The statewide transportation management center, which will integrate transportation systems 

across the state, is in the functional requirements process. NDOR is also continuing to hold ITS 

awareness sessions across the state.

Participating Institutions

Public:

Nebraska Department of Roads (Planning Division, Intermodal Transportation Division, 

Maintenance Division, and Traffic Engineering Division)

Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles

Nebraska Division of Communications

Nebraska Health and Human Services System

Nebraska State Patrol

Department of Economic Development, Division of Travel and Tourism

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Academic: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Cost Information

The statewide strategic plan, which was funded by a combination of State and Federal dollars, 

cost $60,000. The plan was relatively inexpensive because it was able to leverage efforts from 

the Omaha Early Deployment Plan to lower costs, as it followed a similar methodology. The 

plan did not include any funding for deployment or demonstration of ITS projects, or for 

evaluating benefits of deployed technologies.

Title Time Contractor 

Cost

Omaha Early Deployment Plan Completed 1995 $450,000

Statewide ITS Plan 1997-1998 (14 months) $ 60,000

Level of Involvement Cost

NDOR Staff (per person) 25-30 hours per week

Work Group Members (per person) 20 hours per month

Benefits

The primary benefit of the statewide ITS planning process was a “doable” plan – i.e. a plan that 

provided NDOR with guidance for proceeding with a statewide ITS program. The process of 

completing this plan also had benefits, in terms of creating ITS awareness among state agencies 

and formulating partnerships for future deployments.

The benefits resulting from future deployment was a key consideration in prioritizing projects in 

the statewide plan. The plan estimates benefits for each project included in the plan as a part of 

benefit-cost calculations. Estimated benefits include the likely reduction in frequency, duration 

and severity of incidents; reductions in traveler delay due to incidents and work zones; improved 

efficiency in traffic management, transit, emergency services, roadway maintenance and

commercial vehicle credentialing operations; improved efficiency for commercial vehicle

operators; and additional revenue from increased tourist traffic. Benefits were assigned on an 

annualized basis, in order to develop benefit-cost ratios for each project. Benefit-cost ratios were 

not directly used to determine prioritization of projects, as some projects with a poor benefit-cost 

ratio initially could be used as a foundation for more beneficial projects later.

There is no systematic plan to estimate the realized benefits of ITS projects as they are deployed. 

NDOR is planning to report on an annual basis its deployment and integration activities to the 

state’s transportation commission.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Lessons Learned

?? It is important to find the right people for the Steering Committee and work groups. 

The Nebraska effort had a Steering Committee with people who were interested in 

and had some knowledge of ITS and its potential applications to benefit their

agencies.

?? It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to develop a good strategic plan. The 

biggest challenge was in data compilation: finding out which organizations are doing 

what. In many cases, organizations are pursuing ITS initiatives without realizing they 

classify as ITS.

?? It would have been good to get more private-sector involvement, as well as deeper 

involvement at the state agency and NDOR levels. This was difficult to do under the 

budget.

References and Contact Information

Documents Reviewd

 1. Patrick T. McCoy, Sharon L. Gaber, John A. Gaber and William D. Tobin, Nebraska 

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Plan (2 volumes). Report Number FHWA-NE-99-

P511, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: December 1998. 

Contacts

Milo Cress

Bridge Engineer

Federal Highway Administration, Nebraska Division

Telephone: 402-437-5977

E-mail: Milo.Cress@fhwa.dot.gov

R. James Pearson

ITS Coordinator

Nebraska Department of Roads

Telephone: (402) 479-4881

E-mail: jpearson@dor.state.ne.us
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Exhibit 1 - Nebraska ITS Planning Process/Rational Planning Process
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?State Patrol

?Health & Human Services

?NDOR-Planning

?NDOR-Maintenance

Emergency Services

?NDOR-Permits

?NDOR-Public Transportation

?State Patrol

?NDOR-Maintenance

?NDOR-Planning

Fleet Operations &

Maintenance

?State Patrol

?State Tourism

?NDOR-Maintenance

?NDOR-Planning

?NDOR-Public Transportation

Tourism & Traveler

Information

?NDOR-Traffic

?State Patrol

?NDOR-Maintenance

?NDOR-Planning

?NDOR-Public Transportation

Safety & Security

?Dept. of Motor Vehicles

?State Patrol

?NDOR-Planning

?NDOR-Traffic

?NDOR-Permits

Commercial Vehicle

Operations (CVO)

?State Patrol

?NDOR-Maintenance

?NDOR-Planning

?NDOR-Traffic

?NDOR-Permits

Infrastructure Operations &

Maintenance

?State Communications

?State Patrol

?NDOR-Maintenance

?NDOR-Planning

Communications

?NDOR-Planning

?Health & Human Services

?NDOR-Public Transportation

Public Mobility

?NDOR-ITS Coordinator

?NDOR-Traffic

?NDOR-Maintenance

?NDOR-Public Transportation

?Health & Human Services

?State Patrol

?NDOR-Planning

?Dept. of Motor Vehicles

?FHWA

?NDOR-Local Liaison Division

?State Communications

?NDOR-Permits

?State Tourism

ITS Steering Committee

?University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Study Team

Critical Program Areas (CPAs)

Exhibit 2- Nebraska Strategic Plan Organizational Chart

Appendix A – Case Studies 

New Mexico ITS Strategic Plan

Goals

The goals of New Mexico’s statewide ITS program, as listed in Chapter 2 of its statewide 

strategic plan (1), are as follows.

?? Improve incident management and coordination, including dispatch/notification,

response times, incident clearance, and interagency communications

?? Improve traffic safety and reduce delays through congestion mitigation measures

?? Improve the accuracy, timeliness, and availability of real-time traffic information and 

roadway conditions information to motorists

?? Improve accessibility to and types of information for tourists

?? Improve electronic clearance capabilities for commercial vehicles

?? Provide information about available services and roadside assistance for remote

travelers

?? Implement systems to enhance public traveler service in urban and rural areas

?? Provide accur ate and timely information to motorists about special event traffic

?? Develop a plan to educate agencies and stakeholders about ITS and increase

awareness of ITS in New Mexico

?? Implement systems that will help to reduce the number of animal-vehicle collisions

?? Enhance communications and interconnectivity among agencies in New Mexico

?? Improve road maintenance operations, particularly in response to inclement weather 

and other hazardous conditions

These goals were formulated through an analysis of high priority needs as identified through 

stakeholder workshops and review by the Steering Committee, both of which will be discussed 

later.

Approach

Organizational Approach

The Statewide ITS Planning effort was led by the New Mexico State Highway and

Transportation Department (NMSHTD) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The 

effort occurred nearly concurrently with two district-level efforts in New Mexico. These efforts, 

in Districts Three (Albuquerque) and Four (rural northeast part of the state), were funded through 

district funds. In District Three (Albuquerque), a Construction Intelligent Transportation System 

(CITS) was established as part of the “Big I” (the I-25/I-40 interchange) reconstruction – to 

improve traveler information and safety. District Three was also in the planning stages of the 

Albuquerque Advanced Metropolitan Travel Management System (AMTMS) while the

Statewide ITS Plan was being developed. The AMTMS will serve as the Albuquerque area’s 

regional ITS including traffic management and traveler information, incident management, and 

communications. District Four also developed a Draft ITS Deployment Plan, to address issues 

such as improving weather detection, automating certain maintenance functions, and providing 

improved pre-trip and en-route traveler information to motorists and maintenance crews. 

These efforts provided assistance in a couple of strategic ways for New Mexico’s statewide 

effort. First, the needs assessment activities involved in each of these efforts were used as 

additional input into a broader statewide assessment of ITS needs. Second, these efforts
Appendix A – Case Studies 

presented recommendations for ITS infrastructure, such as transportation management centers 

(TMCs) and communications systems, that could serve to support the broader statewide effort. 

The district efforts were done by two different consulting teams, one of which also led the 

statewide effort. Through close coordination and communication, they were able to ensure 

consistency between the plans in architecture and integration as well as specific technology 

strategies.

A Project Steering Committee was established to guide the development of the New Mexico ITS 

Strategic Plan. The committee included staff members from NMSHTD, New Mexico

Department of Public Safety, FHWA, one county (Bernalillo), two cities (Las Cruces and Santa 

Fe), and the Arizona Department of Transportation. The purpose of the Project Steering

Committee was to provide ongoing guidance, reviews, feedback, and consensus as the

development of the Plan progressed. The Steering Committee was expected to provide guidance 

over an 18-month period, although the Plan was completed in 10 months.

Technical Approach

Development of the strategic plan consisted of the following steps:

?? Identify stakeholders

?? Inventory transportation system

?? Identify user needs

?? Identify market packages

?? Develop ITS architecture and measures of successful deployment

?? Identify projects and information sharing requirements

?? Develop operational and maintenance costs

?? Prepare final report and executive summary

Contents

The plan document starts by reviewing the project approach and scope, and identifying and 

inventorying stakeholders. After discussing the needs identified through stakeholder workshops, 

the plan prioritizes market packages that may be applicable to the state. Based on the market 

packages, the plan presents high-level logical and physical architectures to depict the integration 

of various functions and stakeholders. The market packages also served as an entry point for 

identifying short-term, mid-term and long-term projects, which are listed along with cost

information. The final chapter reviews how the statewide deployment should be integrated with 

architecture efforts developed for the District Three AMTMS and the District Four Rural ITS 

Deployment Plan.

Top Priorities

The plan presents project recommendations in three time frames: short-term (2002-2006), midterm (2007-2011), and long-term (2012-2021). The short-term projects identified in the plan 

include:

Traveler Information

?? Implementing a Maintenance, Incidents, and Road Closure Information System

(MIRCIS) to collect and disseminate road conditions information

?? Installing dynamic message signs and highway advisory radio at key decision points

?? Convert all existing traveler information numbers to 511

?? Integrate traveler information into a single Internet site
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Link 511, Web page and autofax to MIRCIS 

Traffic Management

?? Implement an Advanced Metropolitan Traffic Management System (AMTMS) in

Albuquerque with CCTV, DMS, HAR, RWIS, detection and communications

?? Installing road weather information systems (RWIS) at locations subject to blowing, 

dust, rain and/or snow conditions

?? Installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for incident detection and traffic 

monitoring

?? Implementing smart corridors (with CCTV, video detection, DMS and interconnect) 

along key arterials

?? Integrate freeway and arterial operations and management strategies

?? Develop statewide detour plans

Emergency Management Systems

?? Upgrade statewide emergency response radio system

?? Provide for an integrated multi-agency emergency communications system

?? Integrate emergency response facilities with TMCs (virtual connection or physical 

collocation)

?? Improve incident reporting through a toll-free cellular phone number

Private Sector Initiatives

??Work with private sector to expand cellular coverage

??Work with private sector to provide traveler information by expanding existing and 

developing new partnerships

Architecture Issues

The New Mexico plan considers architecture to be an essential framework within with ITS 

projects can be designed and deployed in an integrated fashion. The National ITS Architecture 

was used as a foundation for the New Mexico statewide architecture because it would reduce the 

time and costs required in developing a regional architecture by providing a framework and 

process to follow, and it intrinsically allows for future expansion, information exchange and 

system integration. The plan addressed several key elements of the National ITS Architecture:

?? Inventory - Section 1.5 provides an inventory of New Mexico’s existing ITS

infrastructure mapped to the National ITS Architecture’s nineteen subsystems.

??Market Packages - Market packages were selected based on identified needs and 

challenges. Needs identified through focus groups, questionnaires, and the Steering 

Committee were mapped to ITS Architecture market packages. In a couple of cases, 

needs were not addressed by any existing market package, especially in the areas of 

construction and maintenance. Market packages were prioritized with input from the 

project Steering Committee and NMSHTD staff into short-term, mid-term and longterm deployment timeframes. 

?? Logical Architecture - The plan includes a high-level logical architecture diagram to 

lay out the major functions and information flows across the state. 

?? Physical Architecture - A high-level architecture interconnect diagram is included. 

It is similar in structure to the National ITS Architecture “sausage diagram”, but 

provides more detail by identifying specific subsystems and technologies by name 

(e.g. CCTV, New Mexico Emergency Management Centers). This was felt to be more 

accessible to stakeholders than the generic National ITS Architecture sausage

diagram.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

No effort was made to develop information flow diagrams due to budget constraints. For the 

district-level plans, information flow diagrams are included.

One unique aspect about the statewide plan is its concurrent development with district-level 

plans. Therefore, the architecture developed in the statewide plan was designed to be a high-level 

template, to provide a framework in which ITS could be integrated throughout the state. The plan 

took the functions identified in logical architectures developed for the state and Districts Three 

and Four, evaluated centralized and distributed integration concepts, and developed a hybrid 

concept to address the different needs of the specific functions. For example, this hybrid

integration concept centralizes many traveler information functions but keeps incident and

emergency management control as a local, distributed function. Again, the consultant teams 

coordinated their efforts to ensure that the statewide architecture incorporated more detailed 

architectures developed at the district level.

Institutional Involvement

The Steering Committee was the primary vehicle of public agency involvement. The Steering 

Committee members included NMSHTD staff from several divisions; New Mexico Department 

of Public Safety, FHWA, county and city government, and a neighboring state DOT. 

Attempts were made to secure private-sector involvement, but there was limited interest shown 

by private-sector concerns, and the project budget did not provide resources for additional

outreach and promotion specifically to the private sector.

Academia was not involved in the development of the statewide plan

Organizational Issues

The Project Steering Committee was structured to be the driving force behind the New Mexico 

ITS Strategic Plan. Its purpose was to review project deliverables, and provide guidance,

feedback and approval for Plan recommendations. Four meetings of the Steering Committee 

were scheduled over the duration of the project. 

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

Several activities were undertaken to promote outreach and education during the development of 

the plan.

Three focus group workshops were held early in the development of the Strategic Plan. The 

purpose of these focus groups was to educate stakeholders about ITS and potential applications 

in New Mexico, provide an overview of the New Mexico ITS Strategic Plan project, and solicit 

input as to transportation needs and how ITS can address those needs. Invitations mailed to 

potential invitees included a questionnaire that could be filled in and returned for those who 

could not attend. Attendees included NMSHTD and FHWA staff, city and county engineers and 

planners, police and DPS staff, transit agencies, regional planning organizations, and the private 

sector. The workshops included an educational component in the form of a video about ITS as 

well as a discussion and prioritization of transportation system needs. Materials provided by 

FHWA were made available to workshop attendees as well.

Four project fact sheets were developed and distributed through the course of the project, to 

educate and inform stakeholders of progress in the development of the plan. 

The plan sought to engage a variety of stakeholders beyond the Steering Committee. Potential 

stakeholders identified included other Federal and state agencies, Native American communities, 

other state departments of transportation, more counties and municipalities, regional and
Appendix A – Case Studies 

metropolitan planning organization, chambers of commerce, and New Mexico schools. These 

groups were put on the mailing list for fact sheets throughout the project, and were invited to 

participate in the workshops mentioned earlier.

NMSHTD maintained a Web site through the duration of the development plan, from which 

project deliverables could be downloaded.

1. In addition to the strategic plan document, a four-page executive summary was prepared 

to serve as a summary of the statewide effort (2). This summary included a depiction of 

the physical architecture as well as a summary of key project recommendations.

The consultant made a presentation near the beginning of the project to the New Mexico Paving 

Conference, which helped to provide additional outreach to cities and counties.

Funding Opportunities and Sources

Using estimated quantities of deployment based on what would be required to support a basic, 

functional statewide system, the plan provides estimates for each time frame of capital costs, 

planning, design, contingency and construction engineering costs, and annual operations and 

maintenance costs.

The plan does not denote potential public funding sources that may be tapped for projects. The 

plan designates market packages where the private sector role may be best utilized, focusing on 

areas of a high likelihood in cost recovery and lower technical risk. These market packages 

include broadcast or interactive traveler information, autonomous or information service

provider (ISP)-based route guidance, and transit traveler information. The plan describes current 

private initiatives in New Mexico, as well as provides an overview of potential opportunities for 

involving the private sector in ITS deployment, operations, and infrastructure build-out.

Mainstreaming ITS into Planning Process

The plan describes how it represents only an initial step on the path to deploying technologies. 

However, the plan does not explicitly address how ITS projects should be integrated into 

statewide or local planning processes. 

Operations and Maintenance

The plan includes planning-level estimates of future annual operational and maintenance costs. 

In addition, the plan recommends that NMSHTD develop a formal Operations and Maintenance 

Plan for the statewide ITS that outlines maintenance requirements, schedules, policies,

responsibilities and costs. The plan also recommended that NMSHTD explore opportunities for 

shared operations and maintenance agreements with other public agencies as well as private 

contractors. A Statewide Concept of Operations also was recommended to help MNSHTD

develop strategies and procedures for ITS operations.

Other Key Features

Because of the concurrent ITS efforts in Districts Three and Four, the statewide plan had to 

integrate not only planning efforts but also architecture concepts. This integration pattern may 

serve as a helpful example for statewide or regional plans in other areas that are striving to 

integrate with earlier efforts.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Current Status

The New Mexico ITS Strategic Plan was completed and approved by the Steering Committee in 

November 2000. All NMSHTD funding for ITS deployment will come out of the districts; 

accordingly, the statewide ITS coordinator is working with the districts to support ITS projects. 

Districts 3 and 4 are both undertaking ITS projects, and District 6 is beginning to look toward 

that direction as well. District 3 projects are focused around the Albuquerque Advanced

Metropolitan Traffic Management System (AMTMS) and supporting traveler information for the 

Big-I interchange reconstruction project. Deployed technologies include closed-circuit television 

(CCTV) cameras, permanent and portable variable message signs (VMS), vehicle detection

systems, a spread spectrum radio wireless communications infrastructure, and hardware and 

software to support a virtual transportation operations center. These were funded primarily 

through Congressional earmark and Federal congestion management funding. Projects to expand 

the AMTMS are currently in the design phase. District 4 projects include a transportation

operations center in Las Vegas, enhanced roadway closure systems for the interstates, CCTV, 

highway advisory radio, smart trailers (which include HAR, VMS and drone radar) to support 

construction work zones, wireless pager activation systems for school zones and animal

crossings, and a variable speed warning system near Raton Pass on Interstate 25. The total cost 

of District 4 ITS investments is approximately $265,000. 

Statewide, NMSHTD is pursuing conversion of the state’s highway information telephone to 

“511” through a design-build contract. It is hoped that such a system would be operational by 

October or November. The state is also pursuing implementation of MIRCIS. Both of these 

projects were short-term recommendations from the statewide strategic plan.

New Mexico has joined with five other states – Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah –

to form a Southwest Regional ITS Integration Team. The purpose of this team is to improve 

information sharing across state lines, as road closures and travel constrictions in this part of the 

country often impact adjacent states. This group had its first meeting in December 2000 and is 

planning to meet annually.

In another integration effort with other states, NMSHTD is developing a statewide Commercial 

Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) plan. Many different organizations,

including the Department of Public Safety, the Taxation and Revenue Department, the Federal 

Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the University of 

New Mexico and New Mexico State University, have partnered in the development of this plan. 

Memoranda of understanding were developed with the Amarillo and El Paso districts of the 

Texas Department of Transportation.

Future Activities Planned

The plan includes several recommendations for how the ITS program should proceed. These 

recommendations include the development of a statewide telecommunications master plan, a 

statewide operations concept, and an advanced traveler information system (ATIS) business 

plan. It is also recommended that the strategic plan be updated in five to seven years. Outreach 

between the statewide ITS coordinator to NMSHTD district staff will continue.

There are no current plans to continue the Steering Committee.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Participating Institutions

Public:

New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department – project sponsor

Bernalillo County

City of Las Cruces

City of Santa Fe

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) – project sponsor

New Mexico Department of Public Safety

Private: Kimley-Horn Associates

Cost Information

The plan cost $130,000 and was paid for through Federal and state funds.

Title Time Contractor Cost

Statewide ITS Plan 2000-2001 (18 months) $130,000

Level of Involvement Cost

NMSHTD Staff (per person) 25-30 hours per week

Steering Committee Approx. 10 hours per month

Benefits

Creation of the plan provided an overall statewide framework to help district-level initiatives 

work better together. It helped to increase awareness of ITS throughout the state. While the 

Steering Committee and outreach efforts introduced ITS to many partners, there have been few 

formalized agreements between NMSHTD – which is currently providing most of the state’s ITS 

infrastructure and other organizations.

No projects described in the plan have been deployed yet, so no information about benefits is 

available at this time. The plan recommends that projects should be evaluated as deployed in 

order to assess to what extent they are meeting user needs. To that extent, the plan includes a list 

of quantitative and qualitative criteria as well as descriptions of performance measures that may 

be used in potential evaluations.

The plan budget did not include any funding for project deployment or evaluation.

Lessons Learned

Public-Sector

?? The concurrent timing of the regional and statewide efforts was helpful in avoided 

redundant or superfluous efforts

?? NMSHTD found the consultant relationship very helpful in producing the statewide 

plan.

?? It was difficult to attract much interest to the focus group workshops at the outset of 

the project, due to the lack of knowledge about what ITS is and what it can do
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Private-Sector

?? As the Steering Committee served to define the vision of the plan, it was important to 

have members who were receptive to ITS and its benefits

?? Close communication between the districts and the state at the outset of the plan 

provided multiple benefits. First, coordinated planning efforts ensured that few if any 

ITS devices would be deployed that could not be integrated into the state’s broader 

architecture. Second, early action by some districts would help to get the plan

recommendations implemented in other districts

References and Contact Information

Documents Reviewed

 1. Kimley-Horn and Associates, New Mexico ITS Strategic Plan: Final Report, October 2000. 

 2. New Mexico ITS Strategic Plan: Executive Summary, November 2000.

Contacts

Pamela Munn-Bell

Statewide ITS Coordinator and Project Manager

New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department

Telephone: (505) 827-3259

E-mail: Pamela.Munn-Bell@nmshtd.state.nm.us

Joseph Maestas

Planning And Program Management Engineer

Federal Highway Administration, New Mexico Division

Telephone: (505) 820-2026

E-mail: Joseph.Maestas@fhwa.dot.gov

To view the New Mexico ITS Strategic Plan and ITS Brochure:

http://nmshtd.state.nm.us/traffic/traffic_its/statewidesp.htm
Appendix A – Case Studies 

State of New York Rural ITS Deployment Plans

Goals

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has initiated a statewide ITS 

program called NY MOVES. This program is aimed at improving the public’s transportationrelated mobility, operations, vehicular systems, environment, and safety through the use of new 

transportation systems and technologies.

NY MOVES is intended to advance ITS implementation in the upstate and downstate regions of 

New York, in both rural and urban areas. To accomplish this, NYSDOT initiated planning 

studies for several large and medium urban areas and for its rural and small urban areas.

This case study focuses on the rural and small urban area planning. This planning study was 

performed within NYSDOT Regions 2 (Utica), 6 (Hornell), 7 (Watertown), and 9 (Binghamton), 

and had the following goals:

?? To develop a ITS Toolbox of potential ITS solutions that could as a resource for rural 

and small urban areas throughout the State of New York

?? To develop an ITS Strategic Deployment Plan for NYSDOT Region 2, which lays out 

an approach for the systematic deployment of ITS solutions identified as meeting the 

specific needs of the Region

?? To develop ITS Strategic Deployment Directions for Regions 6, 7, and 9, which 

provide high-level conceptual plans for the vision, priorities and direction of ITS 

developments in these Regions

Approach

The ITS toolbox and deployment plans for rural and small urban areas in Regions 2, 6, 7, and 9 

was one of a series of studies initiated by NYSDOT, that would ultimately provide complete 

statewide coverage of the ITS needs and opportunities in New York. This planning study was 

contracted to a consulting firm. NYSDOT issued a solicitation for the study in January 1997. 

The consultant was placed under contract in January 1998 and completed the initial project work 

in June 1999.

Rationale Behind the Project

While significant ITS planning efforts were already underway in other larger metropolitan and 

urbanized areas throughout the State of New York, NYSDOT recognized that the rural and small 

urban areas (defined by NYSDOT as those with less than 250,000 total population) may demand 

different ITS technologies and systems to meet their unique needs. The study, therefore, was 

undertaken by four of NYSDOT’s predominantly rural transportation regions, with Region 2, 

which is headquartered in Utica, leading the project. 

These four Regions were selected because they did not otherwise have a large urban area which 

was subject to an early deployment planning effort. NYSDOT considered it important to allow 

each of their transportation Regions to have the opportunity to participate in ITS planning

activities. Each of the four Regions was solicited for interest, and all expressed interest. The 

Director of Region 2 was particularly interested in this opportunity and was able to find

significant funding to initiate the planning. The remaining three Regions contributed lower 

levels of funding to the study.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The initial project was performed in two principal phases. The first involved the development of 

an ITS toolbox [1], which consists of a series of ITS applications specifically appropriate for 

deployment in rural and small urban areas. These tools are intended to be currently available and 

appropriate for meeting mobility, capacity, and safety problems and needs. The toolbox was 

designed to serve as a standalone technical resource, available to any group or Region in

NYSDOT.

The second phase led to the development of a Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 2 and 

Strategic Directions for each of Regions 6, 7, and 9. These planning efforts undertook to identify 

the rural/small urban transportation problems and needs of each Region, prioritize these, and 

develop potential ITS solutions [2]. For Region 2, the planning efforts included the development 

of detailed proposals for a series of “early winner” and other pilot projects, in a form which 

could feed directly into the NYSDOT design process [3]. For Regions 6, 7, and 9, the planning 

efforts included the development of outline proposals for ITS pilot projects, providing sufficient 

detail for the Regions to seek funding [4, 5, 6]. The difference in level of detail for Region 2 

versus Regions 6, 7, and 9 again recognized the greater proportional funding contributed by 

Region 2.

Approach to developing the Strategic Plans

Each of the four NYSDOT Regions participating in the planning project appointed a Project 

Manager. A Project Manager was also appointed from the NYSDOT Central Office. Each of 

the four Regions also established a project Steering Committee. The Steering Committees 

comprised a broad base of potential stakeholders, drawn from within and outside NYSDOT. The 

Steering Committee members represented both public and private sector organizations. The 

following table illustrates typical organizations represented on one or more regional Steering 

Committee.

?? NYSDOT

?? New York State Patrol

?? Local law enforcement

?? Local emergency services

?? FHWA

?? Cities

?? Counties

?? State legislator staff

?? NYS Rural Development 

Council

?? Metropolitan planning 

organizations

?? Local transit operators

?? Private transit operators

?? Native American 

organizations

?? Chambers of commerce

?? NYS Economic Development

?? Adirondack North Country 

Association

?? Local attraction operators

?? Local event organizers

?? Corning Glass

The first aspect of the planning study was the development of the ITS toolbox. Since this was 

intended to be a resource on potential ITS solutions available to users throughout the State, each 

of the four Regions was engaged in its development. At an initial meeting of each of the 

Steering Committees, the participating stakeholders were provided an introduction to ITS and 

were given examples of successful rural and small urban applications from around the country. 

At the time of these initial meetings, U.S. DOT had developed a “Strategic Plan for Advanced 

Rural Transportation Systems,” which promulgated seven Critical Program Areas (CPAs) for 

rural ITS, and these were used as the basis of the presentations to the stakeholders.

Following this introductory educational process for the Steering Committee members, the

stakeholders were asked to identify transportation problems and needs that may be susceptible to 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

ITS solutions. To make this process more manageable, three broad application areas were used, 

rather than the seven CPAs. The application areas were safety, tourism and traveler information, 

and traffic and transit management. During this process the stakeholders were directed to be a 

parochial as possible in identifying their problems and needs; focusing on their own agency or 

organization rather than on the broader group of participants. The intent of this approach was to 

help gain a deeper understanding of the various diverse stakeholder organizations, several of 

which were not traditional participants in other transportation planning or development

processes. The output of these needs assessments in each of the four Regions provided the basis 

to identifying the most appropriate ITS “tools” for inclusion in the toolbox, and also served as 

the initial input to the Strategic Deployment Plan/Directions.

The development of the Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 2 and the Strategic Directions for 

Regions 6, 7, and 9, brought together the respective Steering Committees on several further 

occasions. While the depth of the Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 2 was far greater than 

the Strategic Directions for the other Regions, each of the documents followed a process of using 

the identified needs in each Region to define ITS opportunities and approaches. From these a 

“vision” was developed under each of the three application areas (i.e., safety, tourism and 

traveler information, and traffic and transit management) for each of the four Regions. In turn, 

these vision statements, together with specific input from the stakeholders, were used to identify 

and describe various proposed pilot projects. For Region 2, these pilot projects were described 

in terms of needs, technical approach, and estimated system deployment cost. For the other 

Regions, the pilot projects included only a conceptual approach.

The ITS toolbox was completed in December 1998. The Strategic Deployment Plan and the 

Strategic Directions were completed in June 1999.

Contents

Projects and Activities

The Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 2 identified “early winner” projects and proposed 

pilot projects. The pilot projects included:

?? A simple internet-based pre-trip traveler information system for special events

?? An integrated mobile traffic management and traveler information system, know as 

the sak (swiss army knife) trailer (in conjunction with regions 6, 7, and 9)

?? Automatic vehicle location and computer-aided dispatching to coordinate the

operations of multiple transit providers in the region

The Strategic Directions for Regions 6, 7, and 9 identified the following proposed pilot projects:

?? A multi-agency information sharing pilot

??Weather information for traveler safety and security

?? A “virtual” traffic management center for traffic monitoring and incident detection

Architecture Issues

At the time of the development of the Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 2, U.S. DOT had 

issued Interim Guidance on consistency with the National ITS Architecture. The Region 2 

planning study followed this guidance, and identified those user services applicable to the 

identified needs and approaches; developed a simplified high-level logical architecture; and 

identified specific equipment packages.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The development of a statewide ITS architecture, consistent with the National ITS Architecture, 

has been proposed by NYSDOT as a follow-on to the initial efforts performed in the planning 

project. 

Institutional Involvement

Each of the reports for the four Regions emphasize the need for keeping the broad multi-agency, 

public-private stakeholder groups that made up the Steering Committees involved in the future. 

The reports recommend that NYSDOT take responsibility for encouraging continuing

coordination and the exchange of information and ideas, both within NYSDOT and with other 

stakeholder organizations.

Several of the pilot projects are proposed as partnerships between public agencies (e.g.

NYSDOT and the NY State Patrol) or as public-private partnerships (most notably in the area of 

traveler information systems).

The reports also recognize that NYSDOT may not always be the most appropriate agency to lead 

a proposed project, but can generally fulfill an important role in bringing together the

stakeholders and facilitating project development.

Organizational Issues

As noted above, the reports recommend the continuation of the Steering Committees in the four 

Regions. It is also recommended that each NYSDOT Region designate an ITS Coordinator, to 

serve as a resource and point-of-contact for outside agencies and groups.

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

The reports include proposals for building ITS awareness, especially addressing the information 

needs of elected and appointed officials. They also include recommendations that NYSDOT 

staff receive proper ITS training. The U.S. DOT Professional Capacity Building program is 

recommended to achieve this.

Funding Opportunities and Sources:

The plans do not identify specific funding sources. However, some of the recommended projects 

are preceding using State funds allocated through the individual Regions’ budgets.

Current Status

The ITS Toolbox for Rural and Small Urban Areas, the Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 2, 

and the Strategic Directions for Regions 6, 7, and 9 have all been completed and approved by 

NYSDOT. One of the recommended pilot projects, the SAK Trailer, has been funded and is 

awaiting execution of a design contract.

Future Activities Planned

A second phase to the initial planning study has been funded and is awaiting contract execution 

with the consultant. This phase will revisit the toolbox and planning documents with further 

stakeholder participation (specifically stakeholders from other NYSDOT Regions and from

within the NYSDOT Central Office will be solicited); it will develop a statewide systems 

architecture; and it will develop a conceptual plan for a statewide, multi-agency transportation 

information systems (modeled after Arizona’s Trailmaster or the multi-state condition

acquisition and reporting system (CARS) program).
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Participating Institutions

The planning initiatives were led by NYSDOT. Other participating public and private sector 

organizations are identified in the earlier table.

Cost Information

Title Date Public Sector 

Cost Private Sector Cost

ITS Toolbox for Rural and Small Urban 

Areas; Strategic Deployment Plan for Region 

2; Strategic Directions for Regions 6, 7, and 9

June 1999 Unknown $405,000 consultant 

contract

Benefits

No specific benefits of the planning initiative are reported.

Lessons Learned

The importance of the broad stakeholder participation has been emphasized by NYSDOT. It is 

also reported that it is important to maintain this involvement beyond the conclusion of the study, 

both through continuing meetings of the Steering Committees and by joint participation of

agencies and organizations in the resulting design and deployment activities.

NYSDOT also reports that they learned that they may not always be the lead agency in designing 

and deploying the resulting projects. This is because of the multi-stakeholder approach that was 

used, whereby other agencies or organizations could promote, and have recognized in the plans, 

activities that are outside the traditional responsibilities of NYSDOT. In all cases, however, 

NYSDOT, felt that they had an important role to play in moving forward and facilitating the 

development of projects represented in the plans, even if they would not have ultimate

responsibility for their deployment and operation.

NYSDOT noted the importance of their regionally-based organization in the way they do 

business and interact with other agencies and organizations. As a consequence, the need for an 

ITS Coordinator in each of the Regions was identified as key. This individual can serve as a 

resource within their own organization, and can serve as the point-of-contact to outside groups.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

References and Contact Information

Documents Reviewed

1. New York State Department of Transportation. “ITS Toolbox for Rural and Small Urban 

Areas,” Castle Rock - Black & Veatch, December 1998;

2. New York State Department of Transportation. “Summary of Needs and Approaches,” 

Castle Rock - Black & Veatch, August 1998;

3. New York State Department of Transportation, Region 2. “A Strategic Plan for ITS in 

Rural and Small Urban Areas,” Castle Rock Consultants, June 1999;

4. New York State Department of Transportation, Region 6. “A Strategic Direction for ITS 

in Rural and Small Urban Areas,” Castle Rock Consultants, June 1999;

5. New York State Department of Transportation, Region 7. “A Strategic Direction for ITS 

in Rural and Small Urban Areas,” Castle Rock Consultants, June 1999;

6. New York State Department of Transportation, Region 9. “A Strategic Direction for ITS 

in Rural and Small Urban Areas,” Castle Rock Consultants, June 1999.

Contact for Further Information

Peter J. Snyder

Senior Transportation Operations Specialist

Intelligent Transportation Systems Group

New York State Department of Transportation

Tel: (518) 457-1757

e-mail: pjsnyder@gw.dot.state.ny.us
Appendix A – Case Studies 

State of Oregon Rural ITS Strategic Plan

Goals

The Oregon Transportation Plan (OTP), prepared in 1992, identified ITS as a key element in its 

"Preferred Alternatives" for helping achieve the objectives of the future of transportation in 

Oregon since it provides a variety of tools which will facilitate those objectives. The Oregon 

Department of Transportation (ODOT) completed its ITS Strategic Plan in October, 1998. 

Oregon's vision of ITS focuses on using technologies and systems available to improve mobility, 

efficiency, enhanced transportation safety and productivity. It was envisioned that ITS would 

address the current and future needs of the transportation system in Oregon. The goals of ITS 

implementation would be to:

?? Improve safety

?? Improve efficiency of the transportation system

?? Improve mobility and accessibility

?? Improve productivity of the users

?? Improve intermodal connections

?? Promote environmental responsibility and reduce energy use

?? Promote economic development in Oregon

The Oregon ITS Strategic Plan states that the purpose for developing the plan "is to identify the 

specific needs of the State, evaluate the effectiveness of different technologies to meet these 

needs and the goals of the OTP, develop a coordinated program of deploying suitable ITS 

technologies and strategies, develop an institutional framework for ITS deployment and

operations, and identify policies and legal parameters for successful ITS deployment."

Approach

Rationale Behind the Strategic Plan

The ITS planning process focused on solving local user needs instead of solely identifying new 

technologies that could be implemented in Oregon. The intent of this plan was to identify the 

specific needs of the State, evaluate the effectiveness of different technologies to meet these 

needs and the goals of the OTP, develop a coordinated program of deploying suitable ITS 

technologies and strategies, develop an institutional framework for ITS deployment and

operations, and to identify the necessary policies and legal parameters for successful ITS

deployment. 

In order to accomplish these intents, the planning process focused on three areas:

?? Outreach. The planning process was to reach out to stakeholders from all sectors and 

geographical areas, providing information as well as allowing opportunity for input

?? Consensus. The planning process was to develop consensus on an action plan for 

ITS that would supports the goals and objectives

?? Partnerships. The process was to build partnerships that would foster ITS

deployment

The ODOT ITS Strategic Planning Process identified and prioritized "what" the agencies were 

interested in deploying. A subsequent planning effort is currently underway to develop a 

deployment plan. The intent of this deployment plan is to define more specific details of how the 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

deployments will be accomplished. In this specific partnerships will be defined. The strategic 

plan identified the potential for several partnerships, but did not define specific details of roles.

Organizational Approach

The Oregon ITS strategic planning process was led by ODOT’s Transportation Development 

Branch. A consultant was hired to perform the study, and a Technical Committee and Steering 

Committee were formed to guide the planning process. 

The Technical Committee members included:

ODOT Motor Carrier Branch ODOT Technical Services Branch

ODOT Information Systems Branch ODOT Rail Services

ODOT Region 1 ODOT District 10

FHWA, Region 10 TRI-MET (regional transit

authority)

Department of Administrative Services Washington State DOT

Caltrans, New Technology and Research Program Oregon State University

The Steering Committee members included a mix of personnel public and private agencies from:

Polk County Commission METRO

Oregon State Police City of Seaside

ODOT Harney County, Former

Commissioner

City of Medford Port of Portland

UPS, Industrial Engineering TRI-MET

May Trucking Company FHWA

Caltrans, New Technology and Research Program Washington State DOT

City of Portland

In addition to the Steering and Technical Committees, a Policy Committee was established to 

oversee the strategic development of the project. This committee consisted of the ODOT

Director along with a State Senator, Executive Department official, a Transportation

Commissioner and a member of the business community. The Policy Committee considered the 

overall impact of the project and how the direction of the project would affect other parts of the 

state government, areas of the state and the public.

Four key workshops were conducted with Committee members. These workshops were

conducted during the course of developing the Strategic Plan, as each individual component was 

reached in the schedule. 

These workshops included:

?? A two-day User Services Prioritization Workshop

?? A Market Packages Workshop

?? Institutional Issues Workshop

?? An ITS Plan Elements Workshop
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Approach to Developing the Strategic Plan

The Oregon ITS Strategic Plan was developed following the general framework established by 

the Federal Highway Administration, with some tailoring for the needs of Oregon. The process 

was undertaken with a strong emphasis on user-needs and a strong coalition of institutions. It 

was deemed that this coalition would be essential in insuring that each agency's needs,

constraints, opportunities and responsibilities are addressed, and that the resulting plan met the 

needs and expectations of end users.

ODOT undertook several major steps in completing the Oregon ITS Strategic Plan. These steps 

are identified below, followed by a more detailed explanation of some of these major steps:

?? Inventory of Existing and Planned ITS Infrastructure

?? Defining the Problems and Needs

?? Prioritization of User Services

?? Develop an ITS Market Package Plan

?? Screen Technology Options

?? Identify Early Winners

?? Develop ITS Operation Plan

Identifying the Needs and Inventorying Existing Infrastructure

The initial two tasks of the planning process defined the needs that could be addressed by ITS 

and documented the existing and planned ITS infrastructure. The documentation of

infrastructure was conducted through an 81-person telephone survey, which allowed participants 

to describe the existing and needed ITS infrastructure. As a result, a table was comprised to 

summarize what ITS infrastructure was existing, planned and desired in each area of the state. 

In defining the needs, a User Service Workshop was conducted. This workshop also served to 

define the vision statement and goals/objectives that would guide the remaining planning

process. The portion of this workshop dedicated to needs definition allowed each participant to 

rank the severity of various problem areas for the highway system, transit system and

commercial vehicles on a scale of 1-5. The needs identified by Workshop attendees were 

compared with the feedback obtained through the telephone surveys. 

Prioritizing the ITS User Services

On the second day of the workshop, participants were allowed to rate how well the 29 ITS user 

services addressed the eight individual goals developed for ITS in Oregon. This rating was done 

by allowing attendees to rate how well each user service addresses each goal on a scale of 1-5 

(1=does not address goal, 5= addresses the goal in the best possible way). In addition, attendees 

rated the priority of each individual user service on a scale of 0-5. 

As a result of these exercises, priorities were assigned to each user service. Also, by assigning 

weights to each goal (based upon importance), goal weighted scores were computed for each 

user service. As a result ten user services were selected to be highest priority for Oregon’s ITS 

plan.

Selecting ITS Market Packages

The ten highest priority user services were then used to identify the market package list for 

Oregon. Attendees at the Market Package Workshop were then presented with candidate ITS 

applications for each market package. Each Technical Committee member was given a total of 

56 dot stickers (each sticker viewed as a million dollars) and asked to allocate the stickers (as 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

though they were funding) to the ITS applications viewed as top priority. As a result of this 

exercise, the ITS Market Packages and individual applications were prioritized.

Evaluation of Technologies

A series of technology applications were reviewed and considered for deployment in Oregon. 

For each technology, the Strategic Plan defined the purpose of the technology, the application in 

Oregon, the deployment criteria, the unit costs and candidate deployment areas. 

Operational Plan

Following the recommendations for technologies to be deployed, the ODOT Strategic Plan

identified operational plans that outlined the capital, operations and maintenance, and staffing 

costs for short-term recommended projects in each area of the state.

Contents

Projects and Activities

The ODOT Strategic Plan identified 30 short, medium and long term ITS activities for the 5 

major regions in the State, in addition to statewide implementations. 

One Portland Region example project is that of a Transit Location/Information System. This 

project provides real-time location information to dispatch and travelers through signs and 

kiosks.

A Salem Region example project is the installation of a Photo Violation Detection System. This 

system would use photo radar to capture violators around cities in the region.

A Medford Region example project would be an Automatic Incident Detection System. This 

system would monitor traffic volume flow and alert the appropriate agency of an incident which 

would require emergency response to assist.

A Bend Region example project is a Local Traveler Information Database. This system would 

compile traffic, incident, weather and roadway information and other traveler information for 

dissemination to travelers.

A LaGrande Region example project is Icy Bridge Warning Signs. These signs would be 

triggered by temperature sensors embedded in the bridge, alerting drivers of the driving

conditions on the bridge.

Architectural Issues

ODOT used the structure of the National Architecture as defined within the FHWA Strategies, as 

well as in documentation provided by ITS America. This allowed the project to stay within the 

guidelines of the federal mandate for developing an ITS Strategic Plan.

The Oregon ITS Strategic Plan incorporated several components of the National Architecture 

during its development. Documentation of local user needs in the User Service Plan was

included in the process and contained a description of each of the 29 ITS user services. A 

workshop was held to identify the needs and resulted in five main categories, (1) System

Utilization Needs, (2) Travel Delay Needs, (3) Traveler Information Needs, (4) Environmental 

Needs and (5) Safety, Security and Regulatory Needs. Prioritization of the 29 ITS user services 

was then performed to identify how well each addressed the eight goals for ITS in Oregon.

The results of the ITS Users Services Plan were used to identify the top ten user services in 

Oregon. These 10 user services were then re-grouped to form market packages that were 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

evaluated and used to generate a list of ITS infrastructure that would be viewed as most needed 

in Oregon. To implement these market packages, a series of ITS Elements (such as Variable 

Message Signs, Kiosks, Icy Bridge Warning Signs and Adaptive Traffic Signal Systems) were 

identified as necessary for Oregon. The process then involved outlining the ITS Elements that 

would serve the needs of each of the 5 regions and documenting the quantity and general

location where these ITS Elements are needed.

The Oregon ITS Strategic Plan did not involve the development of a logical, or physical

architecture, nor did it establish architecture and data flows. At the time of developing the 

strategic plan, it was determine that this effort would not be effective, but that the development 

of architecture at a later date would be prudent.

Institutional Involvement

ODOT placed significant efforts towards ensuring that various branches within ODOT, as well 

as outside agencies were able to participate, thus obtaining their buy-in and making the success 

of the project easier. This project was used as a catalyst for developing a specialized group 

within ODOT to specifically look at ITS deployments across the state. The Policy Committee 

guided the overall strategic direction of the project and was the group who would generate the 

support for ITS within other state government agencies and the legislature. The Steering

Committee and Technical Committee then used this strategic direction guidance to ensure that 

the project considered aspects which may influence other parts of the state, agencies and their 

work, and the general public.

Washington DOT and CalTrans were active participants in the project to establish regional

interest in the project, generate economies of scale and ensure that efforts with border (and 

partner) states are maximized.

In order to have the ITS Strategic Plan implemented, the approval of the Oregon Transportation 

Commission was needed so that it could be incorporated into the State Transportation

Improvement Plan (STIP). From there, Regional ITS Plans could be developed that would be 

incorporated into the Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) of MPOs around the state and also 

into the STIP.

Some private partners identified include telecommunications companies for shared resources of 

fiber connections and cellular communications for traveler safety. Commercial vehicle operators 

could provide real-time traffic information by acting as probes in the traffic stream and cable TV 

companies could assist in distributing traveler information.

Organizational Issues

A Policy Committee was established to oversee the strategic development of the project. This 

committee consisted of the ODOT Director along with a State Senator, Executive Department 

official, a Transportation Commissioner and a member of the business community. The Policy 

Committee considered the overall impact of the project and how the direction of the project 

would affect other parts of the state government, areas of the state and the public. This

committee provided guidance and feedback to the Steering Committee regarding the overall 

direction of the ITS Strategic Plan.

The Steering Committee members included a mix of personnel public and private agencies from 

various city governments, private sector firms, ODOT and adjacent State DOTs. This committee 

used the feedback from the Policy Committee to provide guidance to the Technical Committee 

regarding the technical direction and areas of focus of the ITS Strategic Plan. The Technical 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Committee members consisted mainly of ODOT departments, along with FHWA, Washington 

DOT and Caltrans officials. This committee dealt with the technical issues and was involved in 

the detailed development of the Oregon ITS Strategic Plan.

A list of the participant agencies in the ITS Strategic Plan is provided in the Organizational 

Approach section.

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

During this planning effort and since its completion, ODOT has conducted several outreach 

efforts to target transportation professionals around the state. These outreach efforts have 

primarily been through presentations to various groups such as the League of Counties, at 

conferences and as new projects require outreach and education to ITS for participants. In 

addition, the ODOT website and the newsletters contain information about on-going ITS efforts 

within the state. These efforts have increased knowledge and interest in ITS.

Funding Opportunities and Sources

The plan does not identify specific funding sources, however the typical sources are always 

being investigated. This includes obtaining earmark funding for projects, TEA-21 or NEXTEA 

funding and ensuring that ITS is included within the STIP and RTP. Additionally, funding 

requirements include stipulations for local matches of funding which may come from local

agencies as well as from specific ODOT divisions interested in certain projects or activities.

Other Key Features

The ITS Strategic Plan was developed to be flexible to allow regions and agencies to refine the 

ITS design to suit their geographical and regional needs. This effort included the

recommendation for five “Sub-regional ITS Implementation Plans”, one for each of the five 

ODOT regions.

Current Status and Future Activities

The ITS Strategic Plan has been approved by the Transportation Commission, of which members 

are appointed by the Governor of Oregon and includes officers from local cities, counties, private 

sector and other agencies. The approval by the Transportation Commission is seen as an

important step in moving ITS forward in the state. It is not known whether local agencies and 

MPOs have specifically approved the Oregon ITS Strategic Plan.

ODOT is currently performing an ITS Deployment Planning study. This study will define how 

these prioritized activities will be deployed. Details of partnership relationships, locations, and 

funding sources will also be defined. This next phase of deployment planning is expected to be 

completed in the Spring of 2001. Current projects being deployed include:

?? CCTV cameras (approximately 90 at present time) across the state, in both urban and 

rural areas

?? VMS deployments in rural areas

?? Urban TMC and ramp metering in the Portland area

?? Advanced Traveler Information Systems using the ODOT and TripCheck websites 

for dissemination of information, including CCTV camera images and weather station 

information
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Future projects being considered include:

?? Further enhancements and outward planning of the TripCheck website

?? Adding more CCTV cameras in the Portland area

?? TMOC development for the Portland area

?? Investigating new technologies such as animal-vehicle collision avoidance systems 

and vehicle/travel speed subsystems

There is no formal group or agency relationship has continued to operate since the initial

planning process. Many of the agencies however do continue to interact, but more so on a 

project-by-project basis. Many of the users in the ITS projects established within the Strategic 

Plan involve local participants not directly involved in the initial planning process and therefore 

many new users are being brought into the fold of ITS planning within Oregon.

Participating Institutions

The planning initiatives were led by ODOT. The private sector consultant on the project was 

DKS And Associates. Other agencies involved included: FHWA, Oregon State Police, Tri-Met, 

Caltrans, Washington State DOT, and the Cities of Portland and Medford. 

Cost Information

The consultant contract was valued at approximately $150,000. In addition, the Policy, Steering 

and Technical Committees met several times to discuss the project and meet with the consultants 

to provide guidance or make decisions regarding the direction of the project. Approximately 800 

person-hours were used to undertake those tasks by the various committees. The ODOT project 

manager was dedicated approximately 35% to the project for a full year and had approximately 

520 hours of support staff time (10 hours per week) throughout the project. As a result of the 

various Committee members having some experience with ITS prior to commencement of the 

project, it was felt that this benefited the project by reducing the learning curve and enabling for 

decision making to be able to be performed more quickly and efficiently.

Benefits

The project was started before ODOT had established a branch/group to work specifically in the 

area of ITS and as a result of the scope of work a dedicated branch was established to focus on 

the needs of ITS deployment in Oregon. This is viewed as a very important benefit that resulted 

from the development of the ITS Strategic Plan.

Within Oregon, a shared resource procurement during the ITS planning process allowed for 

significant cost savings by providing fiber and enable for data communications to be established. 

Additionally, the COATS project, which is an interagency project with Caltrans and ODOT, 

allows for shared investment and economies of scale in the deployment of ITS technologies.

Lessons Learned

The largest lesson learned is that the strategic planning effort is really just the beginning of the 

process towards deploying ITS technologies. Many of the participants of the planning effort 

become much more enthusiastic and able to discuss details when the actual projects are defined, 

scoped, funded and ongoing. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Specific lessons that were learned during the ITS planning process include:

?? Planning ahead for maintenance and the resources needed to maintain the ITS

infrastructure is very important toward protecting the initial investment

?? Obtaining the support of the head of the agency can significantly increase the

effectiveness and promotion of ITS within the state to garner support within all 

branches of state government

?? Ensuring that all branches of DOT are involved in the planning process, as well as 

ensuring that regions/districts and maintenance personnel are involved to be sure that 

support at the base level is obtained for ITS

?? As one of the first states to push rural ITS, many lessons regarding placement of 

equipment and communications with the rural equipment must be closely examined 

to ensure that all considerations are accounted for, however standards and

interoperability development will make these efforts easier for states deploying

equipment in rural areas now

?? Software development costs, both time and money, should not be underestimated

?? Communication costs are large compared to the cost of the equipment and should be 

carefully scrutinized

Contact for Further Information

Dave Lutz

Oregon Department of Transportation

Policy and Research Section

555 13th Street, NE

Salem, Oregon 97310

503-986-3923

503-986-3469 (fax)

email: david.j.lutz@odot.state.or.us
Appendix A – Case Studies 

ITS Strategic Plan for Washington State: VENTURE Washington

Goals

The plan establishes the following goals and objectives for Washington’s intelligent

transportation systems (ITS)1 program:

Goal Objective

Decrease Congestion 3. Reduce Recurring Congestion

4. Reduce Non-Recurring Congestion

Increase Alternate Mode 

Share 1. Increase Attractiveness of Alternate Modes

Improve Highway Safety

1. Reduce Accident Rate on Arterials

2. Reduce Accident Rate on Rural Highways

3. Reduce Accident Rate on Freeways

4. Avoid Secondary Accidents

5. Improve Emergency Response

Facilitate Efficient Goods 

Movement

1. Improve Efficiency of Trucking Operations

2. Reduce Time for Goods Movements

3. Improve Intermodal Connections

Support Tourism

1. Increase Awareness of Tourist Attractions (i.e. where to 

go)

2. Improve Tourist Mobility (i.e. how to get there)

Improve Environment

1. Reduce Emissions

2. Reduce Energy Consumption

3. Support Growth Management Policies

Enhance Existing Systems 

Operations

1. Improve Information

2. Interagency Coordination

3. Increase Productivity of Agency Staffs

These generic goals were translated into a series of ITS strategies, which include:

?? Reduce traffic turbulence (i.e. Speed fluctuation)

?? Enhance incident detection, verification, and response

?? Improve coverage and quality of data collection

?? Coordinate freeway and arterial traffic management

?? Provide traveler information

?? Support traveler safety measures

?? Support transportation demand management (TDM) programs

?? Improve high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) efficiency and effectiveness

?? Increase fleet efficiency/performance

?? Improve intermodal connections

?? Enhance pricing strategies

?? Support actions to reduce emissions and energy use

?? Reduce interagency barriers

These strategies were mapped to a set of ITS techniques, as shown in Exhibit 1, presented at the 

end of this Case Study.

 

1 Although the document was created when IVHS was the predominant term, ITS will be used throughout the writeup for consistency with documentation of other plans. IVHS will be mentioned as an acronym only when relevant.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Approach

Organizational Approach

By the early 1990s, Washington State had achieved a position on the leading edge of deploying 

ITS technologies, especia lly in metropolitan Seattle, largely through aggressively pursuing and 

winning Federal funds for demonstration projects. Projects were pursued largely for perceived 

benefit and without necessarily fitting into a larger vision. It was the desire of both transportation 

officials and the State Legislature to have a strategic vision for how these technologies should be 

pursued. (The Legislature wanted to ensure that spending the state match on these projects was 

justified in that these projects fit into a larger context.)

To provide this larger context, WSDOT initiated a strategic planning effort in 1992. Funding for 

development of the strategic plan was provided by WSDOT. 

To provide guidance for the project, a resource group of approximately 50 individuals, primarily 

from WSDOT but with representation from cities and counties as well, was assembled. Among 

this team, experience and familiarity with ITS was generally limited. Consequently, a handful of 

people within WSDOT’s Advanced Technology Branch provided more direct, day-to-day 

guidance to the project team.

The consultant-led study team conducted the study under the auspices of WSDOT’s Urban 

Systems Branch (which is now the Advanced Technology Branch).

Technical Approach

WSDOT employed a consultant team for developing the strategic plan, as very little work had 

been done in ITS planning prior to this effort. The consultant’s technical approach included the 

following steps:

?? Review transportation visions and policy plans at Federal, State and regional levels

?? Develop transportation strategies from broader goals and objectives

?? Identify ITS techniques that may be applied to each strategy

?? Group ITS programs into “user services” and regions

?? Evaluate the merit of ITS projects by region

?? Document available funding sources and strategies

?? Describe supporting actions which must be taken to create an environment conducive 

to ITS, including partnerships, ITS program organizational structure, and public 

information and marketing

?? Describe actions that will need to be taken to accommodate operations and

maintenance of the ITS program

One unique aspect of this strategic plan is its emphasis on regional deployment. The project team 

divided the State into five “regions”: Central Puget Sound (includes Seattle and Tacoma), 

Spokane, Vancouver (because it is across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon), Other 

Urban Areas (cities with populations greater than 50,000), and Intercity/Rural. This was done in 

order to demonstrate that ITS had applicability in all parts of the state, and not just in

metropolitan Seattle, which had much of the state’s ITS infrastructure at that time.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Contents

The final report for the strategic planning effort presents ITS alternatives in the context of

broader statewide and regional transportation goals. Candidate technologies are described and 

evaluated on perceived merit and estimated benefit-cost ratios. The plan compares the total costs 

of the recommended ITS program with available funding levels. The plan then discusses how 

public/private partnerships may bridge the gap between these two levels. The plan also reviews 

elements critical to the long-term sustenance of the ITS program: organizational structure, 

marketing and public information, and operations and maintenance. A separate volume of

appendices provides greater detail, including an action plan by region, divided into near, mid and 

long-term projects.

Top Needs and Priorities

The statewide plan evaluated and prioritized ITS user service projects on the basis of the five 

regions. User services with the highest evaluation rankings in each region are:

Central Puget Sound

?? Traffic Control 

?? Trip Planning – Pre-Trip 

?? Trip Planning – En-Route 

?? Incident Detection and Management 

?? Freeway Ramp Metering 

?? Road Use (Congestion) Pricing 

?? TDM Support 

Spokane 

?? Traffic Control 

?? Trip Planning – En-Route 

?? Trip Planning – Pre-Trip 

?? Incident Detection and Management 

?? Freeway Ramp Metering 

Vancouver

?? Traffic Control 

?? Trip Planning – Pre-Trip 

?? Trip Planning – En-Route 

?? Incident Detection and Management 

?? Freeway Ramp Metering 

Other Urban Areas

?? Traffic Control 

?? Trip Planning – Pre-Trip 

?? Incident Detection and Management 

?? Freeway Ramp Metering 

?? Transit Vehicle Management

Intercity/Rural

?? Incident Detection and Management

?? Trip Guidance – En-Route

?? Regulatory Support – Borders

?? Trip Planning – Pre-Trip

?? Mayday
Appendix A – Case Studies 

?? Transit Vehicle Management

Near-term, mid-term and long-term projects were identified for each region, classified according 

to five ITS program areas: public transit/TDM, traveler information, traffic management, freight 

and fleet management, and additional services. Examples of near-term projects are shown in 

Exhibit 2.

Architecture Issues

The plan pre-dates the development of a National Architecture, and consequently does not 

include its own ITS architecture. The plan discusses standards development activities as well as 

common infrastructure elements (surveillance, communications, and data processing) that could 

support many technologies, which both reflect some of the benefits that may be obtained from a 

system architecture.

As the plan has proceeded since its adoption in 1993, architecture development efforts have 

occurred at many levels. The first ITS corridor study following the strategic plan, the Seattle to 

Portland corridor, included an intercity communications plan that was foundational for other 

corridor plans to follow. As metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and counties

incorporate ITS projects in their short-term programs, these agencies are developing ITS

architectures to accommodate these and future projects. Examples of lead agencies in

architecture development include Spokane’s MPO, Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), 

Thurston County and Clark County. ITS projects in smaller towns will generate ITS architectures 

as required. WSDOT is typically a funding partner for these architecture development efforts. 

Regional architectures are being developed in conformity with the National Architecture. The 

PSRC architecture, for example, will include:

?? An inventory of subsystems, terminators and flows among agencies and organizations

?? Transportation needs mapped to user services to the level of user service

requirements, with some customization as needed

?? A regional “sausage diagram”, identifying principal subsystems and terminators

necessary to satisfy user service requirements

?? High-level views of the physical architecture in terms of transportation, institutions 

and communications

?? An assessment of the need for operational requirements and agreements, technology 

agreements, and determination of phasing requirements

?? The development of a detailed regional transit its architecture, focusing on operations, 

subsystem requirements, integration needs, and a framework to support compatibility

There are currently no plans for a statewide architecture. This may occur after all of the State’s 

14 MPOs and Regional Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPOs) adopt their own

architectures. Their architecture development processes may be coordinated through their

quarterly meetings.

Institutional Involvement

Initial institutional involvement was fairly limited and proved to be of little constructive benefit 

to the development of the plan. The primary reason for the lack of useful participation is that 

most non-DOT stakeholders had no familiarity with IVHS, and associated it primarily with 

automated highway systems or advanced vehicle control systems. The broad number of agencies 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

involved in the resource group helped to educate a variety of institutions across the state as to the 

potential benefits of ITS, laying the groundwork for future institutional cooperation.

Additional institutional involvement was garnered as projects conceived in the strategic plan 

proceeded toward deployment. This was done by demonstrating benefits to key stakeholders and 

obtaining funding (especially through field operational tests) to be able to put together projects 

with minimal commitment from partners.

Private-sector involvement was anticipated for manufacturing and supplying technologies, as 

well as for supporting several user services, including employe r-based TDM initiatives, dynamic 

ridesharing, traffic control and emergency service management. To foster private-sector 

involvement, the plan devotes a chapter to describing various public-private partnership models, 

and the elements that are essential to developing these partnerships successfully.

From academia, the University of Washington served two roles in the development of the 

Strategic Plan: as a member of the resource group, and as a vital research partner with WSDOT 

(and Washington State University) through the Washington State Transportation Center. A

continued role for academia was anticipated, through researching potential ITS applications and 

their effects.

Organizational Issues

The resource group was formed in 1992 to direct and review the ITS strategic plan development. 

The majority of members of the resource group were from WSDOT, with a broad spectrum of 

districts and headquarters divisions represented. The resource group also included representation 

from cities, counties, transit agencies, regional councils, Washington State Patrol, Federal

Highway Administration, the Transportation Improvement Board (a state agency that administers 

state funding for local transportation projects), the Legislative Transportation Commission, the 

University of Washington, transportation management associations, and private organizations. 

The stated responsibility of the resource group was “to provide multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional 

guidance for identifying, evaluating, testing, selecting, and implementing appropriate IVHS 

technologies.” However, because IVHS was a relatively new term that many people associated 

with advanced vehicle control systems, much time in resource group meetings was devoted to 

the consultant team educating group members about the potential benefits and challenges of ITS. 

Consequently, this group’s role was limited more toward receiving and reviewing project

deliverables and providing feedback.

A smaller group within the resource group represented an ad hoc Steering Committee that 

worked more closely with the consultant on a day-to-day basis.

Most agencies did not show significant interest in the plan until funds were made available 

through DOT-organized field operational tests. This allowed agencies to test ITS on an

incremental, low-risk basis, and has subsequently generated champions in non-DOT agencies, 

including transit agencies and metropolitan planning organizations.

The plan recommended expansion of the resource group’s membership to include more privatesector participation, such as from major employers and manufacturers. Private-sector 

participation was anticipated for several user services, including the traveler information

database, pre-trip trip planning, vehicle monitoring and warning, emergency service

management, traveler safety and security, and various freight/ fleet management activities.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

A questionnaire was distributed to resource group members during the development of the plan 

to solicit input on the existing ITS organizational structure, to review merits and areas needing 

improvement. This input contributed to the development of near-term and long-term visions for 

the organizational structure of WSDOT’s ITS program. These phases were intended to establish 

a structure to deal with future ITS applications in the State.

Outreach, Marketing & Education Activities

The resource group was the primary avenue for outreach and education. Additional outreach 

included a twelve-minute video on the ITS Strategic Plan, some presentations to other agencies, 

and the production of several brochures explaining the planning process.

The plan includes a chapter that recommends marketing strategies to gain public understanding 

and acceptance of the strategic plan, and to ensure a continual allocation of necessary funding of 

plan initiatives. Strategies are mapped to different organizations, as shown in Table, with higher 

values indicating that a particular marketing strategy would be more important.

Funding Opportunities and Sources

The plan establishes program costs for ITS by both region and WSDOT district. The total cost of 

the ITS program in 1993 dollars is $1.4 billion, with estimated operations and maintenance costs 

of $142 million per year.

The plan reviews various public-sector program categories at the Federal, State and local levels 

which provide opportunities for ITS funding2. For each source, the plan summarizes the total 

amount of funding provided through a given source, and the expected funding level that could be 

obtained by WSDOT’s ITS program through that source. 

Identified Federal sources all flowed out of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency 

Act, which was passed in1991. These sources include: IVHS funding, under ISTEA Title VI, 

Research; National Highway System (NHS) funding, under ISTEA Section 1006; Surface

Transportation Program (STP) funding, under ISTEA Section 1007; Congestion Mitigation and 

Air Quality (CMAQ) program funding, under ISTEA Section 1008; and Federal Transit Act 

funds. Other sources are listed in the report, although these sources were expected to be

incapable of providing any funding for ITS in Washington. State funds identified by the plan 

include the motor vehicle fund (gas tax) and the transportation fund (funded by a surcharge on 

vehicle excise taxes). Local sales taxes and vehicle excise taxes were identified as additional 

potential sources of funding. Funding sources were mapped to the ITS program category against 

which they could be applied: construction/reconstruction, operations, maintenance, planning and 

engineering, and research and development. Several concepts for increasing state-level ITS 

revenues, through congestion pricing, licensing fees, and other measures were also discussed. 

Private-sector funding, such as through advertising to support the traveler information program 

element, and cooperative ventures, to support applied research and development, is also

reviewed, although no level of anticipated funding is provided. 

The opportunity to use individual funding sources on each of the program applications (public 

transit, traveler information, traffic management, freight/fleet management, and other services) is 

also shown.

 

2 The date of the plan means that many funding sources identified at that time may no longer be available.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

The plan estimates that the sum of available funding from Federal, State and local sources 

amounts to $22 million per year. For each funding source, the plan denotes how applicable funds 

from that source would be to each ITS program application. One unique funding source for 

Washington’s ITS program was the selection of Seattle as one of four Metropolitan Model 

Deployment Initiative sites.

Based on the gap between available funding and program needs, the plan has a chapter that 

reviews public/private partnerships.

Mainstreaming ITS into Planning Process

WSDOT’s regional and headquarters programming offices used the plan’s project descriptions to 

evaluate projects for programming. The descriptions included a statement of need, a description 

of the project and an estimate of benefits and costs. 

Since the regions cited in the plan did not map to WSDOT’s regional structure for programming, 

a subsequent series of early deployment corridor studies was used to better define projects 

consistent with WSDOT regional boundaries. These corridor studies included: 

?? Interstate 5 from Seattle to Portland

?? Interstate 5 from Seattle to Vancouver [Canada]

?? Interstate 90 from Seattle to Spokane

?? Interstate 84 from Portland to Boise, along with State Route 14 and Interstate 82 in 

Washington State (in partnership with Oregon Department of Transportation and the 

Idaho Transportation Department)

These studies resulted in project definitions that could be incorporated into regional programs. 

They were intended to produce real, implementable, “early-winner” projects that could help to 

demonstrate the benefits of ITS. The corridor studies were funded separately using federal ITS 

Early Deployment Planning grants. The corridor studies took the strategic recommendations of 

the Statewide ITS plan and used them as the starting point in the development of specific project 

descriptions. For example, the Statewide ITS Strategic Plan recommended a focus on traveler 

information in the Central Puget Sound region, so the Seattle to Portland Corridor study

recommended a project to develop a regional, multi-modal traveler information center in the 

Puget Sound area. This project eventually became SmartTrek, Washington State’s Model

Deployment Initiative project. Many other projects included in these corridor plans are being 

implemented, with a combination of state and Federal funds.

WSDOT’s Advanced Technology Branch, which has oversight of the ITS program, ha s been 

responsible for coordinating projects which overlap multiple programming regions. Regional 

efforts were in turn rolled into the overall state transportation program.

Operations and Maintenance

The plan estimated the annual costs of operations and maintenance at approximately 10 percent 

of initial capital cost, which was consistent with assumptions developed by IVHS America at 

that time.

A chapter of the final plan is devoted to reviewing operations and maintenance issues. Regarding 

operations, the plan describes typical activities of an advanced traffic management system, and 

coordination activities that need to occur between participating agencies. Position descriptions 

are also developed for the staff that would be needed to support operations, although the cost of 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

staff is not linked to deployment levels. To address maintenance concerns, the plan provides 

some broad recommendations for implementing a successful maintenance program.

Current Status

The current status of Washington’s ITS program was well summarized in a Congressional

hearing in August 1999. To review, the statewide strategic plan was completed in November 

1993. The strategic plan was presented to the State Transportation Commission after it was 

completed. In 1996, the Commission approved a Policy on the Application of Advanced

Transportation Technology with Washington State. A six-year action plan followed the

development of the strategic plan. This action plan was appended to that policy and, therefore, 

could be considered approved when the policy was adopted. No similar plans are being pursued 

at this time because ITS is perceived to be too dynamic to be able to develop such a longer-view, 

large-scale plan.

The corridor studies, described under “Mainstreaming,” served as important vehicles for

programming ITS projects in each region; now, all WSDOT regions have ITS projects. The most 

visible example of implemented ITS projects is the Model Deployment Initiative, SmartTrek, 

based in Seattle. This project resulted in the implementation of several projects, some of which 

are shown in the following table.

Project Capital Cost

(000’s)

Recurring 

Cost (000’s) Lead Agency

WSDOT Web Site $85 $294 WSDOT

Cable Television “Traffic TV” $319 $122 University of Washington

Transit AVL System Upgrade $1,170 $138 Metro Seattle

Etak/Metro Networks ISP 

Services $124 $92 Metro Networks

Washington State Ferries 

ATIS $777 $67 Washington State Ferries

Bellevue ATMS $1,077 $93 City of Bellevue

Regional Video System $340 $10 WSDOT (provides feed to 

TV stations)

Improved Incident Video from 

Incident Response Vehicles $41 $0.5 WSDOT

Emergency Operations 

Center Communications 

Upgrades

$152 $3 Local EOCs

Seattle Center Parking 

Information System $925 $51 Seattle Center

Dynamic 

Ridematch/Rideshare $173 $13

Greater Redmond 

Transportation 

Management Association

Projects have been implemented in other parts of the state, such as the Variable Speed Limit 

Project at Snoqualmie Pass, some changeable message signs in Spokane, real-time train arrival 

information for Amtrak trains in the Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, Canada corridor, CVISN 

weigh-in-motion sites, and tourist information for motorists on the Olympic Peninsula.

WSDOT’s success in winning earmarks, which were helpful for many earlier ITS projects, has 

been declining in recent years. Earmarks are still seen as critical for rural funding.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Coordination of ITS programs across the state is pursued through a couple of groups. First, 

MPOs and RTPOs meet on a quarterly basis, as described earlier. Second, a Northwest Freeway 

Operations Group was established in 1997 between five of WSDOT’s six Traffic Management 

regions, British Columbia and Oregon Department of Transportation’s Region 1 (Portland). The 

purpose of this group, which meets twice annually, is to share le ssons learned. This serves as an 

important vehicle for coordinating ITS on a larger level.

Future Activities Planned

Significant mainstreaming of ITS into the state’s transportation program has already occurred, 

and institutional involvement has been successfully engaged in different parts of the state. All of 

WSDOT’s regions have ITS implementation plans completed or underway. WSDOT is also 

promoting the addition of ITS elements in regional transportation plans. There are no current 

plans to institute a follow-up statewide strategic plan.

The Advanced Technology Branch will be promoting the development of regional ITS

architectures among the fourteen MPOs and RTPOs. WSDOT will likely produce an “umbrella” 

ITS architecture that will cover statewide ITS programs like Commercial Vehicle Information 

Systems and Networks (CVISN). There are no other plans to produce a statewide architecture.

Coordination between WSDOT regions and neighboring states is continuous and on-going even 

though no formal effort is underway.

Participating Institutions

Public: Washington State Department of Transportation – project sponsor

Washington State Patrol

Cities of Bellevue, Everett, Lynnwood, Seattle, Tacoma

King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties

Community Transit

Kitsap Transit

Metro Transit

Pierce Transit

Federal Highway Administration

Transportation Improvement Board

Legislative Transportation Commission

Puget Sound Regional Council

Spokane Regional Council

Private:

JHK & Associates (now known as TransCore) – prime contractor

Transportation Management Associations

Other Private Organizations

Academic

:

University of Washington, Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC)

University of Washington, Innovations Unit
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Cost Information

The initial strategic plan cost $500,000, with funding provided by State funds. Initially, the 

plan’s goal was to include projects in each of the five regions; however, resources were not 

adequate to do this. The plan did not include any funding for deployment. 

Title Time Contractor Cost

Statewide ITS Plan 1992 – 1993 (12 months) $500,000

Corridor Study (I-5 & I-90) 1994 –1997 (30 months) $500,000

Level of Involvement Time Commitment

WSDOT Staff 20 hours per week

Resource Group ~5 hours per month per person

Benefits

To obtain funding through WSDOT’s Mobility Program, ITS projects must have benefits in 

reduced delay and/or improved safety. Consequently, estimation of benefits was a significant 

component of the strategic plan. Benefits were estimated based on findings from recent field 

operational tests and established projects. Benefits evaluated by the project team included:

reduction in delay (both recurrent and non-recurrent), reduction in accidents, reduction in fuel 

consumption (related to delay reduction), and reduction in management and operations costs 

(independent of delay reduction). For commercial vehicle operations, other benefits included 

reduced congestion and shipment delays, improved flow of intermodal and international freight, 

increased infrastructure capacity, accident reduction, delay reduction, increased revenues (from 

citations), and increased compliance. Most of the federally funded projects have an evaluation 

component, such as the Model Deployment Initiative. Many of these evaluations are complete 

and published by FHWA or the Washington State Transportation Center.

Having the plan showed that WSDOT’s ITS program had some direction and that it was not 

applying for funds simply because an opportunity was there or because there was an interesting 

technology to demonstrate. Many, if not most of the projects, that were proposed in the Strategic 

Plan have been implemented. Some of the major benefits of the statewide plan include:

?? Installation of traffic management systems and centers in Tacoma, Spokane and 

Vancouver

?? Implementation of a system to allow the exchange of traffic signal system data 

between jurisdictions within the Puget Sound area

?? The Model Deployment Initiative, which increased awareness across the state of the 

benefits of providing traveler information, regardless of whether it is for urban

environments, mountain passes, or ferry terminals

?? The Weather project, which provides statewide road and weather information

?? The development of a rural ITS program, starting with a variable speed limit project 

at Snoqualmie Pass and the continuing with the installation of a winter travel center in 

that vicinity

?? Current CVISN and border crossing projects for commercial vehicles

Completing these initiatives required significant numbers of partnerships, agreements and

memoranda of understanding. 
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Lessons Learned

?? Most non-DOT agencies do not get involved in ITS until real projects are created 

with resources provided. If the agencies see the benefits, they will then be willing to 

ante up resources to sustain the project and initiate new projects.

?? This strategic plan was innovative at the time in that it was needs focused, rather than 

technology-focused. This approach made the plan’s recommendations more amenable 

to ITS architecture development in subsequent years.

?? Using a location-based approach allowed WSDOT to focus some attention on rural 

ITS applications and on applications other than congestion relief. This helped to sell 

ITS to a broader range of stakeholders.

?? Rolling ITS elements into highway reconstruction or rehabilitation projects fa cilitates 

mainstreaming of traffic management-related ITS projects, as it will represent a small 

portion of overall project cost.

References and Contact Information

Documents Reviewed

1. JHK & Associates, Charles River Associates, Weslin Consulting Services, Infrastructure 

Consulting Corporation, Ilium Associates, Optrans and Wooton Jeffreys Consultants, 

Ltd., IVHS Strategic Plan for Washington State: VENTURE Washington. Washington 

State Department of Transportation, Olympia [WA]: November 1993.

2. JHK & Associa tes, Charles River Associates, Weslin Consulting Services, Infrastructure 

Consulting Corporation, Ilium Associates, Optrans and Wooton Jeffreys Consultants, 

Ltd., IVHS Strategic Plan for Washington State: VENTURE Washington: Appendices. 

Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia [WA]: November 1993.

3. IBI Group, “Development of the Puget Sound Regional ITS Architecture: Scope of

Work”, January 2000. 

4. ITS Brief for August 31 Congressional Field Hearing, accessed November 14, 2000, 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/eesc/ATB/atb/reports.html

5. Science Applications International Corporation, Metropolitan Model Deployment

Initiative (MMDI): Seattle Evaluation Report, FHWA Report No. FHWA-OP-00-020, 

May 2000. 

Contact for further information

Pete Briglia

ITS Program Manager

Washington State Department of Transportation

Telephone: (206) 543-3331

E-mail: briglia@u.washington.edu

Appendix A – Case Studies 

Techniques

Strategies

Traffic Data CollectionTraveler Data CollectionCentralized InformationInformation Storage & FusionShared Communications NetworkData AnalysisInformation Dissemination Coordinated Traffic ControlIncident ManagementIncident ClearanceSmart Corridor Management Travel Condition MonitoringTravel Condition Announcement/WarningTraffic Infrastructure ManagementArterial/Freeway Interchange ManagementAutomated Congestion PricingHOV PrioritizationCVO Fleet/Facility ManagementHOV Fleet/Facility ManagementAutomated HighwayVariable Speed ControlAdaptive Vehicle Control

Reduce Traffic Turbulence (Speed 

Fluctuation) ? ? ? ? ? ?

Enhance Incident Detection, 

Verification and Response ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Improve Coverage and Quality of 

Data Collection ? ? ? ? ?

Coordinate Freeway and Arterial 

Traffic Management ? ? ?

Provide Traveler Information ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Support Traveler Safety Measures ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Support TDM Programs ? ? ? ? ?

Improve HOV Efficiency and 

Effectiveness ? ? ? ?

Increase Fleet 

Efficiency/Performance ? ? ? ?

Improve Intermodal Connections ? ? ? ?

Enhance Pricing Strategies ? ? ? ? ?

Support Actions to Remove 

Emissions and Energy Use ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Reduce Interagency Barriers ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Exhibit 1 - Strategies and Techniques
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Project Area

Region Public Transit/TDM Traveler Information Traffic Management Freight/Fleet Management Additional Services

Central Puget Sound Completion of Metro and 

Ferry automatic vehicle 

location (AVL) systems

Complete FLOW and 

Traffic Report maps for 

Seattle; extend to District 

3 (Olympia, Tacoma)

Aggressive completion of 

freeway surveillance 

system - 90% complete 

Seattle freeways, 30% 

complete Tacoma 

freeways

HAZMAT data - monitor 

vehicle positions with 

AVI/AVL

Test AVL on emergency 

services fleets in Seattle

Spokane Initiate automatic fare 

collection using Smart 

Cards

Test real-time schedule 

information at CBD 

transit stops

Incident response teams 

and state patrol beats

Design AVI stations on I90Test Mobile 

Communications 

Network (MCN) for 

enforcement

Vancouver Test use of smart cards 

and AVI at major 

employers to support 

TDM

Partial freeway 

changeable message 

signs

Upgrade arterial signal 

control system in City of 

Vancouver

Design on-highway, atspeed weigh stationsSimple in-vehicle 

sensors, mayday on five 

percent of new vehicles

Other Urban Areas Develop software and 

technical assistance for 

paratransit matching

Test real-time transit 

information in 

Wenatchee

Develop action plan for 

freeway surveillance 

system on key segments

Vehicle fleets implement 

electronic record keeping 

and safety monitors

Test emergency service 

vehicle AVL systems

Intercity/Rural Study automated ferry 

reservation system on 

San Juan Islands

Test of variable speed 

limits and in-vehicle 

signing on Snoqualmie 

Pass

I-5 Corridor 

Communications Plan 

(Seattle-Portland)

Upgrade Canadian 

Border Crossing 

preclearance system

Install portable 

changeable message 

signs

Exhibit 2 - Selected Near-Term Projects by Region.
Appendix A – Case Studies 

Organizations

Strategies

State & Local 

Legislators

Federal 

Government Private Sector

IVHS Technology 

Demonstrations and Site 

Visits 2 2 3

Focus Groups N/A N/A 2

Issues Forum 1 N/A 3

Brochure - Private 

Sector Benefits 1 0 2

Informational Brochure 

Legislators 3 2 N/A

Newsletters 0 0 2

Individual IVHS 

Technology Example 

Fact Sheets 2 1 3

Business Round Table 2 1 3

Media Campaign 3 3 2

Exhibit 3 - Marketing Strategies for Targeted Groups.
Appendix B

Project Survey Forms
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Alaska Statewide

Alaska Statewide ITS Deployment Strategy

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone

Jeff Ottesen

Chief Statewide Planning

Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities

3132 Channel Drive

Juneau, AK 99801

(907) 465-6971

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF)

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

?? Municipality of Anchorage

?? National Weather Service

?? Alaska Department of Administration (communications infrastructure)

Agencies that participated in workshops, meetings, and interviews:

?? Alaska State Troopers

?? University of Alaska

?? Federal Aviation Administration

?? Division of Emergency Services

?? National Park Service

?? Alaska Visitors Association

?? Alaska Railroad

?? Department of Health and Social Services

?? Division of Tourism

?? United States Forest Service (USFS)

?? Alaska Municipal League

?? United States Coast Guard

?? Department of Public Safety

?? Department of Environmental Conservation

?? Capital Transit

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 15 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

?? DOT&PF averaged 80 hours per month for all personnel involved with the project

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $270,000
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Alaska Statewide

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan. 

?? ADOT&PF and other agencies have already identified a number of transportation-related needs

?? They have also developed "individual" ITS applications to address these needs

?? Since individual ITS elements are being developed, it was felt that a "regional" ITS approach 

would be easier and less costly to plan, design, construct, operate, maintain, and manage and that 

additional functionality could be realized from a more integrated and complete system

?? A clear ITS deployment strategy is necessary for the allocation of "earmarked" ITS appropriations

?? Need to define a ITS strategy to enable compliance with a Regional ITS Architecture and

incorporate national standards (where applicable)

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? The project was not a strategic plan ? it was intended to create a statewide architecture and 

regional ITS deployment strategy that reflects the unique needs of Alaska and is consistent with 

the National ITS Architecture

?? Complete the corresponding/necessary ITS implementation plans

?? Develop a regional ITS architecture and deployment strategy for the Anchorage area (addressed 

under an amendment to this contract)

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Snow and ice control

?? Multi-modal information connections

?? Traveler communications

?? Internal operations

?? Commercial vehicle operations (CVO)

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Literature search

?? Workshops and meetings

?? Interviews with stakeholders

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Needs Report

?? User Services Report

?? Long-Range Vision

?? Concept of Operations

?? Regional ITS Architecture 

?? Implementation Plan (i.e., integration strategy, project identification, deployment strategy, and 

procurement strategy)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Alaska Statewide

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? This portion of the project is still under development

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? This portion of the project is still under development

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Two of the five key program areas are snow and ice control and internal operations ? these 

program areas specifically deal with operations, maintenance, and management

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Costs will be order of magnitude estimates

?? Benefits are primarily qualitative in nature

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan? 

?? ITS concept-of-operations

?? ITS project identification

?? ITS deployment schedule

?? ITS procurement strategy

?? Long-term outreach strategy

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan? 

?? Anticipate completion May, 2001
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Arkansas Statewide

Arkansas Statewide ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Alan Meadors

Planning Department

Arkansas Highway & Transportation Division

(501) 569-2380

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Arkansas Highway & Transportation Division (AHTD)

?? Trucking companies

?? Arkansas State Police

?? Local police, fire, and emergency service organizations

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Anticipated start date is March, 2001

?? Project duration is approx. 12 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

N/A

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $185,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? AHTD is planning a $500 million Interstate rehabilitation program and is concerned about

congestion and delays due to construction

?? AHTD wants to ensure that during this period, that work zone traffic management and ITS 

applications are used where appropriate

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

TBD

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)

?? Work zone management

?? Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS)

?? Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS)

?? Advanced Transportation Management Systems (ATMS) in more Urban areas

?? Operations and Maintenance (O&M) activities

?? Coordination with public safety agencies
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Arkansas Statewide

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

TBD

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes___X__ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? Plan to develop a concept of operations, regional integration strategy and physical architecture

?? No desire to create a logical architecture

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X__ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Plan to perform these activities within the project

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

N/A

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X__ No_____ 

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Plan to perform these activities within the project

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X__ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Plan to perform these activities within the project

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? None yet

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Project to start March, 2001

?? Still waiting for a signed contract from a subcontractor
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Idaho

State of Idaho ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone:

Lance Johnson

Idaho Transportation Department

P.O. Box 7129

Boise, ID 83707-1129

(208) 334-8557

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) District staff

?? ITD Headquarter representatives

?? County highway districts

?? Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)

?? Cities/municipalities

?? Federal Highway Administration

?? Transit authorities

?? Local Highway Technical Assistance Council

?? Idaho State Police

?? University of Idaho

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop? 

?? The plan was developed in two (2) phases, which were completed over a 2-year period

?? Phase I ? Served to bring agencies together, promote ITS awareness, evaluate the potential 

applicability of ITS, and produce a preliminary plan

?? Phase II ? Identified needs, strategies and market packages; developed regional and statewide 

architectures, and identified ITS projects and programs

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan.

?? Approx. $90,000 spent by State workforce

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $330,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? There was a desire at the state level to participate in the safety and efficiently benefits associated 

with ITS initiatives
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Idaho

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Phase I goals and objectives:

?? Form the Idaho ITS Committee

?? Promote ITS awareness and education

?? Acknowledge ITS applicability to Idaho

?? Identify the most promising ITS technology areas and applications

?? Phase II goals and objectives

?? Identify specific ITS projects

?? Develop a phased implementation approach

?? Establish funding mechanisms

?? Phase II of the state’s ITS planning process

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? No

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? A document and plan review was conducted of several Idaho cities and ITD Districts in order to 

identify problem areas

?? The ITS Committee identified potential ITS applications that could address these problem areas

?? Based on these transportation needs and potential applications, basic functional requirements for 

future ITS systems were developed

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? Mapped local/regional stakeholders' existing systems to the National ITS Architecture's

subsystems and terminators

?? Identified applicable Market Packages

?? Regional & Statewide Architecture (Existing & Planned)

?? Idaho was divided into six (6) regions for architecture purposes

?? Tailored “sausage diagram” (Physical Architecture)

?? Tailored subsystem interconnect diagrams (Organizational Architecture)

?? Tailored architecture flows between subsystems

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Federal-aid Funds Administered by ITD

?? Interstate Maintenance

?? National Highway System

?? State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

?? TEA-21 (ITS)

?? Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)

?? Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

?? State Funds Administered by ITD

?? State-funded Program
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Idaho

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? This is the next step in the process, it has not been completed

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these we re considered.

?? Project descriptions included order of magnitude estimates of annual operations and maintenance 

costs

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Planning-level estimates of ITS project costs were identified for design, implementation, and ongoing operations and maintenance

?? The plan does not provide estimates of benefits for ITS applications

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? This statewide plan required participation from many state and local agencies

?? Finding, developing, and maintaining champions in each agency was the key to success

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Plan was completed December, 2000

?? Currently programming identified ITS projects into the STIP through State coordination with the 

Districts

?? Deployed projects include variable message signs (VMS), closed-circuit television cameras 

(CCTV), and a transportation management center (TMC) in Boise jointly operated with Ada 

County

?? The University of Idaho is currently exploring signal upgrades to improve interconnectivity of 

signals in the City of Moscow (still in early planning stages) 
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Illinois Statewide

Illinois Statewide ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Dave Zavattero 

Illinois Department of Transportation

ITS Program Office

(847) 705-4800

zavatteroda@nt.dot.state.il.us

Wendall Meyer

ITS Specialist 

Federal Highway Administration

(217) 492-4634

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)

?? University of Illinois

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Completion of the Strategic Plan is anticipated in 18 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

N/A

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Phase I is being completed by the University of Illinois

?? Illinois DOT currently planning to develop an RFP to obtain consultant support

?? Completely document the ITS Strategic Plan

?? Possibility of including a Statewide ITS Architecture

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? The development of the Illinois DOT Statewide Strategic plan has prompted the Illinois ITS 

Program Office to begin development of an ITS Technology Application Strategic Business Plan

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Expand on the Illinois DOT Statewide Strategic goals and how they relate to ITS Technology 

Applications.

?? Customer Service and Partnerships (e.g., quality of services, improving safety, developing

alliances both public and private, etc.)

?? Learning/Growth (e.g., internal development, staff, etc.)

?? Best Business Practices (e.g., allocating resources, investments, environment, efficiency, etc.)

?? Delivery of Programs and Projects (e.g., development, deployment, delivery, etc.)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Illinois Statewide

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

TBD

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Currently developing a questionnaire (Phase I) to help establish the existing ITS system inventory 

and future needs (scheduled for completion March, 2001)

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes_____ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? Potential consultant contract has possibility of including a Statewide ITS Architecture

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes _____ No_____

If yes, pl ease list the potential sources.

TBD

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

TBD

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes _____ No_____

If yes, please briefly expl ain how these were considered.

TBD

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes _____ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

TBD

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

TBD

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The project just recently held its initial kick-off meeting

?? Currently developing a questionnaire (Phase I) to help establish the existing ITS system inventory 

and future needs (scheduled for completion March, 2001)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Iowa

Iowa DOT Integrated ITS and Services Deployment Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Craig Markley

Iowa Department of Transportation

800 Lincoln Way

Ames, IA 50010

(515) 239-1027

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Iowa Department of Transportation

?? Local city officials around the state

?? Local chambers of commerce around the state

?? Iowa City Fire Department

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

?? Five Oaks Charters (private transit operator)

?? INRCOG (Waterloo-Cedar Falls area council of government)

?? Iowa Department of Public Health

?? Johnson County Council of Governments

?? Linn County

?? MIDAS Council of Governments

?? Omaha Metropolitan Planning Organization

?? Ottumwa Transit

?? Polk County

?? Region XII Council of Governments (Sioux City area)

?? RIDES Regional Transit Authority

?? Sioux City Transit

?? Southeast Iowa Regional Transit Authority

?? Southwest Iowa Regional Transit Authority

?? Tama County EMA/911

?? University of Iowa

?? Waterloo Fire and Rescue

?? Waterloo Police Department

?? West Des Moines Police Department

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 14 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

TBD

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $300,000
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Iowa

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Iowa already had a number of ITS projects deployed and operational around the state

?? In addition, neighboring states such as Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri had aggressive ITS 

deployment schedules

?? Therefore, Iowa wished to develop a plan for organized deployment of ITS that would address the 

needs of travelers and key stakeholders and help to integrate current Iowa ITS projects,

neighboring states’ projects, and future projects together

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Safety

?? Increase traveler knowledge of road/weather conditions and vehicle crashes

?? Improve emergency medical response time

?? Improve response to HAZMAT emergencies

?? Reduce motor carrier safety violations

?? Minimize at-grade railroad crossing accidents

?? Reduce the number of safety-related moving violations

?? Improve safety/security for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users

?? Preservation

?? Improve availability, quality and convenience of rural and urban public transportation

?? Improve the management and maintenance of existing infrastructure

?? Reduce motor vehicle emissions and improve air quality

?? Reduce overall growth rate of vehicle miles traveled

?? Efficiency

?? Reduce incident response and clearance time

?? Reduce traffic delays through improved traffic management and peak period flow

?? Reduce commuting congestion by supporting telecommuting

?? Provide opportunities for intermodal connections

?? Increase throughput for all modes

?? Improve traveler knowledge of congestion and delays through improved trip

coordination, pre-trip route selection, and traveler information

?? Economic Development

?? Reduce shipping and delivery delays and subsequent cost of fleet operations

?? Increase traveler knowledge of tourism

?? Improve access to and from rural communities for travel, goods, services and information

?? Increase direct emp loyment through new ITS industry

?? Balance

?? Provide balance between urban and rural communities

?? Provide balance between preservation and expansion

?? Provide balance between economic development and quality of life

?? Provide balance among transportation modes

?? Provide balance between benefits and costs

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Rural activities

?? Weather-related events

?? Coordinating ITS activities in several small cities around Iowa
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Iowa

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Conducted statewide ITS stakeholder survey 

?? Held regional stakeholder meetings

?? Held divisional meetings with Iowa DOT staff, including maintenance

?? Held workshop with steering committee to prioritize transportation problems and to discuss 

applicability of potential solutions

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Service Plan

?? Customized Market Packages 

?? Subsystems and Equipment Packages 

?? System Architecture

?? Identification of key standards

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Funding opportunities will primarily involve State DOT funding

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? Plan for ITS activities to be funded as part of State DOT construction, maintenance, or operations 

projects

?? Therefore, ITS may not have a separate funding allocation, but would be included as an aspect of 

these larger projects

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Operations and maintenance costs were estimated for each of proposed projects

?? Iowa DOT personnel were consulted throughout the planning process so as to assess their roles 

and activities within the Strategic Plan

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Benefits were assessed based upon area needs that would be addressed by the projects, as well as 

by looking at successes in other areas

?? Costs were assessed by analyzing the cost of similar projects deployed nationwide

?? Costs included operations and maintenance, equipment, and implementation
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 4

Iowa

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Stakeholders involved had a wide range of interest in the planning activities and the plan itself

?? Some agencies involved remarked that they were primarily interested in the ITS plan 

defining what ITS technologies should be deployed

?? They were not as interested in most of the other activities (e.g., architecture development, 

learning the planning process, etc.)

?? Stakeholders will include those with varying levels of interest in ITS and varying levels of time 

that may be dedicated to learning and understanding all aspects of ITS

16. What is the current status of the Str ategic Plan?

?? The Strategic Plan was completed April, 2000

?? However, it is still awaiting final acceptance and approval from Iowa DOT
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Maryland Statewide

CHART 2000 -- Maryland Statewide ITS Business Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Michael J. Zezeski, Director

Office of CHART and ITS Development

Maryland State Highway Administration

4791 Connelly Drive

Hanover, MD 21076

(410) 787-5859

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA)

?? Maryland State Police

?? Maryland Transportation Authority

?? Maryland Department of Transportation

?? University of Maryland

?? Maryland Counties

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 6 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 10% of time per month

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $70,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? The initial ITS Business Plan was completed in October, 1996 and updated June, 1998

?? Both documents needed to be updated

?? Further need to strategize and articulate the ITS program’s goals and objectives in support of 

MSHA’s overall business plan for the next six (6) years (2001-2006)

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Traffic and Roadway Monitoring

?? Incident Management

?? Traveler Information

?? Traffic Management

?? System Integration and Communication
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Maryland Statewide

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Systems Integration and Communication were more heavily emphasized in the plan

?? Regional interoperability and field device deployment strategy was also heavily emphasized

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? The plan was developed concurrently with a statewide functional visioning effort

?? ITS development team sought input from the seven (7) state engineering district offices

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? CHART II System

?? Based upon requirements-driven technology that allows for an open system architecture 

and modular applications

?? Capable of evolving as functional, performance, and technological needs change

?? CHART II System used the framework of the National ITS Architecture, but complete detailed 

architecture development in Maryland is still on-going

?? Vision Statements of Future CHART II System

?? User Services

?? Business Area Architecture Report

?? CHART Conceptual Architecture

?? Performance Objectives of the Future CHART II System

?? Business Process Model View

?? Organization Model View

?? Location Model View

?? Application Model View

?? Data Model View

?? Technology Model View

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)

?? Interstate Discretionary Funds

?? Federal ITS Earmark

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? A cash flow has been submitted with the plan and these funding sources are identified for all 

projects

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Funds were identified and annual budgets were created using historical data
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Maryland Statewide

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? The plan is based on "managing for results"

?? All ITS goals have specific measurable objectives that can be evaluated and assessed for their 

corresponding benefit

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Identifying specific projects and planning their completion by targeted deadline is essential to 

management of an effective ITS Program

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? It was completed October, 2000
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Michigan

Michigan ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Kunwar Rajendra, PhD, P.E.

Engineer of Intelligent Transportation Systems

Michigan Department of Transportation

State Transportation Building

425 W. Ottawa St.

P.O. Box 30050

Lansing, MI 48909

(517) 335-2893

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Michigan Department of Transportation

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

?? University of Michigan

?? Road Commission for Oakland County

?? Michigan State Police

?? Ann Arbor Transit Authority

?? City of Detroit

?? U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command

?? Chrysler Corporation

?? Ford Motor Company

?? Rockwell International Corporation

?? Eaton Corporation

?? Siemens Automotive

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 12 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? As the project was completed in 1996, staff time estimates were not available

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $90,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? The State of Michigan is the home of the American automotive industry and was a test bed for 

dozens of ITS initiatives during the late 1980's and early 1990's

?? In 1996, the initial Michigan ITS Strategic Plan was developed with the following focus areas:

?? Early deployment of ITS for international border crossings between the U.S. and Canada

?? Reliance on ITS-supported tourism to spread ITS services throughout the State

?? Expand the deployment of the Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure to host ITS 

innovations in model deployment initiatives

?? Need to update the 1996 ITS Strategic Plan

?? Desire to develop an ITS plan which identifies several key project areas that could be deployed in 

the Greater Detroit Metropolitan Area
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Michigan

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Purpose

?? Develop a statewide vision for ITS deployment

?? Lay out a strategy for deploying ITS throughout the State over the next 15-years

?? Objectives

?? Serve as a living document that would be updated periodically

?? Assist in developing continued consensus among stakeholder groups 

?? Provide a basis for establishing ITS alliances and partnerships

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? The ITS Strategic Plan contained 19 strawman action plans which were to be discussed further 

with relevant stakeholder groups of the Advisory Council

?? These action plans were divided among six (6) categories that included thrusts (focus areas), 

development, improvement, planning, education/outreach, and organization

?? Five (5) areas or projects were highlighted to include:

?? International border crossings

?? System development to provide traffic information to private organizations under a

MOTORCITI program

?? Use of ITS to support and enhance tourism

?? Development of plans for becoming an Early Model Deployment area

?? Integration of Advanced Traffic Management Systems with Advanced Traveler

Information Systems

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Conducted interviews with selected ITS Michigan board members

?? Guiding principles for the Strategic Plan

?? Michigan’s unique strengths and limitations in ITS

?? Major thrusts in the Strategic Plan

?? Other topics that should be addressed by the Strategic Plan

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes_____ No__X___

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? A Regional ITS Architecture is currently in development for the Greater Detroit Metropolitan 

Area with plans for expansion into a statewide architecture

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential fundi ng opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? The Michigan ITS Strategic Plan identified several potential funding sources and opportunities

?? The majority of funding for ITS in Michigan was initially through Congressional earmarking; 

however, it was determined that other sources would be needed

?? Potential funding sources identified included:

?? U.S. DOT/FHWA

?? State transportation funds

?? U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command

?? Private sector funding from the major automotive organizations
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Michigan

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? DIRECT (Driver Information Radio using Experimental Communication Technologies)

?? Funded via FHWA, MDOT, and several private partners

?? US-Canada International Border Crossings

?? Funded via MDOT, FHWA, State of New York, and the Ministry of Transportation of 

Ontario

?? ATMS/ATIS deployment in metropolitan Detroit and Grand Rapids

?? Funded via FHWA and MDOT

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes _____ No__X___

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? A cost/benefit worksheet was developed for the 1998 Michigan ITS/CVO 

Business Plan

?? The worksheet maps low versus high costs and benefits across a grid for the 

recommended projects

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? 1996 ITS Strategic Plan focused on stakeholders in Southeast Michigan since they were more 

versed/accepting of ITS so that the region could benefit and provide an example for the State

?? Since the project was developed under such a short time frame, stakeholder involvement could 

have been improved

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The initial ITS Strategic Plan was completed in 1996

?? Significant efforts have been made since completion of the plan to deploy and implement the 

projects specified in the major project areas

?? Currently, plans exist to develop a new ITS Strategic Plan which will expand the focus from the 

Greater Detroit Metropolitan Area to a full statewide ITS Strategic Plan

?? At this time, a schedule has not been set for the new plan's rollout
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Missouri Statewide

Missouri Statewide Integrated ITS Business and Deployment Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Rick Bennett

Missouri Department of Transportation

2211 St. Marys Blvd., P. O. Box 270

Jefferson City, MO 65102

Phone: (573) 526-4842

FAX: (573) 526-0120

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Missouri Department of Transportation

?? Missouri Highway Patrol

?? Regional Transit Agencies

?? County Commissioners

?? Local City Officials (statewide)

?? Local Chambers of Commerce (statewide)

?? Local Police & Fire Departments

?? Federal Highway Administration

?? Kansas Department of Transportation

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Anticipate approx. 12 mos.

?? The planning process is still in the early stages ? initial outreach planned for March, 2001

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? The ITS Strategic Plan is currently under development and total costs are unknown at this time

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X__ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $575,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Missouri DOT desires to develop a statewide ITS program that integrates the various systems, 

provides consistency, and eliminates redundant system development

?? They also are working to mainstream ITS into the transportation business process

?? ITS will be a tool to address transportation issues and will be coupled with other transportation 

improvement tools

?? Missouri DOT are involving stakeholders in ITS planning and development to assure that these 

tools are available to help meet regional, state, and local transportation needs
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Missouri Statewide

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Coordinate existing ITS Programs

?? Mainstream ITS into Missouri DOT's business process (e.g., Design, Planning, etc.)

?? Create a strategic ITS Vision

?? Identify short-, medium-, and long-term ITS Projects (with cost estimates)

?? Develop a statewide ITS architecture

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Freeway management (Urban areas)

?? Incident management (Urban areas)

?? Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS)

?? Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) coordination

?? Traffic signal systems

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

TBD

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? A statewide ITS architecture will be developed

?? Urban regional architectures are currently being developed under separate efforts

?? In the near future, it is anticipated that rural “regional” architectures will be developed

?? Then, all regional architectures would be integrated with the statewide architecture 

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Conventional highway funds (i.e., National Highway Trust Fund)

?? Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)

?? Safety funds

?? State DOT operating funds

?? State/Local/Private partnering

?? ITS Earmarks

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

TBD

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Operations and maintenance will be considered in the later stages of the Strategic Plan
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Missouri Statewide

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Strategic Plan will include development, deployment, and operations and maintenance costs

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Involvement of internal and external (to MoDOT) stakeholders is proving very valuable

?? The workshops are a great forum to get feedback from stakeholders on both ITS and non-ITS 

issues

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The plan has just started with initial outreach efforts conducted March, 2001

?? The plan anticipates completion November, 2001
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Nevada

ITS Strategic Plan for the I-80/US 395 Corridors (Nevada)

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Mike Quintero

Nevada Department of Transportation

1263 S. Stewart St.

Carson City, Nevada 89712

(775) 888-7221

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Nevada Department of Transportation

?? City of Wendover

?? Elko Chamber of Commerce

?? Nevada Regional Transit Commission

?? City of Reno

?? Nevada Highway Patrol

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 12 mos.

?? Start ? July, 2000

?? End ? June 2001

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 20-30 hrs.

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $250,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? The unique mountainous terrain and very remote rural areas along I-80 make this corridor a 

challenging corridor to travel

?? The upcoming Olympics in Salt Lake City was an impetus for performing the planning study at 

this time
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Nevada

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Improve the safety of highway travel through the application of ITS

?? Increase the efficiency and access to traveler information for travelers along the corridor 

?? Advance the state of traveler mobility along the corridor, both locally and regionally

?? Assist local communities along the corridor with the promotion of attractions and special events, 

and by increasing tourism through the application of ITS

?? Ensure compatibility and consistency with the direction of national ITS initiatives

?? Encourage public interagency cooperation and participation of private industry in the process of 

deploying and operating ITS along the corridor

?? Successfully secure funding for the deployment, operations, and maintenance of identified ITS 

components

?? Educate the general public, public agencies, and government officials of the potential for ITS 

along the corridor

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Rural traveler information

?? Information specifically for maintenance operators

?? Integrate corridor ITS initiatives with the Reno Metro Area's ITS activities

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Held workshops in the four (4) key areas along the Corridor

?? Performed limited one-on-one follow-up discussions

?? Reviewed accident statistics, weather statistics, and other planning studies in the Corridor

?? Conducted a mail/FAX survey of key stakeholders along the Corridor

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Service Plan

?? Market Package Plan

?? Logical Architecture

?? Functional definitions and requirements

?? Logical diagram

?? Physical Architecture

?? Tailo red "sausage diagrams" for each Market Package

?? Turbo Architecture Database

?? Inventory

?? Market Packages

?? Flow diagrams

?? Subsystem interconnect diagrams

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? The task of identifying funding opportunities and sources has not yet been performed

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? Since the plan has not been completed, this decision will be based upon the plan's final results
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Nevada

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes ___X__ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Following acceptance of the near-term deployment projects, an entire task will be dedicated to 

developing an operations and maintenance plan

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Costs and benefits will be reviewed and addressed in the operations plan (above)

?? During the selection of near-term projects, benefits of each technology were presented in terms of 

the extent to which each technology:

?? Addressed the needs along the corridor

?? Met the goals and objectives of the study

?? Ready for deployment

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Each rural community is very interested in expressing the needs and interests that may be

addressed by ITS

?? However, if outreach is conducted to these communities, there has to be steady feedback given to 

them during the planning process and follow-up explaining what will be done in the community, 

or why their specific needs will not be addressed at this time

?? Initial outreach and needs assessment must be responded to within the plan

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The ITS Strategic Plan is still being developed (currently in month 8 of a 12 month process)

?? The IT’S Architecture is completed and currently being reviewed by the Project Steering 

Committee

?? Key technologies have been identified (currently under review)

?? Short-term deployments are presently being selected
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada ITS Strategic Plan (California)

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

David Clark

New Technology and Research Program

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

P.O. Box 942873

Sacramento, CA 94273-0001

(916) 657-4060

dave.clark@dot.ca.gov

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Caltrans District 9 (Bishop)

?? Caltrans District 10 (Stockton)

?? Caltrans New Technology and Research Program (NTRP)

?? California Highway Patrol (CHP)

?? County Transportation, Planning, and Community Development Agencies (9 Counties)

?? Local Business Owners and Major Employers

?? National Park Service

?? United States Forest Service (USFS)

?? Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

?? National Weather Service (NWS)

?? Central Sierra Planning Council

?? Nevada Department of Transportation

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 27 mos.

?? Start ? April, 2000

?? End ? June, 2002

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 1 person half-time for project management

?? This reflects different staff with varying levels of effort over time

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X__ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $500,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Caltrans has been forwarding ITS planning activities on a statewide basis for the past 5-10 years

?? The Sierra Nevada ITS effort is part of this on-going effort and will incorporate ITS activities as 

directed by the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA -21)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Sierra Nevada

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Bring together those stakeholders involved in planning, building, operating, and maintaining 

transportation systems to study whether ITS has potential application in the Sierra Nevada Region

?? Determine the best way to move forward with potential ITS deployments

?? Inventory current ITS assets in the study area

?? Identify transportation deficiencies and ITS opportunities

?? Identify and prioritize worthwhile ITS Projects

?? Coordinate with other California Statewide ITS efforts and those in neighboring states (Nevada) 

?? Increase regional inter-agency communication

?? Better coordinate the transportation planning process between involved Agencies 

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Special emphasis on ITS in rural, mountainous areas

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Workshops/meetings with the ITS Steering Group and Local/Regional stakeholders

?? Workshops/meetings with Caltrans NTRP and District staff

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X__ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? ITS Vision Statement

?? User Service Objectives

?? Other deliverables TBD

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X__ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

TBD

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

TBD

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X__ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

TBD

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X__ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

TBD ? the level of detail and degree of analysis is unknown at this time
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Sierra Nevada

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

TBD ? but the importance of stakeholder involvement is a recurring lesson

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Initial workshops/meetings with stakeholders have been held

?? Current efforts are focused on securing consensus on the ITS Vision Statement and User Service 

Objectives that will drive more detailed development of the Strategic Deployment Plan
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

South Dakota

South Dakota Rural ITS Deployment Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Jon Becker

South Dakota Department of Transportation 

Office of Research

700 East Broadway Avenue

Pierre, SD 57501-2586

(605) 773-6242

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT)

?? Emergency Management

?? South Dakota Tourism

?? South Dakota Highway Patrol

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

?? South Dakota Association of County Commissioners

?? Bureau of Information and Telecommunication

?? City of Rapid City

?? City of Sioux Falls Department of Public Works

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 11 mos.

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 80 hrs.

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $115,000.

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Propose a deployment plan to guide the SDDOT in implementing ITS systems in an effort to 

improve traveler information, mobility, and safety

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Describe the current rural ITS environment in South Dakota

?? Develop a strategic direction for ITS activities in South Dakota

?? Propose a coordinated program of rural ITS projects that address the needs of transportation users 

and those of government and public agencies

?? Define an organization and management framework for accomplishing ITS projects

?? Develop materials that will effectively communicate the findings to representatives of state

government and other public agencies in South Dakota
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

South Dakota

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Rural implementations

?? Rural safety initiatives that address roadway crashes due to long emergency response times

?? Rural transit options

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Eight (8) public agency and general public focus groups

?? Four (4) additional public agency outreach meetings

?? General public survey

?? Review of accident statistics and safety records

?? Review and assessment of current communications infrastructure

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes_____ No__X___

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? State transportation funds

?? Federal Highway Administration (i.e., ITS, 5-1-1, & Mayday initiatives)

?? City contributions

?? Private partnerships

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? A subset of high priority ITS projects is being considered for funding in the near future using State 

and Federal sources

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Based on deployments of similar ITS endeavors, these activities were modified for deployment 

within South Dakota

?? Operations, maintenance, and management activities were considered on a project-level

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Most of the recommended ITS projects were based on successful deployments in other states

?? Cost/benefits (C/B) were extrapolated from similar ITS projects that were reviewed
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

South Dakota

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Rural areas contain a set of unique transportation-related needs that cannot easily be addressed by 

traditional design/build methods

?? The needs found in rural areas should be examined and addressed to ensure a consistent level-ofservice for all roadways across the State 

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The final report was completed January, 2001

?? The South Dakota Department of Transportation is currently reviewing the plan to

determine/recommend projects for implementation
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Tahoe Basin

Tahoe Basin ITS Strategic Plan (California & Nevada)

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Nick Haven

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)

308 Dorla Court

P.O. Box 1038

Zephyr Cove, NV 89448

(775) 588-4547 Ext. 256

For more information, please visit the Tahoe Basin Internet web-site at:

http://www.tahoebasinits.com/

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)

?? Caltrans District 3

?? Caltrans New Technology & Research Program (NTRP)

?? Nevada DOT District 2

?? Nevada DOT Research Division

?? Federal Highway Administration (CA & NV)

?? California Highway Patrol (CHP)

?? Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP)

?? Washoe Regional Transportation Commission (RTC)

?? Tahoe Coordinated Area Transit (TCAT)

?? South Shore Transportation Management Association (TMA)

?? Truckee/North Tahoe Transportation Management Association (TNT TMA)

?? Tahoe Transportation District (TTD)

?? Lake Tahoe Transportation & Water Quality Coalition

?? United States Forest Service (USFS)

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Project is still in -progress ? duration approx. 18 mos.

?? Start ? June, 2000

?? End ? December, 2001 

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 24 hrs. per month

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $330,000
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Tahoe Basin

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Caltrans has been forwarding ITS planning activities on a statewide basis for the past 5-10 years

?? Nevada DOT has begun similar ITS planning efforts in key regions & corridors

?? TRPA was recently designated as the Tahoe Basin's metropolitan planning organization (MPO)

?? Understanding that the Tahoe Basin is a major tourist destination and recognizing the need to 

coordinate its ITS activities with those of neighboring regions/corridors

?? Address the unique aspects of the rural environment where challenges include rapid changes in 

weather, limited alternative routes and difficulties in developing effective communication systems

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Preserve the health of the Tahoe Basin's natural environment (especially Lake Tahoe itself)

?? Improve the Basin's economic vitality and tourism activities

?? Increase roadway efficiency without adding new lanes or roads

?? Address congestion, safety, and incident management challenges

?? Improve the effectiveness of Agency operation, maintenance, and emergency response activities 

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Provide pre-trip and en-route traveler information

?? Increase the efficiency of the Basin's transit systems 

?? Improve roadway maintenance activities (especially during the winter season)

?? Improve inter-agency coordination and management activities

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Conducted comprehensive system inventory and transportation assessment

?? Conducted one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders

?? Held several workshops and focus group meetings with Agency stakeholders

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes_X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Service Plan

?? Market Package Plan

?? Physical Architecture (Existing & Planned)

?? Tailored “sausage” diagrams (subsystem interconnect diagrams)

?? Includes links to associated Market Packages & ITS Projects

?? Turbo Architecture Database File (Existing & Planned) 

?? System Inventory

?? Market Package Association

?? Organizational Architecture (tailored subsystem interconnect diagrams)

?? Architecture Flow Diagrams (tailored data flow diagrams between subsystems)

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes _X____ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? At this time, that portion of the project has not been undertaken

?? However, it is the intent of the project to successfully identify all tangible/feasible funding sources 
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Tahoe Basin

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? Internal Agency budgets for Caltrans, Nevada DOT, FHWA, and TCAT already include monies 

for ITS systems in/around the Tahoe Basin

?? TRPA is also in the process of forwarding several ITS components into the Regional

Transportation Improvement Plan (RTIP)

?? TCAT is a finalist for being selected as an USDOT ITS transit demonstration project in the Basin 

(grant monies have already been obtained)

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes _X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? O&M needs identified/assessed during stakeholder interviews/workshops

?? Preliminary analysis of staff capabilities vs. ITS requirements

?? Stakeholders discussed/compared existing roles, Agency interactions, and type of information 

sharing to desired levels

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes _X____ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? At this time, that portion of the project has not been undertaken

?? However, it is the intent of the project to successfully identify ITS project costs and benefits

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Importance of public agencies working with the private sector (e.g., casinos, ski resorts, lodging 

associations, etc.) to identify potential ITS solutions that promote economic vitality in the Basin 

?? Funding for ITS does not just exist in some "magical pot-of-money"; but rather, ITS needs to be 

"mainstreamed" into the traditional planning process

?? TRPA staff will be responsible for updating the Regional ITS Architecture and for ensuring 

conformance when "new" ITS Projects arise

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Developing the Market Package Plan (February, 2001)

?? Completed the "Existing" Regional ITS Architecture using Turbo Architecture (February, 2001)

?? Identifying ITS project "Early Winners" (March, 2001)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Tahoe Gateway

Tahoe Gateway Counties ITS Strategic Deployment Plan (California)

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Kathy Mathews

Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA)

550 High Street, Suite 107

Auburn, CA 95603

 (530) 823-4033

For more information, please visit the Tahoe Gateway Counties Internet web-site at:

http://www.tahoegateway.com/sys-tmpl/door/

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA)

?? El Dorado County Transportation Commission (EDCTC)

?? Sierra County Transportation Commission (SCTC)

?? Nevada County Transportation Commission (NCTC)

?? Caltrans District 3

?? Caltrans New Technology & Research Program (NTRP)

?? California Highway Patrol (CHP)

?? California Department of Tourism

?? El Dorado Transit

?? National Weather Service (NWS)

?? United States Forest Service (USFS)

?? Truckee/North Tahoe Transportation Management Association (TNT TMA)

?? AMTRAK

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Project is still in -progress ? duration approx. 30 mos.

?? Start ? February, 2000

?? End ? June, 2002

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 20 hrs. per month

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes_X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $315,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Caltrans has been forwarding ITS planning activities on a statewide basis for the past 5-10 years

?? Need transportation improvements to better serve residents/visitors traveling to the numerous 

recreational/tourist destinations in the region 

?? The needs of the rapidly urbanizing foothills, the numerous state routes, and the heavily traveled I80 corridor has added pressure to the existing transportation systems

?? Need to coordinate its ITS activities with those of neighboring regions/corridors
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Tahoe Gateway

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Develop an ITS deployment plan and implementation strategy for the Tahoe Gateway Region

?? Improve safety and enhancing the capacity of the existing transportation facilities through more 

effective management and operation of the transportation system

?? Address the unique aspects of the rural environment where challenges include rapid changes in 

weather, limited alternative routes and difficulties in developing effective communication systems

?? Promote accessibility to the region's numerous recreational/tourist destinations

?? Provide better traveler information to the region's residents/visitors

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Transit operations

?? Traveler information systems/services

?? Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS)

?? Roadway safety aspects

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Conducted comprehensive system inventory and transportation assessment

?? Sent-out questionnaires/survey forms to Agency stakeholders

?? Conducted one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders

?? Held several workshops with Agency stakeholders

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes_X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Service Plan (February, 2001)

?? Market Package Plan (September, 2001)

?? Regional ITS Architecture using Turbo Architecture (February, 2002)

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes _X____ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Planned effort

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? TBD

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes _X____ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Planned effort
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Tahoe Gateway

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes _____ No__X___

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Cost/Benefit (C/B) analyses not planned

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? TBD

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Finalizing the User Service Plan (February, 2001)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Tennessee

Tennessee Department of Transportation ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Don Dahlinger

ITS Office

Tennessee Department of Transportation

505 Deaderick St.

Suite 1000

Nashville, TN 37219

(615) 741-3033

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT)

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

?? Vanderbilt University

?? Strategic Plan was also distributed to over 200 internal and external stakeholders across the state

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 17 mos.

?? Start: January, 1997

?? End: May, 1998

?? However, development of the Strategic Plan only became a priority in January, 1998

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 50 staff-hours per mo.

?? Includes ITS Coordinating Committee meetings and preparation (2x per mo.)

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $100,000 (from Federal Interstate Maintenance funds)

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? The TDOT Executive Leadership Team (ELT) felt the need for guidance on implementing ITS 

programs and practices within TDOT

?? They also saw a need to proactively deal with ITS-related requests from local governments and 

private interests

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Inform the public of TDOT's current ITS activities and anticipated strategic direction

?? Improve operating efficiency

?? Improve safety

?? Reduce congestion

?? Improve reliability

?? Improve access, availability, and quality of planning information

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Tennessee

?? Incident Management

?? Operations and Maintenance

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Down-selected from the National ITS Program Plan’s list of User Services to 

those which would be applicable to TDOT’s overall mission

?? Developed a matrix to map needs (e.g. detection and verification time, severe 

weather, volume -to-capacity ratio, etc.) to potential ITS technology 

applications

?? In order to identify specific locations, TDOT’s overall mission objectives 

were mapped to key parameters, which were in turn mapped to ideal 

measures of performance

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? ITS Master Plans

?? Market Packages

?? Deployment Plan

?? Cost Estimates (Capital & O&M)

?? Regional ITS Architecture

?? Regional ITS Architecture

?? Operational Concept

?? System Functional Requirements (e.g. Market Packages

?? Diagram illustrating high-level interfaces

?? Diagrams illustrating ITS Architecture Flows

?? List of applicable ITS standards

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes _____ No__X__

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? The plan does not address funding specifically, but does include strategic priorities focused on 

addressing the issue of funding

?? However, currently using Federal funds for ITS projects

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? Currently waiting for the FHWA proposed rule-making for guidance

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Developed three (3) specific O&M strategic priorities

?? Develop training programs for ITS stakeholders on maintenance, operations, contracting, 

procurement, and management issues to ensure knowledge development efforts

?? Ensure funding for ITS infrastructure O&M is considered

?? Provide appropriate resources to support ITS deployments on an on-going basis

?? Ensure that O&M remains a focus for both the ITS Coordinating Committee and the ELT
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Tennessee

14. Did the Str ategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Costs are being developed through the urban area master plan development process

?? Consideration of benefits has been very qualitative through providing example benefits from ITS 

deployments in other states

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Since ITS technology and practices are evolving so quickly and given the newness of ITS in 

TDOT, having an ongoing strategic planning process is as important or more important than 

having a written plan

?? A short-term (annual) plan update is a necessary undertaking

?? Documents current objectives and holds people accountable for ITS initiatives that have 

been implemented

?? Provides a vehicle for communicating current ITS activities with other stakeholders

?? The strategic planning process needs to involve relatively high-level management so that ITS 

program impacts can be fully understood across the organization

?? Communication and coordination of ITS initiatives are important to long-term success of the 

program

?? The plan should focus on a timeline for implementation

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? ITS Steering Committee performing annual updates of the plan

?? Current ITS deployments include the following

?? Freeway management systems (Nashville & Knoxville)

?? Commercial Vehicle Ope5ratiopns (CVO) pre-clearance systems

?? Traveler information kiosks at welcome centers and rest areas
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Vermont

Vermont ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Bruce Bender

Vermont Agency of Transportation

(802) 828-3984

Karen Songhurst

Vermont Agency of Transportation

(802) 828-1078

Dr. Adel Sadek

Assistant Professor 

Civil Engineering Department

University of Vermont

(802) 656-4126

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Vermont Agency of Transportation

?? University of Vermont

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Development of the Vermont ITS Strategic Plan is currently underway

?? The study should take 12 months

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

?? For the University of Vermo nt, 2.5 man-months 

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $30,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? The Ve rmont Agency of Transportation has relatively little experience deploying ITS and wanted 

to develop a comprehensive/systematic approach from which to establish a foundation

?? Incorporate City of Burlington ITS Strategic Plan into Statewide version

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Determine the appropriate applications for ITS in the State of Vermont

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Rural needs

?? Emergency Management Systems (EMS)

?? Public Safety activities (Police and Fire) 
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Vermont

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Meetings with the Steering Committee & District Engineers

?? Conducted stakeholder surveys

?? City of Burlington

?? EMS community

?? Police

?? Burlington MPO

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Needs Plan

?? User Services

?? Market Packages Report

?? Long-Range Vision

?? Regional ITS Architecture

?? Applicable ITS standards 

?? Description of potential ITS Projects

?? Suggested procurement methods

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes ___X__ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Specific findings still to be determined

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? Specific findings still to be determined

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Not initially, they will be considered in the B/C analysis at a high level

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? Specific findings still to be determined

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Coordination and cooperation between all involved Stakeholders is essential to the project's 

success

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 65% complete (March, 2001)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Virginia

Smart Travel Business Plan (Virginia)

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Tom Jennings

Federal Highway Administration

Virginia Division

(804) 775-3357

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

?? Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

?? Local city/county transportation agencies

?? Neighboring state transportation agencies

?? Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)

?? Universities

?? ITS Virginia (Member agencies)

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? VDOT does not consider ITS planning to just be the development of one document; it is a 

continuous effort

?? Efforts are on-going and have been underway for 7 years and will continue for many more years

?? VDOT has several on-going efforts underway to develop ITS activities statewide, including the 

major rural areas of the state (i.e., major metro areas and rural Virginia along the I-81 corridor)

?? The Smart Travel Business Plan (1998) is probably the closest document that provides an overall 

ITS strategic approach on a statewide basis

?? Overall, there are several ongoing Federal-aid projects which provide funding for ITS planning 

activities

4. During this period, how many hours/percent of time per month did your agency work on the 

Strategic Plan?

N/A

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X_ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? The ongoing VD OT contracts that include ITS planning are for several million dollars

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? There is a definite recognition and top-level support for using technology to improve

transportation in the State of Virginia

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? The Northern Virginia (NOVA) Smart Travel Program can be described as ten (10)inter-related 

systems that work together:

?? Planning and Policy

?? Surface Street Management

?? Freeway Management

?? Incident Management
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Virginia

?? Multi-modal Support

?? Customer Service

?? Communications

?? Traveler Information

?? Asset Management

?? Payment System 

?? Each of the above systems has four (4) primary program activities:

?? System Management

?? System Expansion

?? System Evaluation

?? System Upgrade

?? VDOT strategy ? Vision to Goals to Objectives to Functions to Long-Range ITS Projects

?? Vision ? VDOT will provide timely and accurate information about roadway conditions 

to travelers (System Management, Personal Travel, Commercial Vehicle Operations)

?? Goals ? Support traveler information services

?? Objectives ? Improve roadway network information dissemination

?? Functions ? Provide information to travelers on current status of network and share 

information with other agencies

System Management Program 

Current Program (0-2 Years) 

?? Maximize investment in existing ATMS resources

?? Expand ATMS coverage to meet current needs

?? Coordinate ITS with other administrative technology initiatives within VDOT 

?? Balance urban and rural applications

?? Develop communications and architecture to support future expansion

?? Strengthen working relationships

Near term (3-5 years)

?? Begin widespread deployment of near real-time traffic control

?? Continue to expand ATMS coverage to meet needs

?? Expand focus on administration and asset management systems

?? Implement Integrated VDOT data Sharing

Personal Travel Program 

Current Program (0-2 Years)

?? Develop Washington DC and Hampton Roads Region ATIS Public Private Partnerships

?? Begin Statewide ATIS program development 

?? Implement tourist travel enhancement

Near Term (3-5 years)

?? Implement Statewide ATIS Program

Commercial Vehicle Operations Program

Current Program (0-2 years)

?? Develop paperless administrative and clearance systems

?? Increase electronic communications links

?? Reduce on-road commercial vehicle stop time

?? Begin CVISN deployment

Near Term (3-5 years)

?? Complete paperless systems

?? Develop systems that are completely accessible electronically

?? Install electronic fund transfers for all fees

?? Begin using electronic data to target safety activities

?? Reduce number of vehicles stopped on roads
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Virginia

Specific Rural Projects

?? Head –on traffic Warning System and Evaluation

?? Evaluation of Cellular Call Locating System 

?? Work Zone Safety Systems – low cost route diversion study, Mayday System, Uniform 

Incident Response and Dispatch Protocol Update

?? Enhanced Traveler Information System

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? I-81 Concept of ITS Operations Plan (Rural ITS Project) 

?? In addition, a separate ITS CVO business plan was developed (May, 1998)

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? This is a continuous effort to seek input from the many partners and stakeholders

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? User Services Report

?? Development of the ITS “Vision”

?? Describes the outcome of implementing the ITS Business Plan

?? Key areas include System Management, Personal Travel, and Commercial Vehicle

Operations

?? Statewide ITS Concept – Deployment Approach

?? Statewide ITS Architecture

?? CVO Business Plan

?? SMART Business Plan

?? Elements of the plan that help describe how the VDOT ITS Program will be implemented include:

?? Performance Measure

?? Guiding Principles

?? Deployment Approach

?? Migration Paths

?? VDOT has implemented several ITS Systems to address specific needs in non-urban areas 

including fog detection and warning systems, intersection warning systems, and road weather 

information systems

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes _____ No__X___

If yes, please list the potential sources.

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

N/A
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 4

Virginia

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes _X__ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Included as part of VDOT's System Management User Services Group under Administrative 

Functions and Asset Management 

?? VDOT’s goal is to maintain and operate its assets to the highest standards of quality and safety

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes _____ No__X___

If yes, please briefly describe how.

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Having an overall vision is very important and the VDOT Smart Travel Business Plan serves that 

purpose

?? However, there is a great deal more involved in planning for ITS ? it is a continuous effort and 

not a one-shot activity

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? Efforts continue to be underway ? the 2001 update is almost complete (June, 2001)

?? The next specific document planned is a Statewide VDOT Implementation Plan

?? Includes an Integration Strategy and Investment Plan

?? Each District will also be developing Program Plans
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Wisconsin

Southwest Wisconsin ITS Architecture & Traffic Management System 

Preliminary Engineering Project

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Mr. Jay Obenberger

Wisconsin Department of Transportation – District 1

2101 Wright Street

Madison, Wisconsin 53704

(608) 243-3379

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? City of Madison*

?? UW Madison

?? Madison Convention & Visitor’s Bureau

?? Madison Suburbs

?? Fitchburg

?? McFarland 

?? Middleton

?? Monona

?? Oregon

?? Sun Prairie 

?? Verona

?? Other Cities 

?? Beloit *

?? Janesville*

?? Wisconsin Dells

?? Watertown

?? Dane County*

?? Rock County*

?? Jefferson County

?? Dodge County

?? Columbia County

?? Sauk County

?? Iowa County

?? Grant County

?? Lafayette County

?? Green County 

?? WisDOT Bureau of Highway Operations*

?? WisDOT Bureau of Planning

?? WisDOT State Patrol District 1*

?? WisDOT State Patrol Bureau of Communications*

?? IDOT District 2 – Dixon*

?? Illinois State Toll Highway Authority*

?? Illinois State Police*

?? BadgerNet

?? I-90/94 Corridor ITS

?? I-39 Corridor ITS

?? Wisconsin Transportation Districts 1,4,5,6,7* (WisDOT)

* ? Indicates a Primary Stakeholder
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Wisconsin

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 18 mos

?? Start ? June, 2000

?? End ? November, 2001

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? Approx. 120 hrs. per month

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes___X__ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $850,000

?? Please note that this amount includes preliminary engineering for high priority ITS Projects

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? WisDOT has been leading an incident management program for the Dane County area for approx. 

3 years

?? The Dane County Incident Management Steering Committee realized that an ITS Strategic Plan 

was necessary for the Dane County Area and that the project region needed to be expanded to the 

surrounding 10 Counties in Southwest Wisconsin (which are included in WisDOT’s

Transportation District 1)

?? WisDOT District 1 acts as a centroid for the freeway system within western Wisconsin and the 

Interstate Corridors needed a leading District for the further deployment of ITS

?? Many of the stakeholders within the 10 County area were already planning and in some cases 

implementing projects with ITS elements

?? There is currently not a Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for this region of 

Wisconsin and WisDOT is currently taking the role as the coordinator for ITS and the initial 

“keeper” of the Regional ITS Architecture

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Develop an overall ITS Vision for Southwest Wisconsin

?? Document a Regional ITS Architecture

?? Conduct Region-wide ITS Outreach and Education activities

?? Identify Regional needs and propose solutions

?? Develop Stakeholder Consensus on needs and proposed solutions

?? Develop and gain approval for a 6-Year ITS Program Plan

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Rural transportation needs

?? Traveler information

?? Public Safety data sharing and integration

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Interviewed over 50 Local Agencies in the following stakeholder categories:

?? Engineering Departments

?? Public Works & Maintenance Staff

?? 911 Centers & Emergency Management Personnel

?? Communications Departments

?? Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Wisconsin

?? Law Enforcement, Sheriff, and local Police Departments

?? Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)

?? Transit Agencies

?? Conducted system inventory and transportation assessment

?? Conducted one-on-one interviews with majority of stakeholders to discuss the ITS Program and 

define existing and future systems 

?? Conducted multiple workshops for different areas within the Region

?? Conducted a series of prioritizing exercises at monthly Technical Meetings

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? A series of documents highlighting the Systems Engineering process

?? Turbo Architecture Database File (Existing & Planned) 

?? System Inventory

?? Market Package Association

?? Physical Architecture

?? Organizational Architecture (tailored subsystem interconnect diagrams)

?? Architecture Flow Diagrams (tailored data flow diagrams between 

subsystems)

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? The Strategic Plan will identify a 6-10 year deployment plan and associated funding opportunities

?? WisDOT has taken initial steps to “mainstream” ITS components into many traditional roadway 

improvement projects

?? However, the funding opportunities will ultimately be broken into several categories:

?? National Highway System (NHS) funds

?? Surface Transportation Program (STP)

?? Federal Transit Administration (FTA) monies

?? Traffic Impact Mitigation ? typically 10% of overall traditional highway project costs

?? Federal Earmarks

?? Mainstream vs. stand-alone ITS Projects

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? The Consultant Team is currently in the process of mapping projects to potential funding 

opportunities

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? WisDOT seems to have an easier time justifying capitol expenditures versus 

recurring O&M costs

?? There are three (3) primary issues related to O&M:

?? Should WisDOT co-locate operations with any stakeholders (e.g., Dane County 911. 

State Patrol, City of Madison Traffic, etc.)?
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 4

Wisconsin

?? How will ITS component O&M be handled across established jurisdictional boundaries 

(i.e., across Illinois state line and beyond District 1)?

?? Should WisDOT charge agencies, private companies, and/or citizens for any data such as 

video images, travel times, etc.? 

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? The projects will be assigned costs through the development of the 6-10 year 

implementation plan

?? The benefits were measured using an evaluation methodology based on various 

weighted performance criteria (e.g., crashes, LOS, trip predictability, etc.)

?? Projects that ranked high in the evaluation methodology will likely be the first 

projects deployed

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? Through aggressive outreach and education, Wisconsin is starting to build a consortium of 

Agencies that support ITS applications

?? WisDOT has invested significant resources towards meeting with regional stakeholders.

?? It is critical to have at least one (1) WisDOT representative accompany the Consultant 

Team to each stakeholder meeting

?? This helps build internal support for ITS

?? It also shows the participating Agency that WisDOT is committed to addressing 

stakeholder ITS related needs and issues

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The project is currently in its 10th month

?? Initial draft architecture documents will be published in early April, 2001

?? Initial Preliminary Engineering Documents will be published in June, 2001

?? Under a recent contract amendment, the project area has been extended south into Illinois to 

include the Metro Rockford Area (i.e., Winnebago, Boone, De Kalb and Ogle Counties)
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 1

Wyoming

Wyoming Statewide ITS Strategic Plan

1. Contact: Name/Organization/Address/Phone 

Jim Gaulke

ITS Coordinator

Wyoming Department of Transportation

PO Box 1708

Cheyenne, WY 82003-1708

(307) 777-4375

2. Please list the primary agency stakeholders (public, private, academia) that were involved in 

developing the Strategic Plan.

?? Wyoming Department of Transportation

?? City/County representatives

?? State and Local law enforcement agencies

?? Bureau of Land Management

?? National Forest Service

?? Private trucking, mining, and timber interests

?? Emergency service organizations

?? State Department of Tourism

3. How long did the Strategic Plan take to develop?

?? Approx. 18 mos.

?? Start ? April, 2000

?? End ? October, 2001

4. During this period, how many hours per month did your agency work on the Strategic Plan?

?? As this project is still on-going, the costs/resources to develop the plan have not yet been 

determined

5. Was consultant support used to develop the Strategic Plan? 

Yes__X___ No_____

If yes, please provide the consultant contract cost.

?? Approx. $275,000

6. Briefly describe the driving force behind the development of the Strategic Plan.

?? Wyoming is surrounded by states that have developed ITS strategic plans, and they want to work 

with those states to develop regional solutions

?? Wyoming has several ongoing ITS activities [i.e., ITS/CVO, Greater Yellowstone Region ITS 

(GYRITS)] that they wish to coordinate

?? Wyoming is seeking to improve transportation efficiency and safety using advanced technologies
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 2

Wyoming

7. What were the primary goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan?

?? Increased safety and a significant decrease in the number of serious/fatal crashes

?? A seamless, unobtrusive system that will provide its customers with comprehensive, credible, and 

timely traveler information

?? ITS solutions mainstreamed into the planning and project development processes

?? Increased operational efficiency

?? Improvements to Wyoming’s communications network to facilitate the effective integration of 

systems and the management of data

?? Optimum levels of well-trained staff to manage these systems

?? A system that is flexible to address emerging technologies and changing transportation

requirements

8. Were any elements/features of the Strategic Plan emphasized/highlighted in greater detail? (For 

example ? was there an emphasis on the extension of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, CVO, 

Public Safety, Operations and Maintenance, Roadway/Weather Management, etc.)

?? Rural ITS

?? Traveler information

?? Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) management

9. How did the Strategic Plan determine its needs, challenges and opportunities?

?? Series of outreach meetings and workshops with many communities and agencies

10. Did the Strategic Plan include a Statewide/Regional ITS Architecture?

Yes__X__ No_____

If yes, what were the components/deliverables of this Regional ITS Architecture?

?? Statewide physical architecture (i.e., modified "sausage" diagrams)

11. Did the Strategic Plan identify potential funding opportunities, sources, or plans/programs?

Yes _____ No__X___

If yes, please list the potential sources.

?? Funding opportunities have not been explored yet

?? They will be considered during 2001

12. What is the status of incorporating any Strategic Plan projects into these sources?

?? This has not yet been determined because there have not been any ITS projects identified yet

13. Did the Strategic Plan consider operations, maintenance, and management activities?

Yes _____ No__X___

If yes, please briefly explain how these were considered.

?? Operations and Maintenance of ITS systems will be investigated in Phase II
Appendix B – Survey Forms Page 3

Wyoming

14. Did the Strategic Plan identify costs and benefits associated with its selected ITS Projects?

Yes __X___ No_____

If yes, please briefly describe how.

?? The project will identify costs and benefits for specific projects, but is not at that stage yet.

15. What benefits and/or lessons learned were realized by developing the Strategic Plan?

?? ITS has become much more accepted in rural areas ?many towns in Wyoming are anxious to see 

ITS deployed

?? Financial constraints will play a factor in Wyoming ITS deployment

?? The size of Wyoming and its low population density will make many ITS solutions a challenge to 

operate and maintain

16. What is the current status of the Strategic Plan?

?? The Statewide ITS Strategic Plan is being conducted in two (2) phases and is scheduled to be 

completed September, 2001

?? Phase I Activities (complete)

?? Outreach & education activities

?? Information gathering

?? Phase II Activities

?? Began January, 2001

?? Inventory of existing ITS and technology in the state

?? Define statewide ITS needs

?? Identify priority ITS corridors

?? Define ITS projects and performance measures

?? Developing a statewide ITS architecture
Appendix C

Case Study and Survey

Form Results Summary
Appendix C – Case Study and Survey Form Results
Appendix C – Case Study and Survey Form Results
Appendix C – Case Study and Survey Form Results
Appendix C – Case Study and Survey Form Results
Appendix C – Case Study and Survey Form Results