The I-210 Pilot Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) system is a monitoring, assessment, decision support, and operational control tool to be deployed along an urban corridor in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County. Its deployment will be centered on a 12-mile section of I-210 traversing the cities of Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, and Duarte. The system aims to help corridor traffic managers determine the best course of action for responding to incidents and events and to facilitate more efficient, coordinated responses using cross-jurisdictional, multi-modal traffic and demand management strategies. This document presents the validation strategy that project stakeholders will use to assess whether the delivered ICM system satisfies the user needs that prompted its development. This introductory section includes: Purpose of document Relation of validation plan to the systems engineering process Intended audience Document organization The purpose of this Validation Plan is to define how system validation will be performed at the end of the project—the strategy that will be used to assess whether the developed system accomplishes what it was designed to do. This essentially implies assessing whether the system meets the goals, objectives, and user needs stated in the Concept of Operations (ConOps) at the beginning of the project. Specific questions that this document seeks to answer include: How will the developed system will be evaluated? Where will the assessment take place? When will the assessment be conducted? What types of tests will be conducted? What data will need to be collected? Who will conduct the assessments? Who will participate in the assessments? The development of a system validation plan is part of the systems engineering process that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires be followed for developing Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) projects when federal funds are involved. While not required for projects only using state or local funds, use of the systems engineering process is also encouraged in such cases. As shown in Figure 11, which illustrates the overall systems engineering process, an initial system validation plan is typically developed early in the engineering process, often after completion of the Concept of Operations. The purpose of this plan is to outline an agreed-upon strategy that will be used at the end of the project by system stakeholders to determine whether the user needs identified as part of the ConOps development are adequately satisfied in the final product. Depending on the project, this
4. Improve travel reliability Improve travel time predictability along the corridor Reduce the impacts of incidents and events on network operations Improve incident/event notification for first responders and network operators Improve incident/event notification to travelers and fleet operators Provide travelers and commercial vehicle operators affected by an incident or event an enhanced ability to seek alternate routes or mode of transportation 5. Improve overall corridor mobility Reduce delays incurred by travelers Reduce the impacts of incidents and events on network operations Efficiently use spare capacity along corridor roadways to plan necessary detours around incidents or events Promote strategies to induce desirable travel demand patterns Coordinate the management of freeway and arterial bottlenecks Promote increases in vehicle occupancy Promote increases in transit ridership 6. Empower system users to make informed travel decisions Improve the dissemination of real-time, multi-modal travel information Enhance the use of infrastructure-based informational devices (freeway CMS, arterial trailblazer signs, kiosks, etc.) to provide en-route information to travelers Enable individuals to receive travel information on connected mobile devices Make archived historical data available to 511 services and information service providers Support the dissemination of travel information by 511 services and third-party providers 7. Facilitate regional movements Promote the integration of commuter rail and bus services with corridor operations Facilitate transfers across modes during incidents and events Provide relevant regional travel information to travelers Direct travelers to park-and-ride facilities with available spaces 8. Promote transportation sustainability Reduce fuel consumption Reduce vehicle emissions Identify financially sustainable solutions for long-term system operations and maintenance Encourage the use of transit, walking, and bicycling where appropriate Support locally preferred alternatives compatible with corridor objectives Develop and implement performance metrics reflecting environmental goals 9. Improve corridor safety Reduce collision rates Reduce the severity of collisions Reduce the number of fatalities Reduce the impacts of primary and secondary incidents on network operations through improved incident management Improve safety for bicycles, pedestrians, and transit The ICM system will provide decision support and recommend courses of action for situations involving incidents and planned events. This includes providing decision support for the following situations: Non‐recurrent congestion due to incidents and unplanned events: Unexpected road closures Minor roadway incidents
Review and approval of recommended response plans Modification of recommended response plans Evaluation of ability of individuals to analyze data Caltrans I-210 Corridor Technical Manager Review of ICM system’s user manual Review of received training on ICM system operations Identification of validation test cases Setting ICM system configuration Use of system to monitor traffic conditions within corridor Evaluation of system of rules implemented by the Decision Support module Diagnostics of ICM system core components Diagnostics of information supplied by connected systems Traffic managers/engineers from stakeholder agencies responsible for managing traffic during incidents and events Review of ICM system’s user manual Review of received training on ICM system operations Identification of validation test cases related to the management of incidents and events Use of system to monitor traffic conditions within corridor Entry of data characterizing incidents and events into the Decision Support module Observation of ICM decision-making activities Review and approval of recommended response plans Diagnostics of connected systems managed by each agency Table 43 – Validation Roles and Responsibilities (cont’d) Participant General Roles/Responsibilities Dispatchers/supervisors from transit agencies involved in the operation of the system Review of ICM system’s user manual (mainly sections related to transit operations) Review of received training on ICM system operations Identification of validation test cases involving transit operations Use of system to monitor traffic conditions within corridor Entry of information characterizing transit incidents of interest to the ICM system Observation of ICM decision-making activities Provision of comments on potential improvements Representatives from first responding agencies Use of system to monitor traffic conditions within corridor Observation of ICM decision-making activities