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ITS CANADA ELECTION FOR CHAIRPERSON AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ITS
Canada’s election for Chairperson and the Board
of Directors for the 2007 to 2009 term is now in process.
Nominations and biographies for candidates have been
received and, on February 16, 2007, ballots for ITS
Canada’s election were mailed to all members.
Ballots
must be returned to ITS Canada
by the close of business on March 16, 2007.
All
members may cast votes for 16 Directors and 1 Chairperson.
Sustaining Corporate Members and Corporate Members
will receive and should complete 5 ballots. Individual
Members will receive and should complete 1 ballot.
Candidates’ biographies and full details on
the voting process can be found on ITS Canada’s
website at www.itscanada.ca/election.
The
positions of Director and Chairperson are being filled
in accordance with ITS Canada’s Bylaw #10, which
states: “Directors and the Chairperson shall
be elected for a term of two years by the members
at an annual meeting of members. Directors may stand
for re-election.”
Election
results will be ratified by a vote of all members
in attendance at ITS Canada’s Annual General
Meeting on Sunday, April 29, 2007, in Niagara Falls,
Ontario, Canada. The new Board of Directors and Chairperson
will be installed for a two-year term, effective at
the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on April
29, 2007.
ITS CANADA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
ITS
Canada's next Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be
held at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, 2007, at the
Sheraton Fallsview hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario,
Canada. The Annual General Meeting will be followed
by a cocktail reception in the exhibit hall. All members
should plan to attend and to stay for ITS Canada’s
Annual Conference, being held on May 1 and 2.
ITS
CANADA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
SUSTAINING
CORPORATE
Telus
Telvent Farradyne, Inc.
CORPORATE
Strategic Mapping Inc.
Technologies CDWare Inc.
FRAMEWORK FOR THE APPLICATION OF ITS FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Although
the implementation of intelligent transportation systems
has been steadily moving forward in Canada, there
are varying levels of familiarity with ITS in the
transportation community. While some industry participants
are very familiar with ITS, others are not; some transportation
agencies may have implemented ITS applications without
identifying them as ITS.
As
intelligent transportation systems continue to become
mainstream, a need is developing for information that
outlines the best practices for planning and designing
applications. A few years ago, ITS Canada developed
and recommended the concept of an ITS Design Guide.
ITS Canada negotiated with the Transportation Association
of Canada (TAC) to jointly undertake the project.
Through subsequent refinement of the terms of reference
by the project steering committee, the project’s
name was changed to Framework for the Application
of ITS for Traffic Management. The project began in
September 2005 and is expected to be completed by
November 2007.
Under
the ITS Architecture for Canada, applications are
grouped into eight User Service Bundles:
1. Traffic Management
2. Traveller Information
3. Emergency Management
4. Information Warehousing
5. Commercial Vehicle Operations
6. Electronic Payment
7. Public Transport
8. Vehicle Safety and Control.
Undertaking
a design guide for all eight user service bundles
at once was considered an impractical project. It
was therefore decided to concentrate efforts on the
User Service Bundle considered to be of the broadest
interest to Canadian users: Traffic Management.
As
noted on TAC’s website, the objectives of the
current project are:
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to
define a process that would assist transportation
authority decision makers, planners, engineers
and operators by providing useful, practical information
on ITS applications |
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to improve the ITS understanding
of road authority decision makers and others,
in terms of ITS traffic management capabilities
and benefits |
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to assist transportation ITS
planners, implementers and operators by providing
useful, practical information on ITS applications,
capabilities, benefits, costs, good ITS design
and implementation approaches, considerations
and guidelines, and pitfalls and cautions |
| |
|
The
purpose is to assist transportation planners to make
sound decisions, and to interact knowledgeably with
politicians, senior management, consultants and suppliers,
and to help them to better manage ITS projects.
Sponsors
of the project include: Alberta Infrastructure and
Transportation; Ministère des transports du
Québec; City of Edmonton; City of Oakville;
City of Ottawa; City of Winnipeg; Ontario Ministry
of Transportation; City of Calgary; ITS Canada; Nova
Scotia Department of Transportation; City of Toronto;
Regional Municipality of Durham; Transport Canada;
Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority
The project is estimated
to be about 75 percent complete and is scheduled for
presentation in April at the TAC Spring Meeting in
Ottawa. For the latest updates on this project, please
visit TAC’s website at www.tac-atc.ca/english/projectsandpublications/pro-progress.cfm#its.
TRB
ANNUAL MEETING REPORT
By William Johnson, Director, ITS Canada and
Member, TRB ITS Committee
The
Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting
in Washington, DC, from January 21-25, 2007, again
set a new record for attendance, breaking the 11,000
participants mark, a substantial gain over the 2006
record of 10,300. The spotlight theme this year, “Transportation
Institutions, Finance and Workforce – Meeting
the Needs of the 21st Century”, provided a focus
for the 600 sessions.
State
of the ITS Industry 2007
The highlight of the TRB Annual Meeting for ITS professionals
is the very popular panel session on the state of
the ITS industry sponsored by the TRB ITS Committee.
This panel includes a speaker from each of the major
ITS players in the United States: ITS America, the
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), and the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO). This year for the first time a
representative from the European Commission (EC) was
an invited speaker.
Below
is a brief summary of the speakers’ comments.
ITS
America - Neil Schuster entitled his comments
“ITS at the Mid-point” in recognition
that the National Ten Year Vision for ITS released
in 2002 is half way to its goal in 2012. He noted
the themes in the Vision that are still priorities
– crash avoidance, incident response –
and those that have morphed into new configurations,
e.g., Integrated National Transport Infrastructure
(INTI) into current congestion management. Mainstream
awareness raising is still a priority: witness ITS
America’s sponsorship of a vehicle demonstration
at the recent (huge) Consumer Electronics Show (attendance
150,000). ITS markets have grown to an estimated $1.42
billion by 2006, with a forecast of 12% p.a. growth
for the next three years. For the future, ITS America’s
action plan calls for education and advocacy; working
towards 0 fatalities – 0 delays; demonstrating
VII (Vehicle Infrastructure Integration); achieving
member value; and confirming Congressional support
and dollars. To sum up, he said the focus will be
on the 4-C’s: Champions/Coalitions/Consumers/Communications.
USDOT
– Jeff Paniati of the Federal Highway Administration
began by introducing the new Director of the ITS Joint
Program Office (JPO), Shelley Rowe, who was appointed
only three weeks earlier and reports to the new Research,
Innovation and Technology Administration (RITA). Jeff
began his comments by outlining the concerns that
drive USDOT interest in ITS – commuter costs;
quality of life; productivity and competitiveness;
and public discontent with congestion and pork politics.
He outlined the USDOT’s six-point plan: relieve
urban congestion; unleash private-sector investment;
establish corridors; relieve freight bottle necks;
expand air capacity; and explore the potential of
congestion pricing. There will continue to be a focus
on operational and technical improvements: expand
511; deploy DMS; reduce incidents; work zone safety;
etc. Here is the challenge: Congestion is not a fact
of life! New approaches are needed now!
Shelley
Rowe then gave a few thoughts as the in-coming Director
of the JPO. She noted five major factors: growth of
congestion and fatalities; funding shortfalls; fragmented
institutions; and explosion of information technology.
With data, one can measure performance (need to collect)
and, with measures, one can manage. Partnerships can
be the key to success but they must be among equal
partners and self-supporting. For the role of ITS,
she saw technology as providing visibility, performance
measures, management tools and greater safety. For
the role of the JPO, it will be a catalyst for high-risk,
high-value R&D; a promoter of private sector involvement;
an agent to ensure public applications; a convener
of public meetings and a disseminator of ITS information.
AASHTO
– John Horsley outlined the highlights of 2006,
including the 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway
System; AASHTO policy recommendations; progress to
deploy 511; and incident management. He then outlined
the priorities for ITS in 2007 that will include a
national vision for the Interstate System; new surface
transportation policy; summits on congestion; a national
goal for incident management; 511; VII; and the 14th
ITS World Congress.
The
National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue
Study has ITS-related goals to reduce congestion and
improve incident management. The VII test bed in California
has 60 miles of instrumented roadway for proof of
concept tests in 2007-2008. The key issues are community
benefits; funding; and deployment decisions.
EC
– ITS Keeps Europe Moving – Ben Van Houtte
spoke from the perspective of the Logistics, Intelligent
Transport, Innovation and Co-modelling unit in the
European Commission (EC). Their approach is to use
the right technology and operational use in each mode;
hence the term “co-modelling”. ITS is
seen as information processing in all modes. The drivers
for change are EC transport policy (relieve congestion;
safety and security; E.U. cohesion); sustainability
(environmental protection; energy efficiency); funding
(investment; incentives); and industry promotion.
Their working methods include working together with
stakeholders on a “master plan”; using
a range of policy instruments (regulatory framework;
financial instruments; standardization); and fostering
international cooperation. Priorities for 2007 include:
the 7th R&D Framework (theme is ICT for Mobility);
ITS for policy support; promoting vehicle-related
ICT/ITS developments (with manufacturers); implementing
core ITS services (traveller information; incident
management; data quality; traffic management) and
pay-as-you-go services (tolling and charging; track
and trace dangerous goods; personal ITS).
Chairman’s
Luncheon Speaker
The program of the Chairman’s Luncheon included
an address by Mary E. Peters, Secretary of Transportation.
She spoke about the plans and priorities of the US
DOT for 2007. The most important is to reduce fuel
consumption in the U.S. by 20% using revised automobile
CAFÉ regulations (following the success of
the light truck CAFÉ regulations now in place)
and initiatives to curb congestion through technology
innovation, demonstrations of road pricing, work scheduling,
real-time traveller information, and funds for a “Corridors
of the Future” program.
ITS
Committee Report
The TRB ITS Committee is the focal point for the broad
topic of intelligent transportation systems in transportation.
As such, it sponsors an active program of panels and
sessions at the TRB Annual Meeting, coordinates joint
sessions and workshops with other TRB committees,
and undertakes reviews, information exchanges and
discussion of key ITS issues.
The
Chair of the ITS Committee is Steve Shladover, University
of California, Berkeley. The ITS Committee met on
January 22, 2007, in Washington, to consider plans
for a mid-year workshop on ITS research needs (tentatively
planned for California in July). It received reports
from three members: OmniAir Consortium on their advanced
DSRC program; MIT on the MIT-Portugal ITS program;
and IBEC on its benefit, evaluation and cost activities.
For the 2007 Annual Meeting, the Committee sponsored
two panel sessions, four regular sessions plus an
open business meeting.
The
significant advantage of membership of the ITS Committee
is the close contact one has with the principal ITS
policy makers, academics and industry leaders in the
United States, as well as visitors from overseas.
TRB is the most important transportation research
organization in the U.S. and its annual meeting attracts
the widest cross-section of professionals from the
U.S. and worldwide.
ITS
Committee Membership
The TRB committee rules permit members from outside
the U.S. Canadians are considered a special category
and are admitted to committee membership within the
regular allotment of 24 members (overseas members
fall outside the limit of 24). There is an opening
for a Canadian to join the TRB ITS Committee starting
in 2007 for a 3-year term. For further information,
contact the current Canadian member, William Johnson
at johnswf@attglobal.net.
For further information, visit the following websites:
TRB Annual Meeting: http://trb.org/Meeting
ITS America: http://itsa.org
U.S. DOT: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov
MEMBERS
IN THE NEWS
Delcan
Corporation has announced the opening of its newest
office in Austin, Texas. “The opening of our
Austin office is a testament to Delcan’s commitment
to provide service excellence at a state local level
to our clients,” said Brian Stearman, President
of Delcan’s infrastructure business in the U.S.
“Katherine Holtz, a senior executive within
Delcan, will spearhead our growing business in Texas
and nearby states.” Delcan staff are currently
engaged in several significant assignments in Texas
and, by establishing an office in downtown Austin,
Delcan demonstrates its commitment to the firm’s
existing and future clients. Ms. Holtz will be supported
by other Delcan professionals, including Richard Mudge,
David Brown and Michelle Maggiore, who all currently
serve Delcan clients in Texas.
In
January 2007, EIS announced that, after extensive
comparative testing in Taipei, Taiwan, the City project
engineering team has opted to install 175 RTMS™
sensors for mid-block detection as part of their modernization
project. This deployment adds to previous UTC deployments
in Taiwan, including a large deployment of RTMS units
on Taiwan’s Sun Yat Sen Expressway, bringing
the total deployment of RTMS units in Taiwan to over
400 sensors for the detection and measurement of traffic
on roadways.
In
February 2007, EIS announced that the United States
District Court for the District of Utah has granted
summary judgement that EIS does not infringe on Wavetronix’s
United States Patent No. 6,556, 916, or the '916 patent.
This ends over two years of litigation by Wavetronix
and vindicates EIS’s consistent assertion that
it does not infringe the ‘916 patent.
In
January 2007, Applanix announced that their Airborne
Digital Sensor System (DSS) has been granted full
manufacturer certification by the United States Geological
Survey (USGS). The Applanix DSS is a ready-to-use
directly georeferenced medium-format airborne camera
system that provides digital imaging for aerial surveying
and remote sensing applications. With this acknowledgment,
the USGS recognizes that the Applanix DSS airborne
digital camera system successfully meets with manufacturer
claims and is capable of providing quality, consistent
image data to support civil government mapping and
ortho-photography product development.
In
February 2007, Applanix introduced “POSPac AIR
Version 4.4”, the latest release of the company’s
post-processing software used to extend the accuracy
potential of the POS AV system. Designed to maximize
data quality and optimize workflow from project planning
through to project completion, POSPac AIR 4.4 is specifically
configured for the airborne environment and is compatible
with a variety of aerial sensors.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
ITS Conference
February 1 and 2, 2007 – New Delhi, India
www.euindia.info |
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| ITS
Technology Fair
February
14, 2007 ö Washington , D.C.
www.itsa.org/techfair.html |
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ANDINATRAFFIC
2007
February 26 to 28, 2007 – Bogotá,
Colombia
www.andinatraffic.com/sa3t/home/index.cfm |
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SASITS e-Transport Conference
March 6 to 8, 2007 – Pretoria, South Africa
www.sasits.com |
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Intertraffic
China
March 15 to 17, 2007 – Beijing China
www.intertraffic.com |
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Wireless Communications
Application Seminar
March 22, 2007 – Brighton, Michigan
www.itsmichigan.org |
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Le 42e congrès annuel
de l'AQTR
April 2 to 4, 2007 – Montreal, QC
ctasse@aqtr.qc.ca |
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2007 PIARC International
Seminar: Road Network Operation Management
(ITS) and Road Safety
April 11 to 13, 2007 – Santiago, Chile
Email: josemiguel.ortega@itschile.cl |
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TAC's Spring 2007 Technical
Meetings
April 11 to 18, 2007 – Ottawa, Ontario
www.tac-atc.ca |
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Smart
Moving Conference 2007 / Traffex 2007
April 17 to 19, 2007 – Birmingham, UK
Theme: “SMART Solutions for Today”
www.its-uk.org.uk |
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ITS
Canada Annual Conference and General Meeting
April 29 to May 1, 2007 – Niagara Falls,
Ontario
www.itscanada.ca/niagara2007
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CITE 2007 Conference
May 6 to 9, 2007 – Toronto, Ontario
www.itetoronto.ca |
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Intertraffic Istanbul
May 9 to 11, 2007 – Istanbul, Turkey
www.intertraffic.com |
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15th International Symposium
on Electronics in Traffic (ISEP 2007)
May 9 to 11, 2007 – Ljubljana, Slovenia
www.ezs-zveza.si/isep2007/foreword |
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XVII
Canadian Multidiscipinary Road Safety Conference
June 3 to 6, 2007 – Montreal, Quebec
www.cmrsc.polymtl.ca |
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ITS
America 2007 Annual Meeting and Exposition
June 4 to 6, 2007 – Palm Springs, California
www.itsa.org |
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7th International Conference
on ITS Telecommunications (ITST 2007)
June 6 to 8, 2007 - Sophia Antipolis, France
www.itst2007.eurecom.fr
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CUTA Annual Conference
June 9 to 13, 2007 – Halifax, NS
www.cutaactu.ca |
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European
ITS Congress
June 18 to 20, 2007 – Aalborg, Denmark
www.itsineurope.com |
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23rd World Road Congress
September 17 to 21, 2007 – Paris, France
www.paris2007-route.fr |
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National Rural ITS Conference
October 7 to 10, 2007 – Traverse City, MI
www.nritsconference.org |
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14th
World Congress on ITS
October 9 to 13, 2007 – Beijing, China
www.itsa.org
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Newsletter
published by ITS Canada.
Submissions
or comments can be emailed to askus@itscanada.ca.
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