JANUARY 2004       This newsletter is available online in an Adobe Acrobat Reader pdf file (473k). You can view it using the Reader plugin for your browser and/or download it for viewing offline. Free Reader software is available at the Adobe Systems Incorporated Website. A Message from ITS Canada’s Chairman  News from Transport Canada  Regional Updates from Across Canada  ITS Canada Mission to Gulf Traffic  Job Opportunity at NITTEC  Call for Papers Issued for 2004 ITS World Congress  ITS Canada’s Annual Conference  ITS Canada Members Upgrading to the Sustaining Corporate Level  Upcoming Events    A MESSAGE FROM ITS CANADA’S CHAIRMAN Happy New Year! On behalf of ITS Canada, I would like to wish you a very happy and successful year. In the Chinese calendar, 2004 is the year of the Monkey which signifies excitement and opportunities, but we have to be alert and agile to take full advantage of prospects. I know this year many of you will participate in ITS research and development initiatives, thanks to the number of contracts funded by Transport Canada’s ITS R&D Plan. My congratulations to the successful proponents. As the honourable Minister Valeri put it, "I’m pleased that the Government of Canada is providing funding for these innovative projects. Canada’s ITS Strategic Plan provides the leadership and support necessary to advance ITS technologies and to make Canada’s transportation safer, integrated, and more sustainable." Many of these projects will lead to development of niche ITS products which we can market around the world. Since Toronto became the first city in the world to venture into ITS using a general-purpose computer to control traffic lights some 44 years ago, Canadians have achieved numerous important milestones in ITS development, and we have done well in exporting these ideas globally. To continue to help our members to take products and services overseas, we are again planning a number of interesting and important trade missions to various strategic locations around the world. These include China, France, South Africa and countries in South America, to name a few. At the same time, we will organize incoming missions for foreign buyers who are interested in our expertise. In the meantime, we continue to improve the basic services we are providing to all ITS Canada members. We have recently upgraded our website, and are in the process of implementing French translation. The Member Services Committee continues to work very hard to develop innovative services that will benefit members. In terms of project development, the "Inventory of Canadian ITS Deployments", which is now available to ITS Canada members, has been very much in demand. At the same time, ITS Canada has led an effort to form a 511 Consortium with the goal of launching a cross-Canada 511 traveller information service. In the coming months, expect to see a number of important activities from this Consortium. Last but not least, planning for our upcoming Annual Conference in Calgary on May 9 to 11 is well underway, and all indications are that it will be a tremendous success. See you there! Joseph K. Lam, Chairman   NEWS FROM TRANSPORT CANADA Reported by Jonathan Sabean Transport Canada Welcomes New Minister of Transport On December 12, 2003, the Honourable Tony Valeri was appointed the new federal Minister of Transport. He represents the riding of Stoney Creek, Ontario, and was elected to the House of Commons in the general elections of 1993, 1997 and 2000. He is a member of six Cabinet Committees, including Vice-Chair of the Domestic Affairs and Operations committees. Before entering politics, Minister Valeri was President of Canadian Financial Group Ltd. In 1976, he earned a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) degree from McMaster University. Transport Canada Announces Winning Contracts Funded by the ITS R&D Plan On January 14, 2004, Transport Minister Tony Valeri announced the winning projects that will be awarded contracts for funding under Innovation Through Partnership, Transport Canada’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Research and Development Plan. Transport Canada will provide nearly $1 million to fund ten projects in four targets areas: traffic management and control, and public transportation; transportation safety, transportation security and commercial vehicle operations; reduction of greenhouse gases and Road Weather Information Systems; and ITS standards and methodology issues. The full text of the news release is available at www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/releases/nat/2004/04-h001e.htm.   REGIONAL UPDATES FROM ACROSS CANADA British Columbia TransLink’s Board of Directors has once again returned Doug McCallum as Chair, marking the third year in a row that the Surrey mayor has headed the regional transportation authority. "After a year of public consultation, TransLink’s 2003 Board approved a three year plan of improvements to take us from 2005 through 2007, " McCallum said. "The plan called for more buses, new electric trolleys, seven major road projects including the new Fraser Crossing, as well as moving forward on the RAV and North East Sector rapid transit lines. The majority of the public said, ‘get on with it,’ and that should be our focus this year," he added. Funding for the 2005 to 2007 improvements is proposed to come from an increase in property taxes, an inflation-only rise in transit fares and a parking area or stall tax. Combined, they will raise up to $100 million per year. Both the plan and its funding must be ratified by the Greater Vancouver Regional District Board, which is scheduled to make its decision in late February. "An approved plan and funding package clears the way for action on the region’s transportation needs. One of the first things the 2004 TransLink Board will be able to do is approve an order for more buses and the start of planning for the road projects with the municipalities," McCallum said, noting that work on major projects needs to get underway early enough to avoid competing with Olympic-related initiatives. Another key decision for the TransLink Board in 2004 will be the technology and route for the rapid transit line to Coquitlam. Recommendations, based on consultation with the Northeast sector municipalities, are due to come to the TransLink board in March. Three consortiums competing to design, build, operate and invest in the proposed Richmond/Airport to Vancouver rapid transit line will present their initial proposals later this month. If a review of the proposals indicates that RAV is feasible, TransLink’s board will be asked to ratify taking the next step, which is to ask the top two for their "best and final offers." Depending on the outcome of that process, the Board may be asked to approve negotiations toward a final contract to be signed by early 2005. Alberta Reported by Allan Lo, Alberta Transportation The Highway 2 ITS Blueprint Study is almost complete, after two successful stakeholder workshops. Alberta Transportation will now have a number of recommendations on new ITS projects to consider. Prior to the study’s conclusion, two operational projects were initiated: The contract for four new overhead Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) along Highway 2 has been awarded, with a completion date in early spring of 2004. The DMS project has been partially funded by Transport Canada under the SHIP program for $250,000.   The design for the Alberta portion of the national Road Weather Information System (RWIS) network has been completed. The next step for the RWIS project is to tender the acquisition and installation work over a two-year period. Negotiations with Transport Canada are underway for cost-sharing the RWIS implementation plan. Other near-term ITS projects on the horizon include: A brief study on the need for Fixed Automated Spray Technology (FAST) on a very unique bridge location along the same Highway 2 corridor A study to review the potential for ITS applications along the ring roads in Edmonton and Calgary Traveller information sharing among Alberta, BC, and Parks Canada on highways through the national parks at the Alberta/BC border A possible pilot on thermal imaging technologies for CVO applications Updating the department’s ITS strategic plan. Alberta Transportation is recognizing the increasing importance of ITS in its business plans, and is committed to furthering ITS development within the province. Alberta Transportation will join ITS Canada as a full-fledged Corporate member, and Allan Lo has now been appointed as "Intelligent Transportation Systems Engineer", with responsibility to implement ITS. Reported by Doug Morgan, City of Calgary Since the completion of the Strategic Plan, there has been quite a bit of activity in Calgary on the ITS front. Projects include: Traffic Monitoring Camera System. Calgary’s initial deployment of six cameras is well underway at locations around the city. Various communications technologies are being tested, including high-speed wireless, 1x cellular technology, and regular fibre optic cable. This project will help provide experience on communications to ensure future installations proceed smoothly. Macleod Trail Congestion Management. After immense development in the south part of the city, one of the key transportation links became overloaded. To address this problem some civil improvements were proposed, along with an inventive combination of three ITS elements to monitor and manage the link: Portable Dynamic Message Signs on approaches to the link to alert drivers of incidents in the section A sophisticated camera system combining PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) and incident detection to monitor the segment A standby tow truck system to clear incidents effectively. TMC Preliminary Design. The design is underway for a Traffic Management Centre to act as the nerve centre for three of Calgary’s six ITS Strategic Initiatives. The TMC will be a 24/7 operation housing the roads dispatch operation as well as central control for the City’s signal system. It will be located in a new building and will also house Calgary’s new video monitoring system. Work is underway on room design, as well as operational procedures. Pay ‘n Display Pilot Project. The Calgary Parking Authority is pilot testing several Pay ‘n Display machines in downtown Calgary. This will help in planning further applications across the city. Several suppliers have been short-listed and installations have been completed and are ready for testing. Evaluation should be complete in spring 2004, and further deployment will likely follow. City of Calgary Intelligent Transportation Systems Co-ordination Committee. Through the recommendations of Calgary’s ITS Strategic Plan, a committee has been developed to guide the development of ITS. It consists of representatives from emergency services, parking, transit, traffic operations, and transportation planning. Work has already begun on developing an all encompassing project list and discussions on technology integration. The goals of the committee are to co-ordinate, promote and inform on ITS activities in Calgary. Reported by Craig Walbaum, City of Edmonton The City of Edmonton had a number of ITS implementation projects progress in 2003. The following list summarizes ITS implementation progress throughout 2003. Video Traffic Management and Traveller Information Project. Four of the 12 CCTV camera locations, which are all in the downtown area of Edmonton, are live and will be ready for active monitoring from the Traffic Management Centre by the end of January 2004. Public access to the video-based traffic flow information for these four camera sites is expected to be operational within the next couple of months, through the City of Edmonton website and on the local cable company’s community channel. The remaining eight camera locations will be added to this system throughout 2004, as communication infrastructure is added between these sites and the Traffic Management Centre. Video Detection Pilot Project. The City of Edmonton is studying the use of video vehicle detection systems as a pilot project. This technology may prove to be an alternate tool in locations where in-pavement vehicle detection is limited, such as in bridge decks. Video detection cameras were installed in October 2003 for signal operations, as well as to monitor traffic volume and vehicle classification at two major interchange locations along Whitemud Drive. This included six cameras at each site, to allow both vehicle detection and full turning movement volume/classification data collection. Analysis of the performance of this technology will proceed throughout 2004. Pedestrian Crossing Devices. A pilot project to install and review in-pavement flashing amber lights at an existing pedestrian overhead amber flasher crosswalk location has been completed and was installed in August 2003. Vehicle and pedestrian behaviour studies before and after installation were completed. Analysis of the data is underway and results are expected in early 2004. Expansion of the pilot project for pedestrian countdown devices from two to four locations was completed in August 2003. Ontario Reported by Doug MacKay, Region of Durham The Region of Durham recently awarded the contract for a video wall to Applied Electronics / Christie. We plan to install six 70" cubes in a 3X2 arrangement in our existing traffic control room. The purpose of what we call a Dynamic Display System (DDS) is to replicate the existing static communications map and incorporate our real-time Traffic Signal Control Systems map, CCTV, and various other applications not currently utilized due to hardware limitations. The Region of Durham is also constructing a regional headquarters and, in 2005, the DDS will be moved to the new Traffic Control Centre. As part of Transport Canada’s ITS initiative, the Region was the recipient of partial funding toward the Brock Road Incident Management System. Brock Road is a major arterial connecting the eastern terminus of Highway 407 ETR and Highway 401 through the City of Pickering. The project will be completed in March 2004 and the major initiatives include: Additional PTZ CCTV monitoring Seven Citilog cameras to identify anomalies in the right-of-way Increased communication between field and central utilizing a T1 line Fibre optic field communication Review of optional wireless video communication in rural areas, which was abandoned Advance traffic responsive control A database management system (central software) An evaluation initiative utilizing the services of the University of Waterloo. The project is being managed by IBI Group and a number of the noted initiatives will take advantage of the new Traffic Control Centre and DDS. New Brunswick Reported by Nancy Lynch, New Brunswick Department of Transportation On November 17, 2003, the governments of Canada and New Brunswick announced a total investment of up to $95 million for improvements at the St. Stephen/Calais and Woodstock/Houlton border crossings. The two levels of government will each invest up to a maximum of $30 million toward key infrastructure work for a new border crossing outside St. Stephen in southwest New Brunswick. Funding will go towards the construction of the Canadian section of a new international bridge and road improvements, including a new four-lane highway between St. Stephen and Waweig. At Woodstock, the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick will each contribute $10 million to convert 12 kilometres of Highway 95 into a four-lane divided highway, linking the Trans-Canada Highway to the border crossing. The Government of Canada will work with the United States government and with the Government of New Brunswick to implement Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) components such as FAST and NEXUS lanes at both border crossings in a timely manner. New Brunswick Department of Transportation has also finalized its RWIS plan and has responded to Transport Canada’s recent announcement to move ahead with a cross-Canada RWIS deployment program. Modifications are being made to the Longs Creek WIM site to add height detectors and extra cameras. The project evaluation is underway, with initial results showing significant benefits to the trucking industry. The Department is evaluating other sites for mainline WIM installation.   ITS CANADA MISSION TO GULF TRAFFIC By Robert Bruce, Chair – Export Committee The Gulf Traffic show was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in early December 2003. The venue was the Dubai Convention Centre, next door to the famous (and Canadian designed) Dubai Towers Hotel. ITS Canada member companies IRD and EIS exhibited on the show floor. We were not alone: the exhibit floor was sold out and featured local companies as well as companies from the U.S., Europe and Asia. The number of actual visitors to the show was modest; however, as advertised by the organizers, the visitors that did show up were senior decision makers from the Gulf State DOTs. The organizers of the show were keen for Canadian participation and gave ITS Canada a speaking slot during the opening session. I spoke on behalf of the Society. This region is undergoing rapid growth. To meet the growth, local governments have the commitment and financing to make dramatic infrastructure improvements over short periods of time. ITS is on their radar screen. I expect there to be a number of opportunities for ITS Canada members over the next few years.   JOB OPPORTUNITY AT NITTEC Deputy Director/Engineering Manager The Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition is seeking a Deputy Director / Engineering Manager to oversee Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Projects and Systems, responsible for coordination and technical review of coalition ITS projects, implementation of NITTEC technical initiatives and supervision of systems staff. This includes review of design documents and technical proposals, and representing NITTEC at regional ITS project meetings. Responsibilities will also include development and administration of a regional construction coordination and public information program. Establishment and maintenance of an organizational quality program, incident response data gathering and evaluation program are also included in this position’s responsibility. The position requires advanced knowledge of software and computer systems (GIS and/or CAD knowledge a plus), highway construction, traffic management and ITS operation. Experience with standardized quality programs including maintenance of registrations, auditing and standards development is beneficial. The job requires excellent verbal and written communications skills; proven management experience, and the ability to communicate effectively and to command the respect of professional and technical people from various organizations. Understanding of Regional Transportation System and Traffic Management concepts with ability to function independently with little or no supervision is necessary. Qualifications include a Bachelors degree in engineering (P.E. preferred) with eight years of transportation, traffic or computer engineering/management experience. Salary range $47,000 to $65,000. Please submit your resume to: NITTEC, Attention: Administration, 93 Oak Street, Buffalo, NY 14203.   CALL FOR PAPERS ISSUED FOR 2004 ITS WORLD CONGRESS 11th World Congress – Nagoya, Japan to be held October 18 to 24, 2004 The deadline for paper submissions is February 1, 2004 For more information, visit http://itsworldcongress.org/cfp/online.html   ITS CANADA’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE Registration and technical tour details coming soon. Watch the website for information: www.itscanada.ca/alberta2004   ITS CANADA MEMBERS UPGRADING TO THE SUSTAINING CORPORATE LEVEL ITS Canada would like to acknowledge with gratitude the following member who has upgraded to the Sustaining Corporate level: Fortran Traffic Systems Limited   UPCOMING EVENTS ITS Safety and Security Conference March 24 to 25, 2004 – Miami, Florida www.cisr.gwu.edu   2nd Annual GTA Transportation Summit March 25 to 26, 2004 – Toronto, Ontario   Intertraffic Amsterdam 2004 March 30 to April 2, 2004 – Amsterdam, NL www.intertraffic.com   12th International Conference on Road Transport Information and Control April 20 to 22, 2004 – London, UK www.iee.org/oncomms/pn/auto/RTIC.cfm   2004 ITS America Annual Meeting April 26 to 29, 2004 – San Antonio, Texas www.itsa.org/annualmeeting.html   ITS Canada Annual Conference and General Meeting May 9 to 11, 2004 – Calgary, Alberta www.itscanada.ca/alberta2004   7th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo May 22 to 26, 2004 – Beijing, China   TAC Annual Conference Transportation Innovation – Accelerating the Pace September 19 to 22, 2004 – Québec, Québec www.tac-atc.ca   SURF 2004 – The PIARC 5th International Symposium on Pavement Surface Characteristics – Roads and Airfields June 6 to 10, 2004 – Toronto, Ontario www.jegel.com/surf   14th Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference June 27 to 30, 2004 – Ottawa, Ontario www.cmrsc.ca   III Chilean Congress of Intelligent Transport Systems and 2nd International Exhibition September 1 to 3, 2004 – Santiago, Chile www.itschile.cl   TRANSTEC 2004 September 1 to 5, 2004 – Athens, Greece www.transtec.gr   XIII Pan-American Conference of Traffic and Transportation Engineering September 26 to 29, 2004 – Albany, New York www.eng.rpi.edu/panam   Upcoming World Congresses Nagoya, Japan – October 18 to 22, 2004: "Second Announcement" and "Call for Papers" now available – e-mail your request for copies of these documents to askus@itscanada.ca, or visit www.itsworldcongress.org for event information San Francisco – November 6 to 10, 2005 Newsletter published by ITS Canada. Submissions or comments can be emailed to askus@itscanada.ca.