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Systems Incorporated Website.
Prior
to July 28, 2006, 511 could not be used in Canada
for Traveller Information Services. However, on July
28, 2006, through the collective efforts of the Federal
Government (Environment Canada and Transport Canada),
the Provinces and Territories (Council of Deputy Ministers
Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety),
and ITS Canada, with support from the Canadian Urban
Transit Association (CUTA), the 5-1-1 telephone dialing
sequence was approved by the Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for the provision
of weather and traveller information services in Canada.
Since
then, the former Canada 511 Consortium (which was
established to pursue the CRTC’s approval) has
continued to address implementation issues in two
fora: the 511 Transition Team and the 511 Task Force
of the Policy and Planning Support Committee (PPSC)
of the Council of Deputy Ministers Responsible for
Transportation and Highway Safety (CDM). Ongoing discussions
related to issues such as "governance" and
"systems design" reflect the complex nature
of this co-operative effort between the Federal Government
and the Provinces and Territories. For the Canada
511 system to deliver a high level of service to the
travelling public in Canada, collective decision making
by the implementing agencies is needed on implementation
issues. Such decision making would inform and facilitate
local action by individual agencies and also ensure
the adequate provision of telecom services that can
accommodate both weather and future traveller information
services.
In
the United States, travellers have responded enthusiastically
to 511 and use it to make the best decisions about
when, where and how to travel. Currently 40 percent
of the U.S. population has access to 511 services
and it is estimated that, in 2007, close to 70 percent
will have access. Implementing agencies in the U.S.
are also realizing benefits in the form of reduced
demands for labour-intensive processes, reduced calls
to highway patrol offices, increased breadth of information
in the form of AMBER and homeland security alerts,
and enhanced inter-agency coordination.
On
the Canadian traveller information front, many initiatives
are moving forward through deployments and studies
funded by Transport Canada under the Strategic Highway
Infrastructure Program. Examples include:
Transport Canada: 511 Readiness in Canada (2005) – a study that includes consistency and content guidelines for traveller information systems in Canada.
New Brunswick: Traveller Information System Development Plan (2006) – a study that lays the groundwork for a traveller information system and 511 implementation.
Quebec: Inforoutière is the sole source of
all information needed to plan safe trips on Quebec’s
road network, whatever the season. It is reached by
telephone at 1-888-355-0511 or #0511 and on the Web
at Inforoutiere.qc.ca.
Yukon: A study to assist in the development of a "highway
condition" acquisition and reporting system is
underway.
British Columbia: TransLink's traveller information
system, iMove, should be launched in 2007 as a web
portal. Studies are underway to explore other media,
including 511, to provide traveller information throughout
the region.
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
By Robert Shirra, RGS Consulting International
Inc.
In
anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics, south-western
British Columbia is abuzz with construction activity
and associated ITS initiatives. A major upgrade to
the Sea-to-Sky highway, connecting Vancouver to Whistler,
is well underway. The Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement
Project will increase this road’s safety, reliability
and capacity. In addition to meeting the area’s
future traffic needs, the upgrades will also enhance
economic development opportunities in communities
along the highway and in the province as a whole.
Visit: www.seatoskyimprovements.ca.
Other
major projects in the region with significant planned
ITS components include:
the Golden Ears Bridge construction, which will include an automated tolling facility – www.translink.bc.ca/Plans_Projects/GoldenEarsBridge
the Canada Line rapid transit expansion project (www.canadaline.ca)
which is currently underway
the Urban Showcase Project, six projects that will showcase how transportation can build healthy, vibrant cities by providing greener transportation alternatives, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move us closer to our climate change goals – www.translink.bc.ca/Plans_Projects/Urban_Showcase
the Gateway Program, which is about creating a comprehensive, effective network that supports improved movement of people and goods, increases transportation choice, facilitates economic growth, and provides better connections to designated population growth areas – www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway.
The
following ITS projects were reported by the major
BC transportation agencies.
BC
Ministry of Transportation
The
BC MoT has upgraded its popular DriveBC traveller
information website (www.drivebc.ca) to include
approximately 80 webcams across the province, which
can now be accessed through the DriveBC website
in addition to travel advisories, road closure information,
load restrictions and other important links. Most
recently implemented, Weather Station Reports will
have “current weather” display panels
with up-to-date data from Ministry of Transportation
weather stations. Users will be able to look at
detailed information on air temperature, precipitation,
wind speed, wind direction and, where available,
road surface temperature. These reports are updated
hourly.
Greater
Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink)
TransLink, the regional transportation authority,
is conducting several important ITS projects:
iMoveTM, the Advanced Regional Traveller Information
System for Greater Vancouver is nearing its final
stage of development and will begin controlled market
testing in the summer of 2007.
IRSS (Integrated Regional Signals System) is implementing
a pilot project to provide automated signal timing
plan coordination across three municipal jurisdictions
in the Greater Vancouver region. IRSS is also planning
a rail pre-feasibility study to determine how the
integration of IRSS and the rail preemption systems
can provide improved advanced warning to motorists
of rail crossing delays.
Regional Condition Reporting System (RCRS) will
enable the 21 Greater Vancouver municipalities and
other key regional agencies to enter road condition
information (construction, road closure information,
planned events, incidents, etc.) This condition
information will be shared among the participants
and will automatically be posted to the iMoveTM
system.
TransLink and the Ministry of Transportation are
jointly developing a functional program and concept
of operations for a proposed regional Transportation
Management Centre.
Bureau
of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Freight
Security (BITSAFS), University of British Columbia
By David Frank, Managing Director of BITSAFS
Results from our ITS, freight security and efficiency research are being released weekly – border regulations, issues, process mapping of all transportation modes, border technologies, FAST lane modeling and simulation, institutions, economics of ITS, and the need for marketing and education.
Jinwoo Lee has joined our Team. He recently completed
his Ph.D at the University of Toronto focusing on
Transportation Systems and ITS.
Dr. Garland Chow and Dave Frank both completed papers
and made presentations about the importance of ITS
to gateway development, international supply chains
and the Canada-U.S. border at the recent workshop
on Gateways and Corridors held by the Van Horne
Institute in Calgary. Dr. Chow is a member of the
ongoing review of the ITS Architecture for Canada.
He also made a presentation to Canada's Department
of Foreign Affairs Vancouver/San Diego Bordernet
Forum on "The Canada-United States Supply Chain
and the Border: Current Issues and Challenges."
Please see www.FreightSecurity.ca
for the latest public results. Our website is being
constantly updated. Applied Science at UBC will
be joining the Sauder School of Business, conducting
our extensive research program later this year.
Our thanks to the BC Ministry of Transportation
and Transport Canada for their support.
ALBERTA
Alberta
Infrastructure and Transportation
By
Donna Lee
Alberta
is deploying Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI)
technology at key vehicle inspection stations across
the province to allow electronic pre-clearance of
low-risk commercial vehicles. Six of these AVI systems
are cost-shared with Transport Canada under the
Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program.
The
AVI project is close to completion and the system
is expected to go live in spring 2007. Carriers
under the Partners-In-Compliance program may apply
for in-cab transponders, which will communicate
with the AVI reader upstream of inspection stations
and allow compliant vehicles to bypass AVI-equipped
inspection stations. This ITS technology will generate
significant travel time and fuel consumption savings
for the trucking industry. It will also improve
the efficiency and productivity of commercial vehicle
operations by allowing transport officers to focus
resources on higher-risk vehicles.
Alberta
is also jointly building a remote control weigh
station (RCWS) pilot with Saskatchewan at an exiting
unattended weigh scale at Macklin, which is just
a few kilometres east of the Alberta-Saskatchewan
border. This project will utilize video cameras,
variable message signs, piezo sensors and high-speed
Internet to allow remote operation of the unattended
weigh scale from a distant office. These proven
ITS technologies will provide an efficient and less
costly alternative for operating unattended weigh
stations. The RCWS pilot site is expected to go
into service in May 2007, with evaluation to follow
over summer 2007. Transport Canada has provided
co-funding for the project under the Strategic Highway
Infrastructure Program.
Updating
previously reported ITS projects:
Sixty-three Road Weather Information System (RWIS)
stations have been installed since 2005 and the
project is on target to have all 75 stations completed
by the end of 2007. Training for the maintenance
contractors and government staff is ongoing. The
immediate positive impacts from these installations
have so far been from the traveller information
side as a result of the real-time road images from
the stations being made available for the public.
In the Automated Vehicle Location System (AVLS)
project, a combined fleet totaling almost 600 snowplows
from five private maintenance contractors was equipped
in the final phase of the project in 2006. Some
winter trials using the AVLS to generate GPS-based
billing for the contract work have been performed
successfully, with the goal to go fully automated
for the winter of 2007/08.
City
of Calgary
By
Bart Rakoz
Over the past year, the following initiatives have
been underway in Calgary:
Parking
Calgary Parking Authority is launching a new on-street
pay and display parking meter system in 2007. Please
see the following article for more details: www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/calgary.
Transit
– Cell Phone eTickets
Calgary Transit implemented a pilot project where
riders were able to purchase fares through an online
account and order an electronic ticket real-time
through cell phone text messaging. The pilot was
technically successful and is being evaluated for
city-wide rollout.
Traffic Management Centre – CCTV Camera Deployment
Camera deployment has continued at city intersections.
There are now about 30 cameras deployed throughout
Calgary. Still camera images for most locations
are available on the Internet through the Calgary
Traveller Information System.
Calgary
Traveller Information System
The Calgary system recently went through an upgrade,
and has also been integrated with the Calgary Detours
database so detour information is automatically
passed to the Traveller Information System. Visit
the website at http://65.104.36.247
or through the following portal: http://calgary.ca/trafficinfo.
AVL
The Development and Building Approvals division
implemented a basic AVL solution from iTrack using
off-the-shelf cellular modems for fleet monitoring
and historical location reporting.
City
of Edmonton
By
Dan Godlewski
Edmonton’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP) – ITS Implementation Status
The
following list identifies key ITS component areas
completed, under development, or to be implemented
within the next two years (2007 – 2008) in
the City of Edmonton:
1.
Dedicated ITS resources: Creation and appointment
of a new Senior ITS Engineer with plans to possibly
expand the area in the future
2.
Replacement and upgrading of arterial traffic control
system equipment:
| |
|
| a) |
Four permanent Dynamic Messaging
Signs (DMS) are currently deployed and two
additional locations will be selected in 2007. |
| b) |
A new Central Computer Traffic Signal Control
System is to be specified in 2007 with the
procurement, installation and commissioning
scheduled for 2008. |
| |
|
3. Traffic Signal Re-timing and Coordination Program:
| |
|
| a) |
Continuation of the four-year
cycle of review of each signal network in
the City system re-time evaluation program |
| b) |
Traffic
count data collection using existing or
new detection systems is to be explored
in future years. |
| |
|
4.
Freeway Traffic Management Systems:
| |
|
| a) |
Freeway management systems within selected
planned transportation projects for the Inner
Ring Loop and major connectors to the Province’s
Anthony Henday Drive |
| b) |
Various vehicle detection systems have been
explored in order to define a viable and reliable
alternative to inductive loops in the roadway
surface. |
| |
|
5.
Enhanced traffic signal management strategies to
meet the stated TMP objectives include:
| |
|
| a) |
Traffic responsive signal control, to maintain
or improve traffic flow during recurring and
non-recurring traffic congestion, has been
implemented in special event areas and is
scheduled for implementation in 2007 in the
West Edmonton Mall area. |
| b) |
Transit Signal Priority (TSP), to reduce
and improve travel time, has been tested and
will be implemented on select transit routes
in the future. |
| |
|
6.
Incident Management Systems: Video traffic management
systems (traffic cameras), used to monitor incidents
in real-time, continue to be deployed. Nineteen
traffic cameras are deployed City-wide, and a centralized
camera control system has been installed in the
Traffic Management Centre. A number of additional
traffic cameras are to be deployed annually, with
three to five systems installed in 2007.
7.
Traveller Information Systems: Public access to
the existing traffic cameras is available though
a local television community channel and through
the City’s Internet web site.
SASKATCHEWAN
By Blair Wager, Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation
With
funding from Transport Canada, International Road
Dynamics (IRD) and the University of Saskatchewan
completed a Feasibility Study of a Remote Control
Weigh Station in March 2005. The study examined the
concept and functional requirements of a remote control
weigh station (RCWS) and evaluated its economic feasibility.
The feasibility study concludes that the concept could
have potential cost savings and provide an efficient
and effective alternative for operating weigh stations
where only a scale deck exists.
As a result, Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation,
Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation and Transport
Canada have entered into agreements to cost share
the building of a prototype to conduct field trials
and prove the RCWS concept. IRD has agreed to participate
with in-kind contributions. This project will involve
the research and development (R&D) and pilot operation
of a remote control weigh station that will enable
remote operations of a weigh scale deck for more efficient
commercial vehicle enforcement. The pilot is to use
existing and proven technologies such as cameras,
message sign boards and high-speed Internet communications
to remotely operate a vehicle inspection station at
a static scale deck location in rural Saskatchewan.
The
project will assess the feasibility of expanding the
Department’s ability to enforce commercial vehicle
regulations without incurring significant capital
and staffing costs associated with conventional methods
of enforcement.
The main objectives of this project are:
To build a prototype of a RCWS at an existing weigh
scale deck that can be operated from a distant office
To evaluate the technical and economic viability of
the RCWS concept
To identify possible solutions to providing remote
monitoring and enforcement of all unattended vehicle
weigh scales across the province
To assess the interoperability of the joint RCWS between
the two jurisdictions.
We
are currently in the construction phase and hope to
have the system up and running for testing by the
end of March or early April 2007.
YUKON
By Wally Hidinger, Government of Yukon
Yukon
has successfully installed three road weather information
sites over the past 12 months. All three sites are
in or near Whitehorse. Commissioning is in progress
to ensure the data produced by the sites meets the
required Environment Canada standard. Once certified,
a subset of the site data will be made available to
the public.
A project to develop an ITS strategy for Yukon has
just recently been initiated. A contract has been
awarded to produce this important planning document.
Completion of the project is expected in early to
mid-summer.
Some
other smaller projects are in the early stages, as
follows:
Yukon has acquired a small amount of weigh-in-motion
equipment. Training in use of the equipment and experimental
deployment will occur over the summer of 2007.
A project to develop a road
condition information system (511) is in the early
stages. A preliminary requirements document has been
developed and the design phase of the project is in
progress.
A project to develop a GPS-based vehicle location
monitoring system has also been initiated. A preliminary
requirements document has been drafted and design
will proceed over the remainder of the current fiscal
year. A test program based on highway maintenance
fleet vehicles will be incorporated in the design
phase.
ONTARIO
City
of Toronto
By
Bruce Zvaniga
In April 2006, Toronto City Council adopted a report
identifying a number of principles and strategies
for the continued deployment of ITS in the city.
Of particular significance were two recommendations
relating to formalizing collaboration between the
Transportation Services Division and others. Firstly
within the City’s public service, an ITS Working
Group was formed consisting of fire, police, emergency
medical, transit, parking and transportation services.
Secondly, Toronto Transportation Services staff
were asked to reach out to their neighbouring jurisdictions
to explore opportunities for area-wide ITS initiatives.
In
the past 12 months, the City has deployed its new
RoadMap road disruption management system that is
used to identify potential conflicts among numerous
activities in the road allowance during the early
planning stages, and to provide traveller information
when the events take place.
Currently,
the City is in the third year of a 12-year program
to replace old interval-based traffic controllers,
proprietary communications hardware, and the City’s
venerable in-house traffic control signal system.
The new central system provides second-by-second
monitoring with distributed control, and utilizes
NTCIP communications to NEMA TS2 controllers. The
City’s system currently uses three different
independent traffic controllers interoperably and
interchangeably on the same communications channel.
The
City is also in the midst of expanding its RESCU
traffic management system to provide queue-end warning,
video surveillance and incident management on Allen
Road.
Smartcard
Fare Payment for Ottawa
By Joel Koffman, Transit Services, City of Ottawa
By
2009, OC Transpo plans to implement a smartcard
fare payment system. City Council has allocated
funds in the 2007 budget for the project that will
change the way OC Transpo’s 92 million annual
passengers pay their fare.
The
smartcard system will make use of contactless smartcards
that are widely used in the transit industry because
they allow for rapid boarding and, with no moving
parts in the readers, have low maintenance costs.
The
timetable for smartcard implementation will see
the introduction of smartcards configurable as any
form of pre-paid pass (monthly, semester, annual
or Ecopass employer payroll deduction plan) in 2009
followed by the implementation of the ‘purse’
or electronic tickets in 2010.
Cash
will continue to be accepted for the foreseeable
future, although pre-paid fares will be encouraged
through discounts as they are today. OC Transpo
progressively discounts fares the more customers
commit to becoming frequent transit users. For example,
the adult cash fare is $3.00 while the ticket fare
drops to $1.90. The regular adult monthly pass costs
$71.25, or about $1.25 per trip. Today, 75 percent
of all transit trips are paid for with some form
of transit pass, with ticket and cash fares accounting
for 20 percent and 5 percent of the trips respectively.
There
are many benefits associated with the smartcard
fare payment system. These include:
Enabling the launch of a ‘personal Ecopass’
to allow all residents to take advantage of the
convenience of payment and receive the associated
discount of automatic pre-authorized payment. Today,
only those customers who work for one of the participating
companies or the federal government can join the
program. As of April 2007, there were 20,000 customers
taking part in the highly successful Ecopass program.
Ensuring seamless integration and inter-provincial
travel between customers who use both OC Transpo
and STO, the transit carrier for the City of Gatineau
that already has a smartcard fare payment system.
Reducing the incidence of fraud since the verification
process for smartcards will be more effective than
is currently possible with paper passes and tickets.
Simplifying the fare system for bus operators. There
are now almost 50 different fare payment options.
Smartcards will automatically carry out most of
the fare validation process.
Currently,
OC Transpo operates under a ‘Proof of Payment’
(POP) system on all 227 articulated buses in the
total 950-bus fleet. Customers who have a valid
pass can board through the middle and rear doors.
Customers
paying with cash and tickets must board by the front
door and get a transfer receipt. Transit Fare Enforcement
Officers randomly check passengers for POP and issue
ticket violations to those customers who do not
have POP. Once smartcards are in place, the POP
system will remain in operation, the only difference
being the inspection staff will be using portable
card readers to check fares.
Overall,
the smartcard system makes good business sense.
A detailed business case was carried out comparing
the capital and operating costs of the new system
with the costs of continuing with the current system.
The business case showed that the system would cover
its costs in about six years. It is expected that
the smartcard system would have a ten-year life.
The
next step in the project is to issue proposals for
the system. Once a preferred proponent has been
selected and the details of the final system are
known, final approval from City Council is needed.
It is expected that a contract for the system will
be finalized by the fall with work commencing immediately
towards the 2009 implementation date.
Ontario
Ministry of Transportation Keeps Traffic Moving With
Intelligent Transportation Systems
A
sustainable transportation system manages congestion
and helps maintain a high quality of life. Transportation
solutions such as the Ministry of Transportation’s
COMPASS system use intelligent transportation systems
(ITS) technology to help ease traffic jams by informing
drivers of highway conditions. Launched in 1975,
this high-tech traffic management system is one
of the most advanced in North America.
MTO
recently expanded a part of its COMPASS system –
the traffic flow map, an online tool that allows
drivers to check highway driving conditions. The
traffic flow map uses colour-coding to show how
traffic is moving on specific sections of the highway,
describing traffic flow as “moving well”,
“moving slowly” and “moving very
slowly”. The map also marks “incident”
where a collision or other blockage has occurred.
Queen Elizabeth Way – Traffic flow map
MTO
uses ITS solutions to collect and update information
for posting on the web. Electronic loops embedded
in the road feed traffic volume, speed and congestion
information into COMPASS traffic operations centres.
The information is analyzed and then updated every
five minutes so drivers can check accurate traffic
reports and plan their routes.
First
created in 2004, MTO’s traffic flow map shows
drivers current traffic conditions on the Queen
Elizabeth Way (QEW) and on Highway 401, one of the
busiest highways in the world. On a regular day,
Highway 401 carries more than 420,000 vehicles.
It has 18 lanes at its widest sections, including
express and collector lanes. The QEW and Highway
401 are Ontario’s gateway to the United States,
the world’s largest commercial market.
The
system also uses detectors to collect and provide
information to drivers using variable message signs
on the highways and the media. COMPASS improves
road safety and reduces traffic congestion by quickly
detecting highway incidents and vehicle breakdowns.
If the data indicate there could be a congestion
issue, the operators at the COMPASS centre confirm
the problem with closed circuit TV cameras and then
notify the appropriate emergency response agencies
(i.e., Ontario Provincial Police, fire department,
ambulance) to clear the problem. Studies conducted
in the early 1990s (when the COMPASS System on Highway
401 first opened) showed messages on the variable
message signs helped reduce collisions by 12 percent.
Information about Ontario’s COMPASS System
can be viewed at www.compass.gov.on.ca.
