NOVEMBER 2003
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ITS CANADA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2004
An opportunity to enjoy some western hospitality
Bringing People and Transportation Technology Together Safely:
Telematics, Human Factors and Safety
Calgary, May 9-11, 2004
Mark Your Calendars Now – Come to Alberta in May!
Reported by Doug Morgan, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee
Preparations are well underway to welcome ITS Canada to Alberta for the 2004 Annual Conference and General Meeting. The conference will be held in the heart of downtown Calgary at the beautiful Hyatt Regency. The theme of the conference is “Bringing People and Transportation Technology Together Safely: Telematics, Human Factors and Safety”. With your help we can build a robust and exciting technical program, so look for a “Call for Papers” via e-mail.
As always, included in the event will be a trade show to allow exhibitors to display their technologies and services. The opportunities to sponsor and/or be involved in the exhibition will be announced in November.
Come and enjoy some western hospitality, while getting the latest updates on ITS developments in Canada. See the conference page for timely news about the event.
…full report in next month’s issue
ITS Canada’s Booth at the 10th World Congress
ITS CANADA MISSION TO PIARC WORLD ROAD CONGRESS
ITS Canada, represented by Chairman Joseph Lam, participated in the XXIInd World Road Congress, which was held in Durban, South Africa, on October 19 to 25, 2003. PIARC, the World Road Association, is involved in road transport policy and practices in an integrated sustainable context. A broad spectrum of industry players attended, including government agencies, toll concessionaires, material and equipment suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, freight companies, the civil engineering industry, and academia. Five technical tours were also offered in conjunction with the event.
The Government of Canada did an excellent job of organizing a Canadian pavilion at the exhibition that ran concurrently with the event. The Canadian pavilion included bilingual displays hosted by Environment Canada, Industry Canada, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), among others. Transport Canada and ITS Canada shared space in the large Government of Canada area. An interactive station allowed exhibit patrons to access information about exhibitors in the Canada pavilion. A consistent format for all exhibitors in the booth ensured a coordinated display for Canada.
Mr. Lam presented information about ITS Canada in the lecture hall located within the Canadian Pavilion. “PIARC’s World Road Congress was a great event,” said Chairman Lam. “The who’s who of the road infrastructure business of the world attended, and Canada was well represented. I felt the Canadian Pavilion, in particular, was very well designed with its open concept. Hundreds of visitors were attracted to the booth. The maple syrup candies given out were great, easily the “best seller” of the conference. To top it off, two RCMP officers brought along by the Canadian delegation were the highlight of the conference, appearing in full RCMP dress uniform. They really make all Canadians proud. All round, Canada did a great job in organizing the mission, under the leadership of Réjean Day of Transport Canada.”
Canada’s Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI), in cooperation with the City of Durban (eThekwini Municipality), organized a transportation seminar on October 20 that focused on Durban’s key issues in freight transport and public transportation. SCI is a Canadian government initiative, working in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality, aimed at enhancing the sustainability of economic development of the Municipality and helping its citizens improve their quality of life without compromising their future. Mr. Lam was invited to present on Canada’s world-class ITS expertise. Mayor Doug McCallum of Surrey, British Columbia, and Albert Sweetnam, Senior Vice President of SNC-Lavalin also spoke at the event.
Transport Canada also arranged a “power business breakfast” with the Canadian delegation and the members of the Durban Chamber of Commerce, providing an opportunity to meet face to face with many local businessmen. Overall, the PIARC event was very successful in raising international awareness of both the Canadian ITS industry and ITS Canada.
CANADA PARTICIPATES IN ISO/TC 204 IN VIENNA
Reported by William Johnson, Director – ITS Canada
The Austrian Standards Institute hosted the 22nd Plenary and Work Group meetings of ISO Technical Committee 204 for Intelligent Transportation Systems the week of October 13 to 17, 2003, in Vienna, Austria.
The Canadian delegation to the TC 204 meetings was under the auspices of the Standards Council of Canada. It included William Johnson, Head of Delegation, Lewis Sabounghi (Sabounghi & Associates), Convener of Work Group 7 (General Fleet Management & Commercial Freight), Jackson Wang (E-Radio), Canadian expert to WG 10 (Traveller Information Systems) and Peter Burns (Transport Canada), Canadian expert to WG 14 (Vehicle/Roadway Warning and Control Systems).
There were 75 delegates from 16 countries attending the TC 204 meetings. At the Plenary meeting after a full week of Work Group meetings and consultations, 18 resolutions were passed giving direction for follow up action to the chairman, the secretariat and the Work Group conveners. South Africa, one of the two new countries to join TC 204 in 2003 along with Switzerland, attended the meetings as a member for the first time.
The TC 204 continues an active program of standards development and attracts continuing strong interest from the participating countries. However, some changes are anticipated over the next two years as a consequence of electing a new chair (starting in 2005) and new conveners for three Work Groups:
- Work Group 9 Integrated Transport Information & Control
- Work Group 10 Traveller Information Systems
- Work Group 11 Route Guidance & Navigation.
The process for selecting conveners has been opened up to candidates from all member countries that have the qualifications and sponsorship to undertake the tasks involved. If you are interested to be considered for one of these convener positions, please contact William Johnson, Chair of the Canadian Advisory Committee for ISO/TC 204 (coordinates below).
Canada will host the next ISO/TC 204 meetings on May 17 to 21, 2004, in Vancouver, B.C. It is anticipated that a large number of Work Groups, and therefore delegates, will attend the spring 2004 meetings, thus assuring success.
For further information about ISO/TC 204, membership of the Canadian Advisory Committee, the convener positions, or to obtain a full report of the Vienna meeting, please contact William Johnson at johnswf@attglobal.net or (613) 797-1489 (phone).
ATLANTIC ITS WORKSHOP
Reported by William Johnson, Director – ITS Canada
The Canadian ATLANTIC Network convened a workshop in Ottawa on October 24, 2003, to review and develop the eight theme discussion papers sponsored by the project. There was also a panel discussion on Future Networking at which the views and suggestions of workshop participants were discussed regarding ways and means to continue the work of ATLANTIC.
The ATLANTIC Network in Canada is a joint collaboration among Canadian experts at universities, public agencies and private firms who share a common interest in ITS research and development in Canada. The workshop was organized by the University of Toronto (ITS Centre) and the Université de Montréal (Centre de recherché sur les transports), and had participants from the Universities of Calgary (Cognitive Ergonomics Research Lab), Carleton (Transportation Centre), Sherbrooke (Auto21), Waterloo (Civil Engineering) and New Brunswick (Civil Engineering).
The delegates were welcomed to the workshop by Kristine Burr, the Assistant Deputy Minister Policy for Transport Canada. Transport Canada is one of three project sponsors including Ministère des Transports du Québec and the Ministry of Transportation Ontario.
The main part of the workshop was conducted as a “committee of the whole” in order to permit all the delegates, 40 in number, to hear the presentations by all eight of the Work Group leaders (or, in some cases, the Work Group rapporteurs). The topics covered included a full range of ITS subjects including traffic information, traffic management, public transit, inter-modal freight, intelligent vehicles, electronic payment, user acceptance and human factors. Delegates provided many comments and suggestions that will help to round out the knowledge base on the state of the art and practices in Canada for each of the ITS topics.
The next steps for ATLANTIC will be to complete the eight discussion papers summarizing the current state of the art and practices of ITS, as well as ITS research and development in Canada. The workshop documents are posted on the project website (see address below) and are open to all interested parties to view and comment. The final papers will provide a basis for identifying issues for future research, for establishing an on-going network dialogue, and for convening future workshops.
For further information about ATLANTIC or the ITS Workshop, visit the project website at www.crt.umontreal.ca/atlantic.
or contact William Johnson, Coordinator Canadian ATLANTIC Network, at johnswf@attglobal.net or (613) 797-1489 (phone). Experts who wish to join the ATLANTIC Network in Canada and to contribute to its activities are invited to contact Mr. Johnson.
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR THE 2005 ITS WORLD CONGRESS
Deadline change for CFS
The final date for proposals for the Call For Submissions (Number 0587a33) regarding pilot projects for demonstration in conjunction with the 2005 ITS World Congress has been extended from:
December 1, 2003, to January 2, 2004.
Please see Addendum Two for more information and other date changes. Addendum Two is identified as Word file 0587A33.2 and can be found at caltrans-opac.ca.gov/0587a33.htm.
TAC 2004 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
TAC has issued a call for papers for its 2004 Annual Conference to be held in Québec City, Québec, on September 19 to 22, 2004. The conference will address a wide range of issues, including many related to the overall event theme of Transportation Innovation – Accelerating the Pace.
Browse the Call for Papers:
www.tac-atc.ca/english/annualconference/callforpapers.cfm
…to find out what paper sessions are planned and how to submit a proposal, or just to get an early glimpse of the technical program. The deadline for the submission of paper abstracts is January 16, 2004.
Contact Gilbert Morier (gmorier@tac-atc.ca) for more information.
OVERVIEW OF TAC’S TRAFFIC OPERATIONS AND
MANAGEMENT STANDING COMMITTEE (TOMSC)
Reported by Katarina Cvetkovic, Project Manager
Transportation Association of Canada
The Traffic Operations and Management Standing Committee (TOMSC) is one of seven standing committees under the direction of the Chief Engineers’ Council (CEC) of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC). The CEC provides a forum of excellence for information exchange to its standing committees in order to promote and develop the technical guidelines needed for the provision of a safe, efficient, effective and environmentally sustainable Canadian road network. The CEC and its standing committees are responsible for initiation, development, approval and maintenance of Canadian guidelines and best practices for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the national road infrastructure.
TOMSC, one of the largest and oldest standing committees under the CEC, is comprised of leading transportation professionals from across the country. These members volunteer their time and expertise toward the development and improvement of standards for traffic control devices and practices for use in Canada. TOMSC currently consists of several special subcommittees: Development and Devices, Applications and Practices, Editing and Publication, Rules of the Road, and Emerging Technologies.
The Emerging Technologies subcommittee provides a direct link with ITS Canada. ITS Canada’s representative on TOMSC, Milt Harmelink, chairs this subcommittee, and is supported both by the members of TOMSC’s Emerging Technologies subcommittee and the members of ITS Canada’s TAC Operations and Safety Liaison Committee. Several presentations on ITS user services, architecture, and strategic plans have been made to TOMSC. Work is under way to develop a proposal to TOMSC for an ITS Design Guide.
TOMSC also has an Executive subcommittee that consists of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the immediate Past-Chair, and the Vice-Chairs of the four special subcommittees. The executive representatives typically rotate every two years. Some of the main responsibilities of the TOMSC committee are to organize, motivate and coordinate research for the improvement of traffic control devices and practices in Canada, to report to the CEC on committee activities and recommendations, and to conduct workshops and sessions to distribute information relating to the recommended traffic control practices.
One of the most important and recognized products of the TOMSC work is the Manual of Uniform Traffic Devices for Canada (MUTCDC). This manual is a living document with regular updates to maintain it as up-to-date and innovative as possible. Currently TOMSC is working on numerous interesting projects, such as the guideline for traffic signals for bicycles, and the new Roadway Lighting Design Guide.
All projects are carried out under the direction of project steering committees. The work of the project steering committee includes developing the project terms of reference, selecting the consultant if the project is sponsored, reviewing the progress reports, and providing feedback and guidance to the consultant. The project steering committees meet at TAC spring and fall meetings for the duration of the project.
ITS Canada and TAC TOMS Committee
As noted in the above article, Milt Harmelink is ITS Canada’s representative at TAC’s TOMS Committee. In support of this effort, Milt chairs ITS Canada’s TAC Operations and Safety Liaison Committee. The role of ITS Canada’s committee is to act as liaison to TOMSC and the Road Safety Committee. The purpose is to coordinate representative ITS Canada views and priorities in order to advance the interests of ITS Canada on these two TAC committees, and to inform ITS Canada members of the activities of these committees. Chris Philps of iTrans, Neil Ahmed of McCormick Rankin, Doug MacKay of Durham Region, and Ahmad Radmanesh of the City of Calgary also participate on ITS Canada’s committee. Members who have comments or project ideas are welcomed and encouraged to contact Milt via e-mail at mdharmel@pathcom.com.
NEWS FROM THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION ITS EXPERTS GROUP
Reported by Colin Rayman, General Manager – ITS Canada
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ITS Experts Group held its most recent meeting in Busan, Korea, from September 1 to 5, 2003. This ITS Experts Group meeting was held as part of the 22nd meeting of the Transportation Working Group (TPT- WG-22). Colin Rayman attended as Canada’s representative.
The meeting was chaired by the United States and was attended by eight economies: Canada; People’s Republic of China; Chinese Taipei; Japan; Republic of Korea; Philippines; Singapore; and U.S.A. A “Summary Report” is available from ITS Canada which provides an overview of the ITS Experts Group meeting.
The ITS Experts Group also had a joint meeting with the e-Commerce Group and the Intermodal Task Force. The joint meeting was also attended by eight economies: Australia; Canada; Chinese Taipei; Japan; Republic of Korea; New Zealand; Thailand; and U.S.A. Macao, China, also attended as a guest economy. Canadian delegates at the joint meeting included George Tyszewicz and Clyde McElman of Transport Canada; and Colin Rayman of ITS Canada.
During the meeting, it was noted that a good opportunity exists for APEC to influence revisions to the TICS Fundamental Services List by providing solid input to Working Group 1 of ISO TC-204. One of the activities identified in the work plan is Outreach/Training, and an opportunity exists for Canada to demonstrate leadership within APEC for this activity.
The Republic of Korea proposed, and the Group agreed, to develop a proposal for APEC funding to produce a World ITS Standards Report. A draft agenda for a second APEC/ISO workshop to be held in Madrid, Spain, in November 2003 was discussed. The Group agreed to cooperate and make the second joint workshop a reality.
The project consultant provided a progress report on Phase 1 of the Air and Sea Container Track and Trace project. The Group received a briefing from the consultant for Phase 2 of the “Enhancing Secure Trade and Efficiency in the APEC Region with ITS and e-Commerce Technologies” project. It was agreed to form a Steering Committee to guide Phase 2, and to hold a meeting in January 2004 to bring together potential project stakeholders to secure their participation. Canada was requested to be a member of the Steering Committee. The Group also agreed to initiate work on the development of the proposal for Phase 3 of the project.
Subject to home approval, China volunteered to host TPT-WG-23. Thailand has also volunteered to host TPT-WG-24. The ITS Experts Group has not established a time or place for its next meeting.
Status reports on ITS developments in various economies were presented by Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea and U.S.A.
For more information, please contact Colin Rayman at colin.rayman@itscanada.ca.
NEW VERSION OF U.S. ITS ARCHITECTURE RELEASED
The U.S. Department of Transportation has made Version 5.0 of the National ITS Architecture available. The new version includes enhancement of security coverage in the architecture, a new Disaster Response and Evacuation User Service, 511 support, Security Monitoring subsystem, Roadway Closure Management Market Package, and numerous other improvements. Visit the National ITS Architecture web site at itsarch.iteris.com/itsarch.
EVALUATING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF ITS
International efforts to exchange information on evaluating the costs and benefits of implementing intelligent transportation systems is the focus of IBEC, the International Benefits Evaluation and Costs Committee. Launched during the Chicago World Congress, the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) undertook to fund IBEC’s secretariat function between Chicago and the Madrid World Congress in order to provide support to the group, to establish a membership base, develop a Charter, and help with preparations for Special Sessions during the Madrid Congress. DfT appointed TRL Limited to carry out this secretariat function. Dick Mudge from Delcan’s U.S. offices has been elected as the first Chair of IBEC.
IBEC members include experts on ITS evaluation and those interested in the cost effectiveness of ITS implementations. IBEC organizes workshops and provides forums for exchanging information and advice. Objectives of the Committee include providing advice to practitioners and researchers, promoting the development of consistent and reliable methodologies for the evaluation and deployment of ITS products and services, providing data on the measured costs and benefits of ITS deployments, and sharing information on issues and lessons learned. IBEC has also set up an e-mail exchange group enabling any IBEC member to send an e-mail message to all other members to make announcements or pose questions to knowledgeable experts. The address is groups.yahoo.com/group/ibec-its.
Information about IBEC is available on IBEC’s website at www.ibec-its.org. A series of IBEC workshops were held November 19 and 20 in Madrid. Susan Spencer of Transport Canada’s ITS Office spoke at the event, which focused on evaluation of ITS projects, including information on state-of-the-art evaluation tools as well as techniques being used in other countries to determine the benefits of ITS investments and how the results are being used. For those who need assistance on whether an investment is worth making, IBEC offers helpful tools and reference materials.
IBEC is looking to recruit participants for this Committee from around the world, and would be pleased to welcome new members. For enquiries, please contact IBEC@trl.co.uk.
Also of interest is the United States Department of Transportation’s ITS Benefits and Costs Database, available through their website at www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov.
The website provides useful information including the “Benefit of the Month” shown below.
ADAPTIVE SIGNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS REDUCE INTERSECTION DELAY
UP TO 18% IN LOS ANGELES
Nearly 2,500 of the over 4,000 traffic signals in Los Angeles use adaptive signal control to adjust traffic signal timing based on current traffic demand. Studies at seven of these intersections found delay reduced by an average of 10%, with reductions ranging from 3.1% to 17.7%. Details available at www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov.
ITS CANADA ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND GENERAL MEETING
Bringing People and Transportation Technology Together Safely:
Telematics, Human Factors and Safety
May 9 to 11, 2004
The Hyatt Regency Hotel – Calgary, Alberta
www.itscanada.ca/alberta2004
ITS CANADA MEMBERS UPGRADING TO THE SUSTAINING CORPORATE LEVEL
ITS Canada would like to acknowledge with gratitude the following members
who have upgraded tothe Sustaining Corporate level:
- City of Toronto
- Ministère des Transport du Québec
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Gulf Traffic 2003 – conference and exhibition
December 8 to 11, 2003 – Dubai, UAE
www.gulftraffic.com
- ITS Safety and Security Conference
March 24 to 25, 2004 – Miami, Florida
Call for papers extended to December 31, 2003
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
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
- TAC Annual Conference
Transportation Innovation – Accelerating the Pace
September 19 to 22, 2004 – Québec City, Québec
www.tac-atc.ca
- SURF 2004 – The PIARC 5th International Symposium
on Pavement Surface Characteristics – Roads and Airfields
June 6 to 10, 2004 – Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto
- Upcoming World Congresses
Nagoya, Japan – October 18 to 22, 2004
San Francisco – November 6 to 10, 2005
Newsletter published by ITS Canada.
Submissions or comments can be emailed to askus@itscanada.ca.
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