OCTOBER 2005
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ITS CANADA’S GOODS, PORTS, BORDERS AND CORRIDORS WORKSHOP
By Kevin Bebenek, IBI Group
On September 26, 2005, Transport Canada and ITS Canada, in association with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in North America (CILTNA) and the Montreal Port Authority, successfully conducted a one-day Goods, Ports, Borders and Corridors workshop at the Delta Hotel in Montreal.
Fifty participants representing various regional private and public-sector agencies engaged in a discussion of the opportunities and experiences in applying ITS solutions to address security and efficiency of goods movement at ports of entry, and along trade corridors. Sessions provided insights into new developments in technology applications such as terminal appointment systems, perspectives from various industries including rail and shipping, and profiles of several demonstration projects currently being deployed.
Some key points which emerged from the discussions included:
- The need for enhanced data collection and forecasting tools for various parameters, such as traffic conditions or container locations
- The importance of mapping potential ITS technology applications and their benefits to business processes and establishing the business case
- The opportunities for cross-cultural education among stakeholders to improve inter-agency co-ordination
- The importance of using pilot projects to define applications and engage stakeholders.
The Montreal workshop was the second in a series of Goods, Ports, Borders and Corridors workshops. The previous session was held in Halifax in December 2004. An upcoming session is currently being planned for Vancouver in early 2006; further details will be announced shortly.
Delegates at the Goods, Ports, Borders and Corridors workshop held September 26 in Montreal
ITS CANADA PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
By Nancy Lynch, New Brunswick Department of Transportation
ITS Canada's Michel Van Aerde Memorial Scholarship was set up by ITS Canada to commemorate the contribution that Dr. Michel Van Aerde made to the ITS industry. Professor Van Aerde was a leader in the academic field, with positions at the University of Waterloo and Queens University, where he played a leading role in the development of ITS-related curriculum. He was also a member of the first Board of Directors of ITS Canada when it was formed in 1997.
The scholarship is awarded annually; this is the fourth year that the award has been offered to university students working in the area of ITS. The award of $5,000 is made through a competitive process to a student registered full-time in a Canadian university graduate studies program related to intelligent transportation systems.
Mark Gunter of the University of New Brunswick is the successful winner of the award for the academic year 2005–2006. The Review Committee made its selection based on his strong academic record, clearly stated goals, demonstrated understanding of ITS, and strong letters of recommendation. The award was presented on September 27, 2005, at Head Hall, University of New Brunswick. Nancy Lynch, a Director of ITS Canada, presented the cheque on behalf of Chairman Joseph Lam and ITS Canada.
Mrs. Maureen Van Aerde was unable to attend the presentation but relayed congratulations to Mark from herself and her family. She said that Michel would be proud that this award is going to an excellent student who is working in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems, and she sent best wishes to Mark for continued success.
Mark began studies in September for a Master of Science Degree at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Dr. Eric Hildebrand. Mark plans to pursue research related to rural ITS with a focus on safety at low-volume railway crossings. He is presently involved in real-life ITS deployment projects related to roadway work zone safety and railway grade crossing safety at the University of New Brunswick’s National Centre for Rural ITS Research.
Scholarship Award Presentation
L-R: Dr. Eric Hildebrand, UNB Transportation Group; Mark Gunter, scholarship recipient;
Nancy Lynch, Director – ITS Canada
ITS CANADA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
Sustaining Corporate
Castle Rock Consultants, Inc.
Corporate
Hamilton Associates
Telvent Canada Ltd.
Unisys Canada
ITS CANADA MISSION TO 12TH WORLD CONGRESS
ITS Canada is planning a mission to the 12th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, to be held in San Francisco, California, U.S.A., on November 6 to 10, 2005. The mission will continue ITS Canada’s tradition of participating with the international ITS community in the ITS World Congress.
Our members are interested in opportunities to showcase their products and services. ITS Canada’s involvement in the ITS World Congress assists members to develop and enhance professional relationships and goodwill with our counterparts in other countries, thus improving the climate for trade.
Events such as the World Congress increase the awareness of international buyers (including government agencies and major consortia or contractors) of Canadian ITS technologies, products, services and suppliers. The ITS World Congress also allows our members to become better informed about sales opportunities by increasing their network of contacts and distributors, who identify prospects that ultimately result in increased export sales. Missions organized by ITS Canada allow our members to have a collective Canadian presence and help them to explore opportunities.
Members interested in this mission should contact ITS Canada via e-mail at askus@itscanada.ca.
INTEGRATED CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT
The U.S. Department of Transportation is developing an integrated corridor management system to show how ITS technology can manage transportation corridors within and between large metropolitan areas to improve mobility, and optimize passenger and commercial throughput in corridors. This work is in response to the increasing number of road and rail users, increases that are happening faster than intelligent transportation systems can be deployed.
The focus is to promote new ways of managing congestion within corridors by integrating cross-modal traffic and transit management systems and operations. Referred to as the Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative, the goal is to coordinate adjacent operations to create an interconnected system.
ICM will attempt to bridge the separation between different modes, and will consider emergency management. Anticipated results include a reduction of travel times, delays, fuel consumption, emissions, and incidents, along with an increase in reliability and predictability of travel, results that would have a direct impact on the quality of life for all users.
The federal initiative intends to provide institutional guidance, operational capabilities, and ITS technology required to improve transportation safety and security, relieve congestion and enhance productivity. Considerations include the development of cooperative and integrated policies among stakeholders; plan and concept of operations for corridor management; mobility opportunities, including diversion to alternate routes and modes; real-time traffic and transit monitoring; real-time information distribution (including alternate networks); congestion management (recurring and non-recurring); incident management; travel demand management; and public awareness.
The ICM Initiative has been described as a "high-risk, high-reward concept". For more information regarding the U.S. DOT's ICM initiative, visit www.itsa.org/icm.html.
INTERNATIONAL MUNICIPAL SIGNALS ASSOCIATION
By Chris Philp, Director – IMSA
Right off the top, I would like to thank the good people at ITS Canada for adopting and encouraging a new liaison with the International Municipal Signals Association (IMSA). I believe this spirit of camaraderie will result in benefits for members of both organizations.
Many of the goals of ITS Canada and IMSA are the same; both are non-profit organizations that seek to serve their members as efficiently and effectively as possible, and both organizations have links to international communities.
The Canadian Sections of the IMSA serve their members by providing information, education and certification for public safety. It is one of only a few organizations with an accreditation program for people who attended certification schools. Course content for the training is generally centred on traffic signals, work zones, and signs and markings.
ITS Canada of course focuses on fostering and promoting the Canadian ITS industry. As many of the products and services related to the ITS industry involve traffic signals, work zones and signs, a liaison between the two organizations may be very beneficial to those who work closely within these areas of our industry.
Over the next year or so, I will be regularly offering short articles in ITS Canada newsletters on the current happenings at IMSA. My ambition is to provide insight into the news, items of interest and current events from the Canadian IMSA Sections.
I will also report on the current activities from ITS Canada to IMSA members. Through these reports, I will seek opportunities for the IMSA to more explicitly consider and promote ITS resources and technologies. For example, IMSA is continually seeking to enhance its certification training programs. This can be accomplished in part by continuing to integrate the state-of-the-art principles, technologies and methods of ITS.
- The Website Approach document continues to be updated as required. The Member Services Committee considers the Website Approach as ITS Canada’s guidance and advice on the operation of the website.
Upcoming Activities
- Work on the Marketing Plan and update of materials to recruit new members is expected to proceed (with Board concurrence).
- To support a targeted recruitment campaign for municipalities, the Executive Committee has approved three articles to be published through the newsletter. The subjects will likely include an overview of ITS, a review of transit applications, and cost/benefits (or perhaps traffic management), and would use materials from discussion papers from ATLANTIC as well as other sources. This work is currently in progress, under the direction of William Johnson.
- The website’s ITS glossary/acronym list is under review.
- The Committee will revisit the idea of creating a Deployment Database, using as a base the report created by the University of Waterloo.
The activities considered and accomplished by the Member Services Committee take a great deal of time and effort, and would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of the Committee members. The contribution to the Society by these volunteers should be commended.
I look forward to more frequent communications with ITS Canada over the next year, and genuinely hope that a closer liaison between our two organizations will benefit all of our members.
Future IMSA Events
3rd Annual Traffic Expo and Industry Update
IMSA Ontario Section
Thursday October 27, 2005
Waterfront Holiday Inn – Kingston, Ontario
Canadian Expo
March 21 to 23, 2006
Canmore, Alberta
Certification schools on traffic signals, signs and markings, and work zone safety
April 2006
Annual General Meeting – IMSA Ontario Section
June 2006
For more information: www.ontario.imsasafety.org.
REPORT FROM ITS CANADA’S ARCHITECTURE AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE
By Robyn McGregor, Committee Chair
Committee members include:
- Robyn McGregor, EBA Engineering Consultants
- Kara John, DMTI Spatial (Committee Vice Chair)
- Milt Harmelink
- William Johnson, TRENDS
- Luc Lefebvre, Ministère des Transports du Québec
- Scott Stewart, IBI Group.
Initiatives for the past two years have included:
- Ongoing participation in ISO Technical Committee 204, through the Standards Council of Canada. Details can be found on ITS Canada’s website at www.itscanada.ca/standardscommittee/newsandevents.htm.
- Preparation of "Proposal for an ITS Standards Partnership for Canada (ITS Standards Development Framework for Canada)", in March 2003, based on the outcome of the ITS Standards Workshop held in August 2002.
Background information has been provided to new committee members on the proposal for ITS Regional Architecture Planning Support that was prepared by ITS Canada’s Education and Training committee in January 2005.
At the Board meeting in May 2005, it was identified that the Standards Committee was to be expanded to include a focus on the ITS Architecture for Canada. A teleconference was held on September 6, 2005. The objective of the meeting was to brief new members on activities, confirm the committee name and scope, and to identify initiatives for the next 6 to 12 months. The meeting outcomes and action items include:
- The Committee will be renamed to "Architecture and Standards Committee".
- The Committee’s scope is confirmed as noted below.
- The Committee will develop a proposal for a national workshop on the ITS Architecture for Canada. The objectives of the workshop will be to gather input on what updates and changes should be included in the national architecture, and what promotional initiatives for the national architecture are required. The outcome will be an advisory briefing that can then be the basis upon which plans for national architecture updates, promotion and training can be developed.
Architecture and Standards Committee Scope
This Committee oversees activities in Canada related to the promotion and use of the ITS Architecture for Canada, and the development and implementation of associated ITS Standards (both on a national and international level). The Committee’s scope includes:
- Identifying and undertaking services to support promotion of and updates to the ITS Architecture for Canada
- Supporting the Education and Training Committee in developing and delivering training initiatives for the use of the ITS Architecture for Canada at project and regional levels
- Identifying and undertaking services to support the development and implementation of ITS standards at a national and international level.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
INO has developed a road inspection system that is composed of two high-resolution linescan cameras and lasers that are configured to image full 4m transverse road sections with 1mm resolution at speeds that can surpass 100 km/h. This patented imaging system was designed to increase the contrast and visibility of both small longitudinal and lateral road cracks.
For more information contact, John Laurent of INO at john.laurent@ino.ca or telephone (418) 657-7006.
VANCOUVER TO DEVELOP URBAN TRANSPORTATION SHOWCASE
Main Street, one of Vancouver’s oldest and busiest transit corridors, is set for a $7.7 million makeover in the next 12 months as part of the Urban Transportation Showcase Program, a five-year federal program created to demonstrate, evaluate and promote effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from urban transportation. More than $1.3 million from the program will go to the Main Street project.
By the time the project is completed in late 2006, residents, shoppers and transit customers will enjoy a significant improvement to transit services, wider sidewalks, better street furniture, more trees and new street art. A key design feature of the new streetscape will be bulges — curb extensions at street corners creating wider sidewalk areas where many of the new trees and pieces of street art will be located. These wider street corners will also become bus stops, allowing trolleys to load and unload passengers without leaving the traffic lane. Not only does this improve transit travel times and reliability, it also opens up more storefront parking and makes intersection crossings shorter and safer for pedestrians.
In total, the Urban Transportation Showcase Program is providing more than $8 million in federal funding for Main Street and five other initiatives in the Greater Vancouver Region. Total funding from the federal government, TransLink, municipalities and other non-government partners is $35 million.
The five other projects include:
- the test of hybrid diesel/electric buses as part of TransLink’s bus demonstration project
- new transit villages to improve streetscapes around major SkyTrain stations
- the 24.5 kilometre Central Valley Greenway for cyclists
- the Travel Smart program promoting travel options through individual trip planning
- a major study of goods movement in the region.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 1st Pan American ITS Congress & Exhibition
October 18 to 21, 2005 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
jabourchequer@ig.com.br
www.itspan.org/paits/precongresso/usa_index.asp
- 12th World Congress on ITS
November 6 to 10, 2005 – San Fransicso, CA
Preliminary Program: www.itsworldcongress.org under the "About World Congress" menu
- 2nd International Conference on Driver Behaviour Training
November 15 to 17, 2005 – Edinburgh, UK
www.dbt2005.info
- CUTA 2005 Fall Conference and Trans-Expo
November 19 to 23, 2005 – Vancouver, BC
November 22 – Trans-Expo, Canada’s Transit and Bus Exposition
www.cutaactu.on.ca
- Highway-Railway Grade Crossing Workshop
November 21 and 22, 2005 – Montreal, QC
www.tc.gc.ca/tdc/events/7workshop.htm
- Gulf Traffic
December 12 to 14, 2005 – Dubai, UAE
www.gulftraffic.com
- 2nd Abu Dhabi International Road Exhibition & Conference (ROADEX 2006)
March 12-15, 2006 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
www.roadex-uae.com
- ITS America’s 2006 Annual Meeting & Expo
May 7 to 9, 2006 – Philadelphia, PA
www.itsa.org/annualmeeting.html
- ITS Canada’s Annual Conference
June 4 to 6, 2006
Whistler, B.C.
www.itscanada.ca/whister2006
Newsletter published by ITS Canada.
Submissions or comments can be emailed to askus@itscanada.ca.
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