Traffic Signal Systems Operations and Management

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General Information
Study Number: TPF-5(258)
Former Study Number:
Lead Organization: Indiana Department of Transportation
Contract Start Date: Jul 01, 2013
Solicitation Number: 1296
Partners: City of Chicago, CA, FHWA, GADOT, KS, MN, MS, NHDOT, PADOT, TX, UT, WI
Status: Closed
Est. Completion Date: Dec 31, 2017
Contract/Other Number:
Last Updated: Oct 11, 2018
Contract End Date: Dec 31, 2017
Financial Summary
Contract Amount:
Suggested Contribution:
Total Commitments Received: $700,000.00
100% SP&R Approval: Approved
Contact Information
Lead Study Contact(s): Jim Sturdevant
jsturdevant@indot.in.gov
Phone: 317-899-8617
FHWA Technical Liaison(s): Richard Denney
Richard.Denney@dot.gov
Phone: 410-962-4796
Organization Year Commitments Technical Contact Name Funding Contact Name
California Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 John Castro Sang Le
California Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 John Castro Sang Le
California Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 John Castro Sang Le
City of Chicago 2011 $0.00 David Zavattero David Zavattero
City of Chicago 2012 $25,000.00 David Zavattero David Zavattero
Federal Highway Administration 2012 $75,000.00 Richard Denney Pidge Chapman
Georgia Department of Transportation 2011 $25,000.00 Jim Tolson Supriya Kamatkar
Georgia Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Jim Tolson Supriya Kamatkar
Georgia Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Jim Tolson Supriya Kamatkar
Kansas Department of Transportation 2012 $0.00 Howard Lubiner David Behzadpour
Kansas Department of Transportation 2013 $0.00 Howard Lubiner David Behzadpour
Kansas Department of Transportation 2014 $0.00 Howard Lubiner David Behzadpour
Minnesota Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Lisa Jansen
Minnesota Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Lisa Jansen
Minnesota Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 Lisa Jansen
Mississippi Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 James Watkins Robert Vance
Mississippi Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 James Watkins Robert Vance
Mississippi Department of Transportation 2016 $25,000.00 James Watkins Robert Vance
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 2011 $25,000.00 Peter Crouch Ann Scholz
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Peter Crouch Ann Scholz
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Peter Crouch Ann Scholz
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 Dan Farley Heather Sorce
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2017 $25,000.00 Dan Farley Heather Sorce
Texas Department of Transportation 2011 $25,000.00 Henry Wickes Charmaine Richardson
Texas Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Henry Wickes Charmaine Richardson
Texas Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Henry Wickes Charmaine Richardson
Utah Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Mark Taylor David Stevens
Utah Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Mark Taylor David Stevens
Utah Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 Mark Taylor David Stevens
Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 David Karnes Lynn Hanus
Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2013 $0.00 David Karnes Lynn Hanus

Study Description

Signalized arterial represent a substantial component of the highway transportation network in the United States. The National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) in their 2007 Traffic Signal Report Card noted that nationally 5 to 10 percent of all traffic delay is caused by improper traffic signal timings along major roadways. In 2007, the National Report Card for overall traffic signal systems operations was a D. The situation is not expected to improve as travel demand is forecast to grow significantly faster than network capacity. The increase in national attention on sustainable and livable communities necessitate a concentrated effort be placed upon improved management and operation of our nations traffic signal system inventory. The Transportation Management Center (TMC) Pooled fund study (SPR-2(207)) initiated in 2000, has been very successful at generating consensus on best management practices for traffic management centers oriented mainly towards freeway operations. It is desirable to develop a similar pooled fund study oriented toward traffic signal operations and management that would complement SPR-2(207) and engage a broad cross section of agencies on the leading edge of active traffic signal management.

Objectives

Develop a network of transportation agencies to: i) develop consensus on operational standards of performance, ii) define a central management model that can leverage commercial wireless IP offerings that can be competitively outsourced, and iii) management principles for using a central system to identify when and where resources are most needed to maximize return on investment. The level of participation and associated funding commitments will allow for additional opportunities over time or in parallel to explore additional traffic signal initiatives beyond those described herein. For example, the evaluation of adaptive control field deployments and associated systems engineering guidance documents under development by FHWA.

Scope of Work

The following are the three initial initiatives that the PFS intends to cover: (1) Development of Traffic Signal Standard of Performance and Related Measures Although centralized traffic management systems have been deployed for nearly 5 decades, there is limited consensus on standards of performance (operating objectives) or best practices for cost-effectively managing system operation based upon defined standards of performance. For example, most centralized systems can provide status reports on communication link quality, detector failures, and status of indications. However, none of the central systems have performance measure reports that provide systematic procedures for prioritizing signals or corridors with operating deficiencies that could be addressed by actively changing parameters such as green times or offsets. There are several innovative performance measure efforts emerging (based on the work of NCHRP 3-79a) that show promise for providing such a framework. However, their deployments have been limited to a few agencies and there is a need to develop broader national consensus to enable the private sector to understand what tools the industry needs and to guide their product development efforts. This task will recommend and validate uniform standards of performance and related measures for traffic signals and systems of traffic signals through evaluation of field trials in various operating environments. (2) Central System Architecture for Distributed Wide Area Systems Due to communication costs, centralizing the management of traffic signals has been focused on urbanized areas. Innovative private sector IP based communication plants offerings now make it practical to develop scalable integration architectures for managing signals distributed over large geographical regions, districts, and/or an entire state that can be competitively procured. However, central management systems targeted at high bandwidth, low latency fiber optic communication plants common in urban areas, must be developed to accommodate the nuances of geographically distributed communication plants with higher latency and lower bandwidth. For example, instead of polling every urban traffic signal once per second to obtain the status of signals and detectors, it is perhaps just as effective to poll each controller in an entire state once per day and download a compressed 300kb file with time stamped phase and detector events. Then, using the time stamped events, once per day, tabulate a series of user defined performance measures and rank the intersections and/or corridors for performance improvement opportunities. This task will develop a Central System Architecture that provides a scalable integrated management platform independent of variable communications latency and bandwidth. This platform shall integrate the automated evaluation of operating objectives as defined in task 1 above. (3) Management Concepts and Guidelines In a logical continuation of the performance based architecture developed above, the development of a new management framework is needed to allow agencies to identify when and where resources are most needed to maximize return on investment. For example, instead of re-timing all signals every two years, this approach would provide the supporting tools to identify signals in rapidly developing areas for re-timing perhaps as often as every six months, and in areas with now growth, the signal timings may not need to be updated any more frequently then every 5 years. This task will establish a proposed set of management concepts and guidelines that are "practice ready" and are based on the practical business case of maximizing the benefits of resources focused on traffic signal management.

Comments

Minimum commitment $25,000 per participant per year. One time contribution is also accepted

Documents Attached
Title File/Link Document Category Document Type Privacy Document Date Download
TPF-5(258) Closeout Funding Spreadsheet TPF-5(258) Closeout Funding Spreadsheet-Nantung.pdf Other Other Public 2018-10-12
TPF-5(258) Closeout Letter TPF-5(258) Closeout Letter - Signed.pdf Memorandum Other Public 2018-10-12
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2017 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2017.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2017-07-09
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2017 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan - Mar 2017.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2017-04-11
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2016 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jul-Sept 2016.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2016-10-20
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2016 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2016.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2016-07-07
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2016 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan - Mar 2016.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2016-04-05
Quarterly Progress Report: Oct - December 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Oct - December 2015.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2016-01-16
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jul-Sept 2015.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2015-10-25
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2015.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2015-07-10
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2015.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2015-04-28
Quarterly Progress Report: Oct - December 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Oct - December 2014.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2015-01-20
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report July - September 2014.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2014-10-30
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report April - June 2014.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2014-07-31
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2014.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2014-04-11
Quarterly Progress Report: October - December 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Oct -Dec 2013.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2014-01-31
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jul -Sep 2013.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2013-11-18
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2013.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2013-08-02
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2013.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2013-05-06
Quarterly Progress Report: October - December 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Oct to Dec 2012.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2013-01-31
Quarterly Progress Report: Jul - Sep 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Jul to Sept 2012.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2012-11-26
Quarterly Progress Report: March - June 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly March to June 2012.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2012-08-12
TPF-5(258) Quarterly Progress Report Jan - Mar 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2012.pdf Progress Report Quarterly Progress Report Public 2012-04-27
Acceptance Letter Acceptance Letter TPF-5(258).pdf Other Other Public 2011-10-18

No document attached.

Traffic Signal Systems Operations and Management

General Information
Study Number: TPF-5(258)
Lead Organization: Indiana Department of Transportation
Contract Start Date: Jul 01, 2013
Solicitation Number: 1296
Partners: City of Chicago, CA, FHWA, GADOT, KS, MN, MS, NHDOT, PADOT, TX, UT, WI
Status: Closed
Est. Completion Date: Dec 31, 2017
Contract/Other Number:
Last Updated: Oct 11, 2018
Contract End Date: Dec 31, 2017
Financial Summary
Contract Amount:
Total Commitments Received: $700,000.00
100% SP&R Approval:
Contact Information
Lead Study Contact(s): Jim Sturdevant
jsturdevant@indot.in.gov
Phone: 317-899-8617
FHWA Technical Liaison(s): Richard Denney
Richard.Denney@dot.gov
Phone: 410-962-4796
Commitments by Organizations
Organization Year Commitments Technical Contact Name Funding Contact Name Contact Number Email Address
California Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 John Castro Sang Le (916)701-3998 sang.le@dot.ca.gov
California Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 John Castro Sang Le (916)701-3998 sang.le@dot.ca.gov
California Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 John Castro Sang Le (916)701-3998 sang.le@dot.ca.gov
City of Chicago 2011 $0.00 David Zavattero David Zavattero 312-742-0804 david.zavattero@cityofchicago.org
City of Chicago 2012 $25,000.00 David Zavattero David Zavattero 312-742-0804 david.zavattero@cityofchicago.org
Federal Highway Administration 2012 $75,000.00 Richard Denney Pidge Chapman 202-366-8889 pidge.chapman@dot.gov
Georgia Department of Transportation 2011 $25,000.00 Jim Tolson Supriya Kamatkar 404-347-0552 skamatkar@dot.ga.gov
Georgia Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Jim Tolson Supriya Kamatkar 404-347-0552 skamatkar@dot.ga.gov
Georgia Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Jim Tolson Supriya Kamatkar 404-347-0552 skamatkar@dot.ga.gov
Kansas Department of Transportation 2012 $0.00 Howard Lubiner David Behzadpour 785-291-3847 David.Behzadpour@ks.gov
Kansas Department of Transportation 2013 $0.00 Howard Lubiner David Behzadpour 785-291-3847 David.Behzadpour@ks.gov
Kansas Department of Transportation 2014 $0.00 Howard Lubiner David Behzadpour 785-291-3847 David.Behzadpour@ks.gov
Minnesota Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Lisa Jansen 651-366-3779 lisa.jansen@state.mn.us
Minnesota Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Lisa Jansen 651-366-3779 lisa.jansen@state.mn.us
Minnesota Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 Lisa Jansen 651-366-3779 lisa.jansen@state.mn.us
Mississippi Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 James Watkins Robert Vance RVance@mdot.ms.gov
Mississippi Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 James Watkins Robert Vance RVance@mdot.ms.gov
Mississippi Department of Transportation 2016 $25,000.00 James Watkins Robert Vance RVance@mdot.ms.gov
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 2011 $25,000.00 Peter Crouch Ann Scholz 603-271-1659 ann.scholz@dot.nh.gov
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Peter Crouch Ann Scholz 603-271-1659 ann.scholz@dot.nh.gov
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Peter Crouch Ann Scholz 603-271-1659 ann.scholz@dot.nh.gov
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 Dan Farley Heather Sorce 717-214-9508 hsorce@pa.gov
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2017 $25,000.00 Dan Farley Heather Sorce 717-214-9508 hsorce@pa.gov
Texas Department of Transportation 2011 $25,000.00 Henry Wickes Charmaine Richardson 512-416-4726 rtimain@txdot.gov
Texas Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Henry Wickes Charmaine Richardson 512-416-4726 rtimain@txdot.gov
Texas Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Henry Wickes Charmaine Richardson 512-416-4726 rtimain@txdot.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 Mark Taylor David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2013 $25,000.00 Mark Taylor David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2014 $25,000.00 Mark Taylor David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2012 $25,000.00 David Karnes Lynn Hanus 608-267-2294 lynnm.hanus@dot.wi.gov
Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2013 $0.00 David Karnes Lynn Hanus 608-267-2294 lynnm.hanus@dot.wi.gov

Study Description

Study Description

Signalized arterial represent a substantial component of the highway transportation network in the United States. The National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) in their 2007 Traffic Signal Report Card noted that nationally 5 to 10 percent of all traffic delay is caused by improper traffic signal timings along major roadways. In 2007, the National Report Card for overall traffic signal systems operations was a D. The situation is not expected to improve as travel demand is forecast to grow significantly faster than network capacity. The increase in national attention on sustainable and livable communities necessitate a concentrated effort be placed upon improved management and operation of our nations traffic signal system inventory. The Transportation Management Center (TMC) Pooled fund study (SPR-2(207)) initiated in 2000, has been very successful at generating consensus on best management practices for traffic management centers oriented mainly towards freeway operations. It is desirable to develop a similar pooled fund study oriented toward traffic signal operations and management that would complement SPR-2(207) and engage a broad cross section of agencies on the leading edge of active traffic signal management.

Objectives

Develop a network of transportation agencies to: i) develop consensus on operational standards of performance, ii) define a central management model that can leverage commercial wireless IP offerings that can be competitively outsourced, and iii) management principles for using a central system to identify when and where resources are most needed to maximize return on investment. The level of participation and associated funding commitments will allow for additional opportunities over time or in parallel to explore additional traffic signal initiatives beyond those described herein. For example, the evaluation of adaptive control field deployments and associated systems engineering guidance documents under development by FHWA.

Scope of Work

The following are the three initial initiatives that the PFS intends to cover: (1) Development of Traffic Signal Standard of Performance and Related Measures Although centralized traffic management systems have been deployed for nearly 5 decades, there is limited consensus on standards of performance (operating objectives) or best practices for cost-effectively managing system operation based upon defined standards of performance. For example, most centralized systems can provide status reports on communication link quality, detector failures, and status of indications. However, none of the central systems have performance measure reports that provide systematic procedures for prioritizing signals or corridors with operating deficiencies that could be addressed by actively changing parameters such as green times or offsets. There are several innovative performance measure efforts emerging (based on the work of NCHRP 3-79a) that show promise for providing such a framework. However, their deployments have been limited to a few agencies and there is a need to develop broader national consensus to enable the private sector to understand what tools the industry needs and to guide their product development efforts. This task will recommend and validate uniform standards of performance and related measures for traffic signals and systems of traffic signals through evaluation of field trials in various operating environments. (2) Central System Architecture for Distributed Wide Area Systems Due to communication costs, centralizing the management of traffic signals has been focused on urbanized areas. Innovative private sector IP based communication plants offerings now make it practical to develop scalable integration architectures for managing signals distributed over large geographical regions, districts, and/or an entire state that can be competitively procured. However, central management systems targeted at high bandwidth, low latency fiber optic communication plants common in urban areas, must be developed to accommodate the nuances of geographically distributed communication plants with higher latency and lower bandwidth. For example, instead of polling every urban traffic signal once per second to obtain the status of signals and detectors, it is perhaps just as effective to poll each controller in an entire state once per day and download a compressed 300kb file with time stamped phase and detector events. Then, using the time stamped events, once per day, tabulate a series of user defined performance measures and rank the intersections and/or corridors for performance improvement opportunities. This task will develop a Central System Architecture that provides a scalable integrated management platform independent of variable communications latency and bandwidth. This platform shall integrate the automated evaluation of operating objectives as defined in task 1 above. (3) Management Concepts and Guidelines In a logical continuation of the performance based architecture developed above, the development of a new management framework is needed to allow agencies to identify when and where resources are most needed to maximize return on investment. For example, instead of re-timing all signals every two years, this approach would provide the supporting tools to identify signals in rapidly developing areas for re-timing perhaps as often as every six months, and in areas with now growth, the signal timings may not need to be updated any more frequently then every 5 years. This task will establish a proposed set of management concepts and guidelines that are "practice ready" and are based on the practical business case of maximizing the benefits of resources focused on traffic signal management.

Comments

Minimum commitment $25,000 per participant per year. One time contribution is also accepted

Title File/Link Type Private
TPF-5(258) Closeout Funding Spreadsheet TPF-5(258) Closeout Funding Spreadsheet-Nantung.pdf Other Public
TPF-5(258) Closeout Letter TPF-5(258) Closeout Letter - Signed.pdf Memorandum Public
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2017 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2017.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2017 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan - Mar 2017.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2016 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jul-Sept 2016.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2016 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2016.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2016 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan - Mar 2016.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: Oct - December 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Oct - December 2015.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jul-Sept 2015.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2015.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2015 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2015.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: Oct - December 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Oct - December 2014.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report July - September 2014.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report April - June 2014.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2014 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2014.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: October - December 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Oct -Dec 2013.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: July - September 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jul -Sep 2013.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: April - June 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Apr-Jun 2013.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: January - March 2013 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2013.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: October - December 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Oct to Dec 2012.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: Jul - Sep 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Jul to Sept 2012.pdf Progress Report Public
Quarterly Progress Report: March - June 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly March to June 2012.pdf Progress Report Public
TPF-5(258) Quarterly Progress Report Jan - Mar 2012 TPF-5(258) Quarterly Report Jan-Mar 2012.pdf Progress Report Public
Acceptance Letter Acceptance Letter TPF-5(258).pdf Other Public
No document attached.

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