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Better Mobility Through Improved Transportation Operations
The Maryland Transportation Operations Summit is open to professionals actively involved in transportation operations, especially with regard to highway safety, transit, emergency response and management, and planning.
Join representatives and practitioners from federal, state, regional, and local transportation agencies at the Maryland Transportation Operations Summit. Share your ideas on the current state of and visions for enhancing traffic, travel, and transit operations in Maryland and surrounding states.
This first-of-its kind summit will allow participants to engage in an open dialog to explore opportunities for coordinating transportation operation among modes, jurisdictions, and levels of government. Specific areas of focus will include: institutional arrangements and barriers, technological advancements and utilization, interoperability, regional and multi-modal coordination, travel safety, incident and emergency management, congestion management, best practices, current and future leaderships, and next steps/future directions.
A key summit objective is that attendees leave with a better awareness of operations, current activities (both nationally and in Maryland), innovative practices, and important or emerging operations technologies and tools.
Summit Sponsorship provided by:
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Transit Administration
Maryland Department of Transportation
Maryland State Highway Administration
Maryland Transportation Authority
Maryland Emergency Management Agency
Maryland State Police
Baltimore Regional Transportation Board
National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board
University of Maryland CATT
I-95 Corridor Coalition
ITS America
Proposed Summit Agenda
Welcome from Maryland Transportation Secretary, John Porcari
Plenary Session #1: Operations from a Leadership Perspective, moderated by Secretary Porcari
Invited Panelists:
Ronald Freeland, Maryland Transportation Authority
Jeff Paniati, Federal Highway Administration
Neil Pedersen, Maryland State Highway Administration
Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland Transit Administration
Plenary Session #2: Operations from a Management Perspective, moderated by Mike Zezeski, Maryland State Highway Administration
Invited Panelists:
Richard Steeg, Virginia Department of Transportation
Beverly Hill, Maryland Transit Administration
Emil Wolanin, Montgomery County, Md
Mike Zezeski, Maryland State Highway Administration, CHART
Panel Discussion: Assessing Operations Maturity
With Steve Lockwood and Phil Tarnoff
Lunch: Invited Speaker - James Simpson, Federal Transit Administration
Breakout Sessions: Attendees will pick one session from
A. Managing Congestion & Planning for Operations
B. Incident & Emergency Management
C. Improving Travel Safety through Operations
D. Systems Interoperability & Providing Public Information
E. Regional & Multi-Modal Coordination
F. Integrating Homeland Security & Transportation Operations
*Note- Speakers listed have been invited to speak at the Summit.
Breakout Sessions - During the registration process, participants will choose a Preferred Breakout Session and an Alternate Breakout Session. Every effort will be made to honor these requests, however session sizes will be limited.
A. Managing Congestion & Planning for Operations
Maryland must address congestion from several dimensions, including urban commuter slowdowns and Eastern and Western Maryland recreational traveler traffic jams. As the population in Maryland increases and transportation agencies struggle to adapt with limited resources, roadways are carrying more vehicles per lane mile than ever before. Transit systems can also be congested but in many cases offer alternatives for commuters. A National Congestion Initiative is underway through the U.S. Department of Transportation, as the extent of the problem has been recognized at the national level.
In addition to managing congestion through operations on a day-to-day basis, planning must also take place. Traditional transportation planning has focused on long-range capital planning, as is appropriate with major construction activities, but increasing operational activities has brought on the recognition that planning for operations is also important. By its nature, planning for operations tends to be somewhat shorter term than capital planning. Stakeholders can be somewhat different and the relative mix of capital vis-à-vis operations and maintenance expenditures is often quite different. To ensure appropriate consideration for operations, a rigorous planning process must be in place and it must be seen in the broader context of transportation planning – not as a separate stand-alone activity. Mainstreaming operations planning is necessary to ensure maximum performance of the overall transportation system.
This breakout session will discuss the tools used to manage both recurring and non-recurring congestion, and the strategies in place to address them, including enhanced traffic management and monitoring, signal improvements and optimization and smaller targeted infrastructure adjustments. Strategies will also be discussed on incorporating operations planning into the broader transportation planning process.
B. Incident & Emergency Management
Unanticipated highway and transit incidents account for a substantial portion of overall delay in Maryland and nationwide. Planned special events and work zones can affect traffic as well. Agencies can reduce the amount of congestion by proactively responding to incidents, events, work zones, and other traffic and travel impediments with an emphasis on such activities as:
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* Quickly opening lanes or rail lines
* Implementing strategies to reduce the likelihood of secondary incidents
* Providing early and accurate decision-critical traveler information
* Shifting travelers to alternate modes and routes
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In addition to the more typical incidents, Maryland is also susceptible to emergencies ranging from natural disasters (e.g., heavy snow storms, hurricanes) to human-caused events (e.g., nuclear power plant and other industrial failures, terrorist attack). These emergencies inevitably have an impact on transportation systems. Sometimes the emergency directly impacts the systems (e.g., a snow storm) and steps must be taken to clear and keep open those systems. In other situations, transportation systems are vital for response and recovery efforts (e.g., evacuation of populations, shipments of emergency goods). Transportation operators need to be prepared for these emergencies.
Participants in this breakout session will discuss opportunities to improve emergency, incident, special event, and work zone management in Maryland through new tools and strategies and enhanced regional coordination. Discussions will also cover tools and strategies in snow removal and evacuation planning along with participants’ involvement in state- or region-wide, large-scale emergencies.
C. Improving Travel Safety through Operations
Americans are becoming more mindful of the severe toll from the fatalities and injuries that occur on our highway system. In addition, transit agencies want to ensure the safety and security of their patrons. Consequently, a larger focus is being placed on traveler and traffic safety. By improving safety, and thereby reducing incidents, highway and transit operators can improve their operations, which may lead to improved throughput.
In 2006, Maryland held a successful Traffic Safety Summit, which resulted in a list of recommendations for next steps. From the highway perspective, the Traffic Safety Summit will be used as a backdrop to the discussion. Participants in this breakout session will discuss tools and methods to improve safety in both the highway and transit modes. Using intelligent transportation systems and better approaches to work zone planning and deployment will also be discussed. From a transit perspective, use of automatic vehicle location and video surveillance systems, among others, will be topics.
D. Systems Interoperability & Providing Public Information
Transportation operators need to reliably gather and process transportation system information and then exchange this information between their agencies and staff, as well as with other agencies and staff. The number and type of different information exchange mechanisms is increasing, ranging from the traditional phone, to e-mail and radio notification, to new automated data exchange systems such as the prototype Regional Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS). By designing information systems with an emphasis on interoperability and standards, agencies can maximize the opportunities for enhanced data exchange and integration with other systems, both local and regional.
Enhancing transportation system information available to operators increases the information available to travelers through the various means of traveler information distribution. Currently, travelers receive information from a variety of sources including radio traffic reports, dynamic message signs and the Internet. Traveler information systems have been tested in the Baltimore and Washington areas, and many valuable lessons learned have come from these tests. Currently, Maryland is considering development and deployment of a 511 system to supplement other information sources.
Participants in this breakout session will discuss the status of interoperable systems in Maryland, opportunities and tools for improvement, and the use of standards in system design. This will be combined with the discussion on opportunities for enhancing traveler information, alternative delivery methods, achieving an appropriate balance between information timeliness and accuracy, and effectively using regional tools to improve coordination.
E. Regional & Multi-Modal Coordination
Maryland has many transportation players across many modes and jurisdictions, all with unique roles in transportation system management, safety, and security. Many of these players have overlapping jurisdictions and interests. Along key corridors in Maryland, roadways and major transit rail lines run side-by-side or close by to one another. Moreover, bus and other public transportation services use the roadways as well. Day-to-day operating decisions in the road or transit mode, as well as long-term planning and scheduling, can have an impact on both the road and transit modes. In particular, major incidents on either the roadways or rail lines will have ramifications for the other. Recognizing the mutual effects on one another, modal agencies are looking towards the developing field of Integrated Corridor Management or ICM. ICM attempts to look at a corridor from a more global perspective and ensure that appropriate modal considerations are taken into account in planning, construction and operational activities. In this way, the traveler can be best served.
Participants in this breakout session will discuss the relationships between modes, touching both regional and corridor-specific issues. Regional issues stem from the status and effectiveness of area Regional Operations Coordination (ROC) committees, new tools in development to improve regional coordination such as the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination Program (MATOC), and policies and procedures that may be required to formalize coordination among stakeholders. The I-270 ICM project will serve as a takeoff point for the corridor-specific discussion.
F. Integrating Homeland Security & Transportation Operations
In the post 9/11 environment, the need for coordination and integration of homeland security and transportation operations is increasing. In August 2007, a new federal public law implementing recommendations of the 9/11 commission was enacted. The law authorizes and requires, among other things, the improvement and strengthening of communications interoperability for first responders, unified incident command during emergencies, critical infrastructure protection, and transportation security planning and information sharing. This law plus other directives continues to accentuate the need for increased coordination between transportation agencies and other agencies involved in homeland security, at the local, regional, state, and national levels.
Maryland, given its location next to the District of Columbia and along the heavily populated I-95 Corridor, has been a leader among states in organizing to provide enhanced homeland security. Maryland has also recognized that transportation is a key piece in the homeland security puzzle from at least several perspectives:
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* Protecting critical infrastructure
* Improving evacuation planning and execution
* Attaining communications interoperability, including voice, 700 MHz, and CAD-RMS systems, with connections to transportation-related networks
*Adjusting commercial vehicle enforcement to increase focus on security |
There have also been increasing requirements for training in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) among first responders, which includes transportation operations personnel. Other initiatives that include coordination between homeland security and transportation operations are currently underway in Maryland.
Participants in this breakout session will discuss the ongoing initiatives involving homeland security and transportation operations in Maryland, other possible approaches and enhancements, interoperable communications between transportation agencies and other first responders, the implications of the new federal law, the NIMS directive, and other security-related requirements, and/or best practices that may guide and influence transportation operations.
Facility Directions
Directions to the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute are available through http://www.ccmit.org/t-directions.aspx.
Accomodations Availability
Overnight accomodations are available at the Maritime Institute at the government per diem rate of $120 per room per night. Please call toll free (866) 900-3517 or (410) 859-5700 and select "0" for Reservations.
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