Sketch Planning Tool for the Evaluation of ITS within the FSUTMS Modeling Environment

1
Sketch Planning Tool for the Evaluation of ITS
within the FSUTMS Modeling Environment

• By
• Mohammed Hadi, Florida International University
• and
• Vidya Mysore, FL. Department of Transportation
• Presented at Transpo2008
• Orlando, FL
• September 22-25, 2008

2
Developed Tool Purpose

• Provides long-range assessment of the benefits
  and costs associated with implementing ITS in a
  region
• Allows the users to assess deployment options
  within the framework of the MPO adopted FSUTMS
  models
• Accumulates the benefits and costs over the
  life-cycle duration of each of the improvement
  types selected by the user
• Allows ranking of alternative improvements

3
Value and Impacts of ITS

• Important element of the decision making process
• ITS planning and programming
• Choice between ITS and other alternatives
• Understanding the impacts/quantifying the
  benefits
• Optimizing existing system operation and design

4
FSUTMS Strengths

• Consider destination choice, mode choice,
  time-of-day travel choice, route choice, and the
  representation of traffic flow in the highway
  network
• Mathematical models forecast future travel
  demands based on current conditions and future
  projections of household and employment
  characteristics

5
FSUTMS Limitations

• Determine the benefits and impact of major
  highway improvements in metropolitan areas but
  not designed to evaluate travel management
  strategies such as ITS
• Have limited capabilities to accurately estimate
  changes in operational characteristics (such as
  speed, delay, and queues) resulting from
  implementing ITS/operational strategies
• Poor representation of the dynamic nature of
  traffic in travel demand models

6
ITS Evaluation Tools

• Existing Sketch Planning Tools
• IDAS
• ITSAOM
• SCRITS

7
IDAS Limitations

• Evaluate a large number of ITS deployments.
  However
• Not consistent with the Florida calibrated models
• Requires manipulation of FSUTMS output files for
  use as inputs to the tool
• Software designed and GUI using 1990s software
  technologies
• Methods and some parameters selected in the 1990s
• Not flexible to allow evaluating new ITS elements
  and components, performance measures, etc.

8
FDOT Project

• Develop a tool and methods to perform ITS sketch
  planning evaluations as part of the FSUTMS/Cube
  environment
• No need for file conversion
• Use calibrated regional models
• Flexible and extendable evaluation environment
• Up to date methods and parameters
• Powerful data handling and modeling capabilities.
  State-of-the-art user interface
• The project is a joint effort of the FDOT System
  Planning Office and the FDOT ITS Section

9
Evaluated ITS Deployment

• Ramp Metering
• Incident Management Systems
• Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) and Dynamic Message
  Signs (DMS)
• Advanced Travel Information Systems
• HOT Lanes
• Signal Control
• Transit Vehicle Signal Priority
• Emergency Vehicle Signal Priority
• Monitoring and Management of Fixed Route Transit
• Transit Information Systems
• Transit Security systems
• Transit electronic payment systems
• Smart work zones
• Road Weather Information Systems

10
Time-of-Day

• Analysis can be conducted using Daily and
  Time-of-Day Model
• The benefits for each analysis time period
  calculated separately and summed to produce the
  total
• For peak period models, modules are applied to
  each period module and the benefits are summed.
• For daily models, period-specific multiplication
  factors utilized to convert the daily link volume
  to analysis period volumes
• default factors derived on data from Broward
  County state roads.

11
Performance Measures

• Vehicle miles of travel (VMT)
• Vehicle hours of travel (VHT)
• Average speed
• Number of accidents
• Fatality
• Injury
• Property damage only
• Fuel Consumption (gallons)
• Monetary benefits to users and/or agency, as
  appropriate
• Emission (gm)
• Hydrocarbon
• Carbon monoxide
• Oxides of Nitrogen

12
Assessment Elements

• Performance modules (emission, fuel consumption,
  safety, TT)
• ITS impacts
• ITS costs
• Dollar values of benefits

13
Benefit Evaluation Methods

• A method developed for each component
• Review and assessment of methods used in
  evaluation tools
• Review of literature
• Default ITS impact parameters derived based on a
  review of previous evaluation studies, US DOT JPO
  benefit database and the values used in existing
  ITS sketch planning tools.
• The user will be able to change the default ITS
  impact parameters and perform sensitivity
  analysis.

14
ITS Cost

• The cost information include the number and
  types of equipment required for each type of
  evaluated ITS deployment
• The cost information include initial cost,
  operation and maintenance cost, estimated
  interest rate, and life time of each equipment
• Based on information from ITS agencies collected
  in a previous FDOT effort and information
  collected in this study
• User can change the defaults and is encouraged to
  do this based on projects at hand

15
Evaluation Tool
16
Example

• Combined Incident Management and DMS/HAR
  Evaluation

17
IM Evaluation

• Queuing analysis is used to calculate incident
  delays taking incident frequency, duration, lane
  blockage, and traffic demand variations into
  consideration
• Queuing theory equations implemented for
  different periods of the day
• Shift of fatalities to injuries as well as
  secondary incident savings
• Evaluation of emission and fuel consumption
  benefits based on saving in vehicle-miles
  traveled in queues rather than on default
  reduction factors

18
DMS/HAR Evaluation

• The evaluation of DMS and HAR is combined with
  incident management instead of evaluating them
  separately
• The activation of DMS and HAR causes route
  diversions, which reduces the traffic volume on
  mainline
• The diverted vehicles avoid incident delay, but
  their travel time increases
• The increase in travel time for diverted vehicles
  is determined by the difference in average travel
  time along the mainline and that on alternative
  route

19
Diversion Rate
20
Case Study
21
Case Study Results
22
Next Steps

• The tool and methods developed in this study will
  be implemented in MPO approved regional demand
  models
• Outreach activities continue to provide
  information about project deliverables to the
  planning and ITS communities
• Presentations will be made at the statewide,
  regional, and local FSUTMS model user groups
• Tools will be available for testing and use by
  FSUTMS users. Please contact
• Mohammed Hadi (hadim_at_fiu.edu), or
• Vidya Mysore (vidya.mysore_at_dot.state.fl.us)