Commercial Operations

The Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) has a long history of conducting research and development in support of workforce needs for a variety of business sectors including NASA, education, military, law enforcement, emergency management, and transportation. IST’s training technology and simulation group has created online tutorials, lessons, tests, driving programs for driving simulators, and evaluation measuring instruments for state and federal agencies. In addition, IST has responded to Central Florida’s business community’s desire for a method to improve and train work readiness or soft skills to employees just joining the workforce, skills that that would lead to success in any field. This paper will:
• Discuss challenges and complexities inherent in providing enterprise level workforce training for the transportation community
• Describe current and former simulation and training technology projects we have worked on that blend new technologies and new educational practices for the workforce
• Propose a research and development strategy to modernize the transportation workforce

UCF/IST

Paper submitted for publication and presentation at the ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition

The Georgia Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategic Deployment Plan (SDP) provides
guidelines for the appropriate deployment of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) capabilities
along all roadways (urban or rural, controlled access, or surface street) in Georgia. Unlike
previous strategic plans, this SDP does not attempt to identify a comprehensive list of ITS
projects to move forward; rather, it helps engineering professionals determine the correct types and density of coverage of ITS deployments along any roadway. The SDP was developed though a series of steering committee and stakeholder outreach meetings that defined the ITS capabilities appropriate for different types of roadways. It is envisioned that the SDP will be used by the Georgia Department of Transportation during project programming, concept development, and project design to guide these deployment decisions and ensure that ITS is deployed in a reasonable and appropriate manner.

Georgia Department of Transportation

PBS&J

Paper submitted for publication and presentation at the ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition

Traffic incidents play a significant role in the congestion on highways, causing millions of dollars
of traffic delays, damaged property, injuries and fatalities. Incident management officials are
facing challenges to reduce clearance time and minimize traffic delays, especially for serious
incidents. Traffic diversion aims to accelerate incident clearance and traffic recovery with the aid
of information dissemination technologies, policy and collaborations between stakeholder
agencies. This work assesses the effectiveness of traffic diversion at two large major
metropolitan sites in South Carolina using a microscopic traffic simulation program PARAMICS
to model serious incident scenarios and traffic diversion operations. Based on the simulation
results, this work conducted a benefit-cost analysis that suggested implementing traffic diversion strategies returned $55 for every dollar spent under prevailing conditions at the study sites.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Clemson University

IEM, Inc.

Paper submitted for publication and presentation at the ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition

This project evaluates the process that was followed by MDOT and other stakeholders for the
acquisition of new Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) software aiming to integrate and facilitate the management of various Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) components across Michigan. The reported evaluation is based on a review of various documents associated with the procurement and interviews with key project stakeholders. This includes individuals from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT), the Michigan Department of Management and Budget (DMB), Kimley-Horn of Michigan, which was commissioned under a separate contract to draft user needs and requirements for the procurement, and consulting firms responding to the procurement’s Request for Proposal (RFP).

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

URS Corporation

Michigan Department of Transportation

Paper submitted for publication and presentation at the ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition

The I-80/I-680/I-780 corridors in Solano County are characterized by heavy congestion during
commute hours in the direction of employment centers in San Francisco and Oakland. The
corridors are pivotal because they provide a connection between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento area. The Corridor System Management Plan (CSMP) and the Corridor-Level ITS Architecture will be used to coordinate and plan operational improvements to enhance the mobility in the corridors and guide future investment decisions.

California Department of Transportation

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.

Paper submitted for publication and presentation at the ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition