High-Level Requirements for the US-75 Integrated Corridor in Dallas, Texas

Need for improved communication among agencies – to ensure that actions taken by one corridor agency do not have unintended consequences on the corridor, or other agencies within the corridor, the agencies need to communicate interactively with each other in order to plan and execute actions that are not normal operation procedures. The communication does not have to be continuous, but does need to occur in a timely manner when actions are about to begin.

Need to monitor the status of the physical transportation infrastructure – The agency operators need to monitor the status of all devices within the corridor on a real-time or near real-time basis. Knowing which devices are operational will enable them to determine which devices can be used to affect change within the corridor.

Need to process information on status of the infrastructure in near-real time – The ICM system needs to be able to process all of the relevant data and information it receives from the various agencies within the corridor, in order to provide information to operators and travelers which can be used to make informed decisions on actions to be made.

Need to update conditions of the infrastructure to the public and other agencies in near-real time – in order to optimize the corridor operations, the travelers and the agencies need to have up to date information on the current conditions and status of the corridor infrastructure.

Need for interactive trip planning – to ensure that travelers within the corridor can make informed decisions, the corridor agencies need to provide a way to allow travelers to develop plans for a trip. This could include various media, and multi-modes of travel.

Need for near-real time information for travelers – in order to optimize the trips that a traveler makes, they need to have current information provided to them during trips in order to make informed decisions on the their current route and mode.

Need to have physical infrastructure coverage – The components for the physical infrastructure (DMS, CCTV, communications network, etc.) within the corridor need to be reliable, available, maintained, extensible, and interoperable. The operators of the corridor need to know the location of all devices and other facilities within the corridor's network, and their purpose and capabilities. If a device is not operating correctly, the operator needs to know whom to contact to fix the device.

Need to collect and store data/ information – The data/ information collected during daily operations of the corridor needs to be stored for analyzing the effectiveness of the corridor strategies and responses, and for modeling.

Need to provide pre-agreed incident response plans – The agencies in the corridor need to have some pre-arranged response plans for incidents within the corridors, these will provide the contacts, roles and responsibilities, and responses for each network within the corridor.

Need to coordinate incident responses among agencies – The agencies within the corridor need to coordinate responses to incidents such that two agencies are not responding to the same incident, and not inadvertently impacted one another.

Need to provide multi-modal alternatives for travelers – In order to reduce congestion, and improve efficiency of the entire corridor, multiple modes and routes need to be available to the traveler. These modes choices need to include alternatives for various levels of income and mobility for the traveler.

Need to measure effectiveness of responses – During the response to an event in the corridor, the operators need to be able to determine if the pre-planned response is effective and if the response if having the intended effect. This includes verifying what conditions exist after implementation of a response. If the operators of the systems determine that their response is not effective, they should be able to change components of their response plans and communicate these changes to the other agencies within the corridor, such that they are not inadvertently impacting the other agencies.

Need to modify responses during event as conditions change – As an event progresses, the conditions (such as lanes closed, severity, etc.) will change. The operators should be able to modify the current conditions, and communicate with the others within the corridor of the change. The system needs to also request changes to the current responses as the conditions warrant.

Need to request use of infrastructure from third party – During some major incidents and special events, the current and planned capacity of the infrastructure owned and operated by the agencies may not be sufficient. This requires an interface to multiple third parties (large companies, private parking, van services, etc.) to request service from them or use of their infrastructure during special circumstances.