Emergency Transportation Operations Initiative

Slide 1. Emergency Transportation Operations Initiative

ITS JPO Lead: Linda Dodge
Technical Lead: Vince Pearce, Office of Transportation Operations

Slide 2. Challenge

• Larger-scale incidents can affect people and transportation across entire regions; citizens depend upon transportation for escape and rapid response
• Aggressively managed transportation is critical for response and recovery
• This requires acquiring information rapidly and disseminating it rapidly to responders and travelers

Slide 3. Opportunity

• The activities under this initiative will:
  • Assist responders (and the public) by using ITS to:
    • Verify the nature of a problem, identify an appropriate response, and get the proper equipment and personnel to the scene quickly and safety
    • Provide effective traveler information during major disasters
    • Plan for, monitor, and manage major incidents involving evacuation

Slide 4. Goals

• Reduce the number of evacuations and the size of those that have to take place.
• Make evacuations faster, safer, and more efficient.
• Have working standards available that support integrated incident management information on all forms of incidents, and to demonstrate the value of their use

Slide 5. Milestone/End Product

• Using ITS to more effectively manage major incidents, resulting in:
  • Faster and better prepared responses to major incidents
  • Shorter incident durations
  • Reduced negative impact on system
  • More rapid restoration of normal travel conditions
• Using ITS to improve management of everyday incidents

Slide 6. Roadmap

Image Details

Slide 7. Program Plan/Approach

• The Initiative consists of three phases
  • Phase 1: Reducing Size and Number of Evacuations
  • Phase 2: Improved Evacuation Management
  • Phase 3: Standards Facilitating Incident Response and Integration
• Duration of Initiative
  • FY04-FY08

Slide 8. Phase 1: Reducing Size and Number of Evacuations

• Goal: To significantly improve the speed and effectiveness of response by towing/recovery and hazmat responders and improve management of incident scene and queues
  • Actions:
    • Enable snapshot of scene (sent by first responder to towing/recovery/hazmat responders)
      • Use CAPWIN (Capital Wireless Integrated network) as testbed
    • Investigate technologies that can be applied to incident scene traffic control
    • Investigate technologies that can be useful in the event of a regional biohazard incident

Slide 9. Phase 2: Improved Evacuation Management

• Goal: Provide the tools, procedures, and information that can actively manage and expedite the safe progress of an evacuation
  • Actions:
    • Develop the next-generation evacuation planning tool and first generation evacuation management tool
    • Disaster-Related Application of ATIS
    • Rapid Restoration of ITS
      • Develop design, installation and maintenance guidance for agencies; partner with manufacturers of equipment and operators
    • Rural Areas (evacuees may flee into rural areas)
      • Need to manage volume and also assist in return to evacuation site
    • Monitoring Evacuation Routes
      • Infrastructure- and vehicle-based technologies

Slide 10. Phase 3: Standards Facilitating Incident Response and Integration

• Goal: Have working standards available that support integrated management of all forms of incidents, and demonstrate the value of their use
  • Actions:
    • Center-to-Center Standards for Incident Management
      • Testing, demonstration, evaluation, implementation
      • Data interchange standards between transportation operators and public safety
    • Partnership with US Department of Justice
      • Harmonization of transportation incident management standards with corresponding Public Safety and Homeland Security standards

Slide 11. Summary

• Major incident focus
• Technologies
  • Photo phone
  • Mini cams
  • Probe data
  • Evacuation management software
• Improved methods
• Ready to go when Initiative ends
• Broad benefits