Testimony of Marty Manning
President Elect, American Public
Works Association
Public Works Director, Clark County,
Nevada
For the
Transportation, Infrastructure and
Nuclear Safety Subcommittee
U.S. Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee
September 10, 2001
Thank you Mr. Chairman and members
of the Subcommittee for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Marty Manning and I am the
President-elect of the American Public Works Association. I am also the Public Works Director for
Clark County, Nevada. My comments will
be brief and will cover the views of the American Public Works Association on
this topic as well as the efforts of the local area partnership in Clark
County, Nevada that is presently working to implement intelligent transportation
system facilities.
The American Public Works
Association serves more than 26,000 members concerned with the operation,
maintenance, renewal and improvement of the nation's infrastructure by
promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education,
advocacy and the exchange of knowledge.
APWA has a vital interest in the
reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(TEA-21). In fact, APWA has a
reauthorization task force currently in place that is working diligently to
develop and promote APWA’s priorities for reauthorization. Additionally, APWA has teamed up with other
local organizations to comprise the Local Officials Transportation Working
Group, which is made up of organizations representing elected county and city
officials as well as development organizations, technology and city/county
managers. APWA also serves as a member
of the steering committee for the Federal Highway Administration’s National
Dialogue on Operations.
We hope that you will look to APWA
as a valuable resource for you and your staff members as reauthorization
proceeds. With so many unmet
transportation-funding needs, APWA believes that it is imperative to maintain
the basic goals of TEA-21 by protecting the funding firewalls and allowing for
as much local funding flexibility as possible.
Further, as our members deal most directly on a daily basis with the
system users, we have a strong understanding of how to best address
transportation issues within our communities.
Recent studies show that traffic
congestion costs the country $78 billion in wasted time and wasted fuel
annually. In addition, urban area trips
take about one-third longer during rush hours and 27 percent of the nation's
urban freeways are now congested. This takes
a toll on the nation’s economy.
The deployment of ITS tools in
conjunction with the construction of needed improvements would assure that
existing transportation infrastructure may operate at a higher capacity and
that new improvements would also operate more efficiently and be more
economical to build.
As you know, Clark County is one of
the most rapidly growing areas in the nation.
We have come to expect new residents at a rate of 3000 to 5000 a
month. We also expect to welcome the
arrival of 35 million visitors this year to the Las Vegas destination resort
area. This continuing growth puts a lot
of pressure on the area network of highways, roads and streets.
In Clark County, Nevada, we are
becoming advocates of the management tool products that ITS offers and the
capacity and safety benefits that they represent. Existing intelligent transportation systems are being improved
and integrated with new system tools that are now being installed. The installation of ITS products in the
urbanized Las Vegas Valley has only been possible by the creation of
partnerships among federal, state and local governments as well as our private
sector partners.
As an example, the Las Vegas Area
Computer Traffic System provides computerized control for the traffic signals
in all of the jurisdictions in the Las Vegas Valley. The system, operating under an agreement among the Nevada
Department of Transportation, the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation
Commission, three incorporated cities and the county, provides substantial
travel time improvements throughout a growing urbanized area with a population
of 1.4 million people. It has also
provided real benefits in air quality.
While the system was originally installed with a federal grant and NDOT
assistance, the incorporated cities and the county pay its annual operations
and maintenance costs.
The Las Vegas Area Computer Traffic
System was an initial step into ITS technology. Recently, further steps have been taken. Additional improvements to the system have
added new computer hardware and software, high-speed telecommunications
facilities from the traffic signals to the computer, television observation at
critical intersections, and high tech local traffic signal controllers. In
addition, the Nevada Department of Transportation is proceeding on additional
ITS projects to create a highway management system that will provide the
functions of traffic control, incident management, en-route and pre-trip
traveler information and a user service for archived data. The highway
management system called FAST will be integrated with the arterial management
system under the Las Vegas Area Computer Traffic System at a common location
shared with the Nevada Highway Patrol Dispatching Center. Each system will
operate with a common staff and an operating agreement among the Nevada
Department of Transportation, the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation
Commission, the three incorporated cities and the county.
Construction of the initial phase of
the FAST highway management system will begin before year-end and will be
completed in two years. This
construction will encompass the installation of ramp meters at select
locations; high-occupancy vehicle bypass ramps at metered locations;
arrangements with the Nevada Highway Patrol for ramp and bypass traffic
enforcement; dynamic message signage at selected locations to provide road
condition and incident information to motorists and the construction of an
arterial and highway management operations center. Upon completion of this
project, the Las Vegas urban area will be well on the way to the creation of an
integrated arterial and highway management system.
As a County public works director, I
can appreciate the value of the ITS management tools and technologies we have
already installed and the potential values that the additions in new system
improvements will provide in our urbanized area.
New technologies and tools that can
be deployed to improve transportation system management already do and can
continue to have positive results at the local government level, but primarily
in communities prepared to enter into cooperative arrangements and partnerships
with state and other local jurisdictions for the express purpose of improving
transportation system management. ITS should have a continuing role in perfecting transportation system
management technologies.
In conclusion, we would recommend
the continued support of the ITS Program and recognition of its value in
identifying and developing transportation system management technologies needed
to improve the capacity and efficiency of the nation’s highways, roads and
streets. In addition we would recommend that the overall goals of promoting
safety, efficiency and economy; enhancing mobility; providing accessibility to
transportation; improving the productivity of travel; safeguarding the
environment and reducing energy consumption be considered a solid basis for the
development of the ITS Program of the future.