David Winters, FHWA, Acting Director Office of Highway Policy Information
Update
- The presentation addressed FHWA data programs, the characteristics of quality data, data standards, web-based tools that provide faster feedback to States, and major initiatives.
- A challenge is the difference in programs across the States.
- FHWA handles data anomalies by working with “focus” States that present outliers in the data.
- Major initiatives include:
- HPMS Reassessment
- A new field manual is being developed that will be one document that everyone will be able to work with.
- A question was asked regarding the acronym UPACS.
- It stands for User Profile Access Control System.
- There will be a HPMS conference in March to discuss the final report.
- They are looking to put together an NHI course.
- The conference will be help in Denver.
- Identify funding for VIUS and CFS.
- A question was asked on the mechanism for lobbying for funding.
- Go to your own State DOT, AASHTO.
- A question was asked regarding the new transportation bill and what performance based data elements will be included.
- There have been internal discussion, but there have been no concrete decisions.
- Traffic monitoring
- Collection of truck AADT data for NHS
- Mandatory motorcycle VMT report
- TMAS development
Tom Palmerlee, TRB
TRB Report
- Decisions and recommendations for the best paper by the 15th.
- He recommended that attendees use the research needs database as a tool.
- ABJ20 has the highest percentage of DOT representatives of any TRB committee.
- Ask U.S. DOT
- What are the issues that make sense to move ahead?
- How the data that the states have can help to make these decisions?
- How to understand global climate change and the impact of the data
- Identify Regular findings for
- Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS)
- Commodity Flow Survey (CFS)
Johanna Zmud, Chair, Data and Information System Section,
Data Section Report
- The TRB Data and Information Systems Section is composed of 11 committees and one task force. The Section is among the larger and more diverse among TRB groups.
- The cost of data was identified as the most important topic to support sustainability.
- TRB Data and Information Systems Section Retreat
- Date and Place
- Purpose
To develop a shared 3-5 year vision for identifying transportation data and information systems needs, opportunities, and actions and to clarify how our committees can individually or jointly best advance that vision and communicate its value to others in the profession and to policy makers.
- Participants
- Data section committees (chair or representatives)
- At large Data Section members and friends
Thomas Bolle, U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
BTS Report
- Over the last year there have been significant changes in BTS
- New appointees
- Director
- Deputy Director
- IT Specialist
- Priority
- How do we continue to collect the type of data that is important taking into account the lack of resources
- The committee would like a representative from BTS to join ABJ20.
- BTS will participate in the data retreat
- BTS is creating a Data Inventory ( everything that is available)
- BTS is looking for databases to work with the National Transportation Library.
Anita Vandervalk Chair, Statewide Transportation Data and Information Systems ( on behalf of Jonette Kreideweis)
AASHTO, AASHTO SCOP Data Task Force Activities
- A handout was provided on the AASHOT SCOP Meeting in Milwaukee October 2007, Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) Consolidated Purchase Update, and other data-related research projects.
- AASHTO accepts and recommends adoption and publication of the revised Guidelines for Traffic Data Programs (NCHRP 7-16 final report).
- A question was asked if the States are part of the SCOP balloting process.
- The States are given a copy to review; although it is an NCHRP project, it is now AASHTO’s.
- The Power Point from Sunday’s workshop will be posted on the website.
- In late summer 2007 TRB released “TRB Special Report 288 Metropolitan Travel Forecasting”
- SCOP members approved a motion (subsequently approved by AASHTO) acknowledging the value and importance of the NHTS and urged U.S. DOT to increase priority, accelerate plans and provide sufficient resources for conducting a new NHTS in 2008-2009.
- SCOP Approved Capacity Building Topics
- “ Cost Estimating and Cost Management in the Project Development Process Workshop”
- “ Inventory and Condition Assessment of Other Asset Classes”
- “ Aligning Data to Support Transportation Decisions”
- “Planning and Innovative Financing”
- NCHRP 8-70 A & B have been combined into one contract that is considering a broad comprehensive look into how States can develop programs.
James Pol, U.S. DOT
Updates from the UD DOT / Section 1201 Update
- Appropriations were signed into law; there was a recission of funding for Transportation Technology.
- Those cities currently under the program will continue to collect data.
- New cities will not be allowed to enter the program.
- Traveler Information 501 program
- Very close to obtaining goal of reaching out to 2/3 of the population.
- VOLPE released an RFI for Safe Trip 21
- Demonstration of vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) – a new and emerging platform that involves States, auto manufactures, cell phone manufactures, etc.
- Section 1201 of SAFETEA-LU
- Real-time information programs and information sharing.
- Published Interim Guidance.
- Regulations.gov – FHWA-2007-28969.
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is being reviewed – will have Webinar when ready to be released.
- A question was asked on the potential impact to the DOTs of the CLARIS system.
- It will help DOTs to enact proactive travel management solutions.
- A question was asked to the group – What are our roles in roadway and traffic data collections when you take into account this real-time system? The discussion was as follows:
- When push comes to shove – we lose funding.
- Data collection is far down on the list of funding priorities.
- How do we make the convincing argument to fund data collection when it is not a priority?
- Weigh the benefits.
- The return on investment is not clearly defined.
- What questions do we need to anticipate being asked of us?
- How do we get the people utilizing the results of the data to understand the results are dependent on the quality of the data?
- How do we create a stable environment so that we don’t have to keep asking the same questions?
- How do we create leadership to have the collaborations needed?
- How many States utilize the HSIP monies that could be used for data collection?
- Some Safety Offices feel that it is “their money,” and are not always willing to “share.”
- There was a discussion of a course – Could this be a Pooled Fund Study?
- Need to show the value in having good data – for example the TTI Index.
Charles Fay, SHRP 2
Roadway Data Collection Project
- Web Page www.trb.org/shrp2/
- To carry out that investigation, SHRP 2 targets goals in four interrelated focus areas:
- Safety: Significantly improve highway safety by understanding driving behavior in a study of unprecedented scale
- Renewal: Develop design and construction methods that cause minimal disruption and produce long-lived facilities to renew the aging highway infrastructure
- Reliability: Reduce congestion and improve travel time reliability through incident management, response, and mitigation
- Capacity: Integrate mobility, economic, environmental, and community needs into the planning and design of new transportation capacity
- The Safety program includes the development of comprehensive roadway information in a GIS database
- Effort to not duplicate data, SO3 “Specification and Acquisition of a Roadway Information” looks at what is already out there that can be merged into the files.
- There was a comment that friction data was very hard to collect and a question on whether friction will be part of the data collection.
- It will be if they can.
- Center for Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure, VTTI, Virginia Tech is leading the Surface Property State Pooled Fund Project
Data Retreat Preparation
Committee Research, Data and Information System Related Priorities
Each member of the committee discussed their top priorities.
- Identify strategies for reaching the customers.
- Identify people with appropriate skills.
- Address the costs of collecting the data.
- Indentify a common set of skill sets.
- Professional development within the data community.
- One source/clearinghouse for the professions.
- Ability to make decisions from the data.
- Tying different data systems together.
- Get into IT issues – storing and accessing own data.
- Let’s also think solutions while we are thinking problems.
- This will be an IT issue.
- Collaboration with data managers within other States – need a list of these people.
- The Data Task Force of SCOP is the perfect mechanism for that.
- It could be on the website.
- Data collection and management is so expensive – when cuts get made it is the first thing they look at.
- It is not always the money, there are more and more mandates and there are not enough people to do the work.
- How do you impress on top level management how important data management is?
- You have to market to data users. For example – having HOV data on the website.
- Usage of high profile data.
- From the research perspective, most cost effective way to collect data is to tie it to something specific like HPMS.
- Problem, method, meets a mandate.
- Open architecture in web services.
- Where does our data fit with 1201?
- We have to have a “good story.”
- Cannot do system level analysis without these data.
- Freight data and planning – not sure where we fit.
- Issue – not being able to get the data, particularly proprietary data from private industries.
- Corporate approach to managing the data.
- Step back and take a corporate approach to managing data.
- Working together to maximize most efficient data collection.
- Need cooperation between efforts – there are a lot of data collection projects going on.
- A Clearinghouse is a solution.
- If you don’t know how the data was collected you cannot rely on the quality and would rather collect it yourself.
- What would be needed to validate data? The method? The data itself?
- That is where meta-data comes in.
- Is there a handbook/manual on core data systems?
- There are pieces of this information in different sources.
- There is an ITS Guidebook of traffic data quality measurement.
- A compilation or a fact sheet is needed.
- Thinking about doing this on a “Wiki” type site. People can put their input, and they can be validated.
- Greater need to collect more and more data.
- Training is key.
- Partnering with local agencies to share data.
- Effective partnering/outreach techniques – may be a research statement.
- Definitions are an issue – for example motorcycles and local roads.
State DOT Reports
- Susie Ford, Wisconsin DOT
- University of Wisconsin TOPS lab has been collaborating on crash data for the State and non-State system to create a single base map to locate crashes.
- Where does Google, etc leave you with creating base maps?
- One problem is these companies like Navtec, you give them your data, and they make you pay to get it back.
- Major issue: world of private data and how that affects State’s data collection.
- Can State’s charge for their data?
- Jane Smith, Georgia DOT
- There is a State law that allows Counties to sell their GIS data.
- David Gardner, Ohio DOT
- LBRS in progress – accurate centerline file.
- Road inventory system.
- Work with county engineers to bring in count data for local roads.
- Bill Cloud, Montana DOT
- Report coming out of Montana on a statistically valid process to determine VMT on local roads and for motorcycles.
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