Pennsylvania Case Studies
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) Regional Traffic Signal Program: SPC's Regional Traffic Signal Program provides technical assistance and potential funding to municipalities for improving traffic signal operations by optimizing traffic signal timings and upgrading existing traffic signal equipment. The program has invested nearly $11 million yielding $51 of public benefit for every $1 spent in terms of reduced delay, vehicular stops, fuel consumption, and emissions.
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Traffic Incident Management Program: This PTC program has partnered with other state incident management organizations to form the Pennsylvania Traffic Incident Management Enhancement (PennTIME) initiative. This initiative has been key to driving statewide training efforts, including train-the-trainer, responder, and web-based training modules. This effort has reduced incident durations and improved mobility, and reduced unplanned emergency detours.
Transform76: This project aims to implement various smart corridor technologies to improve operations along Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) between the City of Philadelphia and its northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, including variable speed limits, queue detection/warning, dynamic junction control, flex lanes, ramp metering, integrated corridor management, and multimodal improvements.
PennTIME: Organized in 2017, PennTIME serves traffic incident management (TIM) practitioners by providing a collaborative environment to share information and best practices with the goal of advancing TIM efforts in Pennsylvania.
Other Related Case Studies
Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Escanaba River Deck Warning System: As part of this project, MDOT used ITS to give drivers warning of possible icy conditions. Rather than implementing an anti-icing system that required too much recurring maintenance, an ITS system was deployed that triggered the LEDs on two "BRIDGE ICES BEFORE ROAD" signs when conditions exceeded the thresholds set within the system, while also sending an automated message to MDOT staff.
National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) Case Studies: NOCoE case studies capture the strategies and practices currently being deployed to advance the TSMO industry and enable TSMO practitioners to save lives, time, and money. Case studies are developed in partnership with the authoring organization or individual to succinctly transfer knowledge for the effective use by others in the industry. Many of the case studies come from the NOCoE TSMO Awards Submissions.
Regional Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS) Use Cases: The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) Laboratory provides a number of use cases that use RITIS as the data platform for analysis and evaluation, focusing on operations, planning, research, and traveler information. Topics include responding to accidents and other events, measuring corridor performance, predicting holiday travel patterns, monitoring roadway conditions, and evaluating the impact of an event.
If you are aware of a case study that you feel can benefit TSMO practitioners and should be shared on this site, please contact TSMO@pa.gov