Overview
In 2020, the Office of Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART) and ITS Development was renamed the Office of Transportation Mobility and Operations (OTMO). In collaboration with the Office of Traffic and Safety (OOTS), the integration of signal operations into the State Operations Center involves real-time traffic monitoring and active traffic management of the signal systems. This effort also resulted in forming the joint OTMO and OOTS Signals Program Review Group (SRG), which coordinates the planning, design, and capital improvements related to signal infrastructure, operations, and maintenance to support TMC Signal Operations. The creation of the Traffic Signal Systems Operations (TSSO) section within OTMO’s CHART Program has streamlined Maryland’s freeway-arterial traffic management, incident/emergency management, travelers’ information, special event, safety, and mobility operations capabilities to include on-the-fly and efficient signal coordination between CHART Operations and the OOTS.
In this case study you will learn:
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The creation of the Traffic Signal Systems Operations (TSSO) section within OTMO’s CHART Program has streamlined Maryland’s freeway-arterial traffic management, incident/emergency management, travelers’ information, special event, safety, and mobility operations capabilities.
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How the new TSSO Team produces traffic signal plans for non-recurrent congestion occurrences and assists with 24x7 in staffing the Statewide Operations Center (SOC) during peak travel periods and special events.
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How a key component of the reorganization is the Signal Review Group (SRG), which guides decisions on potential capital improvements, review after-action reports from incident timing plan activations, and ATMS enhancements.
Background
In 2020, the Office of Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART) and ITS Development was renamed the Office of Transportation Mobility and Operations (OTMO). The term CHART was retained for the Operations Division under OTMO. One of the key goals of MDOT SHA's Office of Transportation Mobility and Operations (OTMO) reorganization was to provide real-time Active Traffic Management (ATM) services on both highways and signalized arterial systems. In collaboration with the Office of Traffic and Safety (OOTS), the integration of signal operations into the State Operations Center involves real-time traffic monitoring and active traffic management of the signal systems. A key goal of the integrated operation is to build upon OTMO's Freeway Traffic Incident Management (FITM) plans, to include enhanced real-time monitoring and adjustment of signal systems along primary detour routes.
In the reorganization of OTMO, a new TSMO Traffic Signal Systems Operations (TSSO) Team produces traffic signal plans for non-recurrent congestion occurrences and assists with 24x7 in staffing the Statewide Operations Center (SOC) during peak travel periods and special events. The TSMO-TSSO staffs the TMC and actively manages traffic on the highway system, focusing on signalized arterials, and ramp metering systems.
This effort resulted in forming the joint OTMO and OOTS Signals Program Review Group (SRG), which coordinates the planning, design, and capital improvements related to signal infrastructure, operations, and maintenance to support TMC Signal Operations, thereby fostering the ongoing Smart Signal Systems upgrades. SRG's long-term goal is to use the OTMO Traffic Management Center to view and monitor all statewide traffic signals remotely. The new alignment also brought enhanced features to the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) to alert operators when signal timing adjustments may be needed based on a new "incident severity score" feature which generates a recommended FITM Plan, including the affected signals along the detour route.
TSMO Planning, Strategies and Deployment
Before the reorganization of OTMO was completed, several meetings were held with key stakeholders from both then the Office of CHART, OOTS, and the Administrator's Office to determine the best structure for the future home of mobility operations. After the reorganization was complete, new positions had to be created. These new position descriptions were created collaboratively between CHART and OOTS. A key component of the reorganization is the Signal Review Group (SRG), which meets bi-weekly to discuss potential capital improvements, review after-action reports from incident timing plan activations, and ATMS enhancements.
OTMO is in the process of putting some of the Signal Review Group's (SRG) recommendations into action. Freeway Incident Traffic Management (FITM) plans, which are pre-planned procedures for rerouting traffic around a closed section of a highway, were previously only available in CHART via a third-party (INRIX) traffic layer map, but they are now included in the ATMS program. Based on connection with speed detector devices along the roadway, the traffic layer tool allows the operator to see in real-time how traffic rerouting impacts secondary routes. The R23 patch adds map panning and zooming as well as a separate layer of traffic signals to the game. Existing and new FITM Plan items are now assigned to a geographic area, which will be used to define the highway and region borders that will apply to the traffic management plan for the closure. Additional county and route & direction filters are available. Traffic Signal objects can now be linked to a FITM Plan, allowing for real-time signal changes.
FITM Plans for a geographical area near an Incident that include the event's matching route and direction may be offered to the operator and linked to the incident. Incidents that reach a certain severity level will be automatically suggested to the operator based on threshold numbers. The traffic signals associated with the FITM Plan at the moment of inclusion in an Incident, as well as the event's history, may be viewed and tracked. When an event is linked to a FITM Plan, OOTS designees are automatically added and notified.
Other features include the ability to send Signal Notification e-mails with pertinent arterial traffic signals to OOTS designee contacts as well as any other designated individuals and/or notification group in the application. The Signal Notification e-mail contains basic event information, as well as the names and locations of the relevant traffic signals and a synopsis of the occurrence. Updates on the event closing are automatically sent to the OOTS designee contacts and receivers who were previously designated.
During FITM plan operations, Traffic Management Specialists at SOC and Traffic Signal Systems Operations (TSSO) Section engineers can use these identified signals to cross-check with the incident timing plans database (developed separately) and remotely activate available timing plans in Centracs. Integrating this separate database into ATMS will be designed and developed in future releases.
Communications Planning and Execution
The process for developing the Signal Review Group (SRG), Traffic Signal Systems Operations (TSSO), and ATMS updates was a very collaborative process consisting of representatives from every OTMO Division, as well the Office of Traffic and Safety and the Administrator's office. The subject was also brought to the CHART Board, a quarterly meeting with representatives from various MDOT SHA Offices including OTMO, OOTS, Office of Maintenance, Office of Information Technology, Office of Homeland Security, MDOT SHA District Offices, MDOT SHA Maintenance Shops, the Federal Highway Administration, Maryland Transportation Authority, and Maryland Transit Authority. The public facing MDOT SHA website was also updated to include information on the new office name and roles.
The process for updating the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) involved bi-weekly sprint updates, with review and coordination between OTMO CHART Systems Division, CHART Operations TMC Division, and the Office of Traffic and Safety to determine the appropriate workflow and graphical user interface concepts.
Outcome, Benefit and Learnings
The creation of the TSSO section within OTMO’s CHART Program has streamlined Maryland’s freeway-arterial traffic management, incident/emergency management, travelers’ information, special event, safety, and mobility operations capabilities to include on-the-fly and efficient signal coordination between CHART Operations and the Office of Traffic and Safety (OOTS). The OTMO reorganization and TSSO deployment have improved arterial traffic management capabilities and benefits – this is especially apparent on the Eastern Shore of the state where summer traffic to and from Ocean City Maryland is often plagued by severe congestion. Timing changes and optimization have significantly improved mobility during the peak travel periods in the region. The enhancements to the CHART ATMS provide operators with decision support tools and features that can be expanded beyond FITM and signal management.
The inclusion of the Traffic Signals Book, used by the MDOT SHA Office of Traffic and Safety (OOTS) signal technicians, into the ATMS allows TMC Operators to see the signal name, location, owner, maintainer, and electric company to enhance the speed of resource dispatch. The ATMS enhancement also allows the TMC Operator to associate traffic signals to an event for fast reference and view what field units are assigned for response, if needed.
Additional features include the ability to automatically send Signal Notification e-mails containing the relevant arterial traffic signals to OOTS designee contacts as well any additional selected individuals and/or notification group in the application. The Signal Notification e-mail includes basic event information, the relevant traffic signals' names and locations, as well as the summary of the event. Updates to the event closure are also automatically sent to the previously selected OOTS designee contacts and selected recipients. This feature has enhanced the tracking of when signal plans are implemented and will aid in after-action reviews.