ITS Technology

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Incident Management	Police Officers	Ramp Designation Sign	Variable Message Sign (VMS)
Traffic Operations Center	Information Service Provider	Transit Operations Center	ITS Planning
Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)	Commercial Vehicle Operations	Electronic Toll Collection	Ramp Metering
Cellular 911	Emergency Call Boxes	Surveillance Cameras	Traffic Signal Preemption
Emergency Service Patrol

Incident Management
Major incidents, such as an overturned truck, requires a team response. Police officers are responsible for managing traffic. Fire and medical personnel are required to extricate and treat victims. Tow truck operators are needed to remove vehicles. Highway maintenance crews and fire personnel work together to remove debris and clean up any spills. The above picture shows a Philadelphia Police Officer on the scene of an incident involving an overturned truck at an on-ramp to I-95. Also present are another truck to salvage goods from the damaged vehicle and a tow truck to right and remove the truck.

Police Officers
Many agencies employ police officers to patrol their facilities and respond to traffic accidents or other types of incidents. For example, in New Jersey, over 400 state troopers are assigned to Troop D, the New Jersey Turnpike. Philadelphia Police Department deploys two specialized units, Traffic Police and Highway Patrol. The Traffic Police perform activities such as directing traffic in the event of an incident, over see street closures, and handling traffic at special events. The Highway Patrol is responsible for monitoring Philadelphia's Expressways including I-76 and I-95. In the above photograph, a Philadelphia Traffic Police Officer is directing traffic at an intersection with a broken signal, as maintenance crews are working to repair it.

Ramp Designation Signs

A common complaint among emergency responders is identifying the location of an accident at complex highway interchanges. The difficulty arises when motorists reporting their exact location are confused in terms of which ramp they are on and their orientation. Because of this confusion, delays in response to incidents could jeopardize people's lives. In an effort to solve this problem, NJDOT has installed ramp designation signs at complicated interchanges, including the I-295/I-76/NJ 42 interchange. A picture of one of the signs along with a map showing the location of the signs at the interchange are shown.

Variable Message Signs (VMS)
The purpose of a VMS is to provide real-time traffic advisories to travelers. VMS's are either centered over travel lanes or placed alongside the roadway. Messages on permanent VMS's typically originate from a Traffic Control Center. The above picture is a VMS sign on Northbound I-95 near the Philadelphia International Airport.

Traffic Operations Center

At many agencies, the focal point of their traffic management system is the Traffic Operation Center. A control center can include capabilities to operate computerized traffic signal systems, variable message signs and highway advisory radio, monitor closed circuit television images (CCTV), manage emergency service patrols and coordinate incident management response teams. While the equipment in each operating center varies by agency, the typical control center consists of any number of computer workstations, radio scanners, multiple TV monitors, audiotext recording booths (for HAR messages) and fax machines (for broadcasting information to other agencies). In the Philadelphia region, some of the agencies that employ traffic operations centers include NJDOT, Philadelphia Streets Department, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. PennDOT's Traffic Control Center (TCC), located in King of Prussia, is the primary coordinating point of District 6-0's operations. In the pictures above, PennDOT staff are viewing real-time TV video feeds from I-95 and I-476.

Information Service Provider

One of the basic concepts of ITS is to disseminate travel information to the public in a timely manner. This could be achieved either en-route through variable message signs or transit display boards, or pre-trip through the internet, email or audio messaging. Many public agencies rely upon private sector information service providers to supplement and enhance availability of travel information with customized services such as live television and radio broadcasts in conjunction with the local media. In the Philadelphia region, NJDOT and PennDOT have a public-private partnership with SmartRoute Systems, Inc. to disseminate their traveler information. Staff from the SmartRoute Operations Center can monitor live video feeds on oversized monitors from NJDOT, PennDOT and their own cameras. Other information service providers in the region include Metro Traffic, Express Traffic and Traffic.com.

Transit Operations Center

New Jersey Transit, PATCO and SEPTA all have operation centers to manage their transit activities. SEPTA's operation center primarily functions as a command/control point for Regional Rail Operations, City Bus and Rail Operations, Suburban Bus and Trolley Operations and SEPTA Transit Police. Operation center staff have the ability to monitor the transit system and reroute trains and buses as required. When an incident occurs, the center notifies a line or street supervisor (for rail or buses respectively) to investigate and manage the situation. The above pictures show various elements of SEPTA's control center.

ITS Planning

In an effort to facilitate ITS interagency coordination within the region, DVRPC has helped to organize special task forces. The Coordinating Council, meeting twice a year, is co-chaired by DVRPC and PennDOT/NJDOT. Members of this special ITS task force consist of multi-agency policy level representatives working to adopt annual work programs and budgets for ITS efforts in the region. The committee also works to establish policy and direction for the ITS Technical Task Force (TTF), a technical group that meets about once a month. The above pictures were taken at a Coordinating Council meeting held at DVRPC.

Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)

HAR provides travelers who have a radio receiver with real-time roadway information, weather information, agency hotline numbers, incident information, roadway construction advisories, etc. FCC reserves certain AM and FM frequencies for public agencies to broadcast special travel advisories specific to whatever jurisdiction they are located. For example, the New Jersey Turnpike uses 1610 AM to broadcast information catered to their roadways. As a traveler makes the journey along the turnpike, messages change based on their current location. The above pictures show an HAR traveler advisory sign on US 1 in New Jersey.

Commercial Vehicle Operations
Commercial Vehicle Operations entails a wide range of services, including commercial driver licensing, commercial vehicle registration, vehicle safety inspections, weight limit enforcement and motor vehicle taxes. ITS will automate many services with one-stop shopping for drivers licensing and registration and transponders to identify vehicles in order to assess motor vehicle taxes. In the future, weigh stations will utilize weigh-in-motion (WIM) technology, which uses automatic weight measuring equipment (fixed sensors embedded in the pavement) to calculate the weight of a commercial vehicle at highway speeds to ensure the vehicle is operating within predetermined safety limits. Presently, commercial vehicles must pull over to a weigh station located on the side of the highway.

Electronic Toll Collection
Benefits of electronic toll collection include less congestion at toll plazas, improved air quality and increased convenience for motorists. E-ZPass was developed by a consortium of toll agencies located in the northeast U.S. When a vehicle passes through an E-ZPass designated toll lane, an electronic tag (in the form of a small box mounted on a vehicle windshield) is detected by an antenna and the appropriate toll is deducted from the customer's prepaid E-ZPass account. Because of the alliance, E-ZPass will eventually be employed on all toll bridges and roads in the region. The above pictures show E-ZPass Lanes at the Ben Franklin Bridge toll plaza.

Ramp Metering

Ramp metering is designed to control the rate of traffic entering the freeway. The objective is to maintain a predetermined level of service on the freeway by adjusting the on-ramp traffic volume with a traffic signal. Typical waiting times at ramp metering signals are between 5 to 6 seconds per vehicle. The above pictures show a local ramp metering configuration for an on-ramp to I-476, currently the only highway in the region to employ this technology.

Cellular 911
The # 911 emergency cellular phone number is used by motorists to report incidents while en-route to their destination. Many toll authorities, such as the New Jersey Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway in our region, reserve special toll-free cellular phone numbers that are directly fed into their operation centers. The picture above shows a sign that may be found on the side of a roadway.

Emergency Call Boxes

Emergency call boxes permit travelers who do not have cellular phones to report accidents and emergency situations. It is applicable to both highways and transit. The Atlantic City Expressway and Pennsylvania Turnpike have call boxes located along the side of their roadways. SEPTA and PATCO employ call boxes at their stations. The above picture shows an emergency call box at SEPTA's Market East station.

Surveillance Cameras

Highway Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are installed at locations on roadways where accident rates and/or congestion levels are known to be high. This real-time video surveillance equipment is monitored by traffic operations center personnel, who can manipulate the camera by remote control. The cameras dispatch real-time video images to the traffic operations center so that in emergency situations a quicker response can be provided. The pictures above show views of surveillance cameras in our region.

Traffic Signal Preemption
Traffic Signal Preemption technology allows both transit and emergency vehicles to send direct control requests to signalized intersections. These messages result in preemption of the current signal control plan and grants right-of-way to the requesting vehicle. In this region, most applications of traffic signal preemption have been for emergency vehicles. However, the City of Philadelphia and SEPTA are working on projects for transit vehicles. The above picture shows a signal preemptor at a signalized intersection on Chestnut Street in Center City Philadelphia.

Emergency Service Patrol

Emergency service patrols are a public service sponsored by the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Departments of Transportation and many local toll agencies to help disabled vehicles on the major expressways in the region. Some emergency service patrols operate only during peak travel times and others patrol throughout the day. Their services help to prevent secondary accidents by keeping traffic moving, pushing disabled vehicles off the road, obtaining additional resources if necessary, and giving warnings to other motorists through flashing lights or variable message signs. Emergency service patrol personnel typically supply gas and fix tires; the vehicles are equipped with maintenance tools, gas, floodlights, radios and traffic control devices