Our industry is funded based on the trust that taxpayers put into our Department. That trust is built on transparency so today we are essentially building on the foundation laid by our past performance from yesterday. When the Legislature grants our Department funding, it is critical that we come back the following year with objective data to show the value that was purchased with those funds. We use Iteris ClearGuide to measure the travel times along freeway routes to demonstrate before-after conditions for major projects. We use the video export feature to produce communication tools that can be easily understood by a wide variety of professionals with diverse backgrounds.
Prior to ClearGuide, our Department relied solely on spot speed data collected by radar units and loops that were installed in half-mile increments along our urban freeways and sprinkled thinly throughout our rural freeway routes. Our understanding of arterial behaviors was limited to ATSPMs, cameras and models (a huge advancement in itself). Even though our radar network is extensive (around 2,000 stations statewide) and operates with generally high accuracy, the interpolations of point speed data inherently lost information between radar units. The process to overlay these interpolations onto maps with GIS fitting took several weeks. So our forecasts were limited to the amount of resources we had available and the travel times were prone to error. We had explored NPMRDS data but found it to be in a form that was far too difficult for our internal staff to harness without a software application to process it.
ClearGuide provides statewide travel times and speeds down to the major collector in Utah. ClearGuide allows us to interpret probe traffic data we need as traffic operations engineers without the need to expand our internal team to include the statisticians and software developers that would otherwise be necessary.
We use ClearGuide to develop traffic forecasts for holidays and major events like football games and concerts. ClearGuide also helps us develop maintenance of traffic schedules, queue estimations, and diversion plans for construction while monitoring construction conditions in real time.
ClearGuide allows us to provide travel times on ski resort and national park websites, calibrate models and determine representative days for traffic analyses, and post travel times on overhead variable message boards. It enables us to respond to public inquiries regarding recent congestion, and monitor traffic in real time in areas outside of camera coverage.
Additionally, UDOT uses ClearGuide to provide information to assist the Attorney General's Office in the defense of the State, provide information to Highway Patrol to target high speed areas, inform performance of variable speed limits systems, and evaluate algorithms for ramp metering as a system.
Traffic analytics software is used to conduct before-after studies to determine the benefits of projects and report back to the State Legislature; this informs and guides legislative bills to improve safety and support operations. ClearGuide lets us inform and guide the deployment of Incident Management Teams and document the benefits of those teams. It helps us prioritize projects for funding, as well as provide the required information to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the (IACR) Interchange Access Change Request process.
It is difficult to put a value on a system that has been integrated into so many of our processes at such a fundamental way of doing business that it has become absolutely critical to our success as a DOT. A single project that produces better alternatives based on better data could result in a multimillion-dollar savings, and we use this system on virtually every major project in the state of Utah.
I can't imagine going back to days without ClearGuide. An environment without data-driven decisions would feel akin to losing connection to the internet.
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Unpacking Traffic Analytics
Traffic analytics software helps agencies improve safety and mobility by turning large amounts of complex transportation data into insights for smart, data-driven operations and planning decisions.
Software bundles offer different areas of focus, each providing the right set of solutions based on variations in agency budgets and needs. These powerful tools generate reports, alerts, and recommendations to remotely manage all traffic signals and arterials in one user interface.
For example, the congestion-focused module of ClearGuide can improve real-time operations, incident management, and work zone mobility through map tools and congestion alerts. Plan and prioritize projects and measure their benefits through performance measure reports, trend maps, and congestion hotspot analyses. This module is designed with federal and state DOTs and county/city planning organizations in mind. By measuring the effects of countermeasures, the congestion module delivers insights into how to course correct.
Leveraging a modified data set based on speed outlier targeting, the safety is designed to reduce speeding by targeting countermeasures at true speeding hotspots. Agencies can measure the benefits of safety improvement projects, as well as identify red-light running and pedestrian safety risks at intersections. This allows for the implementation of the right solutions in the right places, and the precise measurement of their impacts.
Hardware-free intersection-level monitoring offers near real-time visibility at the intersection without the need for hardware-based detection. This analytics tool identifies when and where there are signal performance issues, and how they have changed over time.
Signal controller-based intersection performance measures allow agencies to address maintenance and operational issues before they become complaints through configurable alerts produced from data already collected by the traffic signal controller. Agencies can also maintain the mobility, safety, and environmental benefits of signal timing projects through reports and recommendations.
Maintenance of Traffic
Agencies are also changing the way they deploy work zone management.
More efficient
Next-gen MOT avoids field equipment deployment to capture pre-project baseline data; real-time and historic data are readily available. 24/7 monitoring offers tens of thousands of person hours of operational support. After any new issue is identified, agencies can skip the field staff observations step, as analytics tools like ClearGuide have already captured the issue and travel time impact in order for mitigation steps to begin.
More effective
Real-time traffic measurements are complete and accurate, rather than limited. There are no “educated guesses” based on outdated traffic-volume forecasts for lane takes. Monitoring-area coverage is network-wide and 24/7. ClearGuide, e.g., enables simultaneous mainline and detour-route monitoring.
Safer
The new analytics-based method of MOT helps improve the safety of construction workers by reducing field staffing needs and overall work time in the field. Software eliminates the need for workers to install, maintain and move temporary detection systems. Workers also spend less time onsite identifying problems because solutions like ClearGuide detect traffic issues immediately. They can also identify where the project schedule can be accelerated with minimal traffic impact. Traffic conditions are updated every five minutes.
More accurate
Unlike manual documentation of delay and queue, or field observations that may not occur during the same traffic conditions as the initial identified issue or public complaint, ClearGuide verifies public complaints with pristine accuracy and then lets you prioritize your mitigation efforts.
Less costly
Traffic analytics software monitors traffic everywhere within the network simultaneously, without expensive hardware installation. This also reduces full-time equivalents in the work zone, as more workers would be needed to install that hardware. Additionally, the software monitors 24/7, alerting human personnel automatically when needed. It’s liking having a person at each field device all day and night.
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Content produced in association with Iteris
