Task Order 4151
Policy and Behavioral Research

Innovative Corridors/2005 ITS World Congress

Susan Shaheen
California PATH/CCIT

San Francisco Bay Area Smart Corridors Opportunity:

The San Francisco Bay Area is known for a willingness to innovate and, along with Silicon Valley, have the knowledge base and creativity to implement innovative mobility solutions. Already the Bay Area has been home to many innovative pilot projects, including CarLink I and II and will be the setting for both Smart Parking and the Segway Shared-Use pilot demonstrations. In addition, the ITS World Congress is scheduled to be held in San Francisco in 2005. This may provide an ideal opportunity to coordinate the pilot projects to coincide with this event and thus reach a broader audience.

Discussions are currently underway to explore this opportunity (i.e., the ITS World Congress of 2005) as a potential showcase platform for demonstrating innovative ITS, corridor-based solutions. However, even without the ITS World Congress, the San Francisco Bay Area provides an ideal setting for high visibility and international recognition. High visibility pilot projects can serve to mobilize project participants, including automobile manufacturers and electronics companies, to donate hardware, technology, and services to have their products demonstrated where media and public attention are focused.

State Priorities:

The San Francisco Bay Area presents an ideal setting for PATH/CCIT researchers to utilize a real-world setting to test many of the research topics and ideas that have been evaluated, simulated and analyzed, but not yet implemented. These include traffic management techniques such as advanced ramp metering and smart incident detection and resolution, as well as innovative mobility such as smart parking and door-to-door connectivity.

Part I: San Francisco Bay Area Pilot Project Expo Coordination

Innovative Mobility Research (IMR) will act as lead coordinator and planner for a series of PATH demonstration project teams that anticipate participating in the Bay Area Smart Corridors project. This includes traffic management, innovative mobility, and traveler information (e.g., MTC's 511 program and TravInfo).

Task I: Explore and evaluate the benefits of developing a Memorandum of Agreement among Caltrans, ITS World Congress, MTC (and other local agents, such as BART and AC Transit), and PATH/CCIT.

Task II: Develop an Advisory Team consisting of ITS World Congress committee members, project leaders, local community representatives, and business partners.

Task III: Evaluate options for coordinating Bay Area Smart Corridor projects with the ITS World Congress of 2005, including how pilot expo projects could interface with the sessions and event for maximum visibility.

Task IV: Work with PATH researchers (traffic management, simulation, dedicated short range communication, and innovative mobility) and other researchers (e.g., hydrogen fuel cell researchers, such as AC Transit hydrogen bus study) to outline proposed demonstration projects for the Bay Area Smart Corridors project.

Task V: In conjunction with PATH researchers identify best corridor(s) for pilot expo projects.

Task VI: Create a matrix outlining locations, timelines, participants, etc. for each proposed pilot expo project.

Part II: Innovative Mobility Pilot Expo Projects

Task I: Work with IMR researchers to identify likely technology and locations for pilot expo projects that might fit with ITS World Congress (but could be deployed outside the context of the Congress)

Task II: Design a series of door-to-door scenarios that show how traffic management and innovative mobility can work together for an optimal transportation system from the user perspective.

Subsequent funding for a Year Two (2004) project (to follow an amended MOU 4151 project) would result in concrete agreements with industry for pilot expo projects, planning, and implementation. Year Three (2005) would result in on the ground pilot expo projects along Bay Area Smart Corridors that might be coordinated with ITS World Congress in fall 2005.

Part III: Outreach and Media Plan

Develop media and outreach plan for stakeholders, public, and governmental agencies to accompany Parts I and II.

Summary Conclusion

Although the Smart Mobility project has successfully identified pilot demonstration projects that could have been deployed in conjunction with the UC Davis campus, the time is not right for this (e.g., planning process not yet complete, budget crisis, etc.). The Bay Area Smart Corridors project and the potential to coordinate with the ITS World Congress 2005,presents an unparalleled opportunity for California PATH/CCIT researchers to work with business and local communities to deploy on the ground pilot expo projects of leading edge traffic management ITS technologies and innovative mobility solutions.