CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND APPLICATIONS

Findings from the following research activities are summarized in this chapter:

• Gap analysis.
• Literature review and market intelligence assessment.
• Stakeholder engagement outreach.
• White paper development.
• Guide development.

GAP ANALYSIS

The research team initially conducted a wholesale assessment of the original draft guide prepared in 2016. The gap analysis contained a broad range of content based on several years of research and referenced over 100 documents from both domestic and international sources. Based on the expertise of the team members, the research team conducted a thorough review of each of the original 12 chapters and 2 appendices to identify and categorize content as follows:

• Existing content that remained relevant for the specific topic.
• Existing content that needed specific updating based on current conditions, new technologies, emerging strategies, and/or known trends.
• Existing content that was no longer relevant and should be removed completely.
• Specific content or topics that were missing from the guide and needed to be incorporated into existing chapters and/or added as a standalone chapter.

The research team recognizes that a significant challenge with the development of the ATM guide is its ability to remain relevant over time. To that end, during the development of the new ATM guide, the research team reviewed all existing content as well as all newly developed content through a longevity lens. The team worked to ensure that the guide content struck the right balance between timelessness and usefulness. Examples included but were not limited to the following:

• Content related to funding sources was removed and replaced with information related to funding strategies and approaches used by agencies to successfully develop, deploy, and operate ATM strategies.
• Specific information related to costs associated with ATM deployments was generalized and information on cost categories, factors affecting costs throughout the project development process, and agency efforts in making the business case for ATM compared to other projects was added.
• Electronic links to resources were provided at a sufficiently high website level to reduce the likelihood of links breaking over time.
• Resources such as flowcharts, checklists, decision matrices, etc. were included as appropriate to provide users with a roadmap for planning and evaluating ATM for their jurisdictions and to illustrate how that process fits within existing planning and development processes and transportation systems operations and maintenance (TSMO) programs with which they are already familiar.

Chapter Specific Summaries

This section provides high-level summaries and overall observations regarding the necessary changes to each chapter and appendix of the ATM guide.

Chapter 1: Guide Introduction

In general, Chapter 1 needed to be updated to reflect the fact that ATM is no longer emerging but is rather a more mainstream approach to operations. This introductory chapter also needed to reflect any new report or chapter organizational structures established after the first four tasks and in consultation with the NCHRP panel. The research team considered removing references to specific federal legislation that might date the document. Overall consistency with terminology across FHWA documents, NCHRP research reports and documents, and the AASHTO transportation operations manual was deemed important. Examples needed to be updated where appropriate.

Chapter 2—ATM Overview, Strategies, and Reported Impacts

The chapter needed a considerable update to reflect current topics that are directly related to ATM. Specific elements include how CAVs, traveler information, and the use of ATM strategies in work zones. Additionally, new technologies in sensor development, third-party data sources, and the potential use of connected vehicles as a data source should be discussed in more detail in this chapter or in a new chapter dedicated specifically to data sources.

Chapter 3: Organizing ATM: Institutional and Policy Issues

Chapter 3 needed to be updated regarding capability maturity frameworks, policies, stakeholders, workforce, etc. Information regarding CAV technologies was needed in the discussion related to capabilities. Information was needed to illustrate how CAV and related technologies can facilitate and augment data availability for proactive operations. Additional content was also needed related to project delivery mechanisms and challenges with the design-build culture and development/deployment timelines.

Chapter 4: Planning Considerations

Chapter 4 referred to a considerable number of plans and current operations, but a review was necessary to determine whether this information was outdated. Additionally, the research team needed to determine if better, more current examples could be added. Information on guidelines/tools/policies needed updating, and information and examples of the agency planning process for ATM—through TSMO discussions as is the case for the Ohio Department of Transportation (DOT) or through more focused corridor evaluations that result in recommended ATM solutions—was required. This chapter could also benefit from some additional discussion on feasibility, including how an ATM-lite deployment could address needs. If available, this chapter should also point to alternatives to a full-scale deployment that agencies can explore if cost or other constraints might limit what an agency can do.

Chapter 5: Performance Measures for Active Traffic Management

Chapter 5 would be more visually appealing if it replaced text with visuals where possible and/or used both in a graphic to illustrate concepts. Another improvement might be to

present examples of metrics/dashboards in use, if applicable. Beyond the performance metrics of the ATM system itself though, the research team considered discussing the development of performance metrics for other elements that may affect the operation of an ATM strategy, such as transportation management center (TMC) operators, maintenance, and equipment quality.

Chapter 6: Assessment of ATM Suitability for a Region

Chapter 6 required a review of supporting assessment documents and their revisions (if any) based on their publication date to determine whether the information might be outdated. The team worked to determine if the referenced documents were still available and viable. Additionally, the summary tables describing objectives and data needs needed to be updated. The team also discussed the development of an overarching graphic illustrating the guide content for inclusion.

Chapter 7: Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation

The most significant change to Chapter 7 was the need for an additional section on CAVs, emerging data sources, and difficulties modeling new modes (e.g., mobility as a service [MaaS], mobility on demand [MOD], etc.). The research team planned to review, discuss, and incorporate recent efforts related to modeling and simulation related to ATM as well as MaaS and MOD as appropriate. Note that models and related information will be included in such a way as to not constitute an endorsement per NCHRP guidelines.

Chapter 8: Programming and Budgeting

Updates to Chapter 8 were necessary to reflect current funding programs. The research team considered how to reference these updates in a manner that made this chapter more future-proof. Updates were also needed regarding the programming and budgeting examples and the examples used to showcase various funding tools available to infrastructure owner operators. The partnerships section required review regarding current affiliations, and the case studies needed to be assessed for current applicability and relevance.

Chapter 9: Design Considerations for ATM

Some slight changes were required to modernize Chapter 9 including but not limited to updating user requirements, adding visuals and/or pictures of current systems in operation, and creating smart diagrams to show design decisions/processes in a more visually appealing way. These changes would make the information more concise and noticeable.

Chapter 10: Implementation and Deployment

Some additional perspectives from recent deployments would benefit Chapter 10. The research team committed to updating/refreshing the examples throughout and expanding the software implementation discussion. This chapter also needed to be updated with more specific examples of public outreach (and public feedback). The procurement discussion should be expanded and should also emphasize different procurement models and challenges.

Chapter 11: Operations and Maintenance

Chapter 11 did not necessarily require major changes. However, like the other chapters, adding a section regarding resiliency and risk management would be beneficial if available. Risk

management was mentioned in this chapter but not discussed in detail. An additional section and/or chapter might also be beneficial that discusses testing operations and soft deployments (i.e., operating in shadow mode before full deployment). Asset management has received significant recent focus and should get some additional emphasis in this chapter. The need for reliable and robust detection is critical for many ATM applications.

Chapter 12: Evaluation

In Chapter 12, an overall review of the references was needed to ensure that appropriate resources were identified. Examples of agency deployment evaluations were needed; these examples may also be linked to the performance measurement chapter.

Appendix A: Guide Glossary

The research team ensured that all acronyms included in the various chapters were defined in Appendix A. Each author provided a list for each chapter so that the terms could be cross-referenced for inclusion in the glossary. The research team also ensured that the definitions for specific terms were appropriate.

Appendix B: Available Resources and Tools

Appendix B needed to be updated and cross-referenced after all the other chapters were finalized.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT

The objective of this task was to review existing literature on the planning, design, operations, maintenance, evaluation, and monitoring of ATM strategies and to assess current market intelligence and analysis tools that might factor into the planning, evaluation, and implementation of ATM strategies. The team developed a conceptual data framework in the form of a review template to organize the information collected during the literature review and to support the analysis of collected information in subsequent tasks.

The research team used the content matrix developed as part of the gap analysis as the framework for the literature review and market intelligence assessment. Within such a framework, the research team was better able to determine what information was likely to be relevant to the final guide. The information collected through the literature review and entered into the framework supported the development of white papers as well as the development of the updated ATM guide.

Documents Reviewed

Table 1 lists the resources reviewed by the research team as part of this task. The resources are listed in alphabetical order. Following Table 1, the remainder of this section presents high-level summaries and overall observations regarding each of the reviewed resources.

Table 1. Resources Reviewed in Task 2.

Active Management Cycle Guide (FHWA)

As part of FHWA’s active transportation and demand management (ATDM) program, the Active Management Cycle Guide is being developed to provide agencies with a self-assessment process and framework to evaluate the advancement of TSMO strategies to increase levels of active (and proactive) system management (FHWA 2023a). The intent is to show how transportation agencies can maximize the effectiveness of infrastructure and operating strategies and help agencies identify specific steps/needs. The guide is centered around improvements, technologies, and strategies within the following four stages of system operations and management:

• Detecting problems or conditions through monitoring (static or in real time).
• Assessing system performance.
• Determining and recommending actions to improve performance.
• Implementing recommended actions.

Active management is categorized into four levels: static, reactive, responsive, and proactive. The guide and self-assessment framework is applicable to many ATM strategies and will help identify where specific strategy components and operational processes can be improved or advanced through the addition of real-time data for monitoring, automating processes, establishing performance goals and thresholds, updating operating processes, and other.

Active Traffic Management for Arterials (NCHRP)

The NCHRP Synthesis 447:Active Traffic Management for Arterials describes the state-of-the-practice associated with designing, implementing, and operating ATM on arterial roadways (Dowling and Elias 2013). Critical content includes dynamic signal control, dynamic geometric control, and traveler information; this content does not include adaptive signal control, congestion pricing, or speed harmonization. Successful ATM strategies on arterials require the following:

• Recurring and nonrecurring congestion coupled with limited capacity.
• An agency with resources to implement and maintain/fine-tune ATM applications.
• Active participation and coordination of multiple divisions within an agency and multiple agencies.

Reversible lane applications were sometimes found to impose delays on the reverse direction, which diluted the benefits and resulted in the costs outweighing the benefits. System and technology requirements were associated with implementation of permanent detectors in field, communications between field a central office, storage of information at central office, sophisticated software (for dynamic signal control and dynamic geometric control), specialized display hardware in the field (for dynamic geometric control and dynamic traveler information), and cell phone and website technology (for dynamic traveler information).

Key barriers to success included institutional issues; involvement of stakeholders and new technologies were identified as other major challenges. Requirements for a successful ATM implementation included political support, funding, engagement of stakeholders (within and across agencies), and technological expertise. Detailed planning and design efforts included an inventory of infrastructure, planning for contingencies, and budgeting for ongoing maintenance costs. Knowledge gaps, appropriate measures of effectiveness, and appropriate analysis methods for evaluating ATM investments were also identified.

Arizona DOT’s I-10 Dust Warning System Application—Project Assessment and Various Presentations and Publications (Arizona DOT)

Arizona DOT’s I-10 Dust Warning System Application project includes innovative weather sensors/detectors linked to variable speed limit (VSL) applications to warn motorists about impending low visibility conditions. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) elements were included in a larger freeway improvement project to widen and realign I-10. Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies and Highway Safety Improvement Program funds were combined with funds for an SR-87 interchange reconstruction project—the projects were designed separately but combined and advertised as one project. The reference includes specifications for VSL signs, a concept of operations, and system requirements that include planning considerations and systems engineering processes (i.e., scenarios, roles, and responsibilities).

In a March 2021 presentation, the Arizona DOT reported some performance tracking results that compared VSL and actual speeds (Duby and Jones 2021). Results indicated a low level of VSL compliance.

A Public Roads article (Coventry and Duby 2021) described the system logic used to directly correlate speed limits with visibility. This article also discussed various design and implementation challenges such as integrating devices from multiple vendors, ensuring quality in available communications infrastructure, and developing and implementing algorithms for VSLs.

Connected Vehicle Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Support of Active Traffic Management (FIU, Florida DOT)

The Connected Vehicle Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Support of Active Traffic Management paper focuses on the relationship between connected vehicles (CVs) and ATM and describes how CVs can support the Florida DOT’s future projects to enhance safety and mobility throughout the state (Hadi et al. 2019). The paper examines the roles that CV-based technologies may have in ATM, which include the following:

• Complementary solution to enhance existing solutions.
• Supplementary solution to enhance or partially replace existing solutions.
• Alternative solution to enhance or fully replace existing solutions.

Decision Support Framework and Parameters for Dynamic Part-Time Shoulder Use: Considerations for Opening Freeway Shoulders for Travel as a Traffic Management Strategy (FHWA)

The Decision Support Framework and Parameters for Dynamic Part-Time Shoulder Use: Considerations for Opening Freeway Shoulders for Travel as a Traffic Management Strategy document provides guidelines for agencies considering part-time shoulder use applications and provides an overview of when it is appropriate to activate part-time shoulder use (Jenior et al. 2019). It identifies qualitative costs associated with shoulder use including maintenance, operations, training, staffing, etc. The document also identifies the advantages and challenges of static versus dynamic part-time shoulder use; the document is focused on dynamic part-time shoulder use. Dynamic part-time shoulder use requires more resources but offers potential benefits that static part-time shoulder use does not (i.e., used for evacuations or by emergency and transit vehicles). Case studies are presented from various international agencies and state DOTs in Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, Washington, and Colorado.

Expanding Traveler Choices Through the Use of Incentives: A Compendium of Examples (FHWA)

Expanding Traveler Choices Through the Use of Incentives: A Compendium of Examples includes case studies from agencies who successfully incentivize travelers to make dynamic shifts to their mode, time of travel, or route before and during trips (Bauer et al. 2018). Most of these incentive strategies focus on the active demand management element of ATDM; because ATM is related to in-route strategies, limited connections may exist between these incentives and ATM strategies. One applicable ATM strategy would be tolling applications that disincentivize people from taking certain routes/using certain lanes by applying a penalty in the form of cost. Overall, this document showed limited applicability of incentives for ATM but did note support

for high-occupancy toll lane applications for which pricing incentives have been shown to successfully incentivize travel behavior shifts.

Florida DOT Smart Work Zone (Florida DOT)

The Florida DOT is deploying smart work zones that include the following capabilities:

• Queue detection.
• Speed monitoring.
• Travel time monitoring.
• Reduced speed alerts.

The Florida DOT is also piloting a data exchange platform to provide additional travel time data. The deployment uses ITS including arterial and portable dynamic message signs (DMSs), push notifications, queue warnings, traveler information, and mobile phone applications. Other applications in use include CV technologies, VSLs, and third-party sharing of work zone information.

Freeway Management and Operations Handbook (FHWA)

The Freeway Management and Operations Handbook is a 20-chapter resource guide that covers a wide range of freeway operations strategies, elements, and operational areas (Neudorff et al. 2011 Revision). Relevant chapters for the ATM guide describe ATDM—including ATM (Chapter 6), integrated corridor management (ICM) (Chapter 7) and managed lanes (Chapter 8). Other chapters describe agency readiness to deploy advanced corridor operating strategies, performance measures, and other operational considerations that would also be relevant. A key challenge with this resource is that the most recent unpublished draft was completed in 2016/2017 making much of the information outdated. Case studies, resources, and examples do not reflect current deployments or performance data that would be valuable for the ATM guide.

I-15 ATM in Southern Nevada—Project Neon (NDOT)

The I-15 ATM deployment in southern Nevada included the following ATM applications (NDOT 2019):

• High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane OPEN TO ALL condition that is implemented automatically by the ATM system to increase roadway capacity if two or more right travel lanes are blocked.
• Automated queue warning based on freeway detection speed data that displays CAUTION if speeds are between 35 and 45 mph and displays MERGE if speeds are below 35 mph.
• HOV lanes that are treated independently from general purpose lanes for speed harmonization/VSLs, providing up to a 15-mph speed differential.

Important lessons learned from this project related to the following:

• The importance of public education and outreach.
• The need to balance the roles and responsibilities of multiple departments (e.g., the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada operates during business hours while the Nevada DOT operates after business hours, the RTC

maintains the infrastructure while the Nevada DOT owns and funds the software, etc.) (see Table 2-1 of the concept of operations).

Public outreach activities undertaken by the RTC and Nevada DOT as part of this project included the following:

• An extensive public outreach campaign was launched in advance of the ATM deployment to educate and prepare the public for the new infrastructure. This effort was part of the larger Project Neon construction effort to widen the freeway, which was the largest public works project in Nevada’s history.
• Agency websites provided fact sheets, video simulations, graphics and renderings, and other information to prepare drivers for what to expect from the system.
• Public meetings related to Project included discussion of ATM, and high-level ATM design schematics were made available to the public.

I-580 Richmond Bridge Part-Time Shoulder Running (Caltrans)

The I-580 Richmond Bridge Part-Time Shoulder Running project was intended to address severe congestion on the Richmond Bridge that was impacting local streets [National Operations Center of Excellence 2020]. Multiple stakeholders were involved in the implementation, including the Bay Area Toll Authority and the Caltrans. The agencies used ITS and ATM to implement part-time should running on the bridge. They followed a systems engineering process and decided to integrate with legacy equipment, which decreased the implementation timeline. They added active transportation elements as part of the part-time shoulder operations that considered bicycle and pedestrian traffic and increased coordination with the California Highway Patrol and operators to maintain safety and improve operations.

I-80 Integrated Corridor Management (Caltrans).

Various resources related to the I-80 ICM project in California were reviewed (Caltrans 2023). The concept of operations explains the ICM vision, which included dynamic lane control, VSLs, adaptive area-wide ramp metering, arterials and ramp meter signal coordination, freeway and local operations coordination, and incident management. The implementation plan describes the various design packages and their purposes. This plan also acts as a case study for subdividing approvals to help shorten the schedule for implementation. One lesson learned is to make sure to check the warranty on field devices after procurement. For the I-80 ICM, the field devices were installed but were not integrated until a later package was approved. By this time, the warranty had expired. The operations manual explains the triggers for incident response and ICM activation.

I-805 Bus on Shoulder Concept of Operations and User Needs, Bus on Shoulder Project SR-94 and I-805 (SANDAG)

The concept of operations and user needs documents for a bus on shoulder project planned for the San Diego area on SR-94 and I-805 were also reviewed (SANDAG 2023). One of the biggest barriers to bus on shoulder operations is establishing the supporting policy and receiving buy-in from peer agencies that operate along roadway. Project charters and a Caltrans Encroachment Permit were completed as part of the project. The Caltrans Encroachment Permit process can be lengthy, especially for projects that require Caltrans right-of-way.

Transportation Operations Manual (AASHTO)

The Transportation Operations Manual, recently completed constitutes a comprehensive guide to TSMO strategies and tactics for operational strategies (AASHTO 2023). ATM strategies are included in the manual, and members of the 03-114 (01) research team were responsible for the development of the content related to ATM. The team ensured that terminology and related content were consistent across the two documents. Specific information contained includes target locations and practices, key considerations, implementation examples and issues, project timeframes, and data needs.

Work Zone Data Initiative and Work Zone Data Exchange (FHWA)

The purpose of the Work Zone Data Initiative is to develop a recommended practice for managing work zone activity data (WZAD) and to create a consistent language—through the development of a data dictionary and supporting implementation documents—for communicating information on work zone activity across jurisdictional and organizational boundaries (USDOT 2023). The effort promotes a stakeholder-driven and systems-driven perspective for WZAD that allows for a better understanding of user needs from the practitioners’ perspective and ultimately, a better approach to collecting national WZAD.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT OUTREACH

The project team conducted several activities to solicit feedback and input from stakeholder audiences, either directly as part of this project or by leveraging ongoing activities in which the project team are participating. The intent was to engage with stakeholders to identify relevant information related to projects and ATM strategies that can be included in the revised guide. This section summarizes the different activities undertaken by the team.

Transportation Research Board Meeting

The project team held a focus group discussion with stakeholders during the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting to leverage the in-person availability of interested participants. The event was held during the evening session of the ACP20 Standing Committee on Freeway Operations. Topics discussed included recent ATM examples, critical ATM issues, and the structure and usability of the ATM guide. The intent of the focus group was to seek industry input on recent case studies; innovative or unique practices; performance results from ATM implementations; lessons learned at various stages of ATM planning, implementation, and operations; and challenges facing operating agencies. This feedback was incorporated into key sections of the guide. The following information was used as a discussion guide to gather input from attendees:

Question 1: Recent ATM Examples

Attendees were asked to share their thoughts on recent ATM planning and implementation activities that can provide insights for other agencies. The research team sought examples in each the following categories:

• Organizing and planning for ATM.
  • Institutional issues.
  • Policy issues.

• Feasibility and screening.
• Tools for planning ATM.
• Stakeholder engagement.
• Programming and budgeting.
  • Funding considerations.
  • Innovative finance strategies.
  • Programming.
  • Partnerships for ATM.
• Modeling and simulation.
  • Modeling tools for ATM.
  • Data needs.
• ATM design and implementation.
  • Design considerations (civil and technology).
  • Software requirements.
  • Project delivery.
• Performance measures, monitoring, and evaluation
  • Data needs.
  • Reporting strategies.
  • Establishing goals and targets
• Operations and Maintenance
  • System operations
  • Staffing/training needs
  • Maintenance strategies/issues

Question 2 – Critical Issues

Attendees were asked to identify critical issues that could benefit from a more detailed discussion in the guide.

• Key Gaps (resources, tools, challenges)
• Policy/Regulatory Issues (MUTCD)
• ATM for local deployments
• Staffing/training/technical capacity building
• Connected/automated vehicles
• Other Issues

Question 3 – Guide Structure and Usability

Attendees were asked to provide input on what would make the guide most helpful for practitioners, operating agencies, planning agencies and others.

Discussion Summary

The following sections provide a summary of the discussion, particularly related to challenge and gaps, critical issues, and resources needed by implementing agencies.

Challenges/Gaps

The following bullets provide a summary of key challenges and gaps in the guide identified by attendees.

• Agencies often do not get project funding until they’ve done a feasibility study. If ATM isn’t included in that feasibility study, it is harder to map out funding needs for programming. It is important to involve operations folks early on to consider cost of operations if those developing the program are not actively working with Ops. Especially with a new type of project, it is important to clearly define what are the project needs, what are the implementation needs, longer-term operation needs, etc.
• The integrated Information for Motorists traffic management system (NY Long Island - INFORM) in New York State did a lot of feasibility assessments. The steps that were taken may still be applicable. The project got all the stakeholders together to identify what was needed and how to handle operations with multiple operators (at state, county, and local levels) during the four-year planning process. Agencies need to better understand the traveler behavior/traveler response to ATM strategies.
• Agencies need some easy reference criteria for operational strategies. For example, agencies frequently receive questions from stakeholders that usually relate to safety. How safe are dynamic shoulders? How safe are VSLs? What are the minimum conditions or requirements needed for each strategy to make it effective?
• The FHWA’s TMC Pooled Fund Study will start a project this fall related to planning and plans for traffic management systems (TMS). A gap currently exists when linking a TMC/TMS plan to other planning processes within a department.
• The Wisconsin DOT has a plan related to ATM that might be helpful to other agencies—the Wisconsin DOT implemented ATM strategies (dynamic, part-time shoulder use during peak periods) on the US-12 Beltline in Madison.
• A progression of ATM deployments would be useful. For example, perhaps an agency could start with ramp meters and then graduate to dynamic shoulders. Can such a path be suggested? Where is the entry point?
• Agencies need to understand the problem they are experiencing and the tools available to identify and solve the problem.
• Planning is beneficial, but agencies need to identify some quick implementation scenarios where they can take the opportunity to deploy ATM when specific situations arise.
• Observations suggest that agencies have greatly underestimated the safety benefits of ATM. As systems are evaluated, more safety benefits often result than mobility benefits. Most often, deployers focus on the mobility benefits, which come from improving safety.
• Agencies are starting to see benefits of queue warning systems, VSLs, etc. The infrastructure piece is easy, but partner needs must be better understood. Agencies need to understand how to evaluate ATM as a potential solution but also what needs to be put in place to be able to evaluate it.
• From a policy standpoint, agencies need to know how to elevate ATM strategies as an initial solution before exploring capacity increases. This prioritization needs to be part of agency policy discussions and potentially part of long-range planning efforts.

• Agencies struggle with how to estimate ATM costs. Conventional capacity projects have per mile pavement costs and per square foot bridge costs. Similar cost metrics are required to establish ATM costs in the early planning stages.

Critical Issues

Attendees also identified several critical issues related to ATM as follows:

• The new Highway Capacity Manual (Highway Capacity Manual 2022) is not used frequently at agencies, so some gaps might exist.
• What are the staffing needs for ATM? Where do staff build the expertise? What staff are involved—maintenance workers, operations personnel, traffic signal engineers, etc.? What training, staffing, and technical expertise is needed to design and also maintain these systems? Who is keeping up with the technology? How does the technology get upgraded? Who is responsible?
• Enforcement is a challenge for regulatory versus advisory ATM applications (e.g., VSLs, HOV and other managed lanes).
• Consider the capability maturity framework and its applicability to ATM. This framework was initially developed with ATM in mind.
• The availability of data is another key cross-cutting item that will likely show up in several sections of the guide. This topic may be a good option for a critical issues paper.
• Are all the steps included in the traditional systems engineering process necessary? If a project is small, will it be burdened by the process? For a small project or a demonstration, is there a faster way to get to implementation? Examples of potential exemptions include the following:
  • Work zones are temporary installations and as such may not require a detailed systems engineering process and documents.
  • A big range exists between a low-hanging fruit operational strategy and a highly complex and expensive application. The guide should identify recommended steps at particular stages; guidelines/use cases could recommend that for a particular project with a specified complexity level and budget, a full-blown systems engineering study might not be needed.
• Different requirements and deeper levels of detail may be required at each step in the planning process. With respect to TMCs, a range of plans and studies may be important depending on the project stage. Other processes at the agency may also need to be followed.

Resources Needed

Finally, attendees identified the resources needed for ATM as follows:

• Agencies could use help identifying the entry point for ATM based on their size and needs.
• Use cases would be helpful.
• Do we really need to think about CAVs? Simpler is better. Help is needed for agencies to get more projects off the ground. CAVs may be too early at this point.

• What are some examples of ATM that reflect standard, acceptable projects (e.g., adaptive ramp metering, transit signal priority, etc.)? Are any of these applications considered standard practice?
• Agencies should focus first on bottlenecks, then develop a system-wide strategy (i.e., build for the bottlenecks and then build out). Incremental planning might be the best approach. Does an ATM system-wide plan exist? Houston may be an example.
• The application of work zone queue warnings, pushed alert messages, etc. could be mainstreamed and applied to any number of work zones.
• Demand should drive the discussion on strategies.
• Agencies need to look ahead on projects and model future improvements. They need to be able to identify what they need, identify when funding will be available, and formulate a more holistic plan.
• The ATM guide should be segmented with logical categories and chapters; things need to be easy to find.
• Key features of the ATM guide should include the following:
  • Checklists.
  • Toolkit.
  • Use cases/case studies.
  • Flowcharts/process charts.
• The ATM guide should include links to existing information and resources.
• How do the goals in the new infrastructure bill apply? This topic was not initially considered.
• The ATM guide should include guidelines on different types of planning activities like an ATM charrette, sketch-planning tools, etc.

FHWA ATDM Cohort Coordination

TTI’s research partner, Kimley-Horn, is supporting the FHWA’s Cohorts for Advanced Transportation and Demand Management. Two cohorts—one focused on state DOT and freeway ATDM implementations and one focused on local/county/regional agencies—meet monthly to share lessons learned, describe planning and deployment experiences, identify key gaps and challenges throughout the ATDM project lifecycle, and develop best practices. These discussions are held through separate virtual cohort meetings with rotating speakers and topics. Cohort members include the following:

• State DOT cohort members: Caltrans District 4 (San Francisco Bay Area), Georgia DOT, Michigan DOT, Minnesota DOT, Nevada DOT and RTC of Southern Nevada, Oregon DOT, Virginia DOT, and Washington DOT.
• City/county cohort members: Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Lake County, Illinois; City of Los Angeles, California; Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, California; Maricopa County, Arizona; Maricopa Association of Governments, Arizona; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C.

At a joint cohort meeting in May 2022, the research team provided an overview of the NCHRP ATM project, including some of the synergies between the two efforts. Several common themes exist including data and data management for active management strategies, staffing and technical capacity building, planning for complex multiagency operating strategies, performance

monitoring and performance-based operations, and implementation issues. Applicable lessons learned, planning and deployment experiences, and performance results for ATM-focused strategies revealed through the cohorts will contribute to the ATM guide content and critical issues white papers.

Stakeholder and Case Study Database Development

Through a variety of efforts, the project team has prepared a database of ATM projects that can provide valuable insight in the development of content for the revised guide. When developing this database, the project team reviewed specific project-related resource documents, interviewed key personnel for additional information and insights, and assembled relevant information for use in Tasks 4 and 5. As the project team developed both the white papers for Task 4 and the updated guide content as part of Task 5, they reviewed this information and augmented it with additional information included in related resources. The overall goal was to ensure that the information presented in the final guide was as comprehensive as possible to provide the intended audience with relevant information to meet their needs for planning and evaluating ATM operational strategies for their jurisdictions.

WHITE PAPERS

The research team prepared five white papers on specific topics at the direction of the project panel. The topics for the white papers were as follows (in no particular order):

• ATM in work zones.
• New data sources and their impact on ATM.
• New technology.
• The intersection of performance metrics and ATM operations.
• ATM on arterials.

These white papers are included in the appendices. The research team incorporated the themes and overall content of the white papers into the final guide to the extent practicable.

GUIDE DEVELOPMENT

The research team developed the ATM guide, which will serve as a primary reference on ATM and an essential resource for those agencies considering ATM in their jurisdiction.

The intent of this guide was to provide planning and evaluation guidelines to transportation agencies so they can easily identify the appropriate path forward with ATM strategies suited to their regional needs and characteristics. Agencies considering ATM will be able to identify appropriate performance goals and measures for planned projects and select ATM strategies to consider for those projects. They will also be able to select the appropriate analysis tool(s) to evaluate the likely impacts of those projects and plan for the collection of field performance data and analysis of that data for performance-based planning and operations. Additionally, they will be better prepared during the project development and implementation phases by knowing appropriate budgetary and staffing needs for ATM operations and maintenance and being aware of critical institutional factors that can either be instrumental to success or derail a project.