Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Report
Service Patrols
Service Patrols are commonly applied in urban/suburban settings to detect, respond to, and clear
incidents. They are also an effective component of work-zone management systems, especially for
long-duration work zones. However, given the dynamic response nature of this treatment, Service
Patrols can also be applied in more remote areas. They typically serve within a regional context
that crosses jurisdictional boundaries as needed. Service Patrols are most commonly applied to
freeway facilities (both tolled and non-tolled), but are also applied to arterials by some regions.
They are primarily applied to address a non-recurring congestion need in order to safely and
efficiently get traffic flow back to normal conditions.
On-Scene Incident Management (Incident Responder Relationship, High Visibility
Garments, Clear Buffer Zones, Incident Screens)
On-Scene Incident Management deals with the coordination of the work of public safety agencies
(police, fire and rescue, emergency medical services) and transportation agencies to ensure rapid
and appropriate incident detection, response, traffic control, and clearance. As such, the
application of this treatment is spread over all area and facility types and can be localized for a
particular community or be provided regionally, across multiple communities. The treatment is
also typically applied in a non-recurring congestion environment in response to a traffic incident
with public safety agencies playing a primary role and transportation agencies playing a supportive
role.
Work-Zone Management
Work-zone management is a treatment that can be applied locally (such as on smaller construction
projects) or regionally for larger construction projects that cross jurisdictional boundaries. This
treatment can also be applied within all area types (urban, suburban, and rural) and facility types
and operations (i.e., tolled and non-tolled). Work-zone management is a treatment used for
reducing source for non-recurring congestion. It has the objective of safely moving traffic through
working areas with as little delay as possible while protecting the safety of the workers.
Transportation Management Centers (TMC)
Transportation Management Centers are a treatment that can be applied either locally or within a
regional context. Application of a regional TMC is typically the case in larger urban areas where
individual TMCs share information back and forth with Regional TMCs. Given the cost of
installing this treatment, it is typically applied in urbanized areas and statewide. However, smaller
traffic operations centers would also be applicable in rural settings. Since TMCs rely on the
availability of field ITS devices to relay information back to a centralized location, the application
of this treatment is confined to roadways with these devices, which are more commonly freeways
and arterials. In addition, it is applied in both recurring and non-recurring congestion situations,
given that the infrastructure to view both exists at all times with this treatment type.
Traffic Adaptive Signal Control/Advanced Signal Systems
This treatment is one that would be more commonly applied on a local basis with the need for
similar control system types among the signalized intersections that make up the traffic-adaptive
signal-control system. This treatment is more challenging to apply at jurisdictional boundaries
where different signal-control equipment types exist. The complexity of operations related to
adaptive signal control is a limiting factor for rural areas where traffic operations staffing is
limited. Also, this treatment is limited to arterials with both recurring and non-recurring congestion
management needs.
OPERATIONS STRATEGIES AND TREATMENTS TO IMPROVE TRAVEL-TIME RELIABILITY Page 80