Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Appendices
Agency Institutional Requirements
In this appendix, specific institutional treatments are identified to improve travel time reliability
based on the SHRP 2 L06 project findings. The key drivers that impact agencies’ development
levels are different from the future alternative scenarios presented in Chapter 4. The agencies
development (maturity) level is defined in terms of institutional organization and how their
Systems Operations and Management (SO&M) activities are handled. Three development levels
are identified as follows:
• Development Level 1 – Ad Hoc: Systems Operations and Management (SO&M) activities
are accommodated on an ad hoc and informal basis, usually as part of maintenance or
capital project arrangements in response to congestion problems.
• Development Level 2 – Rationalized: In this level, SO&M is considered a distinct activity
with adjustments in arrangements, resources and roles to better manage each of the SO&M
features.
• Development Level 3 – Mainstreamed: In the highest level there has been real institutional
change, and improving travel time reliability through SO&M has been adopted as a core
mission, with appropriate formal and standardized agreements aiming to support
continuous improvement of the implemented programs.
Advancement up the ladder of these three development levels will be influenced by the following
key institutional drivers:
• Anticipated Major Traffic Impacts (e.g., Olympics, auto races)
• Unanticipated Major Weather Events (e.g., snow storms, hurricanes, tornados)
• Financial Incentives (e.g., dedicated funds towards ITS programs)
• New Regional Political Configuration (e.g., MPOs, local governments)
If agencies experiences one of these key drivers, they are likely to move to one or another of these
levels. Events such as these can present a “window of opportunity” that can help move agencies
towards the development level 3 (which represents the ideal agency organization). The institutional
treatments presented in this section should be viewed as applicable to all three alternative future
scenarios and the level of implementation of each treatment is determined by the impact of each
scenario on the institutional key drivers.
In summary, agencies could aim to grow from development level 1 to development level 3 in all
three future scenarios. The treatments to be implemented are the same, but the circumstances and
the intensity of each institutional key driver are different. The recommended strategies for
Objective 1 – Improve agency management, organization, and resource allocation for all three
future scenarios are shown in Table E.1.
STRATEGY FRAMEWORK FOR AGENCY MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION Page E-2