Transportation Management Center Concepts of Operations

proceeded, step-by-step, and of how improvements can be achieved isbeneficial. This includes both planned events (such as parades) and unplannedevents (such as traffic incidents).Good examples include the detailed plans prepared by Houston Metro’s lawenforcement staff at the TranStar control center detailing freeway, arterial,transit, and crowd control plans for major events such as the annual Rodeo.Center-to-center coordination is of even greater importance for traffic signalsystems. Where neighboring centers control signals along a primary signalizedcorridor, coordination is critical to achieving optimal flow conditions. Interactionmay take place in real time or may only be necessary if conditions are changing inthe centers, such as for special events or construction-related lane closures.Benefits ofTransportationManagementCenters2-8Transportation management centers provide numerous benefits. Studies to datehave yet to separate the benefits of a transportation management system itselffrom the benefits of housing the system in a center. Several benefits specific tosystems with a dedicated center are demonstrated:• TMC centers provide enhanced communication in all aspects of transportationmanagement (planning, design, implementation, operation, maintenance)when the involved parties are co-located in the center. This includes bothdaily communication, and communication for special circumstances such asspecial events or an unusually severe incident.• Similarly, if each of the participating agencies had to staff its own full-timeposition when managing separately, total cost might exceed that realized bysharing responsibilities between fewer staff.• A dedicated facility is often able to justify investment in assets which increasethe overall system reliability (such as an uninterruptable power supply withdiesel generator backup power) but would notbe practical for distributed sites. This alsoapplies to special skills, such as databaseor network administration or configurationmanagement, which may onlybe justifiable for the larger facility.• Agencies working closely togetherin a TMC typically produce a moreconsistent, unified response to asituation, increasing the overalleffectiveness of the transportationresources.Additional benefits information for manytypes ofITS programs supported by TMCscan be found in “Intelligent TransportatiionSystems Benefits: 1999 Update,” preparedby Mitretek for the USDOT (EDL number8323).Benefits Target theTraveling Public