Traffic Safety Workshop

Stafford County, Virginia Partners With I-95 Corridor Coalition for Traffic Safety Workshop

May 28, 2010
Source: http://stafford.va.us/News/2010/May/

 The Stafford Department of Fire and Rescue has joined forces with the I-95 Corridor Coalition to figure out how to solve traffic incident issues in the region. The agencies will conduct a workshop to be held on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Stafford Hospital Center’s Education and Training Center, 101 Hospital Center Boulevard in Stafford.

“Traffic congestion and accidents are major issues in our region, and any impediment to the smooth flow of traffic along the interstate and Jefferson Davis Highway can have a major impact on commuters and their families,” said Stafford Fire and Rescue Chief Rob Brown. “Roads can be shut down for hours, parents can’t get home to their children, and public safety personnel can have a difficult time maneuvering in traffic jams. Our goal is to learn how to clear road incidents quickly and safely to get drivers moving again.”

Several agencies are scheduled to attend the workshop including members of the Stafford Fire and Rescue Department, Stafford Sheriff’s Office, Fredericksburg Police Department, Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office, Quantico Fire and Rescue, Fairfax Fire and Rescue and the Fairfax County Police Department, Hanover Fire and Rescue, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Transportation, and several employees of local towing and wrecking services.

The workshop is targeted toward upper and middle managers who are directly responsible for implementing laws, policies, procedures, and who supervise first responders. They will learn how to quickly clear traffic incidents including best practices and lessons learned from other public safety agencies.

The I-95 Corridor Coalition is an alliance of transportation agencies, toll authorities, and related organizations, including public safety, from Maine to Florida, with affiliate members in Canada. The Coalition provides a forum for key decision and policy makers to address transportation management and operations issues of common interest. Stafford has been a member of the coalition for almost two years.

Multi-State Traffic Incident Info Exchange

Southern Traffic Incident eXchange (STIX) Benefits the Traveling Public

“The state boundary lines have faded as traffic information is now exchanged efficiently across the borders of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Thanks to the STIX program, the lines of communication for traffic and incident management across state lines have opened and the results are improved safety and traffic flow.” – Tom Martin, Operations Program Coordinator, I-95 Corridor Coalition

The Southern States (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina) are now sharing information to better inform motorists about traffic conditions when crossing state lines. The Program was implemented by the I-95 Corridor Coalition on April 1, 2008 to share traffic information among all Southern States for major incidents, planned special events, emergencies, and natural disasters. No such program previously existed. All four states have signed letters of participation or a memorandum of understanding committing to participate in STIX, and the program is having a direct positive impact on safety and mobility for the region. Many representatives from each of the four states participate in STIX including incident debriefings, and the overall program is supported by the Georgia Department of Transportation State Traffic Operations Engineer, the Florida Department of Transportation Chief Engineer, the North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation Deputy State Highway Engineer.

The central communications hub of the STIX program is located at the Atlanta, Georgia Transportation Management Center where operators collect and distribute STIX information 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week. For ease in communication, information can be delivered via email (stix@dot.ga.gov) or telephone (877-HWY-STIX).

Since the Program’s inception, and as of June, 2010, there have been 60 STIX activations which helped motorists make informed decisions and alerted incident responders about potential increased traffic volumes. Examples include:

• In 2008, there were numerous activations affecting Florida and Georgia with the wildfires in Orlando, Florida (that shut down parts of I-95), tropical depression Fay, Hurricane Gustav, and tropical storm Hanna.
• In 2009, there were major wildfires at the Georgia/Florida Stateline lasting for several days that shut down parts of I-75 and I-10; Presidential Inauguration traffic planning with an estimated 1.8 million people traveling to Washington DC; winter snow storm activity that heavily impacted Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina; several major fatal incidents that caused interstate closures near the state boundaries of South Carolina and Georgia; and rockslides in North Carolina that resulted in lane closures for months.
• In 2010, a 20’ x 30’ sinkhole on the Georgia/South Carolina state border caused lane closures and traffic detours for five days, road construction affecting South Carolina and Georgia, and large-scale incidents affecting Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Most effectively, the STIX stakeholders in all four states are meeting continuously face-to-face and via Webinars to continue communications and share information. This relationship building has proved to be most effective during times of emergency-related events. The multi-state communication has occurred with:

• Regular monthly meetings with the STIX program management team and GDOT TMC Operations management and staff.
• An After Accident Review (AAR) to debrief the winter snowstorms which occurred in Charlotte, North Carolina with representatives from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Georgia Department of Transportation, South Carolina Transportation, North Carolina Highway Patrol and South Carolina Highway Patrol.
• Visits to Florida as part of a continuing outreach effort to encourage use of the program and to facilitate face-to-face meetings among stakeholders. The visit began in Tallahassee where the group met with stakeholders at the Florida Department of Transportations (FDOT) Traffic Engineering Research Lab (TERL) and included a visit to the Jacksonville Regional TMC, where the group met with Jacksonville TMC representatives and conducted a videoconference with other TMC personnel from the entire state. Recent Jacksonville STIX activations were debriefed.
• STIX representatives met in Columbia, South Carolina to improve coordination among the states. State representatives from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina included the State’s ITS Coordinators, Incident Management Managers, State Operation Engineers, Safety and Systems Engineers, and TMC Operations Managers and Supervisors.
• Recently, a Hurricane Evacuation Webinar was conducted among all four states to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. Representatives included Georgia Department of Transportation State Maintenance Engineer, Highway Emergency Response Operators Manager, and TMC Operations Manager; North Carolina Department of Transportation Statewide Incident Management Coordinator; South Carolina Safety and Systems Engineer and Statewide Incident Management Coordinator; and Florida Department of Transportation Statewide Traffic Incident Management and Road Rangers Manager. The Webinar included evacuation plans for each state, information sharing on state border situations, and contact methods to share information during the hurricane.

View STIX Newsletter.

2040 Vision

A 2040 Vision for the I-95 Coalition Region: Supporting Economic Growth in a Carbon-Constrained Environment

The I-95 Corridor Coalition's Long Range Strategic Vision project (view) formulated and analyzed a transportation vision for the entire region – one which accommodates key values and issues related to a global economy, climate change, energy, and quality of life, while re-examining the traditional modal mix and service options available for passenger and freight movement in the corridor.

The Vision report shows the implications of continuing with "Business as Usual" and, alternatively, the impact of bold strategies for accommodating mobility and economic development, with an emphasis on reducing energy usage and the carbon footprint. With the implementation of the bold strategies outlined in the report, economic growth will be supported by improved system performance. Major highway and rail bottlenecks will be removed, and delay on urban Interstates will be reduced by 46 percent. The region will also be on path to achieve GHG emissions reductions of 60 to 80 percent by 2050 (as compared to 2005 levels).

The I-95 Coalition 2040 Vision was developed based on long-term trends and, even with the recent short-term fluctuations in the economy, the Vision's projections are still valid assumptions for the longer term 2040 vision period.  The Vision study assumed that the region's long term growth would rebound following the current severe economic downturn, albeit at a lower rate of growth than previously forecast.  Importantly, the region's more modest economic and travel growth assumptions were developed in the context of significantly reduced fossil fuel use and dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

2040 Vision for I-95 Region Executive Summary: View
2040 Vision for I-95 Region Full Report: View

Improved Freight Movement

FHWA & I-95 Corridor Coalition Release Report on Multi-State Institutions for Implementing Improved Freight Movement in the U.S.

The Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Freight Management and Operations, in conjunction with the I-95 Corridor Coalition, has released a White Paper on Multi-State Institutions for Implementing Improved Freight Movement in the U.S. Accompanying this White Paper is a summary of a Roundtable held to obtain advice from a group of national experts about potential multi-state institutional arrangements to improve freight corridor performance. This work is intended to serve as a background piece to help practitioners and policymakers think through solution sets.

The White Paper describes eight types of institutional options, illustrated by 80 examples. The assessment of institutional models suggests several principles that could be used to determine which institutional arrangements might be most appropriate to meet multi-state transportation needs under differing circumstances, and illustrates how these principles might be applied in order to help improve the performance of multi-state freight corridors Finally, the paper offers an analysis of institutional implications of the House Committee’s 2009 Surface Transportation Freight Authorization Provisions.

The White Paper and Roundtable Summary can be found at the links below:

View Roundtable Summary

View Whitepaper Paper