Projects
The Regional ITS Architecture provides a starting point for project definition. It provides an overall framework that shows how anticipated projects will integrate with each other and with existing systems. This page lists all the ITS projects that have been mapped to the regional ITS architecture.
| Project | Status | Timeframe | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 Active Traffic Management/Dynamic Lane Management Concept Development | Planned | Near Term | Concept development in preparation for implementation of an Active Traffic Management solution on the southern section of Interstate 435 to manage traffic congestion in AM/PM peak periods. Active traffic management (ATM) is the ability to dynamically manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion based on prevailing and predicted traffic conditions. Focusing on trip reliability, it maximizes the effectiveness and efficiency of the facility. It increases throughput and safety through the use of integrated systems with new technology to optimize performance. ATM implementations focus on influencing travel behavior with respect to lane/facility choices and operations. ATM strategies can be deployed singularly to address a specific need such as the utilizing adaptive ramp metering to control traffic flow or can be combined to meet system-wide needs of congestion management, traveler information, and safety resulting in synergistic performance gains. Conduct feasibility study and concept development of ATM implementation on I-435. The scope of work will include: - Feasibility Study - Concept of Operations Development - High-Level Requirements Definition - Recommendations Report |
| 1.2 Regional Network Communications Plan Development | Planned | Near Term | Transportation data is on the boundary of significant growth with the emergence of connected vehicles which will generate massive amounts of data about roadway conditions, pavement conditions, incidents, traffic flow, and many other data points. This data is of value to transportation agency operations by providing a higher resolution of information for decision making. To be ready for this opportunity, the region's communications system needs to be capable of handling the volume and latency requirements of the data being exchanged. A uniform communications capacity and throughput should be established to properly support these activities. The Regional Communications Plan will evaluate and define the regional communications bandwidth and performance requirements for the next 20 years and make recommendations on communications infrastructure improvements needed to address the requirements. This study and concept development needs to be thought of as regional, multimodal, and not agency-specific. |
| 1.3 Work Zone Management and Safety | Planned | Near Term | Implement tools to improve the safety and efficiency of work zones. Tools such as cameras to monitor conditions in the work zone, speed warning signs to alert drivers, signs and other means to inform travelers about the work zone. The project may also give maintenance and construction crews improved control over traffic flow, including local signal control and advanced lane barrier systems. |
| 2.1 Intermittent Transit Vehicle Shoulder Running | Planned | Near Term | Intermittent Shoulder Running for Transit Vehicles can improve schedule adherence in congested conditions. To be done safely and with public knowledge of the rules, signage and lane controls are needed to guide its operation. |
| 2.2 Performance Monitoring System - Freeway | Planned | Mid Term | This project will implement performance monitoring on the freeway system in Kansas City to collect data, analyze it and make recommendations on operational improvements. Performance Monitoring uses information collected from detectors and sensors, and operational data feeds from centers to support performance monitoring and other uses of historical data including transportation planning, condition monitoring, safety analyses, and research. The information may be probe data information obtained from vehicles in the network to determine network performance measures such as speed and travel times, or it may be information collected from the vehicles and processed by the infrastructure, e.g. environmental data and infrastructure conditions monitoring data. Additional data are collected including accident data, road condition data, road closures and other operational decisions to provide context for measured transportation performance and additional safety and mobility-related measures. More complex performance measures may be derived from the collected data. |
| 2.3 Performance Monitoring System - Transit | Planned | Mid Term | This project will implement performance monitoring on the transit system in Kansas City to collect data, analyze it and make recommendations on operational improvements. Performance Monitoring uses information collected from detectors and sensors, and operational data feeds from centers to support performance monitoring and other uses of historical data including transportation planning, condition monitoring, safety analyses, and research. The information may be schedule adherence or transit probe data information obtained from transit vehicles in the network to determine network performance measures such as speed and travel times, or it may be information collected from the vehicles and processed by the infrastructure, e.g. environmental data and infrastructure conditions monitoring data. Additional data are collected including accident data and other operational decisions to provide context for measured transportation performance and additional safety and mobility-related measures. More complex performance measures may be derived from the collected data. |
| 2.4 Performance Monitoring System - Arterial | Planned | Mid Term | This project will implement performance monitoring on the arterial system in Kansas City to collect data, analyze it and make recommendations on operational improvements. Performance Monitoring uses information collected from detectors and sensors, and operational data feeds from centers to support performance monitoring and other uses of historical data including transportation planning, condition monitoring, safety analyses, and research. The information may be probe data information obtained from vehicles in the network to determine network performance measures such as speed and travel times, or it may be information collected from the vehicles and processed by the infrastructure, e.g. environmental data and infrastructure conditions monitoring data. Additional data are collected including accident data, road condition data, road closures and other operational decisions to provide context for measured transportation performance and additional safety and mobility-related measures. More complex performance measures may be derived from the collected data. |
| 2.5 Active Traffic Management/Dynamic Lane Management Design and Development | Planned | Mid Term | Develop and deploy Active Traffic Management solution on the southern section of Interstate 435 to manage traffic congestion in AM/PM peak periods. Active traffic management (ATM) is the ability to dynamically manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion based on prevailing and predicted traffic conditions. Focusing on trip reliability, it maximizes the effectiveness and efficiency of the facility. It increases throughput and safety through the use of integrated systems with new technology to optimize performance. ATM approaches focus on influencing travel behavior with respect to lane/facility choices and operations. ATM strategies can be deployed singularly to address a specific need such as the utilizing adaptive ramp metering to control traffic flow or can be combined to meet system-wide needs of congestion management, traveler information, and safety resulting in synergistic performance gains. Example strategies include: Dynamic Lane Use Control: This strategy involves dynamically closing or opening of individual traffic lanes as warranted and providing advance warning of the closure(s) (typically through dynamic lane control signs), in order to safely merge traffic into adjoining lanes. In an ATDM approach, as the network is continuously monitored, real-time incident and congestion data is used to control the lane use ahead of the lane closure(s) and dynamically manage the location to reduce rear-end and other secondary crashes. Dynamic Merge Control: This strategy (also known as dynamic late merge or dynamic early merge) consists of dynamically managing the entry of vehicles into merge areas with a series of advisory messages (e.g., displayed on a dynamic message sign [DMS] or lane control sign) approaching the merge point that prepare motorists for an upcoming merge and encouraging or directing a consistent merging behavior. Applied conditionally during congested (or near congested) conditions, dynamic merge control can help create or maintain safe merging gaps and reduce shockwaves upstream of merge points. In an ATDM approach, conditions on the mainline lanes and ramps approaching merge areas are continuously monitored and the dynamic merge system will be activated dynamically based on real-time and anticipated congestion conditions. Dynamic Shoulder Lanes: This strategy enables the use of the shoulder as a travel lane(s), known as Hard Shoulder Running (HSR) or temporary shoulder use, based on congestion levels during peak periods and in response to incidents or other conditions as warranted during non-peak periods. In contrast to a static time-of-day schedule for using a shoulder lane, an ATDM approach continuously monitors conditions and uses real-time and anticipated congestion levels to determine the need for using a shoulder lane as a regular or special purpose travel lane (e.g., transit only). Dynamic Speed Limits: This strategy adjusts speed limits based on real-time traffic, roadway, and/or weather conditions. Dynamic speed limits can either be enforceable (regulatory) speed limits or recommended speed advisories, and they can be applied to an entire roadway segment or individual lanes. In an ATDM approach, real-time and anticipated traffic conditions are used to adjust the speed limits dynamically to meet an agency's goals/objectives for safety, mobility, or environmental impacts. |
| 2.6 Event and Incident Management Improvements | Planned | Mid Term | Expand upon deployment of DMS, increased collection and sharing of traffic images, and improved information sharing among agencies. Implement systems to improve real-time communications among emergency responders and traffic management to coordinate event traffic management plans, respond to incidents, share CCTV video feeds, and provide travelers with congestion, parking and alternative mode information. |
| 3.1 Snow Plow Operations Coordination | Planned | Mid Term | Snow Plow Operations involved every agency in the region during snow storms. To travelers, road jurisdictions do not exist and coordinated snow plow operations can improve road conditions available throughout the region. |
| 3.2 Connected and Automated Vehicle Support Plan Development | Planned | Mid Term | Develop a plan for supporting connected and automated vehicles in the Kansas City region. The plan should specifically identify initial deployment opportunities within the region as first steps. Numerous functional definitions of connected and autonomous vehicle opportunities have been defined in the 2018 Kansas City ITS Architecture that can be used to scope the candidates and develop the institutional framework within which the projects will be implemented. The deployment of vehicle to infrastructure equipment will be necessary to realize many of the connected vehicle applications. The plan should evolutionary in nature providing guidance on attainable implementations and establishing the supporting infrastructure required to sustain deployment. |
| 3.3 Mobility Hubs | Planned | Mid Term | Mobility hubs are central places or districts that act as converging points for public transit and an integrated suite of mobility services, scaled for their respective environments and functions. Mobility hubs are also areas where there is an intensive concentration of working, living, shopping and/or playing in the form of mixed-use development. Mobility hubs serve three critical roles in the new Smart Moves 3.0 system: origin, destination and transfer point. |
| 3.4 Transit Signal Priority | Planned | Mid Term | At this time, all TSP is executed at the intersection, locally. This project will implement the transit vehicle and operations systems required to properly assess and communicate the signal priority request. It will be a collaboration between RideKC/KCATA and the various traffic signal operators in the metropolitan area. Transit Signal Priority is easily accomplished with technology today but the impact on the signal system operation is the challenge. To operate efficiently, transit signal priority requires information about passenger count and transit route schedule performance be evaluated against agreed upon criteria to justify the priority request to the signal system operator. In situations where there is no justification for the priority request yet the request is still made, the relationship between transit and the traffic signal system is negatively affected. To lower the impact of signal priority on the traffic signal system, the establishment of priority request criteria must be established between transit and traffic operations. The criteria will include passenger count and schedule adherence which will be evaluated against the criteria on the transit vehicle prior to the signal priority request being made. This will require passenger counting systems, transit vehicle tracking for schedule adherence, processing of the priority request criteria, and communication of the request to traffic operations. |
| 3.5 SPaT Challenge - Intersection Approach Countdown - KCMO | Future | Mid Term | Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) data is supported in the connected vehicle environment through the deployment of roadside equiipment and onboard equipment in the vehicle to exchange signal timing data. The Eco-Approach and Departure at Signalized Intersections service package, upon which this project is based, uses wireless data communications sent from a connected vehicle roadside equipment (RSE) unit to connected vehicles to encourage "green" approaches to and departures from signalized intersections. The vehicle collects intersection geometry information and signal phase movement information using V2I communications and data from nearby vehicles using V2V communications. Upon receiving this information, the service performs calculations to provide speed advice to the driver, allowing the driver to adapt the vehicle's speed to pass the next traffic signal on green or to decelerate to a stop in the most eco-friendly manner. The service package also considers a vehicle's acceleration as it departs from a signalized intersection. In basic applications, this service provides a countdown to the signal change from green to yellow or red to green allowing the driver to adjust their vehicle speed to approach and depart the intersection in an optimal manner. The SPaT challenge is organized by the National Operations Center of Excellence to encourage DSRC device deployment in all states. This particular service is not the only one supported with this technology implementation so more applications can be added in the future using the same RSE and OBE implementations. |
| 3.6 SPaT Challenge - Intersection Approach Countdown - Olathe | Future | Mid Term | Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) data is supported in the connected vehicle environment through the deployment of roadside equiipment and onboard equipment in the vehicle to exchange signal timing data. The Eco-Approach and Departure at Signalized Intersections service package, upon which this project is based, uses wireless data communications sent from a connected vehicle roadside equipment (RSE) unit to connected vehicles to encourage "green" approaches to and departures from signalized intersections. The vehicle collects intersection geometry information and signal phase movement information using V2I communications and data from nearby vehicles using V2V communications. Upon receiving this information, the service performs calculations to provide speed advice to the driver, allowing the driver to adapt the vehicle's speed to pass the next traffic signal on green or to decelerate to a stop in the most eco-friendly manner. The service package also considers a vehicle's acceleration as it departs from a signalized intersection. In basic applications, this service provides a countdown to the signal change from green to yellow or red to green allowing the driver to adjust their vehicle speed to approach and depart the intersection in an optimal manner. The SPaT challenge is organized by the National Operations Center of Excellence to encourage DSRC device deployment in all states. This particular service is not the only one supported with this technology implementation so more applications can be added in the future using the same RSE and OBE implementations. |
| 3.7 SPaT Challenge - Intersection Approach Countdown - Overland Park | Future | Mid Term | Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) data is supported in the connected vehicle environment through the deployment of roadside equiipment and onboard equipment in the vehicle to exchange signal timing data. The Eco-Approach and Departure at Signalized Intersections service package, upon which this project is based, uses wireless data communications sent from a connected vehicle roadside equipment (RSE) unit to connected vehicles to encourage "green" approaches to and departures from signalized intersections. The vehicle collects intersection geometry information and signal phase movement information using V2I communications and data from nearby vehicles using V2V communications. Upon receiving this information, the service performs calculations to provide speed advice to the driver, allowing the driver to adapt the vehicle's speed to pass the next traffic signal on green or to decelerate to a stop in the most eco-friendly manner. The service package also considers a vehicle's acceleration as it departs from a signalized intersection. In basic applications, this service provides a countdown to the signal change from green to yellow or red to green allowing the driver to adjust their vehicle speed to approach and depart the intersection in an optimal manner. The SPaT challenge is organized by the National Operations Center of Excellence to encourage DSRC device deployment in all states. This particular service is not the only one supported with this technology implementation so more applications can be added in the future using the same RSE and OBE implementations. |
| 4.1 Data Distribution System/Data Portal | Planned | Mid Term | Transportation data is available in numerous systems throughout the Kansas City region. There is potential in the data that can be leveraged by organizations beyond the public sector. These opportunities can lead to transformative product developments that move the region forward without the constraints of public budgets. This project will establish a data distribution or portal to make transportation data from systems in the region through a single source. |
| 4.2 Intermodal Freight Facility Coordination | Planned | Mid Term | Kansas City is a major intermodal freight hub that brings in and ships out freight on water, rail and roadways. The arrival or departure of freight from these depots can have a disruptive impact on the surface transportation system. This project will establish communication of major freight movement schedules with transportation agencies to coordinate traffic and transit services to minimize the impact on the transportation system. |
| 4.3 Employment Center Coordination | Planned | Long Term | There are major Employment Centers in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. These employment centers are large traffic generators when employees arrive at the work facility or the facility at the same time. This project will establish communication of employment center work schedules with transportation agencies to coordinate traffic and transit services to minimize the impact on the transportation system. |
| 4.4 Regional Parking Management | Planned | Long Term | Finding Parking in Kansas City, especially in the downtown environment, presents a problem for visitors during peak seasons for tourism and activities in the city. The problem is more about finding available parking and not about parking capacity. Parking venues are operated by a number of providers but there is no information for travelers to know where parking is available. The result is vehicles wandering the streets looking for available parking, creating traffic congestion in the process, and disturbing the flow of traffic. Technology exists to monitor parking availability through space monitoring or entry/exit counters. Advanced technology is emerging with connected vehicles that provides direct communication between parking venues and individual vehicles seeking parking. The objective of this project is to work with the parking operators to implement technology or supply data about parking space availability to a central database to inform travelers before departing, en-route or upon arrival in at their destination about parking availability. Connected vehicle applications should also be considered for future expansion. |