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Session 1A: Risk Management/Tort Liability (Room 208) Moderator: James P. Tenaglia, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Moderator: Robert Pento, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
PennDOT has developed a Web-based GIS application to improve road closure (lane restrictions and full closures) information dissemination to the public and other stakeholders. The Road Closure Reporting System (RCRS) will be the standard statewide tool used by all PennDOT engineering districts to ensure consistency and accuracy when reporting road closure information on state highways. For each reported road closure, the RCRS can capture information such as county, SR, beginning and ending point, and the estimated time when the road will be reopened. The implementation of the RCRS will occur in a number of phases over the next few years. Phase I is currently underway and includes the use of the system during major statewide disasters. Phase II will be implemented in the spring of 2007 and will include construction and maintenance activities as well as a public interface. Additional phases will include information such as winter interstate road conditions and detour routes. Session 1C: Design Build (Room 206)Moderator: Steve Rozyckie, Gannett Fleming, Inc.
Design-build best value is a relatively new method of project delivery/procurement. It is based on combining the requirements for designing and constructing a project into one contract. In addition to submitting bids for project cost, prospective design-build teams also submit technical proposals. The technical proposals are evaluated based on evaluation criteria, and scores are compiled. The scores are then used to weigh or adjust the submitted bid price. The contract is awarded to the design-build team with the best value. Stipends are sometimes paid to design-build teams that submit responsive proposals. The presentation will provide a brief overview of current national trends in alternative forms of project delivery/procurement; specific examples of design-build best-value contracting by PennDOT; and insights into issues identified in the development of the procedure adopted by PennDOT. The presentation will address the adopted precontract and postcontract procedures with flowcharting and expected durations. Potential issues for consideration by the contracting agencies and design-build team members will be covered. The presentation will conclude with a look at potential volume of design-build best-value contracting by PennDOT and variations in the best-value component.
The success of a high-technology project is dependent on the selection of the most appropriate contracting approach. This is the case since the contracting approach defines the roles of the project participants, the staging of the project, and the financial incentives utilized to ensure its success. This presentation will describe a process that can be used to select the most appropriate contracting approach for a specific project, based on the project characteristics and the experience of the responsible agency. The relationship of design-build contracting to this process will be discussed, along with the circumstances under which this form of contracting should be considered. Session 1D: Planning's Role in Safety and Operations (Room 106)Moderator: Matthew Smoker, Federal Highway Administration
Consistent with the increased emphasis on safety that was central to SAFETEA-LU, SEDA-Council of Governments has strived to better incorporate safety into the existing transportation planning process. Through its Unified Planning Work Program approved by PennDOT for 2006-2007, SEDA-COG has been collaboratively partnering in the completion of a comprehensive safety review of the eight-county Rural Planning Organization (RPO) region's major corridors, highways, and intersections. The intent of this process is to collaborate with PennDOT, FHWA, and local officials in the review of potential safety projects; identify high-priority locations using crash data tools and localized knowledge; conduct on-site field views of potential safety improvements; systematically prioritize and program safety projects; promote highway safety awareness throughout the region; and coordinate efforts with surrounding planning organizations. A heightened awareness of safety issues and concerns has already ensued from this ongoing effort. This presentation will focus on the collaborative safety review process for the SEDA-COG planning area and the accomplishments/lessons learned to date.
This presentation will be a brief "nonlegal" regional planning partner perspective on transportation planning and litigation. How can a regional transportation plan and the regional planning process be called as a witness for transportation safety-oriented litigation?
In the Philadelphia metropolitan area, agencies are working together to advance ITS and transportation operations projects. Not only does this require coordination among agencies; it also requires cooperation among types of organizations that do not normally work with each other—traffic, transit, and emergency responders. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) has taken the lead in getting agencies to work together and in many instances laid the foundation for others to advance projects. This presentation will highlight some of the more important regional transportation operations initiatives, including development of the regional ITS master plan, integrated corridor management planning, a regional video-sharing initiative, emergency evacuation planning, and development of an interactive detour route mapping system. The issues, coordination, technical problems, and planning involved in these projects will be discussed. Session 2A: Crash Reductions/Meeting Fatality Goals (Room 206)
This presentation will show the steps the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) has initiated to integrate safety into the planning process. DVRPC is a bi-state Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Greater Philadelphia, Camden, and Trenton area. With the additional costs of property damage, injuries, and lost lives associated with transportation safety planning, DVRPC has taken a collaborative and integrative approach. A staff-based Safety Committee was initiated, and a Regional Safety Task Force was established with safety professionals and stakeholders from a variety of agencies in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The task force serves as a conduit to integrating safety-conscious planning at all planning levels and has a central role in the development of the Regional Safety Action Plan. This plan forms the basis for transportation safety projects and programs in the region. The vision and goal setting were derived from a regional collaborative assessment rather than a strict "top down" or "bottom up" process. This method clarifies safety procedures and measures, permitting prioritization and integration of these features into a regional safety-conscious plan. Creating a Regional Safety Action Plan suggests that the safety vision and goals already exist, but require new partnerships and a refocused emphasis to move forward in a regional setting.
Highway traffic fatalities in the United States have historically been declining since reaching a peak in the 1960s. Improvements in the safety features of highway systems, improved vehicle safety, and improved driver behavior all contributed to achieving a historic low fatality rate by 2004. However, this continuing improvement in safety performance has been slowing dramatically, so that it appears that the United States has reached a "plateau" and further reductions in highway deaths are very difficult to achieve. Other countries have experienced similar difficulties in the past, and several have been able to successfully break through these difficult plateaus and renew significant progress toward achieving aggressive goals. This presentation will highlight successes in Victoria, Australia, as well as the institutional, programmatic, leadership, and technical factors contributing to these successes. Session 2B: Work Zone Safety (Room 106)
PennDOT has developed a Transportation Systems Operations Plan (TSOP) to guide statewide efforts pertaining to incident and congestion management, and traveler information. The first of nineteen TSOP projects is the development of an "Inter-Agency Incident Reporting System." This project has been expanded to include development of a software tool that will help integrate incident management activities of PennDOT and other agencies, and facilitate access to other software programs. To accomplish this task, PennDOT is working with the Office of Administration to leverage ongoing statewide efforts.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Staunton Smart Traffic Center (STC) and Charlottesville-Albemarle-University of Virginia CAD integration began an effort in 2005 to regionalize system operations. The Northwestern Region would be expanding from the I-81 corridor to cover the Charlottesville area. In an effort to improve the monitoring and verification of traveler information, VDOT completed a project to integrate the Staunton STC with the City of Charlottesville-Albemarle County-University of Virginia Emergency Communications Center (ECC). This presentation will discuss the institutional arrangement, technical approach, and operations benefits derived from this integration. This project was completed in advance of the statewide regionalization and serves as a model example of local CAD integration for a small urban/rural area.
Innovations in digital video technology and the Internet now facilitate the sharing of video between agencies, their partners in incident/emergency management, and the general public. DOTs are faced with a myriad of decisions as they seek to provide their video imagery to their key agency partners. From camera types to field communications to digital encoding standards, video distribution is a complex proposition, yet one that must be addressed in this age of "on-demand" information. Of particular interest to DOTs is the role of the private sector. What role can the private sector play as DOTs seek to provide video imagery to an increasingly broad number and variety of user groups? Session 2C: A "Roundabout" Way of Improving Traffic and Safety (Room 105)
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is relatively new to the roundabout scene. Our Roundabout Publication 414 was developed in May 2001, but we have only recently started pursuing roundabouts as a design alternative for intersections. The purpose of this presentation is to outline PennDOT's perspective on current policy and discuss our plans for roundabouts in Pennsylvania. Topics such as software usage, public involvement, and research projects will be briefly discussed.
Session 2D: Growth Management—Panel Discussion (Room 208)
This session will examine growth management in Pennsylvania. It will include an overview of growth management laws in the Commonwealth, which will be illustrated with examples of growth management policies used in southeastern Pennsylvania.
With the unique combination of a strong commercial base in the King of Prussia Mall, high-tech industries such as Lockheed Martin and GlaxoSmithKline, a seven-mile-plus riverfront, and plentiful open space, Upper Merion Township has among the lowest taxes in Montgomery County and is highly ranked as a tourist destination and a desirable residential address. The fuel that drives this growth and development is available and accessible transportation. Other standards practices such as proper fiscal stewardship, comprehensive ordinances, and concern for the citizens' welfare have made the township a unique community. The population has remained relatively stable, traffic and transportation issues are being met, and land is being preserved. Much of the sustained yet regulated growth has been monitored by quasi-independent authorities who exercise fiscal constraints over transportation and sewers that match future needs. | ||
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an outreach program of the College of Engineering and the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center | |||
