Intelligent Transportation Systems

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) aid transportation operators and emergency response personnel as they monitor traffic, detect and respond to incidents, and inform the public of traffic conditions via the Internet, roadway devices, and the media.

511DFW


Transportation Systems Management
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Regional ITS Resources

 
Procedure for executing the MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN DALLAS-FORT WORTH REGIONAL INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PARTNERS CONCERNING GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR MULTI-AGENCY COMMUNICATION DATA AND VIDEO SHARING

Provide one original signed MOU packet for NCTCOG records to:
 
NCTCOG
Attention: Eric Quintana
Transportation Department
616 Six Flags Dr.
Arlington TX 76011
 
If the submitting agency wishes to receive paper copies of the MOU, that number of signed original signature pages should be provided to NCTCOG plus the one original MOU for NCTCOG records as requested above.
 
As each agency executes the MOU, the original signature page will be retained with MOUs previously executed and returned to NCTCOG.
 

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act or "FAST Act" requires developing systems to conform with the National ITS Architecture and Standards. The National ITS Architecture is being used in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as a model as the region defines a Regional ITS Architecture. The Regional ITS Architecture underway provides a framework for ITS communication systems integration and interagency information exchange. Following the Regional ITS Architecture will lower design costs, reduce development time, guide future expansion and enhance overall system performance.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area is currently involved in the planning, programming, and implementation of ITS programs and projects. Using the National ITS Architecture as a model, the region has defined a Regional ITS Architecture to guide future deployment and to build consensus for multi-agency systems integration. The installation of a staged communication infrastructure is underway. Traffic monitoring and incident detection and response systems are operating on portions of the freeway system in Dallas and Tarrant Counties. Operation of the TxDOT Dallas District / Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) transportation management center, DalTrans, monitors the freeway conditions, dispatches assistance to stranded motorists on the freeways via Mobility Assistance Patrol, and shares the information about the freeway conditions to the motorists as well as the media. TxDOT Fort Worth District manages and operates TransVISION, the traffic management center in Tarrant County. This Western Subregion center opened in June 2000. The ITS components of the TxDOT traffic management centers include closed circuit television, lane control signals, dynamic message signs, ramp meters, Mobility Assistance Patrol, and traffic flow detectors on the limited-access facilities.

The region is developing integrated arterial and freeway/tollway systems along strategic corridors in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. These corridors include IH 35E, IH 635, Loop 12, SH 183, SH 114, IH 30 (Arlington Entertainment District), SH 360, IH 20, the High Five Interchange in Dallas and the Fort Worth mixmaster. The transit authorities in the region, DART and the Fort Worth Transit Authority, are developing vehicle business systems, including computer automated dispatch and automated vehicle locator systems. The roadway and transit ITS systems are being designed to provide operators and travelers with real-time information on system performance, in an effort to make systems safer, more reliable, and to provide greater choices to travelers (trip mode and trip timing).

Benefits of Intelligent Transportation Systems strategies include a reduction in recurring traffic congestion of over 68,000 person hours per day. An additional reduction of over 123,000 person hours per day is estimated, due to expected reductions in the number and duration of traffic incidents and accidents. Transportation system capacity increases as high as 30 percent have been realized by implementing these types of transportation management strategies, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of the entire transportation system. In addition, benefits will include fuel savings and air pollution reduction, safer streets and highways, and reductions in maintenance costs.

Regional Links

To view real-time traveler information in the Dallas-Fort Worth region