Official Informal Briefing Minutes

Tuesday, September 3, 2019 – 10:30 AM Present: Charlotte J. Nash, Jace W. Brooks, Ben Ku, Tommy Hunter, Marlene M. Fosque

1. Transportation

Connected Vehicle Technology Transportation Director Alan Chapman and Deputy Director Tom Sever provided an overview of connected vehicle technology projects. No official action taken.

Connected Vehicle

Initiatives

September 3, 2019

• Safety benefits for first responders

• Automakers are planning to produce vehicles with this technology

• Safety benefits for all road users

• Potential to improve traffic flow

• GDOT is deploying this technology on state routes in metro Atlanta

Why Should We Pursue Connected Vehicle Technology?

https://www.its.dot.gov

• Background

oGwinnett County Infrastructure

oConnected Vehicle Basics

• Connected Vehicle Technology Master Plan

• Future

oGwinnett Smart Corridor Pilot Project

Agenda

• 729 Traffic Signals

• Over 550 (~75%) communicate with Traffic Control Center

• Over 230 miles of fiber optic cable

• More than 260 CCTV cameras

• Over 220 flashing beacon locations

• Continued Expansion of Advanced Traffic Management System

“Connected Vehicles Can Sense and Communicate Things Drivers Cannot” - USDOT

So, what is a Connected Vehicle…

Definitions

Automated Vehicles are vehicles that are capable of sensing their environment and navigating without human input.

Connected Vehicles are vehicles that use wireless communication technologies to communicate with roadside infrastructure, the driver, other cars on the road, and other devices, such as mobile phones.

Source: USDOT. Connected Vehicles Pilot Deployment Program

Vehicles to Infrastructure (V2I) • Red Light Warning

oDriver Alert

• Pedestrian in Crosswalk Alert oDriver Alert

• Restricted Lane Warning oDriver Alert

oAgency Response and Safety

• Emergency Vehicle Signal Preemption oAgency Response, Safety, and

Coordination

oDriver Alert

Connected Vehicle

Technology Master Plan

Why create this plan? • Supplement the County’s existing transportation plans by

focusing on connected vehicle infrastructure

• Identify the potential safety and mobility benefits available with deployment of connected vehicle infrastructure

• Understand the current state of the technology and the plans of automakers

• Prepare for the Smart Corridor pilot located along PIB

• Provide guidance for future projects

How to develop the plan?

• Awarded one of the inaugural Georgia Smart Communities Challenge grants

• Matched with County SPLOST funds

• Included research and data analysis conducted by Georgia Tech faculty

Goals for the plan

• Have broad applicability across the County, Atlanta region, and the State of Georgia

• Understand the needs and challenges to ensure regional and statewide compatibility for road users

• Establish guidelines for deploying a new and evolving technology

• Set the standard for the implementation of connected vehicle technology for a local government

• Gwinnett County

• AECOM

• Georgia Tech

• Stakeholders − Public Safety

− GDOT

− Cities

− Community

Improvement Districts

Project Team

Project Timeline • September 2018: Project initiation (Georgia Tech Workshop)

• October 2018: Local stakeholder kick-off meeting

• November 2018: Technology review meeting

• January 2019: Connected Vehicle applications identification meeting

• March 2019: Connected Vehicle applications completion meeting

• April 2019: Regional Connected Vehicle stakeholder workshop as part of Ga Smart site visit

• Summer 2019: Data collection and evaluation

• August 2019: Connected Vehicle Technology Master Plan completion

• September 2019: Final presentation at Georgia Tech

• Location and nature of the transportation issues

• Priority

Stakeholder Meetings

Project Actions • Interviewed peer agencies that had already installed or are

planning to install connected vehicle infrastructure

−RenewATL

−City of Marietta

−Cobb County DOT

Project Actions • Meetings with GDOT to coordinate on

technical issues and standards

• GDOT-funded opportunities

−Connected vehicle software

−Roadside Unit (RSU) device testing

−Expansion of GDOT’s deployment of roadside units in Gwinnett County by 56 intersections

Source: GDOT

Benefits of the process • Learned about transportation challenges from stakeholders

• Explained the technologies and systems at a conceptual level

• Provided overview of industry trends and opportunities

• Developed a 5 year deployment plan for connected vehicle applications and technologies

• Refined the scope of the Smart Corridor pilot project

−Expansion from PIB signals to more roads west of I-85

−Status of the desired connected vehicle applications

5-Year Deployment Plan

• Identification of connected vehicle applications that could be deployed in pilot project and which needed more development

• Understanding of which applications would need support from other parties

Georgia Tech Research

Actions & Results

Research Focus • Evaluate the potential for

improvements in safety and response time for emergency vehicles

• Focus on fire apparatus at stations within the pilot project area

• Develop strategies for maximizing benefits and minimizing impacts

Photo Credit: https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/10/us/georgia-firefighters-hostage/index.html

Traffic Signal controller receives a message from an emergency vehicle as it approaches intersection

• Signal transitions to green light

• Limited to line of sight

Preemption using connected vehicle technology

• Potential for multi-signal preemption

• Clear traffic in advance of emergency vehicle arrival

• Minimize impacts to normal traffic flow

Emergency Vehicle Preemption

Photo credits

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/GPS-and-ZigBee-based-traffic-signal-preemption-Kodire-

Bhaskaran/b1d0e1034d5c147b44f6fcb51ab06d722b30acaa

Bottleneck analysis to identify congestion hotspots for

• Emergency vehicles

• Normal traffic flow

Delay pattern analysis along

the paths used by emergency

vehicles

Research Outputs

• GPS data collection on 17 trucks/engines/med-units from 6 Fire Stations

• GT equipment deployed on Gwinnett county fire vehicles

• 1 month of second by second location data

Data

Image credit: https://www.flaticon.com

• Lack of existing high resolution location data

• Lack of network connectivity for transfer of traffic signal data

• GPS data collection – unit placement and hardware failure

Challenges

GPS Data

Attributes

Latitude

Longitude

Time/Date

Speed

Bearing

Fire station Response location

Off-Route Filters

400 foot radius

< 7 mph over 4 contiguous

minutes

Assumption: vehicle won’t stop at signal for ≥ 4 min

Vehicle off route locations

Determine intersection signal status for approaching Emergency Vehicle

Traffic Signal Association

Delay associated with each phase of each traffic signal for arrival on Green

and arrival on Red

ApproachDirection +

Turn

Traffic Signal status

Source: https://scontent-lga3-

1.cdninstagram.com/vp/53b9b59278562134ef5158ed68c1a66d/5D8F0C98/t51.2885-

15/sh0.08/e35/c187.0.706.706a/s640x640/59539218_582529692240756_8753518016090905294_n.jpg?_nc_

ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

Smart Community Corps student

• On-site at the Gwinnett Traffic Control Center

• Streamlined the process for data transfer for the traffic signal data to GT on a regular basis

• Developed data fusion API for GPS and Signal status data

Civic Data Science team

• Performed Bottleneck Analysis using GPS and Signal data

Georgia Tech Student Engagement

PIB Intersections Phase Vehicle-days of

data Average of speed

PEACHTREE CORNERS EAST 4 70 7

REPS MILLER RD 6 79 2

TECHNOLOGY PKWY SOUTH 6 81 8

MEDLOCK BRIDGE RD 6 91 4

SOUTH OLD PEACHTREE RD 6 119 8

HIGHWOODS CENTER 6 117 13

Preliminary Results

• Solve real problems

• Coordinate with GDOT, since connected vehicle functions should be boundary-less

• Recognize that plan flexibility is necessary due to the speed of technology evolution

• Budget time and finances for system field testing, O&M, and

security certification

• Lessons learned: Identifying key data needs early in the project is critical to success of short term data-heavy projects

Project Recommendations

Gwinnett's connected vehicle technology master plan is not only one of the most advanced in the country and a model for other communities, their approach is strongly grounded in innovative research, education, and stakeholder engagement.

Debra Lam,

Managing Director, Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation

Final Thought

Smart Corridor

Pilot Project

Project Overview $2.6 Million

Completion in 2020

Approximately 75 signalized intersections

Emergency and Maintenance Vehicles

5.3 miles of fiber-optic cable replacement

Software for connected vehicle applications

Innovation solution component

Budget

Timeline

Scale

On-board units

Fiber

Software

Innovation

34

LEGEND

Project Signals

Gwinnett County Turnkey Contract (78)

Future – reference purpose only (1)

Fire Stations

Railroads

Gwinnett County Bus Transit Lines

State Highways

Expressways

Shared Use Paths

Markers

Other Traffic Signals – for

reference purpose only

GDOT Providing RSU (103)

Gwinnett County (76)

State Route (21)

Future (2)

Gwinnett County signal with RSUs

funded separately (18)

Planned GDOT DSRC Signals

Peachtree Industrial Boulevard

Preliminary, subject to changes in advance of issuing the RFP.

• Turnkey Solution Delivery

• 6 Fire Stations west of I-85 for EV Preemption

• Multiple Local Transit Routes

• Major Parallel Routes to I-85

• Major East-West Routes

Fiber Upgrade

Smart Corridor Connected Vehicle Applications • Emergency vehicle preemption

• Transit signal priority

• Pedestrian presence notification

• Railroad crossing status

• Construction and maintenance activity notification

• Signal timing and phasing information

35

Crite

ria

Quick Impact to Public Benefit

Value Added to Project

Mobility Improvement

Safety Improvement

Goal: • Provide industry with opportunity

to showcase innovation

Would include: • All field equipment, software and

3-years of support

Best Practices: • Points for following standards

Innovation Component

36

Smart Corridor RFP Next Steps Date Event

Friday, March 29 Preliminary plan package for review

Mid-April: Pre-RFP meeting

Friday, April 26: Final plan package for review

Wednesday, May 29 Issue Design-Build RFP (target)

Wednesday, July 10: Proposals due (target)

Wednesday, July 31: Award contractor (target)

37

July 9

• Pre-RFP meeting for interested parties

October

• Issue Design-Build/Turnkey RFP

Early 2020

• Contract awarded

2020

• Implement the Technology

• Safety benefits to first responders and all road users

• Compatibility with GDOT connected vehicle technology can create a regionwide system

Impact of Connected Vehicles

https://www.its.dot.gov

Tom Sever, P.E.

Deputy Director, Traffic Engineering,

Operations and Maintenance

tom.sever@gwinnettcounty.com

770.822.7413

Questions?