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
770.822.7413
Questions?