The city of Chattanooga is planning to enter into an agreement with the University of Tennessee to establish the city of Chattanooga as a test site for Connected Vehicle Pilot Development.
Officials said the primary goal is to bring "connected vehicle technology infrastructure into
Chattanooga for safer and more efficient transportation operation.
"The capability for all vehicles to talk to each other and to infrastructure can be expected in the near future."
Officials said part of the technology will allow emergency vehicles to deploy signals to gain green lanes during urgent calls.
It is also designed to allow better flow for trucks, with truck drivers also having access to signalization.
A kickoff to launch Chattanooga’s USDOT Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People & Safer Streets will be Monday from 10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Mayor Berke will kick off the meeting.
It will be at Outdoor Chattanooga in Coolidge Park, 200 River St.
Also taking part will be Police Chief Fred Fletcher, Chattanooga Department of Transportation, Outdoor Chattanooga, bicycle and pedestrian advocates.
This is event is open to the public. For more information on the USDOT Mayors’ Challenge visit: http://www.dot.gov/mayors-challenge.
Here is the Planning Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment in City of Chattanooga plan:
Introduction
Along with the announcements [1-2]National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made recently, the capability for all vehicles to talk to each other and to infrastructure can be expected in the near future. The connected vehicle (CV) technology will bring new opportunities to make our transportation system safer and more efficient. For example, this technology will provide traffic signal preemption functions to vehicles other than emergency responders with communication capabilities. That is, it will have the ability to give a green signal to a specific vehicle in time and to keep conflicting traffic informed at the same time.
According to potential benefits, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) envisions an initial wave of pilot deployments to be awarded and commence in 2015 [3]. According to the Vision of CV Pilots Deployment Program [4], the intent of these pilot deployments is to encourage partnerships of multiple stakeholders to deploy applications utilizing data captured from multiple sources (e.g., vehicles, mobile devices, and infrastructure) across all elements of the surface transportation system to improve system performance and enhance performance-based management.
The city of Chattanooga has demonstrated its ambition on efficient transportation and is willing to apply a comprehensive approach to its transportation network with consideration of how transportation needs impact the community's priorities as a whole, from public safety to economic and community development.Recent economic development in the city of Chattanooga brings more truck traffic into the area. However,this additional traffic does not necessarily represent more congested streets and worst air quality if it is well managed. The proposed project will work with the USDOT’s CV pilot deployment program to handle the increasing truck traffic through the newly-introduced CV technology.
A team, including experts from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee, has been formed to pursue the opportunity accordingly. Participation from other stakeholders, such as the State of Tennessee, private companies, commercial vehicle operators, and freight shippers,is expected. The proposed project is planned to benefit residents of the city and to be a national model in deploying the CV technology for future transportation.
The Proposed Project
The primary goal of the proposed project is to bring infrastructure of connected vehicle (CV)technology into Chattanooga area for safer and more efficient transportation operations with an emphasis on smoother truck traffic flow. If successful, the deployed technologies will remain as permanent operational elements. Benefits of smoother truck traffic include:
1.Reliable travel time -Increasing reliability of truck travel time which can facilitate a more reliable schedule of freight shipment, and help in attracting more development in the area;
2.Sustainable development -Improving fuel efficient of all vehicles operating in the area;
3.Maintaining economic and community development –reducing vehicle emissions by providing more reliable truck operations using CV technology applications while enhancing industrial development in the area.
Even though smoother truck traffic on surface streets is emphasized, it can only be achieved by coordinating other vehicles and traffic control units through the CV technology. Infrastructure of CV technology, including hardware and software, is critical for a pilot deployment. In addition to the hardware components, the following CV applications have been considered as the core applications for the proposed deployment. The core applications include:
1.Freight Signal Priority and Transit Signal Priority -Two applications that provide signal priority to freight vehicles along an arterial corridor near a freight facility as well as signal priority to transit at intersections and along arterial corridors.
2.Emergency Vehicle Preemption -An application that provides signal preemption to emergency vehicles, and accommodates multiple emergency requests.
3.Dynamic Speed Harmonization -An application that aims to recommend target speeds in response to congestion, incidents, and road conditions to maximize throughput and reduce crashes.
4.Eco-Approach and Departure at Signalized Intersections-A V2I application where intersection traffic signals broadcast the current state of signal phasing (red, yellow, or green) and time remaining in that phase. These data are used by connected vehicles to support eco-friendly speed trajectories as vehicles approach and depart from a signalized intersection.
5.Eco-Traffic Signal Timing -An application that uses data collected wirelessly from vehicles (and other sources) to optimize the performance of traffic signals, thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
6.Eco-Traffic Signal Priority -An application that allows transit or freight vehicles approaching a signalized intersection to request signal priority, thereby adjusting the signal timing dynamically to improve service for the vehicle. Priority decisions are optimized for the environment by considering vehicle type, vehicle speed, passenger count, or adherence to schedule.
7.Monitoring emissions –Using a state-of-the-art remote sensing technology to measure real-time emissions from traffic operations.
More applications (described in [5]), such as Emergency Electronic Brake Lights,Blind Spot/Lane Change Warning, Freight-Specific Dynamic Travel Planning and Performance, Dynamic Eco-Routing, and Smart Truck Parking, can be added once the infrastructure has been built.
Next Steps
As disclosed in [6], USDOT has scheduled a solicitation for Wave 1 Pilot Deployment Concepts in early 2015. To get more stakeholders involved now would be a critical step to advance the proposed project. Let’s start the discussion and go after the opportunity.