LARTMC - Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center

“Innovative Technologies at Work” PDF 3.32mb

IMPROVING MOBILITY

Larger, smarter and more advanced than its predecessor, the new Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center (LARTMC) serves as the operations focal point for maximizing traffic flow and reducing congestion and is the hub for emergency response efforts and freeway incident management on the Los Angeles County and Ventura County freeway system.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 7 and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) have combined their expertise to operate LARTMC as a working example of inter-departmental cooperation. The LARTMC is not just about moving cars. Caltrans mission is to improve the mobility of people, goods, services and information across California, as the CHP works to provide safety, service and security on state freeways and highways.

Working together, Caltrans District 7 and the CHP Southern Division manage and monitor the 42 freeways and highways totaling 1,188 freeway miles. An average of one hundred million vehicle miles are traveled daily on this system; that is the equivalent of over 4,000 trips around the globe. Both agencies are dedicated to improving the commute for the public, managing traffic incidents faster and more efficiently, relieving congestion, and improving mobility and increasing road safety using state-of-the-art transportation management technologies.

SMART TECHNOLOGY

Technology Outsmarts Traffic with Intelligent Transportation Systems

Across the country, transportation agencies are applying advanced communications technologies, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to improve transportation safety, mobility, efficiency and dependability. ITS encompasses a broad range of wireless and wire line communications-based information and electronic technologies. The term “intelligent” is earned by the system’s ability to pinpoint where an incident or congestion is occurring, gather data on current road conditions, calculate algorithms and formulas and send it back to the LARTMC for interpretation. In real-time, Caltrans engineers can then determine whether an incident requires an urgent response or if altering digital signage, signals or ramp meter will ease a congested location. For the motorist, this means a safer, smoother and less congested commute.

Real-time travel information, assessing how long it takes motorists to go from one point to another, posted on Changeable Message Signs (CMS), is one example of how ITS helps motorists make informed choices and gives them greater control over their commute. Innovative real-time travel information provides up-to-the-minute information on traffic flow, weather, and travel conditions to traffic managers and the public, enabling information to reach the motoring public via roadside signs, media broadcasts, cell phones, the Internet and even personal Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment.

THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN ‘REAL-TIME’

Fast and immediately is no longer good enough. In transportation management, transmitting data, information and images in real-time, or what is occurring right now, is what ITS is all about.

Caltrans has real-time ITS elements such as:
• Closed Circuit cameras (CCTV) located on poles and atop freeway signs provide real-time data and video collection to monitor traffic flow and relay the progress of incident response efforts back to the LARMTC. Staff at the LARTMC monitor over 400 CCTV cameras, used to confirm the exact locations, nature and severity of freeway incidents.

• Freeway Surveillance Equipment provides essential traffic data for early detection of freeway incidents and locates traffic congestion areas with Vehicle Detection Stations (VDS) that collect traffic flow data obtained through wire loops and fiber optic lines. At on-ramps and off-ramps, surveillance equipment called Ramp Metering Stations (RMS) synchronize the timing to control the entry of cars onto the mainline freeway to limit traffic volumes to within the freeway’s capacity. Data collected from VDS and RMS is transmitted via fiber optic cables to the LARTMC for analyses to calculate real-time traffic speed and real-time freeway capacity. Over 1,100 ramp meters are currently in use on regional freeways to optimize vehicle density and speed and to reduce traffic congestion.

• Changeable Message Signs (CMS) LARTMC controls 110 lighted, digital message signs at strategic locations on Los Angeles County and Ventura County freeways, providing motorists with real-time traffic information which allows them to make decisions regarding travel routes.

Sophisticated, state-of-the-art software makes up the Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS), enabling staff to remotely update CMS messages.

Displayed messages are usually estimated travel times to an airport or an upcoming freeway interchange, warnings of changing road conditions or extreme weather conditions, delays, slow traffic or an accident ahead, unplanned lane and ramp closures and “Amber Alert” notifications.

The CHP is responsible for statewide coordination of California’s ‘Amber Alert’ system for child abduction cases. Using Caltrans CMS signs, the LARTMC supports ‘Amber Alert’ by issuing immediate warnings and information to the motoring public.

TWO COMPUTERS; TWICE AS SMART

A Strategy Beginning with Two Computers: Caltrans Transportation Management System (TMS) and the CHP Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) System

The LARTMC utilizes state-of-the-art computer systems that keeps traffic moving, information flowing and the public and commerce mobile. Monitoring freeways takes advanced equipment, skills and knowledge to maximize ITS capabilities.

Transportation Management System (TMS)
The Transportation Management System is a central main-frame computer system that gathers and processes traffic data from wire-loop surveillance equipment imbedded at one-to-two-mile intervals in the freeway pavement. The loops can determine how long a vehicle has occupied that particular space on the freeway, assessing speed, movement, a delay, an accident, a hazard or some other incident. The TMS measures freeway occupancy and vehicle speeds and analyses the data, providing hard copy reports and electronic video map displays. The large video map wall displays this information at the LARTMC.

Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD)
CAD, operated by the CHP, is a computer database of freeway incidents. Caltrans staff has direct access to CAD to check the status of freeway traffic incidents or enter information on new occurrences that may require a CHP response.

To improve mobility in the region, information from these two computers is disseminated to our transportation partners including the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC).

INCIDENT RESPONSE

Rapidly clearing traffic incidents and managing emergencies is part of the congestion relief plan.

Freeway Service Patrol (FSP)
Dispatched from the LARTMC, the FSP is a fleet of over 150 tow trucks co-managed by the CHP and Metro. In partnership with Caltrans, the FSP program aids in minimizing traffic congestion, reduces the potential for secondary collisions and increases motorist safety. The primary goal is to remove disabled vehicles from the freeways and take the driver and passengers to a safe place off the freeway. The trucks patrol fixed routes continuously during morning and evening commute times providing early detection and rapid removal of incidents. Services provided at no charge to motorists include changing flat tires; jump-starting a battery; refilling a radiator, patching leaky hoses; giving a needed gallon of gas and towing to designated safe zones.

Transportation Management Teams (TMT)
At any time, day or night, Caltrans District 7 TMT is dispatched from the LARTMC to assist the CHP with emergency lane closures and freeway closures following an accident or emergency incidents such as spilled cargo or natural disasters that may obstruct the roadways. The TMT assists with traffic management during freeway incidents by monitoring freeway back-ups, detour routing, clean up and communicating information to the LARTMC. If permanent fixed CMS are not close-by, a portable CMS will be placed to recommend a detour or display the expected time delay to assist motorists.

KEEPING THE PUBLIC INFORMED

A vital part of the LARTMC is the dissemination of information to the public and the media.

Media Broadcasting Studio
The LARTMC provides an important public service in its role as the media’s source for real-time video and up-to-the-minute traffic reports. The LARTMC houses a studio for live CHP broadcasts for regional media outlets. CHP on-site media spokespersons are responsible for delivering news broadcasts, among many other duties. They provide the most currently available information to the news media on freeway incidents and congested locations, weather-related advisories, planned and emergency lane closures. Information is also disseminated by phone, fax, graphic display and radio.