Project Support

The availability of an up-to-date regional ITS architecture allows jurisdictions to request federal project funding or programming as projects must be consistent with the area’s regional ITS architecture to receive federal funds. This section discusses how stakeholders can determine if a project is consistent with the architecture.

In order to use the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture to support project development, the agency must identify how the project contributes to or aligns with a portion of the architecture.

This is a key step when using the architecture because it requires the agency to view the ITS project in the broader context of the entire architecture. Having an agency consider the wider architecture while the project’s scope is being defined, forces them to consider the services, functionality, and integration opportunities that are envisioned by the Region as a whole. As mentioned previously, this step is also required to meet the FHWA Architecture Rule/FTA Architecture Policy.

The architecture should be used as early in the project development lifecycle as possible so that integration opportunities are considered. The architecture should be reviewed before firm project cost estimates are established so that there is still opportunity to adjust the scope in order to accommodate the regional functionality and interfaces identified in the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture. This opportunity may occur before or after programming/budgeting, depending on how specifically the ITS project is defined in the programming/budget documents.

FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING FOR ITS PROJECTS

Any agency applying for and/or using, federal and/or state funds for ITS planning, design, and deployment will need to be familiar with, and utilize, administrative, programming, and project development procedures from Chapter 13 of the Caltrans Local Assistance Program Guidelines (LAPG). Chapter 13 of the LAPG provides guidance on the following key topic areas:

• The definition of ITS

• Required ITS project risk assessment procedures

• General ITS roles and responsibilities for the various funding, implementing, and oversight agencies in the region

• Step-by-step procedures of the funding process

As of January 2015, the most current version of the Caltrans Local Assistance Program Guidelines (LAPG) could be found on the Internet, at the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL):

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/lam/lapg.htm

As of January 2015, Chapter 13 of the LAPG could be found at the following URL:

http://dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/ITS/ITS.htm

PROJECT DESIGN

When designing a project, functionality and ITS standards provide guidance and criteria to identify how the project will serve and connect the region’s overall operations. As projects grow in size, the function and standards can become complicated and could require agreements between agencies. It is beneficial to be able to identify the agencies involved and the type(s) of agreement(s) needed early on in the project design.

This section will describe how functional requirements were developed and where they can be found. There will be discussion of standards that are in the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture currently, standards that are envisioned to be needed or utilized in the future, and the applicability of the standards. Additionally, this section includes a discussion of agreements between stakeholders in the Fresno County Region that are currently in place, as well as those that may need to be developed to facilitate operations, coordination, information sharing, and integration.

How ITS infrastructure is shown in the architecture

The National ITS Architecture uses Service Packages to depict the current and future functionalities of ITS infrastructure, systems, management centers, and people (travelers, system operators, etc.). Elements that represent a source of multiple levels of information transfer are called “subsystems”, which are grouped into four classes: centers, fields, vehicles, and travelers. Table 3-1 provides descriptions from the National ITS Architecture for each subsystem and identifies examples of those subsystem in the Fresno County Region.

Click here to see Table 3-1

Regional ITS Architecture

The need to obtain specific functional requirements from the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture related to a specific project can be accommodated by requesting the information directly from the Fresno COG contact listed below. The Fresno COG contact will utilize the method described in Section 3.1 Project Planning to collect the requirements specific to the request.

The specific request will need to include:

• Identifying which specific service packages where the project is represented;

• Provide scope/description of the project;

• List the infrastructure involved;

• List the stakeholders involved; and

• List the purpose of the project (if not already captured in the scope/description of the project).

Contact information for the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture is:

Name: Peggy Arnest

Email: parnest@fresnocog.org

The table below provides examples of various potential ITS project proposals in the Fresno County Region, to help agencies find the location of information within the architecture that might be needed during the project development process, such as pertinent subsystems, service packages, equipment packages, and functional requirements for a given project. This will be useful as an agency applies for funding for various types of ITS projects. This sample information may be used to identify a project within the Regional ITS Architecture in order to illustrate Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture compliance.

Click here to see Table 3-2

How to select communication standards that apply to the project

ITS standards define how system components interact within the overall framework of the National ITS Architecture. The use of standards ensures interoperability amongst various functions of an ITS project so that components or technologies from various vendors and at different scales (local, regional, and national) are still compatible. Standards also facilitate innovation in technology development without necessitating replacement of hardware or software systems that are needed to operate the new technology. Other purposes for ITS standards include:

• ITS standards used in a deployment can greatly reduce component development costs;

• ITS standards are open and non-proprietary, helping state and local transportation managers avoid costly single-source procurements and locked-in maintenance relationships with vendors;

• ITS standards support the deployment of interoperable ITS systems, helping agencies link together different types of ITS technologies and making system expansions easier to plan and implement; and

• ITS standards are being developed for many different types of ITS technologies and their use in project deployment is a key aspect of conformity with the Final Rule.

New standards that are developed go through an approval process before they are included in documents as formalized standards. Existing standards are amended and modified as needed based on new standards development or new technology development. Several national and international standards organizations are working toward developing ITS standards for communications, field infrastructure, messages and data dictionaries, and other areas. The organizations participating in ITS standards activities include:

• AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials)

• ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

• APTA (American Public Transportation Association)

• ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)

• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

• ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers)

• NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association)

• SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)

A listing of ITS standards that are pertinent to the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture is contained in the Final Report, near the prioritized project listing. That listing is taken from the Fresno County Regional ITS Architecture Turbo Architecture database, and represents ITS Standards that need to be considered in the Fresno County Region.

HOW TO REQUEST AN UPDATE TO THE ARCHITECTURE

Stakeholders should complete a Change Request Form that can be downloaded HERE when they anticipate or identify a possible change to the architecture. This form should be submitted to Fresno COG, and should include the following information:

• Contact information of the individual proposing the change: name, title, agency, email, fax number, and phone number;

• Date;

• Short description of proposed change (a title up to 25 characters);

• Detailed description of proposed change. (What is to be added, deleted, or modified?);

• Type of change proposed (e.g. new project, new stakeholder, etc.);

• Name of system(s) or project(s) being implemented or modified (if applicable);

• Status:

• Proposed (want to implement but has not yet secured funding for the project);

• Planned (secured funding for the project);

• Under Construction (currently deploying the system); or

• Existing (deployed the system and it is currently operational).

The completed Change Request Form can be sent via e-mail or fax to:

Name: Peggy Arnest

Email: parnest@fresnocog.org

Fax: 559-233-9645