NITTEC Traffic Operations Center (Crossroads/AllRoads)

Status: Existing

Description

The traffic operations center operated by NITTEC that coordinates the activities of various traffic operations centers. The TOC is currently housed in the NFTA Operations Control Center in downtown Buffalo. The TOC acts as a communications hub and operations center through its Information Exchange Network. This TOC aims to coordinate the NYSDOT, NYSTA, PBA, Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and the NFBC systems. NITTEC has deployed two web–based platforms to collect, monitor, and record data from sensors and operators. One is Crossroads, an Advanced Traffic Management System which is used to track events and connect to field equipment. The other is AllRoads, a data collection/sharing and decision support tool accessible by all member agencies.

Stakeholders

StakeholderRoleRole Status
NITTECOwnsExisting

Physical Objects

Traffic Management Center
Maint and Constr Management Center
Emergency Management Center
Archived Data User System

Functional Objects

Functional ObjectDescriptionUser Defined
Emergency Call–Taking'Emergency Call–Taking' supports the emergency call–taker, collecting available information about the caller and the reported emergency, and forwarding this information to other objects that formulate and manage the emergency response. It receives 9–1–1, 7–digit local access, and motorist call–box calls and interfaces to other agencies to assist in the verification and assessment of the emergency and to forward the emergency information to the appropriate response agency.False
Emergency Commercial Vehicle Response'Emergency Commercial Vehicle Response' identifies and initiates a response to commercial vehicle and freight equipment related emergencies. These emergencies may include incidents involving hazardous materials as well as the detection of non–permitted transport of security sensitive hazmat. It identifies the location of the vehicle, the nature of the incident, the route information, and information concerning the freight itself. The information supports the determination of the response and identifies the responding agencies to notify.False
Emergency Data Collection'Emergency Data Collection' collects and stores emergency information that is collected in the course of operations by the Emergency Management Center. This data can be used directly by operations personnel or it can be made available to other data users and archives in the region.False
Emergency Dispatch'Emergency Dispatch' tracks the location and status of emergency vehicles and dispatches these vehicles to incidents. Pertinent incident information is gathered from the public and other public safety agencies and relayed to the responding units. Incident status and the status of the responding units is tracked so that additional units can be dispatched and/or unit status can be returned to available when the incident is cleared and closed.False
Emergency Environmental Monitoring'Emergency Environmental Monitoring' collects current and forecast road conditions and surface weather information from a variety of sources. The collected environmental information is monitored and presented to the operator and used to more effectively manage incidents.False
Emergency Evacuation Support'Emergency Evacuation Support' coordinates evacuation plans among allied agencies and manages evacuation and reentry of a population in the vicinity of a disaster or other emergency that poses a risk to public safety. Where appropriate, the affected population is evacuated in shifts, using more than one evacuation route, and including several evacuation destinations to spread demand and thereby expedite the evacuation. All affected jurisdictions (e.g., states and counties) at the evacuation origin, evacuation destination, and along the evacuation route are informed of the plan. The public is provided with real–time evacuation guidance including basic information to assist potential evacuees in determining whether evacuation is necessary. Resource requirements are forecast based on the evacuation plans, and the necessary resources are located, shared between agencies if necessary, and deployed at the right locations at the appropriate times. The evacuation and reentry status are monitored and used to refine the plan and resource allocations during the evacuation and subsequent reentry. It communicates with public health systems to develop evacuation plans and recommended strategies for disasters and evacuation scenarios involving biological or other medical hazards.False
Emergency Incident Command'Emergency Incident Command' provides tactical decision support, resource coordination, and communications integration for Incident Commands that are established by first responders at or near the incident scene to support local management of an incident. It supports communications with public safety, emergency management, transportation, and other allied response agency centers, tracks and maintains resource information, action plans, and the incident command organization itself. Information is shared with agency centers including resource deployment status, hazardous material information, traffic, road, and weather conditions, evacuation advice, and other information that enables emergency or maintenance personnel in the field to implement an effective, safe incident response. It supports the functions and interfaces commonly supported by a mobile command center.False
Emergency Response Management'Emergency Response Management' provides the strategic emergency response capabilities and broad inter–agency interfaces that are implemented for extraordinary incidents and disasters that require response from outside the local community. It provides the functional capabilities and interfaces commonly associated with Emergency Operations Centers. It develops and stores emergency response plans and manages overall coordinated response to emergencies. It monitors real–time information on the state of the regional transportation system including current traffic and road conditions, weather conditions, special event and incident information. It tracks the availability of resources and assists in the appropriate allocation of these resources for a particular emergency response. It also provides coordination between multiple allied agencies before and during emergencies to implement emergency response plans and track progress through the incident. It also coordinates with the public through the Emergency Telecommunication Systems (e.g., Reverse 911). It coordinates with public health systems to provide the most appropriate response for emergencies involving biological or other medical hazards.False
Emergency Routing'Emergency Routing' supports routing of emergency vehicles and enlists support from the Traffic Management Center to facilitate travel along these routes. Routes may be determined based on real–time traffic information and road conditions or routes may be provided by the Traffic Management Center on request. Vehicles are tracked and routes are based on current vehicle location. It may coordinate with the Traffic Management Center to provide preemption or otherwise adapt the traffic control strategy along the selected route. It may also coordinate with Transportation Information Centers to notify other drivers of public safety vehicles that are enroute.False
ITS Data Subscription Management'ITS Data Subscription Management' manages data subscriptions for an end user. It provides access to a catalog of available data, manages the necessary user information and rules that govern the data subscriptions, supports communications with data providers to collect data per the subscription rules, and makes the data available to the end user. It provides the local user interface through which a user can specify and manage subscriptions. It supports different mechanisms for collecting subscribed data for the end–user including one–time query–response as well as publish–subscribe services.False
MCM Automated Treatment System Control'MCM Automated Treatment System Control' remotely monitors and controls automated road treatment systems that disperse anti–icing chemicals or otherwise treat a road segment. The automated treatment system may be remotely activated by this object or it may include environmental sensors that activate the system automatically based on sensed environmental conditions. This object monitors treatment system operation, sets operating parameters, and directly controls system activation if necessary.False
MCM Data Collection'MCM Data Collection' collects and stores maintenance and construction information that is collected in the course of operations by the Maintenance and Construction Management Center. This data can be used directly by operations personnel or it can be made available to other data users and archives in the region.False
MCM Environmental Information Collection'MCM Environmental Information Collection' collects current road and weather conditions using data collected from environmental sensors deployed on and about the roadway. In addition to fixed sensor stations at the roadside, this functional object also collects environmental information from sensor systems located on Maintenance and Construction Vehicles. It also collects current and forecast environmental conditions information that is made available by other systems. The functional object aggregates the sensor system data and provides it, along with data attributes to other applications.False
MCM Environmental Information Processing'MCM Environmental Information Processing' processes current and forecast weather data, road condition information, local environmental data, and uses internal models to develop specialized detailed forecasts of local weather and surface conditions. The processed environmental information products are presented to center personnel and disseminated to other centers.False
MCM Field Equipment Maintenance'MCM Field Equipment Maintenance' provides overall management and support for maintenance of field equipment on a roadway system, right–of–way, parking area, transit stop, or other areas where field equipment exists. Services include repair and maintenance of ITS field equipment in these areas (e.g., detectors and other sensors, cameras, dynamic message signs, electronic toll collection equipment, electronic clearance equipment, weigh–in–motion sensors, etc.).False
MCM Incident Management'MCM Incident Management' supports maintenance and construction participation in coordinated incident response. Incident notifications are shared, incident response resources are managed, and the overall incident situation and incident response status is coordinated among allied response organizations.False
MCM Maintenance Decision Support'MCM Maintenance Decision Support' recommends maintenance courses of action based on current and forecast environmental and road conditions and additional application specific information. Decisions are supported through understandable presentation of filtered and fused environmental and road condition information for specific time horizons as well as specific maintenance recommendations that are generated by the system based on this integrated information. The recommended courses of action are supported by information on the anticipated consequences of action or inaction, when available.False
MCM Road Weather Micro–Prediction'MCM Road Weather Micro–Prediction' uses road weather data and advanced algorithms to create micro–predictions of roadway conditions, or receives micro–predictions from external sources, which can support improved maintenance planning and dispatch.False
MCM Roadway Maintenance'MCM Roadway Maintenance' provides overall management and support for routine maintenance on a roadway system or right–of–way. Services managed include landscape maintenance, hazard removal (roadway debris, dead animals), routine maintenance activities (roadway cleaning, grass cutting), and repair and maintenance of non–ITS equipment on the roadway (e.g., signs, gantries, cabinets, guard rails, etc.). Environmental conditions information is also received from various weather sources to aid in scheduling routine maintenance activities. See also MCM Field Equipment Maintenance for maintenance of ITS field equipment.False
MCM Traffic Information Dissemination'MCM Traffic Information Dissemination' uses dynamic message signs to disseminate traffic and road conditions, closure and detour information, incident information, driver advisories, and other maintenance–related data. It monitors and controls driver information system field equipment including dynamic message signs, managing dissemination of driver information through these systems.False
MCM Vehicle Tracking'MCM Vehicle Tracking' tracks the location of maintenance and construction vehicles and other equipment. Vehicle/equipment location and associated information is presented to the operator.False
MCM Winter Maintenance Management'MCM Winter Maintenance Management' manages winter road maintenance, tracking and controlling snow plow operations, roadway treatment (e.g., salt spraying and other material applications), and other snow and ice control operations. It monitors environmental conditions and weather forecasts and uses the information to schedule winter maintenance activities, determine the appropriate snow and ice control response, and track and manage response operations.False
MCM Work Activity Coordination'MCM Work Activity Coordination' disseminates work activity schedules and current asset restrictions to other agencies. Work schedules are coordinated with operating agencies, factoring in the needs and activities of other agencies and adjacent jurisdictions. Work schedules are also distributed to Transportation Information Centers for dissemination to the traveling public.False
MCM Work Zone Management'MCM Work Zone Management' remotely monitors and supports work zone activities, controlling traffic through dynamic message signs (DMS), Highway Advisory Radio (HAR), gates and barriers, and informing other groups of activity (e.g., traveler information, traffic management, other maintenance and construction centers) for better coordination management. Work zone speeds, and delays, and closures are provided to the motorist prior to the work zones. This application provides control of field equipment in all maintenance areas, including fixed and portable field equipment supporting both stationary and mobile work zones.False
TMC Basic Surveillance'TMC Basic Surveillance' remotely monitors and controls traffic sensor systems and surveillance (e.g., CCTV) equipment, and collects, processes and stores the collected traffic data. Current traffic information and other real–time transportation information is also collected from other centers. The collected information is provided to traffic operations personnel and made available to other centers.False
TMC Data Collection'TMC Data Collection' collects and stores information that is created in the course of traffic operations performed by the Traffic Management Center. This data can be used directly by operations personnel or it can be made available to other data users and archives in the region.False
TMC Demand Management Coordination'TMC Demand Management Coordination' provides the capability to gather information on regional toll, parking, and transit usage and request changes to pricing and other mechanisms to manage overall transportation demand.False
TMC Environmental Monitoring'TMC Environmental Monitoring' assimilates current and forecast road conditions and surface weather information using a combination of weather service provider information, information collected by other centers such as the Maintenance and Construction Management Center, data collected from environmental sensors deployed on and about the roadway, and information collected from connected vehicles. The collected environmental information is monitored and presented to the operator. This information can be used to issue general traveler advisories and support location specific warnings to drivers.False
TMC Incident Detection'TMC Incident Detection' identifies and reports incidents to Traffic Operations Personnel. It remotely monitors and controls traffic sensor and surveillance systems that support incident detection and verification. It analyzes and reduces the collected sensor and surveillance data, external alerting and advisory and incident reporting systems, anticipated demand information from intermodal freight depots, border crossings, special event information, and identifies and reports incidents and hazardous conditionsFalse
TMC Incident Dispatch Coordination'TMC Incident Dispatch Coordination' formulates and manages an incident response that takes into account the incident potential, incident impacts, and resources required for incident management. It provides information to support dispatch and routing of emergency response and service vehicles as well as coordination with other cooperating agencies. It provides access to traffic management resources that provide surveillance of the incident, traffic control in the surrounding area, and support for the incident response. It monitors the incident response and collects performance measures such as incident response and clearance times.False
TMC Infrastructure Restriction Warning'TMC Infrastructure Restriction Warning' controls and monitors RSEs that support Infrastructure Restriction Warnings. It configures the RSEs to define tunnel/bridge geometry and design and temporary size and weight restrictions. Information that is currently being communicated to passing vehicles and the operational status of the field equipment is monitored by this application. The operational status of the field equipment is reported to operations personnel.False
TMC In–Vehicle Signing Management'TMC In–Vehicle Signing Management' controls and monitors RSEs that support in–vehicle signing. Sign information that may include static regulatory, service, and directional sign information as well as variable information such as traffic and road conditions can be provided to the RSE, which uses short range communications to send the information to in–vehicle equipment. Information that is currently being communicated to passing vehicles and the operational status of the field equipment is monitored by this application. The operational status of the field equipment is reported to operations personnel.False
TMC Multi–Modal Coordination'TMC Multi–Modal Coordination' supports center–to–center coordination between the Traffic Management and Transit Management Centers. It monitors transit operations and provides traffic signal priority for transit vehicles on request from the Transit Management Center.False
TMC Passive Surveillance'TMC Passive Surveillance' collects time stamped vehicle identities from different detection zones, correlates the identities, and calculates link travel times and derives other traffic measures.False
TMC Regional Traffic Management'TMC Regional Traffic Management' supports coordination between Traffic Management Centers in order to share traffic information between centers as well as control of traffic management field equipment. This coordination supports wide area optimization and regional coordination that spans jurisdictional boundaries; for example, coordinated signal control in a metropolitan area or coordination between freeway operations and arterial signal control within a corridor.False
TMC Road Weather Advisories and Warnings'TMC Road Weather Advisories and Warnings' provides road weather advisories to drivers and other travelers. Advisories are based on environmental information collected from a variety of data sources, including data collected from roadside sensors and connected vehicles.False
TMC Road Weather Micro–Prediction'TMC Road Weather Micro–Prediction' uses road weather data and advanced algorithms to create micro–predictions of roadway conditions, or receives micro–predictions from external sources, which can support improved traffic management.False
TMC Roadway Equipment Monitoring'TMC Roadway Equipment Monitoring' monitors the operational status of field equipment and detects failures. It presents field equipment status to Traffic Operations Personnel and reports failures to the Maintenance and Construction Management Center. It tracks the repair or replacement of the failed equipment. The entire range of ITS field equipment may be monitored including sensors (traffic, infrastructure, environmental, security, speed, etc.) and devices (highway advisory radio, dynamic message signs, automated roadway treatment systems, barrier and safeguard systems, cameras, traffic signals and override equipment, ramp meters, beacons, security surveillance equipment, etc.).False
TMC Roadway Warning'TMC Roadway Warning' remotely monitors and controls the systems used to warn drivers approaching hazards on a roadway. It monitors data on roadway conditions from sensors in the field and generates warnings in response to roadway weather conditions, road surface conditions, traffic conditions including queues, obstacles or animals in the roadway, and any other transient events that can be sensed.False
TMC Service Patrol Management'TMC Service Patrol Management' supports dispatch and communication with service patrol vehicles that monitor roads to aid motorists, offering rapid response to minor incidents.False
TMC Signal Control'TMC Signal Control' provides the capability for traffic managers to monitor and manage the traffic flow at signalized intersections. This capability includes analyzing and reducing the collected data from traffic surveillance equipment and developing and implementing control plans for signalized intersections. Control plans may be developed and implemented that coordinate signals at many intersections under the domain of a single Traffic Management Center and are responsive to traffic conditions and adapt to support incidents, preemption and priority requests, pedestrian crossing calls, etc.False
TMC Situation Data Management'TMC Situation Data Management' collects, assimilates, and disseminates vehicle probe data collected from roadside short range communications equipment and centers controlling transit vehicles, toll collection points, and route–guided vehicles. It estimates traffic and road conditions based on the aggregated probe data and disseminates this information to other centers.False
TMC Traffic Information Dissemination'TMC Traffic Information Dissemination' disseminates traffic and road conditions, closure and detour information, incident information, driver advisories, and other traffic–related data to other centers, the media, and driver information systems. It monitors and controls driver information system field equipment including dynamic message signs and highway advisory radio, managing dissemination of driver information through these systems.False
TMC Traffic Management Decision Support'TMC Traffic Management Decision Support' recommends courses of action to the traffic operator based on current and forecast road and traffic conditions. Traffic incidents, special events, maintenance activities and other events or conditions that impact capacity or demand are monitored. Historical data and models are used to compare the impact of potential courses of action and make recommendations to the operator. Decisions are supported through presentation of filtered and fused network–wide road and traffic conditions that identify network imbalances and recommended courses of action. The recommended actions may include predefined incident response plans, signal timing plan changes, DMS/HAR messages, truck restrictions, lane control strategies, metering strategies, and adjustment of variable speed limits. Multimodal strategies may also be recommended that include suggested transit strategies and suggested route and mode choices for travelers. Once a course of action is selected, traffic operations personnel implement these actions within the Traffic Management Center and coordinate the response with other centers in the region.False
TMC Traffic Network Performance Evaluation'TMC Traffic Network Performance Evaluation' measures traffic network performance and predicts travel demand patterns to support traffic flow optimization, demand management, and incident management. It collects traffic data from sensors and surveillance equipment as well as input from other Traffic Management Centers, emissions management, transit operations, and event promoters and uses this information to measure traffic network performance. It collects route planning information from transportation information centers and integrates and uses this information to predict future traffic conditions. The planned control strategies can be passed back to the transportation information center so that the intended strategies can be reflected in future route planning.False
TMC Variable Speed Limits'TMC Variable Speed Limits' provides center monitoring and control of variable speed limits systems. It monitors data on traffic and environmental conditions collected from sensors along the roadway. Based on the measured data, it calculates and sets suitable speed limits usually by lane. It controls equipment that posts the current speed limits and displays additional information such as basic safety rules and current traffic information to drivers.False
TMC Work Zone Traffic Management'TMC Work Zone Traffic Management' coordinates work plans with maintenance systems so that work zones are established that have minimum traffic impact. Traffic control strategies are implemented to further mitigate traffic impacts associated with work zones that are established, providing work zone information to driver information systems such as dynamic message signs.False

Physical Standards

Document NumberTitleDescription
NEMA TS 8Cyber and Physical Security for Intelligent Transportation SystemsThis specification describes how agencies and other transportation infrastructure owner/operators should implement cyber– and physical–security for ITS.

Interfaces To

(View Context Diagram)

511NY
Border Wait Time System
CBSA Inspection Sensors and Systems
City of Buffalo ITS Roadway Equipment
Commercial Vehicle Fleet Dispatch Systems
Commercial Vehicles
Construction/Maintenance Vehicles
Local Emergency Dispatch
Municipal Roadway Maintenance Dispatch Centers
NFBC Field Equipment
NFBC Operations Center
NFTA Transit and Paratransit Operations Control Center
NITTEC Transportation Management Operations Technicians (TMOTs)
NITTEC Website
NYSDOT Field Equipment
NYSDOT Service Patrol Vehicles
NYSDOT STICC
NYSTA Field Equipment
NYSTA Thruway Statewide Operations Center (TSOC)
Ontario 511
PBA Field Equipment
PBA Operations Center
Private Tow Dispatch Center
Third Party Transportation Information Sources
Traffic Signal Central System
USCBP Inspection Sensors and Systems
Winter Operations Vehicles