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Law Enforcement
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Connecting the DOTs
Kansas City Scout manages interstate traffic
Sep 28, 2004
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by Laura DiBenedetto-Kenyon
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Imagine your morning commute. You’re driving down the freeway, listening to music, and drinking what the gas station tries to pass off as coffee. In mid-sip, traffic slams to a halt, sloshing coffee onto your shirt. Up ahead, you see police lights flashing. A car accident has closed two lanes and the other two are jammed with rubberneckers. You’re going to be late for work.
As you search for a napkin, you curse — if only you had known, you could have taken an alternate route. Or, at the very least, kept your shirt clean.
Enter the Kansas City Scout.
Scout is a traffic management system that covers 75 miles of the Kansas City, MO, freeway system, including portions of interstates 435, 35, 70, 470, and 670, as well as portions of U.S. 69 and K-10 in Kansas. The system, which spans both Kansas and Missouri, is designed to make Kansas City’s roads less congested and safer by monitoring traffic, resolving congestion, and keeping motorists informed of highway conditions. The project has received favorable responses since its launch in January.
“The most effective thing these types of traffic management systems do are lessen congestion, promote free-flowing traffic, and increase emergency response times,” said Dianna Kidwell, spokesperson, Kansas City Scout. An added benefit is a safer highway environment. “There have been indications that, when these types of systems are in place, there is a decreased chance of a secondary incident.” (For example, a secondary incident could arise when a driver is looking at an accident on the side of the road, and then inadvertently rear-ends the car in front of him.)
How Scout Works
To explain how Scout works, you have to first visualize the roadway technology. Scout uses two types of roadway sensors, in-pavement detectors and side-fire radar technology. According to Kidwell, the sensors collect data on how fast the traffic is going (not individual cars but average speeds) and how free-flowing the traffic is moving.
The in-pavement detectors make up the majority of the system, while the side-fire radar is being used on sections of the freeway that need to be repaired. “Since we knew that pavement was going to be torn up, we didn’t use in-pavement sensors,” Kidwell explained.
Another key element in the Scout system is cameras. There are 75 cameras in the system — one is placed every mile on the 75-mile system, and each camera can see half a mile in each direction. These images can be viewed by Scout officials and visitors to Scout’s Web site.
Most visible to motorists are the 36 changeable message signs that were installed in key areas to best aid commuters. Currently, these signs are lit only when an incident blocks one or more lanes of traffic. Closures could be attributed to an accident, weather conditions, construction, or debris in the road. “When a message board is lit,” said Kidwell, “[people] want to pay attention.”
While the eyes of Scout lie along the roadways, its brain is centered in the Traffic Operating Center. Based in Lee’s Summit, MO, operators (seven total, working in different shifts) monitor images received from Scout’s cameras and data received from its sensors, using Advanced Traffic Management System software provided by National Engineering Technology Corporation.
With the gathered information, operators are able to respond to traffic conditions and help ease congestion. (During peak drive times, the TOC is manned by two operators, non-peak hours employ one.) Images received are displayed around the TOC on 12 Clarity SVGA cubes and managed by Electrosonic’s CT-COMMANDER.
Each operator has their own workstation that displays a map of the freeway system. From the stations, operators manipulate the ATMS.
“Any time there is a significant slow down, the ATMS software is designed to alert the operator,” said Kidwell. “‘Hey, there’s a significant slow down; I don’t know what the problem is, but I know where the slow down is.’ And [the ATMS] will tell them, ‘The average speed is 67, now it’s only 31.’”
During an alert, the ATMS automatically displays images from the two cameras nearest to the slow down so the situation can be assessed. If there is an incident, operators confirm it and place an icon on their workstation’s map. This information is also sent to Scout’s Web site, so within 30 to 60 seconds of an incident being reported, the Web site has been updated with public information.
From there, operators determine whether a message board should be lighted to inform motorists of the incident. Consulting with their floor supervisor, operators use pre-determined messages (with some freedom to be original depending on the situation, noted Kidwell) to advise motorists of the situation and activate the message board.
The area where the incident occurred is then monitored until the problem has been resolved. At that point, the message boards and map icons are de-activated.
Coordinated Effort
Scout operators also work with local police and 911 dispatchers in the area. “911 dispatchers receive many calls in the day and age of mobile technology,” said Kidwell. “A lot of people won’t pinpoint the exact location of an accident, but they’ll say, ‘Well I just passed it and right now I’m at such-and-such location.’
“That location may be a quarter-mile off, a half-mile off and, on a freeway system, that makes a big difference. Emergency crews need to know which direction and at which point are they going to enter the highway.” Scout can aid 911 operators by helping zero in on the location of an accident, cutting down on the 911’s response time.
Additionally, Scout works in conjunction with Motorist Assist, a program found in both the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Transportation (KDOT and MoDOT). “They’re patrolling trucks with equipment to help change a tire, to offer a gallon of gasoline, or tow you to the next gas station, whatever they can do to help,” said Kidwell.
As with 911, Scout can help Motorist Assist pinpoint incidents; however, Motorist Assist can also help Scout keep its information current. “A lot of times Motorist Assist goes out to an accident because our local law enforcement are used to having them out there for traffic control. Motorist Assist can tell us, ‘The two right lanes are closed, but in about two minutes, we’re going to open up the middle lane,’ so our operators can prepare to change the message and everything is immediate as possible.”
The Kansas City Scout project cost $43 million dollars and involved both the KDOT and MoDOT. So how — and why— did the two states coordinate their efforts?
“Kansas City is truly a unique community,” said Kidwell. “Our major freeway systems, and therefore levels of congestion and daily commuters, all cross the state line. I live in Kansas and I work in Missouri — I know tons of people who live in Missouri and work in Kansas. The state line is almost invisible.
“So when Kansas went to see where its congestion areas were and Missouri went to see where its congestion areas were, they saw the same pattern: We’re crossing state lines. [The DOTs] thought that two separate systems implemented separately, under separate time frames, under separate policies, wasn’t going to help anybody. They began talking and determined that they were committed enough to such a system that they could work together on this.”
To fairly represent both states, Scout is managed by a board of directors. The board is comprised of two KDOT members, two MoDOT Members, and one Mid-America Regional Council member, which is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for both states.
Funding for the project came mostly from the federal government, with the remainder of the cost split between KDOT and MoDOT. Kidwell said it evolved primarily because the federal government was looking for its 75 largest cities to start implementing Intelligent Transportation Systems, and it was willing to provide funding to those cities if they would design and implement the systems.
Power To The People
Once on the road, commuters can get their info from Scout’s message boards, but before leaving the house, they can check out the Scout Web site. It features a real-time, color-coded map illustrating traffic conditions in Scout’s coverage area. Moving a cursor over a highlighted section of roadway provides the average speed of traffic flow.
Additionally, the map has layer control, where visitors can add icons, including cameras, signs, incidents, and construction. By clicking on or mousing over these icons, users gain more detailed information, including pictures the cameras have taken of the roads.
This dynamic site replaced its static predecessor in May, and like the rest of the Kansas City Scout project, has received a lot of positive feedback. Despite this, the Scout team is looking to refine and improve their system. Specifically, Kidwell said the system is looking to include travel times on the site.
Another improvement in the works is to make Scout operate around the clock. “Right now, we are continuing on a limited/test basis, so we have limited operational hours,” said Kidwell. “We don’t have a definite timeframe, but certainly by 2005, we want to be 24/7,” said Kidwell. Currently, Scout is up and running Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Overall, Kansas City Scout has been a rousing success. In February, the project was awarded the 2004 Engineering Excellence Award for a transportation project in the state of Missouri by the American Council of Engineering Companies.
Even with its successes, the Scout team continues to strive for perfection. “Scout is in its infancy,” said Kidwell, “and we are evolving. We see progress every day. And as long as we continue to see progress, we feel we are better serving the public.”
Which means that when you’re traveling in Kansas City, Scout will help you avoid traffic snarls, construction, and stop-and-go movement — and can maybe stop you from spilling coffee on your shirt.
MORE INFO
Clarity Visual Systems www.clarityvisual.com
Electrosonic www.electrosonic.com
Kansas City Scout www.kcscout.net
National Engineering Technology Corporation www.nateng.com
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