Intelligent Transportation Systems Provide Operational Benefits for New York Metropolitan Area Roadways: A Systems Engineering Approach

The New York metropolitan area experiences considerable traffic congestion. However, within the New York metropolitan area right of way is limited and building additional roadways to alleviate congestion is no longer an option. Therefore, to alleviate congestion the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has sought out congestion management strategies that do not require the construction of new roadway. A major thrust of this strategy is the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). To facilitate this endeavor Dunn Engineering Associates has developed the Evaluation Model for Freeway ITS Scoping (EMFITS). EMFITS was developed as part of the NYSDOT Intelligent Transportation Systems Scoping Guidance Project Development Manual. This model captures the essence of ITS strategies at the scoping stage of the design process and provides a key guide to the most beneficial ITS strategy to be implemented. EMFITS was used to calculate the quantitative benefits from ITS alternatives to be deployed along approximately 31 miles of interconnecting parkways and expressways in the Eastern Queens roadway network. The specific roadways include: Long Island, Clearview and Nassau Expressways; Grand Central, Cross Island and Belt Parkways. Typical transportation planning processes often do not easily accommodate transportation system improvements that have a systems-operation focus such as ITS. However, state and local agencies still need to answer the basic questions of costs and benefits before any ITS project will be implemented. EMFITS deployment and performance evaluation methodologies can assist ITS managers in determining the most cost effective systems. EMFITS can guide the growth of ITS in a more organized manner by providing transportation decision makers with quantitative measures of effectiveness such as reduction in vehicle-hours per year, gallons of fuel per year, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, accident, agency operating cost, and ton-hours (freight measure of delay) that can be used to determine the financial benefits of different levels of ITS deployment. Determining financial benefits is critical for any successful state or local ITS program. This paper presents a variety of tools, techniques, and guidelines to develop reasonably comparable answers to these questions applied to the deployment of ITS along the Eastern Queens roadway corridors.