The Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Project's goals and objectives are built around previous investments made by CVAG and partnering agencies, and by maintaining consensus to expedite delivery of the project’s initiatives. The vision of this project is not only to create a Coachella Valley Regional Traffic Signal Interconnect Master Plan, but to assist CVAG in the development, management, and implementation of ITS initiatives that will improve multimodal mobility, maximize highway and arterial system capacity, improve operational efficiency, safety and the environment throughout the Coachella Valley. The master plan will also be used as a planning tool to prepare the local agencies and CVAG for future emerging transportation technologies including connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, big data, integrated corridor management (ICM), and Smart Cities initiatives. This provides a flexible platform that will enhance the sharing of real-time information between agencies and the public using existing and next generation ITS technologies that will take CVAG and partner agencies well into the 21st century.   The following summarizes the project goals and objectives as it pertains to each “level” of the overall regional system.  We categorize each “level” of overall regional system per the following: The local level identifies systems for each local agency; sub-regional levels are umbrella systems that links groupings of local systems; and at the regional system level, it provides an overall link to each area sub-system level and provides overall connectivity and viewing of the entire region as a whole.  

 

As part of the Regional Traffic Signal Interconnect (TSI) Master Plan, at the local level, the goal is to provide an upgraded Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) for each agency to provide remote command and control at a centralized TMC or traffic operations center (TOC) location. From an operational perspective, this allows each agency and their transportation staff the ability to monitor and maintain the traffic network and to allow full integration of new ITS technologies. Since monitoring and changes can be performed from a remote TMC/TOC location, this will ultimately reduce staff costs by not having to deploy signal technician staff to the site to perform operational changes. For the local agencies to accomplish this key goal, a robust Ethernet/IPbased communications network must first be in place for link establishment to the new ATMS, Advanced Transportation Controllers (ATC), field communication hubs, and other roadside ITS elements.   

 

At the sub-regional level, the same goals and objectives from the local TMC/TOC level apply. In addition, at the sub-regional level, another goal is to share data and video across jurisdictional boundaries with neighboring agencies that have similar traffic management systems and traffic signal controller types. Although, NTCIP communication protocols are in current practice and implemented with current ATMSs, the interoperability between systems from different manufacturers are not seamless; and this approach supports ease of implementation, integration, and communications between groupings of local/neighboring agency’s systems.  Therefore, the local systems are grouped based on their geographically and the type of traffic management systems and traffic signal controllers that the local agencies are using (current and future). 

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 Regionally, it is the intent to integrate all ATMS sub-regional systems to a new Regional Traffic Management Center to provide monitoring and sharing advanced traffic management capabilities throughout the Coachella Valley. Through open standards protocol and inter-agency communications, the Coachella Valley will be able to share traffic data and video from agency-toagency and agency-to-region for a greater level of monitoring and operational control.