The foundation for a fully integrated intelligent transportation system (ITS) is well established in Southeast Michigan. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is nearing completion of the largest project in the United States to instrument freeways with intelligent transportation infrastructure (ITI). The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), Michigan has equipped 300 intersections with adaptive traffic control and video imaging sensors. Both agencies have developed state-of-the-art traffic management centers, which are exchanging data and video to provide areawide traffic management capabilities. As the efforts to manage streets and highways in Southeast Michigan expanded, so did initiatives to test mechanisms for disseminating traveler information derived from the vast amounts of data that are being collected. The DIRECT Program (Driver Information Radio using Experimental Communication Technologies) and the landmark FAST-TRAC TV project at the Chrysler Technology Center represent two of these initiatives. MDOT and the RCOC have now collaborated on a new initiative, called MOTORCITI (MOTOR City Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure), which seeks to develop the market for traveler information products and services in metropolitan Detroit. This paper describes the work that has progressed to make MOTORCITI a reality. The systems, processes and institutional arrangements that make up this ITS success story are described.
Abstract