Appendix A
511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION ...... 2
1.1 Purpose ...... 3
2 REQUIRED DATA ...... 4
2.1 Static Data ...... 4
2.1.1 Basemap Data Formats ...... 4
2.1.2 System Generated Data Formats ...... 4
2.2 Dynamic/Real-Time Data ...... 5
2.2.1 Required Real-Time Data ...... 5
2.2.2 Available Real-Time Data ...... 5
3 NATIVE SYSTEM INVENTORY...... 7
3.1 RCRS...... 7
3.2 Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) Systems ...... 10
3.3 PennDOT Video Sharing Solution ...... 14
4 EXTERNAL DATA SYSTEM INVENTORY ...... 15
4.1 NOAA Weather Data Feed ...... 15
5 LIST OF ACRONYMS ...... 18
List of Tables
Table 1 – 511 Pennsylvania Camera Feeds by PennDOT District
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
1 Introduction
The 511 Pennsylvania traveler information system requires a variety of static and dynamic data from multiple sources to be fused into one common format in order to be seamlessly provided to the public. Static data relates to items such as city names, roadway network and organizations. Dynamic data includes travel times, incidents and weather information.
The 511 Pennsylvania system is comprised of several major subsystems and various services, including:
• SmartNET Data Fusion System – Accepts and fuses information through data interfaces (DI’s) with various external data sources and direct data entry and publishes the fused data to the IVR telephone system, public website, and Traveler Alert System. • Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Telephone System – Provides regional travel information to the public via telephone using speech recordings, voice recognition, and text-to-speech capabilities. • 511 IVR Manager – Provides configuration and maintenance capabilities for the IVR telephone system, including management of the IVR menu structure and floodgate messages. • Public Website – Provides regional travel information and video to the public via a web- based interface. • Traveler Alert System – Through a web-based interface, allows users to define geographic regions, times of travel, and categories of traffic information to be alerted about via e-mail.
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
1.1 Purpose
The purpose of this document is to identify the various types of data that are necessary to support the 511 Pennsylvania traveler information system. This document defines the pertinent data that is available and useful for the system. This includes:
• Roadway network (including hotspots) • Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera images • Real-time incidents • Planned and active construction • Special events (e.g., sporting events) • Weather events and winter road conditions
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
2 Required Data
The 511 Pennsylvania system includes a point-to-point link roadway network in which incident, speed, travel time, event, and weather data are correlated. The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) automated telephone system and public website both require this association in order to provide the public the most accurate information available for their specific route request. Static and real-time data information specified below is required.
The public 511 website requires that incident data be displayed on a map interface. In addition, roadway links are displayed with color-coded speed information in association with equivalent roadway links provided through the IVR system.
2.1 Static Data
Static geographic data is required as a baseline in order to ensure all data is spatially accurate. All data is required to be in Geographic Projected format using Longitude and Latitude. Data in other formats such as Pennsylvania State Plane are translated to a Geographic Projection.
Static data formats that are used to support the 511 Pennsylvania traveler information system include the following:
2.1.1 Basemap Data Formats
• Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) state roadway shape files – This is the Pennsylvania data source of state roadways to be used to generate system links and to verify data accuracy. Specific “hotspots” will continue to be identified by PennDOT and incorporated into the shape files.
• PennDOT Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (BOMO) Roadway Management System (RMS) map data – This is PennDOT’s Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping source for the roadway network and associated attributes within the Commonwealth. Roadway network changes are published approximately every two weeks by BOMO. This data source is used in conjunction with the PASDA roadway shape files for periodic updates of the 511 system dataset.
• TeleAtlas digital map data – TeleAtlas is a private GIS based mapping source that has been used on the project to verify data accuracy.
2.1.2 System Generated Data Formats
• Road Conditions Reporting Systems (RCRS) – The RCRS is an existing PennDOT system used by the districts to collect and track traffic incidents and roadway conditions throughout the Commonwealth. This system provides the 511 Pennsylvania system with GIS data related to intersections, interchanges, and mile markers in half-mile increments.
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
• Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) Systems – These PTC systems include MIST® (Management Information System for Transportation) and Emergency Notification System (ENS). Both systems send information to an InfoLogistics hosted website. PTC systems provide mainline and extension roadway links and mile markers for the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The PTC traveler information website also utilizes mileposts in 0.1 mile increments to recognize incident locations.
• INRIX Roadway Links (current 511PA system) – INRIX is a private company that supplies traffic data from Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled fleet vehicles and provides vehicle speed and travel time data under the current 511PA contract.
2.2 Dynamic/Real-Time Data
Dynamic or real-time data is critical to the 511 Pennsylvania traveler information system. Existing real-time data feeds are listed below.
2.2.1 Required Real-Time Data
In order to provide the public the most consistent and accurate information throughout the Commonwealth to allow travelers to make informed decisions, the following dynamic information is necessary:
• Speed coverage for selected interstate highways and major routes,
• Incident, construction and event information (location, type, etc.)
• Winter road condition information
• Weather conditions
Accurate real-time data is currently transferred to the SmartNET data fusion system via data interfaces discussed in this document. The supported data types are disseminated to the public via the 511 public website and IVR phone system.
2.2.2 Available Real-Time Data
The following existing sources of data are available to support the 511 Pennsylvania traveler information system:
• Incidents and Special Events – Incident data including weather related roadway conditions and special events are gathered from multiple sources for dissemination to the 511 Pennsylvania system. Available data is polled from RCRS and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission sources as described in this document.
• Weather – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the base source of weather data that provides weather alerts, air temperature, atmospheric conditions and short range forecasts for various regions in Pennsylvania.
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
• Camera Images – Under the current 511PA system, PennDOT camera images are aggregated through TrafficLand’s video management system and are presented through the 511PA website. PennDOT intends to implement a statewide Video Sharing Solution (VSS) service which will support both static and motion video.
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
3 Native System Inventory
Pennsylvania has several existing native systems which provide valuable data to be considered for use in the 511 Pennsylvania system. The following systems have been assessed and will continue to be assessed to identify the data that is or could be supplied to the 511 system:
• RCRS • Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission TRIP System • PennDOT Video Sharing Solution (Currently provided by TrafficLand)
3.1 RCRS
The RCRS system is a statewide incident management system which manages incident and weather event information. The RCRS system reports on incidents occurring on any Pennsylvania state roadways including US routes and interstate highways. Incident reports and roadway conditions are manually inputted by District personnel using a web-based interface.
RCRS is the only incident reporting software used by the district Traffic Operations Centers (TOC’s). Several districts are not fully on-line as of yet. These districts report incidents by phone to a TOC in another district where the incident is entered into the system.
The RCRS system allows an operator to enter the exit-to-exit sections of roadway in which an incident has occurred as well as the jurisdiction, milemarker-to-milemarker extent, and selection from a list of 12 event types (similar to event types in the national Traffic Management Data Dictionary (TMDD)). Additional information includes the direction of travel for the incident location (based on the roadway signage, not the compass direction), incident description, incident/event reason (e.g., crash, down utility, winter weather, flooding, special event, other), and incident status. RCRS also contains a complete history log of all changes made to incidents in the system. Note that incident severity information is not currently captured in RCRS.
The following is an example of the closure information provided by RCRS in an XML format:
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
In addition to calls from motorists and district field personnel, incident reports are received from the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) who notifies the PennDOT TOC watch officer via e-mail when an incident has occurred. The incident is then entered into RCRS. Note that incidents are only entered into RCRS if they have been verified by Pennsylvania State Police or PennDOT.
Construction events are also entered into RCRS. These events are entered as close to real-time as possible, but generally no more than two hours in advance of the event, since earlier data may not be reliable.
Per PennDOT policy, non-emergency incidents (i.e., with less than a two-hour closure) do not need to be entered into RCRS. Emergency incidents (i.e., with lane closures longer than two hours) must be entered into RCRS, although this will depend on available staffing. Incident information should be updated at least every two hours.
As mentioned previously, RCRS also contains roadway weather condition information. Within RCRS, each county has only one road surface weather condition for the entire roadway within the county. The condition is based on the worse condition within the area. This includes weather data reported by plow drivers. If the roadway is wet, it is only reported as wet if the temperature is under 40 degrees; otherwise, it is reported as clear. RCRS supports reporting of different road surface weather conditions for multiple sections of a roadway within a given county.
Since not all districts operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and not all districts have access to RCRS, incident information may not always be reported on the 511 Pennsylvania system in near real-time.
The RCRS system can provide an extract of data periodically to an XML (Extensible Markup Language) or text file via ftp or provide data via web service to the 511 Pennsylvania system.
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The XML feed has been established, and updates are provided within a 15-minute interval. A sample of the data provided by the feed is shown below:
Under the current 511PA service, the SmartNET Data Fusion system receives RCRS events via a data interface which translates event data into the SmartNET Traffic Management Data Dictionary (TMDD) format. The SmartNET system builds a description based on available RCRS elements including event type, status and location. This description will appear on the
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
public 511 website, and certain elements will be provided through the IVR phone system. The RCRS data was assessed to build the necessary translation tables in the RCRS Data Interface as documented in the 511 Pennsylvania Design document.
Current Implementation – The 511 Pennsylvania project uses the RCRS system as the main source of incident/event data and winter roadway condition data. An XML file snapshot is polled from the RCRS system every five (5) minutes for closures as well as winter roadway conditions (between November 1st and April 30th). This information is updated in the 511 Pennsylvania (i.e., SmartNET) database.
3.2 Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) Systems
The MIST® system provides freeway monitoring functions for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC). The system manages incident information, CCTV feeds, VMS control and the capability to display vehicle speeds and travel times for portions of the PTC (not currently integrated). The use of MIST® provides reports covering detailed traffic flow, system performance and statistics on the applicable roadways. MIST® provides graphical maps and graphs containing real-time traffic data, running on a Windows operating system.
Incident data in MIST® originates from the PSP CAD system. Vehicle speed data in MIST® is predominantly from Traffic.com. The Traffic.com data covers approximately 84 miles in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas within the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Per the agreement between PTC and Traffic.com, speed data from Traffic.com can be displayed through the 511 Pennsylvania system, although travel time data is not permitted. PTC will review its agreement with Traffic.com to verify the types of information that can be provided to the 511 Pennsylvania system.
PTC also has a MIST® integrated Fog Warning System that includes 10 RTMS detectors in the Breezewood area that could be considered for speed data.
A separate Emergency Notification System (ENS) provides incident information to PTC’s traveler information website. Verified incident, construction and weather events are manually entered into the Emergency Notification System. These events include milepost locations, which can be converted to Latitude/Longitude coordinates for mapping purposes. Information from the MIST® system is also fed into the ENS after it has been verified. The ENS inputs this information to the InfoLogistics hosted PTC travel information website, Turnpike Roadway Information Program (TRIP). The TRIP contains verified incident data. The ENS and TRIP systems contain more reliable incident data than the MIST® system. The TRIP system also includes CCTV camera images, Road Weather Information System (RWIS) data, and VMS messages from the MIST system. Interchange locations with local road information and service plaza locations with restaurant information is also embedded on the travel conditions web map from the MIST® system. TRIP uses a Microsoft SQL Server database.
The ENS system includes Plan X detours which are planned detour routes developed by PTC to be utilized when closures occur.
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
The TRIP system provides XML feeds for incidents, construction events, Plan X detours and weather condition data with updates every two minutes. The incidents and construction events are provided through the Alerts.XML feed. An example of the content provided is below:
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
Weather conditions for each of the four PTC regions are provided in a separate XML feed (weather.xml), and a sample of this is shown below:
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
Current Implementation – The 511 Pennsylvania system currently pulls the following information and data from the TRIP system.
• Incidents and construction events • Winter roadway conditions (between November 1st and April 30th ) • Plan X detour routes
The weather reports from the four PTC regions are translated to 511 corresponding IVR regions. This data is extracted on a two-minute interval and is made available on the 511 IVR telephone system and public website.
3.3 PennDOT Video Sharing Solution
PennDOT will be implementing a statewide Video Sharing Solution (VSS) service which will support both static and motion video. PennDOT will implement VSS and make the required feeds available to the selected Bidder. Also, video images from the PTC are collected and made available through their contractor, InfoLogistics. Although, these camera images are not currently integrated into the 511PA system, this integration will be a requirement of the new service. Over 600 camera feeds are currently made available as shown below. Table 1 – 511 Pennsylvania Camera Feeds by PennDOT District PennDOT District Area Number of Cameras 1 Erie 0 2 State College 36 4 Scranton 28 5 Allentown 36 6 Philadelphia 287 8 Harrisburg 81 9 Altoona 44 11 Pittsburgh 167 Total 679
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
4 External Data System Inventory
External data sources provide supplemental information to the internal PennDOT data sources. For this project, external data sources include:
• NOAA (weather data) • SmartNET (special events and planned construction)
4.1 NOAA Weather Data Feed
The NOAA Weather data feed provides air temperature and atmospheric conditions for areas within Pennsylvania. Forecast information along with National Weather Service warnings, watches and advisories is also provided for display on the public 511 website, however the forecast information will not be included in a new service. In the IVR telephone system, weather alerts appear as events. The weather alerts are provided on a county-by-county basis, and are associated with the appropriate 511 PA calling region using the PennDOT-provided county-to- region mapping. Within the calling region, the county is mapped to all associated cities, roadways, and hotspots to determine the appropriate “traffic and road condition” locations where the weather alerts are played back through the telephone system.
It should be noted that the 511PA service only reports selected weather alerts deemed appropriate or relevant to motorists. This is done by filtering the NOAA Weather data for selected “NWS Event Types” which are presented as a specific “511 Name” in the service. Below is a list which includes each selected “NWS Event Type” and the associated “511 Name” Table 2 – NWS Event Types and 511 Names
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
NWS Event Type 511 Name NWS Event Type 511 Name Blizzard Warning Blizzard Warning Lake Effect Snow and Lake Effect Snow and Blizzard Watch Blizzard Watch Blowing Snow Advisory Blowing Snow Advisory Blowing Snow Advisory Blowing Snow Advisory Lake Effect Snow Lake Effect Snow Dense Fog Advisory Dense Fog Advisory Warning Warning Evacuation Immediate Immediate Evacuation Lake Effect Snow Watch Lake Effect Snow Watch Excessive Heat Warning Excessive Heat Warning Lake Wind Advisory Lake Wind Advisory Extreme Cold Warning Extreme Cold Warning Lakeshore Flood Lakeshore Flood Extreme Wind Warning Extreme Wind Warning Advisory Advisory Flash Flood Statement Flash Flood Lakeshore Flood Lakeshore Flood Flash Flood Warning Flash Flood Warning Statement Flash Flood Watch Flash Flood Watch Lakeshore Flood Lakeshore Flood Flood Advisory Flood Advisory Warning Warning Flood Statement Flood Lakeshore Flood Watch Lakeshore Flood Watch Flood Warning Flood Warning Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Power Plant Flood Watch Flood Watch Warning Warning Freezing Drizzle Freezing Drizzle Radiological Hazard Radiological Hazard Advisory Advisory Warning Warning Freezing Fog Advisory Freezing Fog Advisory Severe Thunderstorm Severe Thunderstorm Freezing Rain Advisory Freezing Rain Advisory Warning Warning Gale Warning Gale Warning Severe Thunderstorm Severe Thunderstorm Gale Watch Gale Watch Watch Watch Hazardous Weather Hazardous Weather Severe Weather Severe Weather Outlook Outlook Statement Heavy Freezing Spray Heavy Freezing Spray Sleet Advisory Sleet Advisory Warning Warning Sleet Warning Sleet Warning Heavy Freezing Spray Heavy Freezing Spray Snow Advisory Snow Advisory Watch Watch Snow and Blowing Snow and Blowing Snow Heavy Snow Warning Heavy Snow Warning Snow Advisory Advisory High Wind Warning High Wind Warning Storm Warning Storm Warning High Wind Watch High Wind Watch Storm Watch Storm Watch Hurricane Force Wind Hurricane Force Wind Tornado Warning Tornado Warning Warning Warning Tornado Watch Tornado Watch Hurricane Force Wind Hurricane Force Wind Tropical Storm Warning Tropical Storm Warning Watch Watch Tropical Storm Watch Tropical Storm Watch Hurricane Statement Hurricane Tropical Storm Wind Tropical Storm Wind Hurricane Warning Hurricane Warning Warning Warning Hurricane Watch Hurricane Watch Tropical Storm Wind Tropical Storm Wind Hurricane Wind Hurricane Wind Warning Watch Watch Warning Wind Advisory Wind Advisory Hurricane Wind Watch Hurricane Wind Watch Winter Storm Warning Winter Storm Warning Ice Storm Warning Ice Storm Warning Winter Storm Watch Winter Storm Watch Lake Effect Snow Lake Effect Snow Winter Weather Winter Weather Advisory Advisory Advisory Advisory
The data is received in real-time from NOAA in an XML format. A sample weather alert is below:
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
5 List of Acronyms
Acronym Description ATMS Advanced Traffic Management System BOMO Bureau of Maintenance and Operations CAD Computer Aided Dispatch CCTV Closed Circuit Television DMS Dynamic Message Sign DTN Data Transmission Network ENS Emergency Notification System GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Position System ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems IVR Interactive Voice Response (telephone system) JMS Java Message Service LAN Local Area Network MIST® Management Information System for Transportation NWS National Weather Service NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration O&M Operations and Maintenance PASDA Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access PAT Pittsburgh Area Transit PEIRS Pennsylvania Emergency Incident Reporting System PEMA Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency PennDOT Pennsylvania Department of Transportation PSP Pennsylvania State Police PTC Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission RCRS Road Condition Reporting System RMS Roadway Management System RTMS Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor RWIS Road Weather Information System SEPTA Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority SQL Structured Query Language TMC Traffic Management Center TMDD Traffic Management Data Dictionary TOC Traffic Operations Center TRANSCOM Transportation Operations Coordinating Committee TRANSMIT TRANSCOM’s System for Managing Incidents and Traffic TRIP Turnpike Roadway Information Program UI User Interface VDS Video Distribution System WAN Wide Area Network XML Extensible Markup Language
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Appendix A 511 Pennsylvania Data Source Guide
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