Organizers
Raj Ponnaluri, Connected Vehicles and Arterial Management Engineer, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
Greg Krueger, Director of Emerging Technologies Programs, HNTB
Tom Caffery, Chief Engineer, DRMP, Inc.
Session Description
Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) activities have been advancing in Florida for over a decade. At this session, FDOT will present their new CAV Business Plan and report on current and future CAV activities. Other agencies around the state will present updates on their activities to showcase the diversity of CAV work being done across the state. An update will also be provided on the activities at the SunTRAX facility under development in Central Florida.
Goals/Objectives/Outputs
- FDOT CAV Business Plan Roll Out
- Present current and future FDOT projects
- Lay out the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) Roadmap
- Showcase the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) CAV activities
- Updates regarding the new SunTrax test track
Agenda
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Florida DOT CAV Business Plan
CAV activities have been advancing in Florida for over a decade. At this session, FDOT will present their new CAV Business Plan and report on current and future CAV activities. Other agencies around the state will also present updates on their activities to showcase the diversity of work being done across the state. To bring some order to their deployment efforts, FDOT recently developed a CAV Business Plan and adopted it in January 2019. This Plan identifies seven focus area: Policies and Governance; Program Funding; Education and Outreach; Industry Outreach and Partnerships; Technical Standards and Specifications Development; Implementation Readiness; and Deployment Implementation. This CAV Business Plan evolved from the 2017 TSM&O Strategic Plan and the 2018 Statewide Arterial Management Program (STAMP) Action Plan. These plans formed underlying philosophy for the CAV Business Plan, wherein the Department recognizes that infrastructure providers cannot build their way out of congestion. Congestion reduction and improved safety can also be accomplished by taking a methodical, data-driven approach, a key tenant of TSM&O. With the adoption of the CAV Business Plan, FDOT started institutionalizing the CAV Program with guidance and support from the leadership. The main goal is to deploy emerging technology projects in partnership with the industry, the Federal Highway Administration, local agencies, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Transportation Planning Organizations (TPOs), and university researchers.
- Raj Ponnaluri, Connected Vehicles and Arterial Management Engineer, FDOT
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Florida DOT CAV Activities
Currently, Florida DOT has several initiatives, some of which are deployment projects; while some of them are in development, others are being planned or implemented (see Figure). FDOT has some projects that are currently operational such as US 90 Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) deployment in Tallahassee. Projects that are in planning and design phases include the Interstate-75 (I-75) Florida’s Regional Advanced Mobility Elements (FRAME), Gainesville Autobus in partnership with the City of Gainesville (CoG), and the SunTrax testbed of the Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise. FDOT is also planning the following projects: Gainesville Bike-Pedestrian Safety project utilizing an FHWA AID award, Pinellas County SPaT deployment, City of Orlando Greenway/Pedestrian Safety, SR 434 Connected Vehicle deployment, Orlando Smart Community initiative, and Bike/Pedestrian Safety and SPaT Trapezium in Gainesville.
- Trey Tillander, State Traffic Operations Engineer, FDOT
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM Break
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Panel: Local Florida Initiatives
The Florida CAV activities are not limited to FDOT. Transit agencies, MPOs and Chambers of Commerce have all embraced the need to plan for CAVs moving forward. This panel will focus on three of those agencies.
Moderator:
- Florida State Representative Jason Fischer
Panelists:
- Maria Marino, Councilmember, City of Palm Beach Gardens
- Bernard Schmidt, VP of Automation, JTA
- Rob Palmer, RS&H, Representing Florida Chamber of Commerce Autonomous-Florida Committee
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM THEA CV Pilot and Beyond
The Tampa area is the cite of one of three USDOT CV Pilots. The regional toll agency and others in the region are all planning to build off of the Pilot activities and are focusing on preparing for CAVs.
- Bob Frey, Director of Planning and Innovation, THEA
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM SunTrax Test Site
FTE is in the process of designing and building a test facility for advanced toll technologies and CAVs in central Florida. This presentation will focus on the test track design, operations and schedule for future test and development activities.
- Paul Satchfield, SunTrax Program Manager, Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE)
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM Conclusion
Next steps for CAV in Florida.
Following the presentations on the activities in Florida, the audience will discuss the lessons learned, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for FDOT and agencies throughout Florida working to prepare for Automated Vehicles. The audience will be engaged to identify potential areas where the Florid:a program can focus in the future.
- Moderator Beth Kigel, HNTB