SPC continues to build and modify data applications to support planning processes and aid sound investments of limited financial resources. By incorporating the large catalog of data in SPC's regional geographic information system (GIS) representing the region's natural, human, and built environments, SPC has developed and refined GIS and database tools to streamline tasks and respond quickly to requests from practitioners, local governments and planning partners.
Working with data provided by state agencies, local governments and planning partners, SPC annually updates the region's GIS road files and transit routes to quickly process business and home-based addresses and more accurately assign them to their respective location in the region.
By expanding the inventory of road and demographic data to an even larger 37-county region, SPC is better positioned to develop interstate freight forecasts, provide options for long-distance commuters, and monitor development activity in neighboring regions and its potential impact. The improved inventory and a multi-tiered application allow SPC to efficiently geocode origin and destination locations in neighboring regions with more precision.
Through the increased accumulation and enhancement of data representing environmental features and conditions, SPC can more effectively identify potential issues related to transportation and development plans and projects in both the short and long term. By linking the comprehensive data resources within SPC's regional GIS to locations of proposed transportation and economic development projects, SPC can identify any potential environmental or socioeconomic conflicts that may arise. SPC has taken additional steps to further link planning with directives from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). SPC's regional GIS is being be used to link planning and NEPA initiatives through preliminary environmental screenings on potential transportation projects prior to their possible inclusion on the region's Transportation Improvement Program or the Long Range Plan.
SPC's GIS and transportation staff have researched and assembled additional environmental data layers to broaden the reach of the regional GIS and to focus on conditions that may indicate potential impacts to the environment during the maintenance or construction of infrastructure. SPC works collaboratively with environmental staff from PennDOT to encompass a broader reach and flag possible impediments prior to the permitting and construction phases of projects. Intersecting GIS data and applications to project sites and corridors allows planners to perform a comprehensive review early in a project's timeline to take possible issues into account in order to advance projects in a timely fashion.
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With continued focus on traffic signal management as a way to reduce congestion and improve safety, SPC began the development of a comprehensive database to catalog the region's traffic signal locations. Working with stakeholders at each of the region's three PennDOT districts, staff developed a draft design of a database built from spatial data already present in the regional GIS. By developing multiple data tables containing mandatory information about a signal's location, status, hardware, connectivity and ownership, a preliminary asset management system was constructed for over 2,650 signals that are located in nearly 260 municipalities across Southwestern Pennsylvania. Expanding on the mapping of the regional GIS, staff finalized protocols and data collection methods for field work that verified signal locations and conditions. By linking the GIS data to original permit drawings provided by PennDOT, the age and configuration of each signalized intersection is maintained in one location. As field work commenced, additional data forms were built to house information on the electronic systems and maintenance cycles of the signals. Finally, as SPC moved to establish contracts to upgrade and re-time signals across the region, traffic volumes and vehicle crash data were examined to determine where and what kind of investments in traffic signals would work best to improve the traffic flow and enhance the safety of the traveling public.
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SPC increased the depth and accuracy of transit related data to support the region's transit providers and more effectively represent public transit patterns across the region. In 2009, SPC carried out upgrades to data representing transit routes and stops for the region's ten transit providers in the regional GIS. By working directly with staff from the region's transit providers, SPC keeps spatial data current and returns revised data to the providers and their partners. The system of transit routes and stops played a key role in measuring access for Project Region and the development of the 2035 Plan, and will aid in determining where the future investments should be made in order to provide enhanced levels of service and to link residents with critical services and major employment centers. By maintaining a current representation of transit routes and stops, staff can feed the data directly into SPC's demographic and transportation models to better project future population, employment and traffic trends.
SPC also provided transit data and mapping support to the region's transit providers in evaluating regional success factors for Transit Oriented Development and Transit Revitalization Investment Districts for Southwestern Pennsylvania. By examining demographic variables, land use, workplace employment, and traffic patterns, planners can evaluate current and future trends in determining where to focus transit investments to aid current development strategies and to increase levels of service.
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Among the various forms of data and information that SPC compiles to support its plans and programs are traffic counts and a sample inventory of the region's roadways. In 2009, activities under SPC's Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) expanded significantly as a result of a reassessment process where the Federal Highway Administration, state Departments of Transportation, and Metropolitan Planning Organizations cooperatively determined new procedures for collecting, classifying and distributing traffic data and an inventory of the pavement conditions on roadways. The reassessment reviewed data needs at the federal level as well as the needs of partner organizations across the country and revised the data collection items and the reporting standards to ensure that the best possible data is collected and distributed primarily to aid in determining funding levels for highway maintenance. SPC staff was part of the national committee that developed the latest version of HPMS data items and protocols being adopted by state Departments of Transportation and MPOs.
The reassessment directives focused heavily on collecting additional information on the pavement condition of the nation's roadways. For this new requirement in 2009, SPC's staff measured such items as linear and traverse cracking, depths of wheel ruts, and depths of faulting in concrete slabs along each of the locally-owned roadway samples. Each year, SPC inventories nearly 500 sample sections of roadway across the region, collecting data items for HPMS that include the timing of traffic signals, all intersecting streets, and the posted speed limit. In addition, to evaluate the roadway's widening potential, staff take measurements of the road shoulders, travel lanes and medians, and identify any obstacles that may prevent future widening of the roadway. SPC has incorporated this information on locally-owned roadways into the regional GIS to aid in identifying and evaluating future projects for the Transportation Improvement Program.
As part of the HPMS program, SPC collects traffic count data on the inventory samples as well as other locations on federal-aid roadways in the region as defined by PennDOT's Bureau of Planning and Research. SPC collects nearly 400 traffic counts yearly and maintains a database to access the counts. Traffic count data is one of the key ingredients supporting SPC's regional traffic and freight models, road safety audits, transit studies, project evaluation activities, the Congestion Management Process, and the Regional Traffic Signal Program. Approximately 20 percent of the data collected is classified into 13 categories, allowing for more detailed studies and also to determine truck percents. The traffic count data is submitted to PennDOT, reviewed for accuracy, and made available to the public on their website.
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