UPDATE: Thursday, February 11th, 2016
COATS Phase 6 is facilitating ongoing technology transfer through the Western States Forum and continued demonstration and evaluation of ITS technologies through several incubator projects. The final quarter of 2015 saw continued development on these projects, as detailed below.
Western States Forum
The 11th annual Western States Forum will be June 21st – 23rd, 2016, and planning for the event ramped up during this quarter. A Save the Date postcard was distributed partway through the quarter, followed shortly after by the Call for Abstracts. Additionally, preparation work began for the event itself: facilities at the Holiday Inn Express in Yreka, California, were reserved, an event planner was hired, and preliminary planning began for meals and networking events.
For more information on the 11th annual Western States Forum, go to http://www.westernstatesforum.org/CurrentForum/Default.html.
During the first quarter of 2016, planning activities will continue. Abstracts will be selected and first drafts of presentations and demonstrations will be due near the end of the quarter. Registration for the Forum will open in early March, following the release of a brochure. Expect to see updates both here and on the Forum website as preparations continue.
Year 1 Incubator Projects:
Technology Incubator: Data Quality for Aggregation and Dissemination of DOT Traveler Information: An Analysis of Existing System Best Practices
During the fourth quarter of 2015, the Data Quality incubator project underwent further research. With a focus on the transportation field, the project team continued a literature search for the best practices regarding quality control of traveler information data, and data in other similar domains, such as weather data.
This quarter will see the pursuit of interviews with representatives of the Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming state DOTs. The project team will also complete the literature search and compile a draft report on the state of the practice for traveler information data quality.
Safety/Operations Incubator: Evaluation of the Fredonyer Pass Icy Curve Warning System (ICWS)
This quarter, the project team addressed comments on the draft final report that were received from the technical panel. The evaluation of the Fredonyer Pass ICWS will be completed in the upcoming quarter thanks to the efforts of David Veneziano, who has continued working on this project after leaving WTI. The evaluation report will be finalized and posted in the first quarter of 2016.
The image below shows the layout of the pass and the warning system.
Please check back again next quarter for updates on the progress and status of the COATS projects.