bay area basics

The Bay Area ITS Architecture is a regional architecture that covers the nine county area. Its purpose is to facilitate ITS planning in the region, and to assist with ITS project development and procurement. As such, it is important that the Architecture has specific geographic boundaries and a timeframe in order to define its input parameters and the extent of its reach. Stakeholders are key to the Architecture's development and use, and include public agencies from across the region that are either implementing or plan to implement ITS projects in the area. The boundaries of the Bay Area region are defined in terms of geographic area, timeframe, and stakeholders below.

Geographic Area
The geographic area covered by this Architecture includes nine counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Additionally, adjacent jurisdictions, were also considered to the extent that there are interactions with Bay Area transportation systems. The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area is depicted in the figure below.

Timeframe
According to federal guidelines, the regional ITS architecture should look far enough into the future so that the efficient integration of ITS services can be guided over time. The Bay Area ITS Architecture planning horizon was chosen to be 10 years, which is long enough to include most of the system integration opportunities as anticipated by the regional stakeholders, yet represents a reasonable planning horizon for technologies, given the fast-evolving nature of this industry.

Stakeholders
The success of the Bay Area ITS Architecture depends on participation by a diverse set of stakeholders. In the context of this project, stakeholders are defined as a core set of public agencies with transportation-related oversight, responsibility, and/or duties in the San Francisco Bay Area. When it comes to transportation issues in the Bay Area, there are numerous other entities, agencies, and concerned, affected groups that may have an interest in a project such as this. The complete list of stakeholders can be found here.

In addition to the identification of stakeholders, the guidelines for applying the National ITS Architecture to a regional ITS architecture process recommend the identification of the regional ITS architecture champion. The champion is one or more key persons leading the regional ITS architecture development, is also a stakeholder, and is proactive in the field of ITS. The champion must understand the subject at hand, have knowledge of local ITS systems and projects, and have a vision for interconnectivity, partnership, and regional integration. The champion for the Bay Area ITS Architecture is the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.