The goal of transportation planning is to make informed
decisions on the investment of public funds for regional
transportation systems and services. In the Bay Area these
include:
•
Transportation 2035, the regional transportation plan; and
• The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP),
an annual program that includes comprehensive listing of all
Bay Area transportation projects that receive federal funds or that
are subject to a federally required action, such as a review for
impacts on air quality.
As a tool to inform the RTP the
Architecture can be referenced in terms of regional priorities,
objectives, and issues for further discussion that arose in the
site's development. In particular, this Architecture has
identified a number of key issues that will be further analyzed by
regional partners and used to guide the region in setting policy or
related direction for ITS projects and funding. A summary of
these issues can be found in the
Summary for Policy-Makers.
The Bay Area ITS Architecture is a single source summarizing the existing and planned ITS projects in the region. Project sponsors
can also use the project information as a starting point in submitting projects
of interest to the TIP.
For projects receiving Federal
transportation funding from the Highway Trust Fund and Mass Transit Account,
there are certain planning criteria that must be followed. Mass Transit Account funding applicants should review
the procedures documented in FTA's
Updated Guidance on Implementation of ITS Projects Affected by
National ITS Architecture Consistency Policy for Transit Projects,
while other project funding applicants in California should take the procedures as outlined in
or Chapter 12.6 of the Caltrans Local Assistance Program Guidelines
(LAPG).
These procedures are briefly explained for
transit projects and
non-transit projects in the
following sections. ITS projects
in California receiving federal funds have to ensure that a
systems engineering process is followed
in addition to meeting the requirements related to the regional ITS
architecture.
One requirement of the
Local Assistance Program Guidelines (LAPG) is that the local agency must detail how the proposed project fits into the regional ITS architecture. Specifically, Step 9 of the LAPG process for ITS Projects asks the project sponsor to submit a Systems Engineering Review Form (SERF). The
SERF is meant to be high-level project information and can be completed by
public agency staff. The list below shows where in this regional ITS architecture documentation
information can be fund to assist in writing a SERF. Most of
these requirements focus on Center-to-Center system connections.
Small, localized projects do not require a SERF.
| SERF Requirement |
Bay Area ITS Architecture Resource |
a) Identification of portions of RA
being Implemented |
Bay Area ITS Project Inventory |
b) Identification of participating
agencies roles and responsibilities |
Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities |
| c) Requirements definition |
Functional Requirements |
d) Analysis of alternative system
configurations and technology
options to meet requirements |
Not Available in Regional ITS Architecture |
| e) Procurement options |
Not Available in Regional ITS Architecture |
f) Identification of applicable ITS
standards and testing procedures |
Standards (Testing Procedures not available) |
g) Procedures and resources
necessary for operations and
management of the system |
Not Available in Regional ITS Architecture |
Refer to http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms for additional information.
Applicants for Mass Transit Account funds need to provide the following information
in the required FTA
Transportation Electronic Award and Management (TEAM) system:
1)
The applicant needs to check the
Self-Certification in the TEAM system, certifying compliance with the FTA
National ITS Architecture Consistency Policy for Transit Projects.
2) In
the project description field, the applicant needs to make a statement that an
applicable regional ITS architecture exists and that the ITS components in the
project are part of the that ITS architecture. The statement should also
include that a Systems Engineering process was used to develop
the ITS components of the project. Here is a sample project
description statement:
This bus
purchase includes the purchase of automatic vehicle location (AVL)
equipment as part of the grant. XYZ transit agencies'
implementation of an AVL system is part of the
Bay Area ITS Architecture. Detailed
information can be found in the
Project Sequencing Table in the architecture website. This
project is consistent with the Bay Area ITS Architecture. A
Systems Engineering process was used in the development of this
project.
3)
The applicant should use the
Non-Add Scope Codes in the project budget field to identify the ITS
components of the project. Here are a few
examples of the Non-Add Scope Codes for ITS component:
99300 – ITS
Fleet Management
99400 – ITS
Electronic Fare Management
99500 – ITS
Traveler Information
Applicants can
prepare itemized budgets with the ITS components separated out.
Taking the three self-certification
steps in TEAM is sufficient evidence of compliance with the FTA
requirement at the time of grant award. FTA will use its oversight
procedures to monitor compliance with the policy.
Though not
required, FTA has a similar SERF form with the seven steps allowing
grantees to document their use of a Systems Engineering process.
Stakeholders can use information from the Bay Area ITS Architecture
to fill out the FTA SERF form as described above for
non-transit projects. The form will be made
available on the FTA website at the time of grant award and prior to
project
triennial review. In most cases, the completed form would be
requested during the
triennial
review; however, the FTA regional program manager can request
earlier submission of the form. Applicants may use other means to document their use of
the Systems
Engineering process as long as it shows that the seven-step process
has been followed.
The System Engineering process is a type of project planning process used for ITS projects. This process is required for major federally-funded ITS projects. The Systems Engineering Guidebook for ITS, co-sponsored by FHWA and Caltrans, is one resource for the Systems Engineering process.
The following table outlines the basic System Engineering Process
phases and how the Bay Area ITS Architecture can provide resources
in each phase.
Systems Engineering Process
|
Bay Area ITS
Architecture Resource |
Phase -1 - Interfacing with Planning
and the Regional Architecture |
Goals and Objectives, Projects by Category |
Phase 0 - Concept Exploration and
Benefits Analysis |
Bay Area Basics, Stakeholder Information, ITS User Needs, Projects by Category |
Phase 1 - Project Planning and
Concept of Operations Development
(includes Systems Engineering
Management Plan (SEMP)) |
Stakeholder Information (Roles and Responsibilities and Agreements) |
Phase 2 - System Definition and
Design |
Functional Requirements, Standards, Architecture Details |
Phase 3 - System Development and
Implementation |
Project Sequencing, Stakeholder Information (Roles and Responsibilities and Agreements) |
Phase 4 - Validation, Operation &
Maintenance, Changes & Upgrades |
Stakeholder Information (Roles and Responsibilities and Agreements) |
Phase 5 - System
Retirement/Replacement |
|
