ITS Virginia (ITSVA) “serves as a forum and network for its public and private sector members to share information, ideas and experiences” concerning Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), i.e. “technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the surface transportation system” in Virginia.

On April 19 and 20, ITSVA held its Annual Conference in Richmond. Conference sessions included “Transit Technology Initiatives to Improve Mobility Options” at which VDOT discussed the  Integrated Corridor Management project for the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia which analyzes the usage of arterial, rail, bus, and parking networks to relieve congestion on the freeway.  A similar effort is being considered for the I-264 corridor in Hampton Roads.

In the “Traffic Adaptive Control” session, representatives from technology companies and government explained that adaptive control systems “monitor the flow of traffic and…adjust the signal timing to the current traffic patterns by making adjustments to the splits, offsets, and/or the cycle lengths”.

In the “TMCs of the Future” session, representatives from design and technology companies described possible futures for the centers VDOT and localities use to manage traffic, known as traffic management centers (TMCs) or traffic operations centers (TOCs).  URS consultant staff highlighted the travel time messages which VDOT will soon display on variable message signs in Hampton Roads.