ITS Emergency ManagementAre You Prepared?

Philip R. Mann, P.E.City of Gainesville, Florida

Public Works Department

ITS Operations

You have a Traffic Management System, but are you prepared to do Emergency Management?

With today’s amazing ITS features, Traffic Management Systems can help your agency meet it’s preparedness goals;

The TMS can be utilized as an effective tool in many different aspects of emergency management.

National Preparedness Goal

Elements from FEMA include:Guidance for planning, organization, equipment, training & exercises;Planning for interagency operations;Resource guidance aimed at mutual aid guidance for nationwide interoperability;Guidance to support planning for businesses, communities & families; andComprehensive approach to assess national preparedness.

All Hazards Approach

ITS applications are typically thought of for the safe and efficient movement of traffic;

A fully developed ATMS has many features that are capable of supporting response to multiple types of hazards;

ITS applications can also be utilized for Homeland Security;

Where to Begin?

Preparedness begins at the individual employee level.

It includes required National Incident Management System Training.

Per FEMA standards, TMS staff must have basic NIMS training.

“During an emergency, you will not rise to the occasion but default to your level of

training”

Preparedness Planning

Must develop Continuity of Operations (COOP) plans to ensure your continued operations: Do you have redundancy in critical support

structure such as your servers? Is your communication structure built in

redundant rings? Do you have alternative power for a power

outage? Backup for field hardware?

Preparedness Planning

Must develop operational plans to implement in anticipation of an event such as a Hurricane or, in our case, University of Florida Football Games;

City of Gainesville has adopted Traffic Management into our CEMP and COOP plans;

The TMC also serves as the City’s Operations Center during an emergency.

Working Relationships

Through our multi-agency / multi disciplinary partnership & interactions, we have developed strong working relationships with: Law Enforcement (local & state); Fire – Rescue (City & County); Emergency Management (County); County Public Works; Florida Department of Transportation, and, University of Florida officials.

Inter-agency Cooperation

Emergency Exercises

The City assists with the development of county wide exercise programs;

We plan & exercise with our local police, fire and emergency management officials on a routine basis;

UF conducts an annual exercise at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with full deployment of Unified Command.

Preparedness Planning

Our Traffic Management Center was built to withstand a Category 5 Hurricane.

Real Time Events

TMC Operations are utilized in Unified Command for a minimum of 7 actual events a year where: University of Florida Gator Home football games.

Unified command is established and an Incident Action Plan (IAP) is developed for each game and for Gator Growl.

The working relationships established through the training exercises are invaluable in these events.

ITS Real Time Events

Dove Outreach International Burn a Qur’an Day (9/11/10);

Dove Outreach Church Qur'an Burning (9/11/11);

Tropical Storm Debby (2012); First Lady Michele Obama Visit (2012)

Other Real Time Events

The traffic crash on I-75 on January 29th, 2012 tested most of the capabilities of both the TMS and staff.

After Action Report

It is important to prepare an After Action Report (AAR) after each event.

The AAR allows us to: Evaluate what we did well; Identify where we need improvement; Identify gaps in our response capabilities; Target where additional training is needed;

Summary

Traffic Management Systems can be a vital tool for emergency management;

Establish relationships with the other first responders in your community. Those relationships become critical in real time;

The more uses you can demonstrate for your TMS, the more funding opportunities open up and the more support you can get for upgrades and expansion.

Questions?