June 2016 Issue 102

The Tropical Cyclone Season has arrived (I like this name better than the “H” word)

and we’re already 3 names down.

It will be interesting to see if Gaston is made up of the same mettle as our Major Gaston!

June 2016 Issue 102

NOTES FROM THE DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS (TSM&O)PROGRAM MANAGER

For the first time since 1964 Cleveland is thehome of a professional sports championshipteam thanks to the efforts of Mr. Lebron “King”James and his teammates on the Cavaliers.Ironically, even though the Golden StateWarriors had the best single season record inNBA history they were still consideredunderdogs against the Cleveland Cavaliers.The reason for this can be related back to thevision, work ethic and desire that Lebron Jamesbrings to the court each and every game. If youwere fortunate enough to watch the NBA Finalsthen you would know what I mean when itcomes to his performance. Before I go anyfurther, let me preface the rest of the story byvehemently stating that I AM NOT a LebronJames fan! I just admire the approach he takeswhile doing his job, as well as the accountabilityhe demands from his teammates each andevery night.

To briefly recap this year’s NBA Finals, theGolden State Warriors had a surprising 3 to 1series lead that had most fans thinking “well, it’sover!” Lebron James thought otherwise, so hewilled his teammates to suck it up while taking itone game at a time. He preached to them aboutall the hard work and preparation they’ve placedto get to this moment while stressing that it takesfour wins to take the championship. As eachremaining game passed the audience could seethe confidence building in the Cavaliers and thefocus Lebron had on leading them to the title.When it was all over and he cried like a “baby”(yep, told you I wasn’t a fan!) all I could do wasapplaud because he would never have reachedthis pinnacle if it weren’t for all the preparationand hard work put into the effort.

I respect individuals like Lebron James whohave a vision, develop a plan and prepare much

harder than their opponents. You could tellthat he dedicated an enormous amount ofblood, sweat and tears to get to the pinnacle ofthe NBA this year, thus reaping the benefits ofthe championship. This is the sameexpectation I have from our staff within theTSM&O program as we strive to be the bestthat we can possibly be each and every day.At times I know that many in my group leaveour meetings with a bit of frustration but in theend I feel they can see the big picture. As myparents always told me, “nothing is easy inlife”, so I make sure that we are prepared forwhatever the ITS program may encounter.

This brings me to an event that happened afew days ago. Mr. Liang Hsia sent me a friendinvite on Facebook so that he could reconnectwith the happenings within the Department’sITS program. In 2004, Liang used to work inCentral Office ITS and was THE key to theState’s successful program because of hisinvolvement with the SunGuide software. Like“King” James, Mr. Hsia spent countlesssleepless nights developing the documentationfor this statewide software that would be thecornerstone of the program we have today. Irecall reviewing his e-mails in the morning andrealizing that many of them were writtenbetween 2:00 and 3:00 AM. When I inquiredon this odd time to draft e-mails Liang alwaysreplied that an idea would come to him in theevening and he could not wait to get theinformation to our team.

I quickly learned that Liang truly believed inpreparation and hard work when discussingthis odd time for e-mails with his colleagues inCentral Office. He never took anything forgranted while giving it his all during the

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June 2016 Issue 102

NOTES FROM THE DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS (TSM&O)PROGRAM MANAGER continued

development and coding of the software. This iswhen I realized that we were taking this effort forgranted, hence we should step up to the table totry to equalize his dedication. Once theSunGuide software became a reality I felt it wasnecessary to nominate Liang for the annualDavis Productivity award. When he won it cameas quite a surprise to him. He did not expect anaward for his efforts, just the satisfaction that hehad a vision, developed a plan, prepared muchharder and saw it all come to fruition during theinitial implementation of the software. He did notcry like Lebron but inside you could tell he wasbeaming with joy at getting this job done right!

Now for the bad news. As mentioned in lastmonth’s newsletter, District Two had twoprojects as finalists for the ITS America 2016awards ceremony being held in San Jose,California. Unfortunately, both finalists lost tothe Caltrans/Xerox team’s project that involvedHOV lane technology. I was not bitter norsurprised by the outcome because I knew wehad a tough sell when competing with the “hometeam.” In hindsight, there were some things thatI wish had been done differently but I am not oneto dwell on “what could have been.” Instead, Itake the Captain Kirk approach by seeking outnew challenges and adventures.

The reality was that the cards were not in ourfavor this year because of the method used forselecting a winner. In the past, an awardscommittee would review the finalists and selectthe winner based on merit and value to the ITSindustry. This year they decided to allow theannual meeting attendees to vote by placingtheir business card in a fish bowl beside eachfinalist’s poster board that they felt merited theannual award. Problem was that the hometown

team would have an advantage since amajority of the attendees would be from theState of California. I knew this would be achallenge once I learned about the selectionprocess because we’d have to overcome thisdisadvantage in a very dramatic fashion.

As mentioned earlier, it all starts with vision,preparation and execution. For us to win Iknew that we’d have to be “all in” to competewith the California contingent. This meant ahuge investment in personnel, money andtime, none of which we had available due tothe date of the event. We had tworepresentatives, Craig and Holly, who did afantastic job of marketing our projects butthere was too much foot traffic to service inorder to get the votes. The reality was thatwe really needed to double the amount ofstaff in order to have an honest chance atwinning and we would have needed to workthe crowd to sway them from giving theirbusiness cards to the California finalists.

The feeling from our Florida contingent is thatwe came in a close second to the Caltransteam. It is a hard pill to swallow since I knowwe had a great chance of winning but it’s allin the past now and we are focused on thefuture. The reality is that this is a greatstepping stone for the District Two ITSprogram and very beneficial learningexperience that will gain us notoriety in thefuture. All in all, no matter whether we won orlost the real winner is North Florida since theregion will soon reap the benefits of the hardwork from our ITS team.

Pete Vega, District 2TSM&O Manager

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June 2016 Issue 102

NOTES FROM THE DISTRICT 2 ITSENGINEER

The common snook is a prized inshore gamefish, known as much for its elusiveness and itsfight once hooked as for its taste on the dinnertable. I had never caught one, and have rarelyhad the opportunity to even fish for one sincetheir habitat doesn’t quite stretch all the way toNorth Florida.

Recently, I had committed to drive to WinterHaven to visit one of my best friends, Ryan, andhe knew this inglorious fact about me. Ryan is agreat fisherman, the kind that makes catchingfish look easy. He has tournament trophiesscattered around his house and a closet thatlooks more like a small tackle shop than a placeto store clothes. While planning our guy’sweekend, he informed me that I was to no longerbe snookless.

Considering Ryan’s background, confidence,and repeated quotes in the days leading up toour trip about how we would “tear the snook up”,I was positive that it would be a quick,successful trip. Oh, how I was wrong.

Ryan enlisted the help of one of his goodfriends, Shane, a Lieutenant for Lakeland Fire

Rescue, to help with our mission. Shane had somuch knowledge of fishing Tampa Bay that Ithought he was an actual fishing guide. So,against our better judgment, we agreed to wakeup at 4 a.m. on Saturday and meet Shane inLakeland at five before heading across I-4 toTampa. Unfortunately, a very expensive seatcushion fell off Shane’s boat enroute, which wecircled back around to retrieve the remains of.This was a setback, but we were still on thewater by 6 a.m.

The sunrise was at our backs as we idled awayfrom the boat ramp, which was back in a largecanal parallel to the causeway leading to theGandy Boulevard Bridge. Shane threw thethrottle down as we exited the canal, as we hadto make a beeline for the other side of the bay.Our plans for a quick crossing diminished whenwe began to hit the chop of the bay. The boatbounced wildly as we were pelted with fast-moving sea spray. A steady west wind had thebay very rough. The uncomfortable, nerve-wracking ride made it clear that this wasn’t goingto be an easy day.

Once we finally made it across the bay, weanchored up in about four feet of water on agrass flat and proceeded to chum the water withfishmeal, trying to lure in baitfish that we wouldcast net and save to use later on the snook.Once again, this task proved to be more difficultthan we had planned. Most days, it can only takea few casts to fill the baitwell with bait, but thistime it took over an hour, and a run back acrossto the other side of the bay, to grab what wedeemed to be the minimum acceptable amountof bait for the day. Little did we know that theamount of bait we had was substantial enoughfor our future endeavors.

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NOTES FROM THE DISTRICT 2 ITS ENGINEER continued

The tide had been dead low when our boattouched the water at 6 a.m. Due to the full moonand west wind, there would be a strongincoming tide until 1 p.m., which was supposedto create perfect conditions for wade-fishingsnook up in the shallow mangrove flats that linecertain areas of the bay.

With bait on hand, we made another blisteringrun from the Gandy, north past the I-295 bridgeand onto our first flat. The three of usdisembarked the boat with rods in hand, ready tostalk some fish. Ryan immediately caught asnook, which should have been a good sign.However, it was our lone fish for that area, andafter about an hour of wading in waist-deepwater we decided to try a different spot.

This trend continued on through the morning. Asthe water in the bay and the sun both rosehigher, we would try spot after spot, wadingaround through waist to chest deep water.Sometimes the bottom was nice and hard, andsometimes it was mucky. One spot hadespecially murky water, and was filled with atype of seagrass that extended all the way to thesurface of the chest-deep water. This not onlymade wade fishing much harder, but also madeus feel very vulnerable, as we had seen acouple of hammerhead sharks already and hadno clue what creatures may have been lying inwait in that underwater jungle. Still, despite ourbest efforts only a couple of snook had beencaught, and none by me.

As noon came and went, we decided to resort toour last option. It involved another long run backacross the bay and south to the area where wehad actually begun the morning lookingfruitlessly for bait. By this time, the clouds had

been building and we got situated back on theboat as the rain started falling on our spot,adding to my growing misery for the day. Werode as quickly as we could to our finaldestination, a place called Christmas Pass, notsure if we were soaked more due to the rain, orthe incessant pounding of the spray off thechoppy bay, which stung us as it hit us withvelocity. Much to our chagrin, as we began toidle up to the mouth of the little pass, we noticedthat there were already fishermen all over it.

We squeezed into a little spot on a point thatguarded the left edge of the mouth of the pass,which itself was only a small winding creekabout the width of a four lane divided roadway,lined with mangroves on both sides.

The tide was cresting as I tried in vain to targetany snook on the point. As time kept runningout, I lost two rigs on oyster bars that flanked themangrove outcropping. By now it was past oneo’clock and the time that we were supposed tohead back in.

However, I couldn’t give up; not at this point,after all this effort. At the advice of Ryan andShane, I began to wade around the tip of thepoint and into the mouth of the creek, the wholetime precision casting at various areas under themangroves. Every minute I thought I might get ahookup, but nothing happened.

I got inside the mouth of the creek as theoutgoing current began to pick up speed. Theconditions were what fishermen would call“fishy”: a perfect scenario to get a hookup.Unfortunately, I was now almost neck deep inwater as Ryan waded over to join me and help.This made it very difficult to cast. We could hear

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NOTES FROM THE DISTRICT 2 ITS ENGINEER continued

snook crushing baitfish from back inside the thickweb of mangrove limbs that stretched down to thewater.

Hundreds of thousands of small baitfish werepopping all around us, which made the watersurface look and sound as if it were raining. A podof dolphins cruised by twenty feet behind us,either unphased by or unaware of our stealthypresence. The water was alive, and in the middleof it, we ourselves felt very alive. In the backs ofour minds, we knew that we were five feet deep inwater that was perfect territory for sharks, but inthis moment, we were the apex predators, andthat was our focus.

Multiple times, I flung bait right into themangroves, watching the line as the baitfish onthe hook nervously swam out of harm’s way andback towards us. “Let the bait do the work,” Ryansaid, “Eventually it won’t swim out fast enoughand you will get your strike.” He was right, acouple of casts later, and the line bounced beforequickly dragging into the mangroves. It was asnook. My excitement was immediatelychallenged when the fish escaped off the hook.So close, yet so far. A couple of casts later, and Igot the same result. A third time, the fish broke offthe leader. The frustration was now building.Would I ever finally get a snook? Was it not in mycards to have success at all? Ryan and Shanewould have none of that. Ryan waded over to theboat to re-tie a new hook and grab more bait whileI made sure that I didn’t see any snook move outof the spot that we knew they were in.

With new bait and line in hand, I made multiplecasts, working with as much patience as I couldgather to work the baitfish within the strike zone ofa snook

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under the mangroves. Multiple hits, however,yielded me the same result. Nothing. It wasnow 2 p.m. and I knew we had to leave. Ryanand Shane would not give up on me though. Itwas clear that we were not leaving without acatch, one way or the other. The rod Shanehad been using had a different style hook onit, which they thought might hold the fishbetter. Once again, Ryan trudged through thechest deep water back to the boat toexchange rods for me.

Once back from the boat, he handed it to me.I inhaled a deep breath as I began my backcast. I have to make this cast count I thought.Time was running out, and every move tocatch a fish had to be diligent. As I swung therod forward, the baitfish tumbled through theair right into a small hole between mangrovebranches. I closed the bail as Ryan and Iwaited, holding our breaths and watching theline float in the current. Once again, the now-familiar strike occurred and the line went taut.Finally though, the fish stayed on, fightingadmirably and pulling out drag as I reeled linein with the excitement of a kid. The action wasincredible, as the fish came out of the watermultiple times between making runs to the leftand right. Once in hand, I held my trophy up intriumph as we had finally met our goal. Thefeeling was incredible! In that one instant, allof the built up frustration and doubtdisappeared. The fish was released, and thethree of us performed a celebratory toast onboard the boat before we fired up the Yamahaoutboard and headed back to the ramp.

The day’s event made me think about a fewthings. I would have never been able to catch

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NOTES FROM THE DISTRICT 2 ITSENGINEER continued

a snook, at least not on that day, on my own.However, I had two fishing partners thatbelieved in me, mentored me, and decided notto give up on me. We were all in it for the onecause. That kind of teamwork is powerful, andcan achieve great things that would not beaccomplished otherwise. I could not thank Ryanand Shane enough for all they did for me thatday. That type of teamwork and coordination iswhat also makes great work environments. Itcan make our TMC stronger. It can also bolsterour Traffic Incident Management efforts and ourcombined agency responses to roadwayevents.

There were also many times where I wanted tothrow in the towel. Floating around and drinkingbeer back in Winter Haven sounded like a muchbetter idea than the torture we were subjectingourselves to in Tampa Bay. However, each timeI wanted to give up, I decided to dig a littledeeper and find more grit. This was helped bythe support of my two friends who were in it forme. Eventually, we built up the resolve anddetermination that we were going to meet ourgoal, one way or the other. Again, a directcomparison can be made to the careerenvironment. Don’t give up on your work goals,and keep trying. Even when we encounter anobstacle, we must keep pushing because indoing so we will prevail. Having the support of ateam that believes in us and supports us doesmake this a lot easier. Having these things isparamount to professional success. It is alsoexactly what we need to ensure that our ITSprogram delivers the best product for ourcustomers, the traveling public.

Josh ReichertITS/TMC Program Manager

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NORTH FLORIDA TPO

Over the past several newsletters I haveaddressed the great working relationshipwe’ve had with the North FloridaTransportation Planning Organization(NFTPO) but I now feel that we’ve taken it toanother level. The NFTPO has beenassisting the City with an issue involving alarge sized local firm who had concerns aboutthe transportation system near their complex.The NFTPO scheduled a meeting at theRTMC with this firm’s representatives todiscuss the problem and potential solutions,near and long term. Since ITS can play amajor role in assisting, I was invited to listento the discussions and provide any ideaswhere our program could help.

After about twenty minutes of discussion Iwas asked to provide any potential ITSsolutions that may help the situation. Ofcourse, Jeff Sheffield informed me about theconcerns the day prior so I had enough timeto prepare for this meeting. I started theresponse by rehashing their concerns andthen proceeded to provide potential ITSsolutions that could be implemented in thenext several months. Once I noticed that Ihad their attention the discussion went a littlefurther into the future on services our ITSprogram could provide to their firm andemployees to make their quality of life a littlebetter. I was amazed by their reaction anddesire to partner with us in the near future.

The quick solution was simple since thelocation being discussed had limited to notechnology in the area. A few wireless hops,some Bluetooth technology, a small numberof CCTV cameras and an evaluation of thetraffic signal timing plan could, in fact, solve

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June 2016 Issue 102

NORTH FLORIDA TPO continued

many of their concerns. They then began todiscuss the issues involving their freightmovements within the city and challengesencountered. Once I began to discuss the ITSprogram’s efforts to assist the freight industry itwas a lock that we had a long-term privatepartner in our midst. It’s now just a matter ofcoming up with a plan to address all of theirconcerns within the next year, thereby providingtheir group with some relief until a futureconstruction project can address this area.

We segued to a discussion about 511 and whatit could do for their employees and freight.Once I provided a brief overview of this systemit was just a matter of setting up a meeting inthe coming weeks so they could get moredetails. We then discussed a key point in myvision for the ITS program involving getting ourinformation directly to the end user. Some ofthe solutions I proposed included getting adirect link of our traffic information to their lobbyand break room using video monitors.Likewise, I campaigned to have them requireemployees to sign-up for the MyFlorida 511service that provides traffic information directlyto their team via text messages, e-mails and/orvoice notifications.

This was the turning point in the programbecause part of the region’s ITS Master Planwas to get the information to the end user(being private enterprise). In the past, we havevisited numerous firms that were large trafficgenerators but this was the first time they’veinvited our technology inside their walls. If weare successful it may be the turning point for theDistrict Two ITS program since we can begin todistribute traffic and minimalize congestion bygetting to the end user before they exit the frontdoor.

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As you can see, our partnership with theNFTPO is a success story that many otherregions should follow. Their job is to seek outthe issues and our job is to try to come upwith technological solutions that can fill thevoid until capacity improvements allow theregion to catch-up.

Pete Vega, District 2TSM&O Manager

CONSTRUCTION

The I-95 St. Johns County ITS DeviceInstallation Project is installing DMS, CCTVcameras, MVDS, and associatedinfrastructure on I-95 from the CR 210 RestArea going south to the Flagler County Line.DMS structures were delivered to the projectthis month and are anticipated to be installednext month along with the DMS signs. Crewscontinued working on conduit, pull box, andpower service installations. This project isscheduled for completion early next year.

Construction is still ahead of schedule on the87 mile ITS fiber optic cable project on I-75which spans from SR 24 in Gainesville, northto the Florida/Georgia state line. This projectwill provide the fiber optic cable, conduit andcommunications infrastructure for anupcoming ITS device installation projectwhich should begin early this fall. TheContractor for this project was selected thismonth via low bid pricing. The project wasawarded to Contact Network LLC, which isbased in Alabama, so this will be their firstproject in Florida. We look forward to workingwith them and having a great project.

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CONSTRUCTION continued

The project to install fiber optic cable along I-10from Jacksonville to Tallahassee was alsoawarded this month via low bid pricing. ContactNetwork LLC also won this project, so we willdefinitely get a good look at their abilities for alltypes of ITS work. Several of our Department andConsultant personnel have spoken with clientsand vendors that Contact Network has workedwith in Alabama and everyone has had nothingbut good things to say about the company.

The design for the ITS devices, which will use theI-10 fiber optic cable from the project above, willbegin in July. This project will be awarded nextJuly and will start in the Fall of 2017.

The SR 16 project has a Notice To Proceed in lateJuly. This project will be installing fiber optic cablefrom FDOT’s fiber backbone at the I-95/SR 16Interchange down SR 16 to the St. Johns CountyPublic Works facility. After making this connectionthe fiber will continue down East on SR 16 to US 1and then go South on US 1 making its way to theCity of St. Augustine. These fiber connections willallow FDOT, St. Johns County Signals, and theCity of St. Augustine to share traffic data andvideos to enhance traffic coordination within thearea. The Pre-Construction and Utility Meetingshave been scheduled for early July for this project.

Kevin JacksonITS Construction Liaison

MAINTENANCE

FDOT Maintenance personnel, the ITSMaintenance Contractor (TCD) and the ITSConsultant (Metric Engineering) have had quite abusy month. FDOT has been working with FLIRconcerning an issue with their thermal imaging

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cameras that were installed as part of theGainesville/Paynes Prairie Visibility Project.The cameras have to be rebootedintermittently to work properly, which canimpact the TMC operator’s ability to viewincidents. FDOT has also been overseeingwork that TCD has been doing to replace theDames Point analog CCTV cameras withdigital CCTV cameras and replacement of thewind sensor batteries on the Hart andMatthews Bridges. More details about thiswork are described below as well asadditional work TCD and Metric Engineeringhave been performing. FDOT also providedtraining to TCD and Metric personnel fortroubleshooting and repair of the bridge windsensors. With all of this work taking place thismonth, FDOT personnel have been busywriting and tracking work orders and attendingfield and progress meetings.

TCD replaced several analog CCTV camerason the Dames Point Bridge this month. Thepicture below shows two man lifts being usedto do the work.

The deck of the Dames Point Bridge isabout 200 feet from the water and thepersonnel in the lifts were as high as 150feet above the deck, so they must have hadquite a view.

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MAINTENANCE continued

TCD has also been replacing the batteries in allof the bridge wind sensors due to the batteriesreaching their projected end of life. Whilereplacing the batteries, they have also beenaddressing any needed maintenance at each ofthe sites. The batteries in the wind sensor onthe Dames Point Bridge were changed out andthe device was serviced during the laneclosures for the CCTV camera replacements.Crews were also busy this month installing aconcrete pole at the new RTMC, which will beused for testing devices prior to installing themalong District 2 roadways, performingPreventive Maintenance on the ITS devices onthe northeast and northwest quadrants of I-295,completing inventory support at the newRTMC, and installing fiber optic cable onPhilips Highway to provide a final connectionalong the corridor between Shad Road and I-95.

Metric personnel assisted with the inventorystocking and data entry as well as end of yearpurchasing. Personnel were also presentduring the lane closures on the Hart, Mathews,Dames Point and Bridge of Lions bridges.

Additional ITS Maintenance activities for themonth included:• Installation of wireless antennas in Saint

Augustine to connect traffic signals from thearea of the Bridge of Lions going North toMay Street and over to US 1.

• The communications Master Hub at the NBBlanding Boulevard on-ramp to I-295 wasreplaced this month with a much largerbuilding. The original hub was too full toallow future expansion, so the larger buildingwas installed and the fiber optic cable andinfrastructure was relocated to the newbuilding.

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• The Layer 2 switches in the ITS devicecabinets on the Phase V Project on thesouthwest quadrant of I-295 were replaced.These switches were originally installed in2007 and were approaching their expectedend of life.

• The wireless antennas on I-75 and US 441within Paynes Prairie were adjusted toprovide better communications between thetwo roadways. This connection is the onlymeans of communications for the deviceson US 441 to communicate back to theGainesville TMC and North Florida RTMC.

• Several pre-construction and field meetingswere held for upcoming projects to installfiber connections, upgrade signals, andinstall ITS devices.

Matt HarbertITS Maintenance Manager

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

“One benefit of summer was that each day wehad more light to read by” – Jeanette Walls,The Glass Castle. Well, summer is officiallyhere with its longer days. As if we could not tellby the extreme amount of heat that we havebeen having over the past several weeks.

Suffice to say that the historical average forthe month of June in Jacksonville has been 89degrees and here we are being overachieversreaching 98 degrees in June 2016. Of course,with the warmer weather there is always anincreased chance in the occurrence of tropicalstorms and hurricanes as we found out whenDistrict 2 was hit with Tropical Storm Colin onJune 6, 2016. It brought along approximately1.7 inches of rainfall that contributed to an

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June 2016 Issue 102

increase in events here in District 2 throughout the day. From the charts below, we can see that therewas an increase by approximately 31% on all event types such as crashes, debris, emergencyvehicles and visibility just in that week alone. The data revealed that the visibility events jumped by 54percent during the same week that Tropical Storm Colin hit.

Our incident duration times have also been affected this month due to the tropical storm. From thePerformance Measures chart below, we can see that our incident duration has been exceptional overthe past month with the only exclusion being the same week with Tropical Storm Colin. This is atestament to how well our Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC) has been operatingwith all of our agencies being able to communicate with each other and respond to incidents in a timelymanner. The average open roads duration for the past 12 months has stayed well under the 90-minutegoal duration times as reported by SunGuide at 50.7 minutes.

The following charts show the Performance Measures for the Open Roads, Roadway Clearance,Incident Clearance durations and events for the past five weeks.

Sherrell LallMetric Engineering10

June 2016 Issue 102

RISC – RAPID INCIDENT SCENE CLEARANCE - UPDATE

The Rapid Incident Scene Clearance (RISC)program was designed to support Florida’sOpen Roads Policy and establishes a 90-minutegoal for the clearance of motor vehicle incidentson Florida’s roadways. RISC was developed forthe purpose of quickly securing and restoringhighway facilities for public use and is a majorcomponent of Florida’s Traffic IncidentManagement strategy. Our RISC programencompasses nine counties and covers majorincidents along our interstates. If you have anyquestions about the RISC program moreinformation can be found on our website athttp://www.jax511.com/D2TIMwp/risc/ . It givesmore information about the program as well asthe coverage areas.

ROAD RANGER UPDATE

The First Coast Road Rangers is a uniform andconsistent statewide program that supports andpromotes the Open Roads Policy by providingfree highway assistance to stranded motorists,reducing delay during incidents and improvingsafety for the motoring public and responders.They are able to perform these duties byrelaying real-time information to the TrafficManagement Center (TMC) regarding incidents,congestion, disabled vehicles and roadwaydebris. Their routes encompass all of the majorinterstates here in District 2.

The Rangers kicked off the month of June byholding their monthly Road Ranger SafetyMeeting at the FDOT Urban Office TrainingCenter at 11:30 A.M. on June 1, 2016. Mr.Cody Parham opened the meeting byreviewing lessons learned within the pastmonth and having an open discussion with theRangers on best practices. The Rangers alsotook a moment to acknowledge anotherRanger who is in critical condition after beingstruck in District 7 while working a shoulderevent on a bridge. Situations like these helpthe Rangers realize the risks that they aretaking while assisting motorists and also helpthem not be complacent while on duty.

We are very fortunate to have Road Rangersthat are passionate about what they do andare willing to take risks to help motorists inneed.

Looking at the charts following, we can see theRangers have helped with close to 3,000activities so far in the month of June. It wasnoted that there has been a slight decrease intravel for the month of June when compared toMay around this same time. The Rangershave been providing a lot more water tomotorists as we reach record-breakingtemperatures in June and they have beenseeing an increase in abandoned vehicles onthe roadways.

There have been close to 1,100 incidents sofar in the Month of June and approximately60% of those incidents were disabled vehicles.The Rangers have also provided many otherservices such as helping with flat tires andassisting with roadway debris, which hasspiked by approximately 23% from last month.From the activities chart below I highlightedthe Road Ranger events that were higher this

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ROAD RANGER UPDATE continued

month compared to last month around this same time. As we can see, mostly all of the servicesprovided by the Road Rangers had a significant spike and in some cases doubled.

The charts below illustrate the Road Ranger activities for the month of June as well as the differenttypes of reported events.

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June 2016 Issue 102

ALACHUA BRADFORD TRAFFICINCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE

The Alachua-Bradford Traffic IncidentManagement Team meeting held its bi-monthlymeeting at the FDOT Gainesville OperationsOffice – 5301 N.E. 39th Ave., Gainesville at10:00 A.M.

Mr. Josh Reichert kicked off the TIM meeting bywelcoming all of the members and announcingMs. Dee Dee Johnson as the new District 2 ITSOperations Project Manager. Dee Dee will bereplacing Ms. Donna Danson. We look forward toworking with Dee Dee as she brings herknowledge and expertise to the TIM Team. Afterintroductions, Mr. Ed Ward proceeded with theEmergency Operations Update. He informed thegroup of some of the damage that Tropical StormColin left in its wake as District 2 was hit withquite a bit of rain as well as tornadoes. Therainfall total varied across the District but seemsto have dissipated due to the dry ground. Duringthe discussion, the group also decided that itwould be best to address any issues where treesare blocking the CCTV’s for better vision in suchevents.

The TEAM then went on to discuss the ITS/511Updates which were led by Mr. Reichert as hemade the group aware that the Paynes Prairievisibility sensors are being tweaked for theDistrict to get the maximum use out of them. Onthe I-75 project from SR 24 to the Georgia line,the fiber portion will be completed at the end ofthe year and the device project will start earlyFall. Bianca Speights gave the group theConstruction Project Update and let the groupknow that there is also a proposal for analternative truck route around Starke that willbegin in Fall of this year. During the agencyreviews portion of the agenda FHP informed thegroup that they are increasing patrols due to theconstruction in the area.

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FIRST COAST TRAFFIC INCIDENTMANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE

The next First Coast Traffic IncidentManagement Team meeting will be held onJuly 19, 2016 at the North Florida RegionalTransportation Management Center(NFRTMC), 980 N. Jefferson St at 10:00 A.M.Please mark your calendars to attend thismeeting, as it is important to the developmentof the TEAM.

PLEASE NOTE: If anyone is interested inthe SHRP2 Incident Management TrainingCourse, please contact Craig Carnes atccarnes@metriceng.com or Misha Gonzalesat melder@metriceng.com /904-260-1567.Craig is available to work with anyagencies’ schedule; including nights andweekends to make sure the course isavailable for groups of ten or more trainees.

TEAM MISSION:The Florida Department of TransportationDistrict Two’s Traffic Incident ManagementTeams through partnering efforts strive tocontinuously reduce incident scene clearancetimes to deter congestion and improve safety.The Teams’ objective is to exceed the OpenRoads Policy thus ensuring mobility, economicprosperity, and quality of life.

TEAM VISION:Through cooperation, communication andtraining the Teams intend to reduce incidentscene clearance times by 10% each yearthrough 2015.

Dee Dee JohnsonDistrict 2 ITS Operations Project Manager

June 2016 Issue 102

OPERATIONS

RISC has partaken in a resurgence in not onlyvendors but activations of late. The RISCProgram has jumped up to 2 Vendors on theFirst Coast with Walt’s and Southern Wrecker aswell as 2 in Alachua County with Dave’s Hi-Wayand Shelby’s Towing.

The Gainesville area should see an uptick as thenew Captain and Lieutenant get settled in. With2 qualified vendors in the Jacksonville area wehad 2 activations of late (1 was cancelled) thatbenefited our motorists in Duval County.

RISC is a Statewide program offering monetaryincentives to professional towing and recoverycompanies that can quickly respond and clearincidents involving tractor-trailers, motor homes,buses, airplanes and other large vehicles. TheRISC program was funded in 2008 to be usedonly on limited access facilities, Exit/entranceramps and interchanges included. RISCpromotes the Open Roads Policy of a 90 minutegoal for travel lane clearance time. Quickclearance reduces exposure to responders,traffic queue congestion and prevents moresevere secondary crashes among other benefits.The RISC Program standardizes responserequirements with Pre-qualified vendors thathave a past history of these types of incidents.Proven results…aligned with TIM Team strategy.

On May 12th a crash occurred on the I-295 EastBeltway northbound at Beach Blvd. involving adump truck that overturned, spilling sand ontoboth NB and SB lanes. Initial reports hadsomeone trapped underneath the truck, and lifeflight was immediately enroute to thescene. Emergency vehicles blocked SB lanesas the primary scene was on that northboundside. May 12th was the first day of the PlayersChampionship so a lot of golf enthusiasts weretraveling the East Beltway

southbound to get to Ponte Vedra so quickclearance and dissemination of informationwas critical. After assessing the scene FHPactivated RISC and Walt’s was enroute.

The TMC remained very busy from the start ofthat event to the conclusion. Initial dutiesinclude locating on CCTV, gathering factsthrough various sources and disseminating thatas quickly and accurately as possible. Clearand concise details provide responders withinformation to expedite response and promotethose quick clearance goals. While all of that isin motion the TMC creates events in ourAdvanced Traffic Management Software(SunGuide) for the accident and congestion.Information is posted to DMS on the interstateas well as arterial message signs to help diverttraffic. Messages are posted on the Airport Rd.DMS and on 95 to help people headed intotown about the southbound closure. Messagesare posted to all platforms of 511 andinformation is shared with the media to help getthe word out. The TMC even coordinated withthe City of Jacksonville’s Signal Office to makesignal timing changes to help traffic flowthrough the detour and alleviate congestion onthe affected arterials. Talk about a TEAM effort.

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June 2016 Issue 102

OPERATIONS continued

Walt’s responded the way Walt’s always does,prepared and ready to work. They arrived onscene 36 minutes after being called despite thecongestion. The FHP gave them the notice toproceed at 11:30AM and Walt’s was done andout of there 65 minutes later. Broad Spectrumpulled their Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) andthe travel lanes were all open, in both directions,at 12:38PM. What could have run into a PMrush or prevented some of the 36,000 peopleheaded to the Player’s Championship endedwell.

That wasn’t the only event the TMC managed inthe month of May. With summer arriving andnumerous events taking place County wide theTMC managed over 3,400 total events. Of those,921 of them were crashes and over 1,500 hadsome type of lane blocked. DMS were utilizedfor almost 50% of the events informing motoristsof what the road downstream holds. The RoadRangers remained busy working 1,680 events.An informed motorist is a safe motorist.

Remember to Know Before You Go: Use 511!

Ryan CristRTMC Manager

MARKETING

As a general rule of thumb when school is outfor the summer two things happen: 1) trafficvolume goes down 2) traffic accidents go up!These two things seem contradictory to oneanother, but bear with me for a moment. Let’sset up a little scenario, shall we? Bring inExhibit A. We’ll call this motorist Sally. Sally,knowing that school is out for the summerdecides to linger over breakfast, scrollingthrough all her Facebook feeds, marveling atthe photos “Oh wait. What? Is that Marsha?Trying to look all cool in those skinny jeans?!Oh no, girl, she didn’t!” Finally, after chokingdown the last of her coffee, Sally grabs herpurse and rushes out of the house 20 minuteslater than usual.

Now let’s introduce Motorist B. We’ll call himHank. Hank, also banking on a lighter trafficload this morning, hits the snooze button fourtimes before rolling out of bed. He hops aroundthe room on one leg, struggling to get into hisskinny jeans, then rummages around in thehamper, grabbing yesterday’s jelly-stained tieand a shirt that has more wrinkles than anelephant. With only minutes to spare, he grabsa toothbrush figuring he’ll clean those pearlywhites on his way into the office (while doing80 mph in the far left lane of I-95 NB).

What both motorists fail to factor in are thoseunpredictable choke points, the shifting trafficqueues that pop up in random places duringthe inconsistent summer rush. When Hankreaches the top of the Baymeadows overpass,he sees that traffic is at a dead stop in front ofhim. Too late. Hank is not expecting this sincetraffic was free flowing when he sailed pastboth Philips Highway and SouthsideBoulevard. But now… wait for it…here itcomes…the acrid smell of tires on asphalt, the

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June 2016 Issue 102

MARKETING continued

squeal that raises the hackles of other motoristsand finally, the sickening but inevitable thudthat means everyone’s day just got a little morecomplicated. Hank meet Sally. Sally, Hank.Meanwhile, back at the RegionalTransportation Management Center ouroperators spring into action by notifying FHP,dispatching Road Rangers and posting updatesto our 511 system. Poor Sally. Poor Hank. Andpoor motorists whose 20 minute commute justturned into an hour long crawl. And it’s not evenraining! We’re saving that for afternoon rush.

All this to say, rather than scaling back on our511 outreach during the summer months, weactually kick things into high gear! There arehurricane preparedness seminars to attend,health and safety fairs and even back-to-schoolteacher expos! One of the highlights of this pastmonth was our participation in Tote Maritime’sSafety Fair. I’ll let the news media handle theheavier side of this story, but let’s just suffice itto say that senior level managers at ToteMaritime are placing extra emphasis on allthings hurricane-related following the El Farodisaster.

We also made visits to all the Beachesmunicipalities and government offices, stockingthem with enough 511 brochures to lastthroughout the entire 2016 Hurricane Season.We even met with Commander Evans andCommunications Supervisor Erin Citrullo at theJacksonville Beach Police Department todiscuss bridge wind sensors and otherimportant traffic and safety information shouldthere ever be a need to evacuate. And finally,we’re gearing up for the 36th annual GreaterJacksonville Kingfish Tournament July 18th –23rd. Our 511 promotional items and brochures

always find their way into the Captain’s goodiebags. If you’re heading out to the tournament,check 511 and “Know before You Go!” Youcan call 5-1-1, visit www.FL511.com ordownload one of our free 511 Traffic Appsavailable for Apple and Android. When itcomes to the most up-to-date trafficinformation, we’ve got you covered!

Sherri ByrdMarketing Manager

If you find yourself at the FDOT District 2 Urban Office, take a minute to look at the

display in the lobby about 511!

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June 2016 Issue 102

SPOTLIGHT ON…JASON EVANS

Many moons ago, when IntelligentTransportation was still a new concept, youcame to work for us as an overnightOperator in the Transportation ManagementCenter. How many years has it been now?

This July will be 12 years since I came to workin the TMC. I had been working at Convergysfor a year while attending FSCJ and was readyfor a change. My Mom heard about the jobthrough a business associate and the rest ishistory.

You’ve recently moved up on the“corporate ladder”. Congratulations! Forthose who may not know, tell us a littleabout your new job title/responsibilities.

My new job title is the District 2 RTMCOperations Supervisor. My main responsibilityis to ensure that operations run smoothly andthat the information we have going out to thepublic is correct and current.

Have you had any trouble adjusting fromnights to days? What do you mostappreciate about working when the sun isup?

The adjustment from the night shift to days hasnot been as difficult as I thought it would be. Iactually find that I am sleeping better and amenjoying spending time with family and friendsin the evenings.

What do you miss most about the nightshift? (if anything)

I have been so busy transitioning to days that Ihave not even missed the night shift.

What obstacle has been the most difficultto overcome during your transition fromemployee to supervisor?

Being an overnight operator for 11 years, I wasaccustomed to always handling everything thatcame into the center (calls, events, emails,etc…) myself. The hardest part for me wasremembering to leave everything to theoperators and only assist when needed.

Can you recall a particularly difficult orchallenging day on the job?

Nothing that I can remember stands out asbeing particularly difficult. There were severaltimes over the years where I was extremelybusy on the overnights usually due to ahurricane or bad weather in general. Thosewere some of my favorite shifts because itmade the time go by much faster.

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June 2016 Issue 102

SPOTLIGHT ON…JASON EVANScontinued

What’s the most interesting traffic debacleyou’ve witnessed to date? Something so“outside of the box” you couldn’t wait to gethome and tell your friends.

We had an interesting event a few years agowhere a naked homeless man was runningaround on I-95 near Golfair. JSO showed up onscene and blocked off most of the lanes forsafety but this gentleman was fairly quick andeluded them for quite some time jumping backand forth over the center divider. It was funnyto watch because you could tell that none ofthe officers really wanted to be the one to catchhim but wanted him contained for obvioussafety reasons.

Technology is always evolving. What’s themost significant change you’ve witnessedto date, as far as Transportation isconcerned?

When I first started here so long ago, we onlyhad cameras on I-10 between Chaffee and theI-95 merge which were dial-up and very poorquality. Thinking about those versus the highdefinition cameras we have now, I am not surehow we were ever able to locate anything backthen.

What are your goals for the next five years?

I never really gave the flow of traffic muchthought before coming to work in the TMC. Ihave a new respect for what it takes to movetraffic safely throughout the state and wouldlike to continue this career path. I am anxiousto learn as much as possible to become moreof an asset to the center.

Do you have a favorite quote? Somethingthat inspires you?

My mom always told me “The harder you work,the luckier you get.” I finally get what shemeant! My dad always told me to “Do it, thentalk about it”.

Tell us a little about your family. Is there a“significant other” in your life?

I grew up in Macclenny, Florida and was activein Boy Scouts, earning the rank of EagleScout. My family enjoyed traveling, so I haveseen quite a bit of the United States. I wouldhave to say that I am partial to the south. Mydad taught me how to work on cars at an earlyage and we spent many hours restoring oldcars. I do have a “significant other” in my lifeand enjoy spending time with her and herchildren.

And finally, how do you like to relax andunwind when you’re not at work?

I enjoy being outdoors. Boating and fishing aretwo of my favorite activities. I also enjoyworking on my vehicles and fixing thingsaround my house. I am a handy guy and don’tmind getting dirty.

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June 2016 Issue 102

PHOTO GALLERY

Josh Reichert’s grand adventure looking for the elusive Common Snook

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One of our new FL511 billboards,at Blanding & Edson, a Public Service

from the billboard company

511 hit the road to FidelityNational Financial’s Employee

Fair earlier this month

June 2016 Issue 102Traffic Incident Management

2016 Meeting Schedule

FDOT DISTRICT 2 ITS STAFF

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Peter Vega, District 2Transportation System Management

& Operations Program Manager904.903.2020

Peter.Vega@dot.state.fl.us

Kevin JacksonITS Construction Liaison

904.903.2012Kevin.Jackson@dot.state.fl.us

Dee Dee JohnsonITS/TMC Program Manager

904.903.2009DeeDee.Johnson@dot.state.fl.us

First Coast TIM TeamFDOT Urban Office Training Center2198 Edison Avenue, Jacksonville

904.360.5400

July 19 2016 September 20, 2016 November 17, 2016

Alachua/Bradford TIM TeamFDOT Gainesville Operations Office5301 NE 39th Avenue, Gainesville

352.381.4300

August 10, 2016October 12, 2016 December 14, 2016

Matt HarbertITS Maintenance Manager

904.903.2013Matt.Harbert@dot.state.fl.us

Josh ReichertITS/TMC Program Manager

904.903.2008Joshua.Reichert@dot.state.fl.us