California and Oregon Advanced Transportation System (COATS), Phase 6

COATS Phase 6 provided research and support activities to help California and Oregon achieve the COATS vision. These activities included: promoting technology transfer, investigating traveler information data quality, and evaluating the Fredonyer Pass icy curve warning system. Technology transfer activities were centered on the growth and continuation of the annual Western States Forum. The evaluation of the Fredonyer Pass ICWS analyzed long-term speed and crash trends to establish true effectiveness of the system in terms of increased driver vigilance and reduced crashes. The traveler information data quality task documented a number of procedures and considerations relative to disseminating quality traveler information. It showed that data quality is crucial to safe, efficient operation of the transportation system, including provision of traveler information that is accurate, timely, and reliable.

The purpose of this project is to build on the success of earlier phases of the Rural California/Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems (COATS) project, in order to preserve and expand the COATS region as an innovator in rural ITS demonstration.

The Rural California/Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems (COATS) project, since its inception in 1998, has sought to improve safety and mobility in rural California through the use of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies. Earlier phases of this project have been successful in promoting ITS awareness, jumpstarting ITS planning and architecture development, demonstrating ITS technologies, testing new applications, performing evaluations, and publicizing the results. COATS Phase 6 builds on the success of earlier COATS phases to preserve and expand the COATS region as an innovator in rural ITS demonstration.  Specific tasks include:

• Project Technical Advisory Committee meetings, where local stakeholders can meet to coordinate ITS deployment and operations efforts,
• An annual Forum of ITS practitioners for networking and information exchange, and
• Incubator projects, which examine ITS issues related to technology, operations and safety on a small scale, determining whether larger, standalone research projects are warranted later.