Maryland State Highway Administration Pilot of the Data Business Plan Guide for State and Local Departments of Transportation: Data Business Plan

Appendix B. Stakeholder Letter

Dear Stakeholders,

The Maryland State Highway Administration (Maryland SHA) is excited to announce its selection to participate as a pilot site for a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data business planning initiative. The FHWA Office of Operations and its consultant team, Cambridge Systematics, Inc., will assist the Maryland SHA in developing a tailored data business plan to improve the management and governance of roadway travel mobility data, which, for the purposes of this effort, is defined as volume, speed, lane occupancy, and connected vehicle data for vehicle, freight, bicycle/pedestrian, and transit modes. The data business plan will be a living document that addresses the data needs of the Maryland SHA and its local partners, tackling technical and institutional needs alike. The pilot effort will involve stakeholder outreach to gather your feedback and input, a data gap assessment, and development of an action plan for improving the management and governance of mobility data in the region.

This initiative is part of the U.S. DOT Roadway Transportation Data Business Plan project, whereby the FHWA Office of Operations developed a data business planning guidance document for State and local transportation agencies. The guide is intended to help these agencies understand what mobility data is being collected within their organizations and at the regional level, how the data supports mobility planning, operations, and performance measure activities, and who is responsible for managing and updating the data. The process will also help solidify working relationships by identifying how various offices/agencies share and exchange roadway travel mobility data to both internal and external stakeholders. Finally, the data business plan will help identify potential duplicative data collection efforts, leading to more rapid, targeted data acquisitions that would reduce future data collection/management costs.

In order to have a positive impact in our data processes, commitments are needed not only from the Maryland SHA but also from our stakeholders. We hope your offices can engage in a meaningful and collaborative way, including responding to a survey, participating in two on-site meetings, and committing to working with other stakeholders in the creation and implementation of the data business plan.

Within the next few weeks, the consultant team will reach out to stakeholders with a survey to gather your input regarding data practices, goals, and issues. Subsequent follow-up phone interviews are planned.

Should you have any questions on this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mr. Walter During at his below address.

We look forward to working with you on this exciting initiative!