Regional Concept for Transportation Operations
6. Getting Started
An RCTO can be developed in several ways. For those ready to explore using an RCTO as a tool to develop TSM&O strategies but are unsure of what to do next, select one or two of the actions listed below to get started. The steps are divided into three general categories of activity: building the momentum for operations partnering, identifying the RCTO focus, and developing the RCTO.
6.1 Building the Momentum for Operations Partnering
- Hold an executive level workshop to obtain agreement that operations strategies are a needed complement to capital infrastructure investments.
- Host a transportation operations partnering summit where planners and operators from the region come together to share successful collaborating experiences and identify opportunities to work together on operations activities that would be difficult to accomplish alone.
- Distribute monthly newsletters to share the current status of individual or joint operations efforts in the region and provide information on the tangible benefits of operations improvements to mobility, safety, security, and the environment.
6.2 Identifying the RCTO Focus
- Begin by tackling a relatively simple operations issue, such as traffic signal timing, in which the need for improvement is widely acknowledged and easily understood by agencies in the region.
- Identify common operations needs and explore ways to take advantage of economies of scale and leverage resources. For example, excess capacity on communications lines such as fiber could be shared with neighboring agencies in return for access to video cameras.
- Talk to the MPO staff member heading up the congestion management process and find out if an RCTO could be a useful tool to further refine and put into practice operations strategies identified in the CMP.
- Examine the regional needs and desired user services identified during the development of the ITS architecture and talk to those who were involved in it. Key ideas brought out in the architecture may provide needed groundwork for taking action with an RCTO.
6.3 Developing the RCTO
- Look for similarities between your region and the RCTO examples used in this document and consider adapting elements to fit your specific situation.
- Host a peer-to-peer session where leaders of a RCTO or strategic operations planning effort in another region visit with members of your operations group to share their experiences, lessons learned, and create ideas on how to develop the RCTO for your region.
