STREAMS Integrated Intelligent Transport System

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STREAMS Integrated Intelligent Transport System is an enterprise traffic management system designed to operate in the Microsoft Windows environment. Like most traffic management systems, STREAMS is an array of institutional, human, hardware, and software components designed to monitor, control, and manage traffic on streets and highways. Advanced traffic management systems come under the banner of ITS (intelligent transport systems). ITS is the application of information and communications technology to transport operations in order to "reduce operating costs", [1] "improve safety" and "maximize the capacity of existing infrastructure". STREAMS provides traffic signal management, incident management, motorway management, vehicle priority, [2] traveler information, flood monitoring [3] and parking guidance within a single integrated system [4] is what the product says. STREAMS is developed by Transmax.

Contents

History

In 1969, the Department of Main Roads (Queensland) installed the first Intelligent Transport System in Australia (located at Surfers Paradise).[ citation needed ]

In 1985, a second-generation traffic management system was installed in Cairns, Australia. This was known as the TRAC System, or Traffic Responsive Adaptive Control System. Progressive installation of the TRAC system followed at several more sites around Queensland including the capital city, Brisbane.[ citation needed ]

In 1988, a traffic management system was installed for the South East Freeway in Brisbane, Australia. The features included were ramp metering and graphical displays of traffic conditions. It also provided automatic incident detection.[ citation needed ]

In 1992, a new integrated intelligent transport system development was commenced. The objectives were to lower ongoing costs while providing increased performance and opportunity for future ITS applications. The resulting system was STREAMS.[ citation needed ]

In 2002, the division of Department of Main Roads (Queensland) responsible for continuing development of STREAMS was privatized to form Transmax. The company remains 100% owned by the Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads.[ citation needed ]

In April 2007, Transmax in partnership with VicRoads implemented a coordinated ramp metering trial in Melbourne, Victoria on a 15 km section of the Monash Freeway. [5] Later that year, in December, VicRoads installed STREAMS to manage another six ramps. [6]

These developments were part of a much larger M1 Upgrade Project that continued over the next three years, eventually winning the 2010 National ITS Australia Award. The project to upgrade the 75-kilometre M1 Freeway, increased the capacity and safety of the Monash Freeway, the CityLink Tollway (Southern Link) and the West Gate Freeway utilising STREAMS as the Integrated Control System. [7]

In 2016, Transmax partnered with Parsons Brinckerhoff to trial STREAMS motorway management functionality for the Utah Department of Transportation in the United States. [8]

Software Architecture

STREAMS employs a distributed computing software architecture. [9] Field hardware such as intersection controllers, video cameras and speed detectors are connected via field processors back to a central application server. Users connect to the application server via the workstation software. Field communications are via Optical Fibre, DSL, or Wireless connections.[ citation needed ]

The software is built in distinct modules for each distinct area of traffic / transport control and monitoring. The workstation software communicates to the application server software via a publisher / subscriber model (i.e. workstations subscribe to specifically requested streams of data which are published by the application server).[ citation needed ]

The software architecture model is designed to support the software's claim of being an "integrated" Advanced Traffic Management System. [10]

The transport network data is set up via a GIS (Geographic Information System). The GIS allows for a graphical user interface displaying transport network data overlaid on street maps and updating in real-time. [ citation needed ]

Adaptive Traffic Management

STREAMS implements adaptive traffic management through a feature called "Dynamic Plan Selection". [1] Depending on the density of traffic (occupancy) and the dominant direction of traffic (for example, inbound, outbound, or bidirectional) on a road, nearby signalized intersections are operated using several predefined traffic plans. A user sets up the signal timing and picks the traffic density levels and direction that they apply to. Selecting the appropriate signal timing is then automatic. When a time-based traffic plan schedule would be inappropriate because of varying traffic levels, STREAMS Dynamic Plan Selection can adapt to unexpected traffic levels as they arise.[ citation needed ]

With help from the academic community, STREAMS Smart Motorways offers the coordinated ramp-metering algorithm suite ALINEA/HERO. [11] The modular architecture of STREAMS allows Transmax to integrate new algorithms as they become available. STREAMS applies the computed metering rates using ramp signal controllers deployed at the roadside. Controlling multiple consecutive ramps, ideally the whole motorway, makes it possible to maintain a more consistent motorway flow and prevent flow breakdown. Using HERO, STREAMS is able to balance queues across multiple ramps and maximize motorway performance.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intelligent transportation system</span> Advanced application

An intelligent transportation system (ITS) is an advanced application that aims to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and 'smarter' use of transport networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramp meter</span> Traffic management system

A ramp meter, ramp signal, or metering light is a device, usually a basic traffic light or a two-section signal light together with a signal controller, that regulates the flow of traffic entering freeways according to current traffic conditions. Ramp meters are used at freeway on-ramps to manage the rate of automobiles entering the freeway. Ramp metering systems have proved to be successful in decreasing traffic congestion and improving driver safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Gate Freeway</span> Freeway in Melbourne, Australia

The West Gate Freeway is a major freeway in Melbourne, the busiest urban freeway and the busiest road in Australia, carrying upwards of 200,000 vehicles per day. It links Geelong and Melbourne's western suburbs to central Melbourne and beyond. It is also a link between Melbourne and the west and linking industrial and residential areas west of the Yarra River with the city and port areas. The West Gate Bridge is a part of the freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monash Freeway</span> Freeway in Victoria, Australia

The Monash Freeway is a major urban freeway in Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne's CBD to its south-eastern suburbs and beyond to the Gippsland region. It carries up to 180,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australia's busiest freeways. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation M1.

South Gippsland Freeway is a short freeway linking Dandenong in Melbourne's south–east to other south–eastern destinations, including the Mornington Peninsula and the Gippsland region. The freeway bears the designation M420.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads)</span> Motorway in New South Wales and Queensland

The Pacific Motorway is a motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, through the New South Wales–Queensland border at Tweed Heads.

The M1 De Villiers Graaff motorway is a metropolitan route and major freeway in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. The highway connects the southern areas with the city centre and extends further north through Sandton into the Ben Schoeman Highway towards Pretoria. Construction began in 1962 and resulted in the demolition of many properties and houses including numerous historical Parktown Mansions.

The M2 is a major highway and metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. It is named the Francois Oberholzer Freeway. It runs just to the south of the Johannesburg Central Business District eastwards where it connects with the N3 and enters Germiston, ending near its CBD. The north–south M1 intersects with the M2 just to the south-west of the Johannesburg CBD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controlled-access highway</span> Highway designed for high-speed, regulated traffic flow

A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway. Some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle)</span> Motorway in New South Wales, Australia

M1 Pacific Motorway is a 127-kilometre motorway linking Sydney to Newcastle via the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales. Formerly known but still commonly referred to by both the public and the government as the F3 Freeway, Sydney–Newcastle Freeway, and Sydney–Newcastle Expressway, it is part of the AusLink road corridor between Sydney and Brisbane.

The Gateway Motorway is a major tolled motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which includes the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. The motorway is operated by toll road operator Transurban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Motorway</span> Motorway in Queensland, Australia

The M2/M6 Logan Motorway is a 30-kilometre toll road between Ipswich and the M1 or Pacific Motorway at Loganholme, and the Gateway Motorway, providing access to the Gold Coast on the eastern seaboard and to the rural areas of the Darling Downs to the west. The M6 portion runs from the Pacific Motorway to the junction with the Gateway Motorway at Drewvale, where it then becomes the M2, continuing on to merge with the Ipswich Motorway at Gailes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipswich Motorway</span> Motorway in Queensland, Australia

The Ipswich Motorway (M7) is a major road that connects Brisbane and Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. It commences at the junction of Ipswich Road and Granard Road and proceeds through to the M2 Logan Motorway interchange. It is then signed M2 until the junction of the Warrego Highway and the Cunningham Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Distributor</span> Motorway in Sydney, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverside Expressway</span> Motorway in Brisbane, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">M5 Motorway (Sydney)</span> Motorway in Sydney, Australia

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The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, abbreviated SCATS, is an intelligent transportation system that manages the dynamic timing of signal phases at traffic signals, meaning that it tries to find the best phasing for a traffic situation. SCATS is based on the automatic plan selection from a library in response to the data derived from loop detectors or other road traffic sensors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road transport in Brisbane</span>

The road transport in Brisbane, Australia, consists of a network of highways, freeways and motorways. Some motorways have tolls applied.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Managed lane</span>

A managed lane is a type of highway lane that is operated with a management scheme, such as lane use restrictions or variable tolling, to optimize traffic flow, vehicle throughput, or both. Definitions and goals vary among transport agencies, but managed lanes are generally implemented to achieve an improved operational condition on a highway, such as improving traffic speed and throughput, reducing air pollution, and improving safety. Types of managed lanes include high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, high-occupancy toll lanes, express toll lanes, reversible lanes, and bus lanes. Most managed lane facilities are located in the United States and Canada, although HOV and bus lanes can be found in many other countries; outside of the US and Canada, many countries use active traffic management that manage all lanes of a highway.

References

  1. 1 2 "Using ICT to Improve Traffic Management". Archived from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  2. "Queensland trials intelligent traffic lights".
  3. "Integration of Roadway Flood Information into an ITS Traffic Management System – an Example from Queensland, Australia" (PDF). campbellsci.com.
  4. "Improved travel time reliability for Sandgate Road and Mains Road traffic", Queensland Department of Main Roads Statement, 21 September 2008, archived from the original on 22 October 2010, retrieved 7 April 2010
  5. "ITS | Benefits: Deployment of integrated traffic management and control system leads to a greater than 25 percent increase in peak throughput capacity on Melbourne, Australia's M1 Monash Freeway". www.itscosts.its.dot.gov.
  6. "On-ramp to success", Traffic Technology International, October–November 2009
  7. Melbourne's M1 freeway upgrade and SUNA Traffic Channel win ITS Australia Awards
  8. "USA to trial Qld congestion-busting technology". August 9, 2016.
  9. "Putting the "Intelligence" into Intelligent Transportation Systems" (PDF). www.transportationgroup.nz.
  10. "Schematics in the media". Archived from the original on 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  11. "Evaluation of HERO Coordinated Ramp Metering Installation at the M1/M3 Freeway in Queensland, Australia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-03-14.

Further reading