ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Millions of commuters in Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs soon will be able to take advantage of technology allowing them to avert traffic snarls.
The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration awarded the two states $5.2 million to develop cutting-edge travel technology. The goal is to create a pilot ``intelligent transportation system'' in hopes of helping the states coordinate their information better and get it to the traveling public.
Through sensors on the road, cameras and high-tech equipment, state agencies already know a great deal about what is happening on any given road at any time, said David Gehr, who heads the Virginia Department of Transportation. But it is difficult to compile that information and get it to the public quickly enough to make it useful.
Commuters can listen to radio traffic reports, but only the most timely information is helpful, Gehr said. The bulk of the federal grant - $4 million - will be used to install a system to provide up-to-the-minute information by the end of 1997.
Eventually, motorists will be able to get the information by using cellular phones, information kiosks, cable television, or computers at home, at work or in the automobile dashboard, Maryland State Highway Administrator Hal Kassoff said.
A driver will be able to enter his itinerary into the computer, which will devise the best route using the latest information. The computer will track the driver's location by signals emitted by a car phone and page the driver if a route change is necessary.
``It's like having a traveling consultant,'' Kassoff said.
The system also will include the latest information on airlines, railroads, subways and buses, so travelers can plot the best mode of transportation, whether going to the office or out of town.
A federally funded pilot program in Atlanta will experiment with dashboard navigation devices, interactive television stations and 12 highway advisory radio frequencies giving up-to-the-minute traffic information during the Olympics this summer.
Having the option to get current information before getting in the car can save time and headaches for drivers, said Steve Lockwood, vice president of Parsons Brinckerhoff-Farradyne, a transportation engineering firm that specializes in developing intelligent transportation systems for local governments.
``You can go a different route to where you're going to save a half an hour of stop-and-go traffic,'' Lockwood said.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB