Appendix E

Appendix E: Information Needs of SDOT Functions

As SDOT TRAFFIC MANAGERS AND TRAFFIC CONTROL PLANNERS, we need …

…near-term (next day and day after) notice of scheduled road closures or road work on arterials
…advance notice (30 minutes to one hour) of emergency road maintenance work on arterials
…real-time information on pedestrians, cyclist and vehicle volumes and speeds on arterials
…historical and predicted data on volumes and speeds on arterials
…historical and predicted data on high-crash and near-miss locations on arterials
…real-time information on sudden volume spikes or unexpected congestion on non-arterials
…real-time information on the status of locations, routes and schedules of high-capacity transit (buses and trains)
…historic speed and reliability data on high-capacity transit (buses and trains)
…real-time information on re-routes
…reports and real-time information on incidents and emergencies on arterials and non-arterials
…near-term (next day and day after) predicted routes for freight deliveries (commercial and residential)
…to be able to trust (verified and validated) the information and the sources of the information above
…to be able to differentiate the above information into data about arterials and non-arterials
…a way to inform users of the status of incidents and road closures (real-time and future)
…a way to inform decision makers and city leaders on current state of the system, particularly of emergencies or unexpected congestion
…information about permitted road closures, including schedule and impact
…information about submitted requests for permits for road closures, including schedule and impact
…information about traffic control plans (TCPs) for events and road closures
…to know future plans for streets and corridors
…all the above information in open standard, interoperable, and usable data formats that don’t tie us down to any single software service or platform

As SDOT MAINTENANCE MANAGERS, we need …

…a warehouse inventory system so we can track in real-time the status of all our supplies, equipment, and materials and to geolocate all our fixed and non-fixed assets
…to create work orders, with exact locations geolocated, and send them out digitally to work crews
…to get automatically geolocated asset serial numbers attached to work orders
…the ability to close a work order, with exact locations geolocated, from the site upon the completion of the job (this includes updating the asset inventory upon job completion)
…to send out geolocated information automatically on current and future planned maintenance work (including urban forestry work)
…to send out geolocated information automatically on sidewalk and road closures for emergency maintenance work (including urban forestry work)
…to get accurate and verified information on the location and condition of assets and repair needs, including trees and sidewalks (and sidewalk elements)
…to receive geolocated customer complaints and requests (tied to physical asset inventories)
…to send back responses and status updates to customer complaints and requests
…to get real-time information on pedestrians, cyclist and vehicle volumes and speeds and speeds in areas where repair and maintenance work is scheduled
…to get information about current and future permitted road closures, including schedule and impact
…to receive information on prioritization of maintenance work/projects
…to receive and send out notifications on emergency and incident response and status
…to report in real-time the completion of maintenance work and resumption of traffic flow or opening of sidewalk
…to send/record time-stamped, geolocated information on the work completed (what was done to which asset, where)
…to get annual (or even monthly) pedestrian volume counts along all (or most) sidewalks, to help inform the prioritization of sidewalk maintenance where pedestrian volumes are higher
…to be able to issue a citation from the field, with the ability to attach photos and have the document geolocated, for violation of street tree ordinance or permit requirements
…all the above information in open standard, interoperable, geolocated, and usable data formats that don’t tie us down to any single software service or platform

As SDOT CURB AND PARKING MANAGERS, we need …

…to send current curb, load zone and parking information to operators and the traveling public
…to send out new curb, parking and load zone rates, rules and schedules, automatically and geolocated
…to receive real-time location and use data from mobility service operators (e.g., TNCs)
…to send out geolocated information on fees and charges, with schedules and rates
…to receive information on parking or load zone violations
…to receive customer inquiries, complaints or reports
…to receive aggregated data on use of curb, parking and load zones
…to send updates regarding our on-street assets like pay stations and signs
…all the above information in open standard, interoperable, and usable data formats that don’t tie us down to any single software service or platform

As SDOT TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS AND MOBILITY PROGRAM MANAGERS, we need …

…aggregated, anonymized, and validated historical performance data on all SDOT and other government transportation assets (roads, bridges, bike lanes, etc.) and should include curb uses, public life, pedestrian counts, etc.
…the predicted usage growth rates for all SDOT and other government transportation assets
…the predicted growth rates and conditions of existing and new SDOT and other government transportation assets based on funding trends and current conditions
…current and predicted development patterns, including building and demographic data
…aggregated, anonymized, and validated historical performance data from all mobility service operators (Sound Transit, KC Metro, bike-share, TNCs, etc.)
…predicted growth rates and use of all mobility service operators by geographic area
…reports on equity outcomes and current conditions for key SDOT and other government transportation assets
…reports on carbon generated (historic and current) for all SDOT and other government transportation assets
…reports on carbon generated (historic and current) for mobility service operators
…infrastructure and investment plans from other government transportation agencies (Sound Transit, KC Metro, WSDOT, etc.)
…post-project completion performance data for all SDOT and other government transportation assets^[4]
…to publish and disseminate to the public draft and final plans
…to receive questions and comments from public and stakeholders on plans

As SDOT PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS, we need …

…to receive validated current-state and historical performance data on SDOT assets (roads, bridges, bike lanes, curb uses, public life, pedestrian counts, etc.)
…to automatically input project schedules and impacts to publicly accessible map based system (such as dotMaps) -this data should integrate with our other information systems
…to publish draft and final plans for each project
…to receive questions and comments on draft and final plans
…to notify other SDOT divisions of project schedules, timing and impacts
…to submit proposed TCPs (mapped and geolocated)
…to receive approval of proposed TCPs (mapped and geolocated)
…to receive information on TCPs and re-routes
…to receive schedules and locations of planned road closures and other events that will affect construction
…to send out real-time or near real-time (one-hour delay) notifications on the status of construction projects, including traffic impacts
…to receive short-term notifications of maintenance work
…to notify the public and adjacent property owners in real-time of project schedules, road closures, re-routes and other impacts
…to release above information in multiple languages
…to receive and respond to questions, reports and complaints
…to report job completion to relevant project managers and update construction coordination and asset inventory systems
…to report project delivery status, accomplishments and performance data
…to share network files and access across other city departments
…to share software/system licensing across city departments
…to receive information monthly on actual expenditures for projects
…to be able to stay up to date with project management software technology
…to be able to submit work orders with a tracking system for work on capital projects that is to be performed by city crews
…to be able to prepare a single update report instead of reporting updates multiple times through multiple channels
…to have our project management systems build in the conditions and reminders about the specifics of each grant used on a project
…to report project status to financial managers and grant sources (if relevant)

As SDOT STREET USE MANAGERS, we need …

…to send out permitting rules and fee schedules
…to receive permit requests and plans
Including predicted transportation impacts (road and sidewalk closures, etc.)
…to send out real-time status of permit requests to applicants
…to determine conflicts in permits, activities, and events automatically
…to send out approved/permitted requests and plans
Including approved TCPs and re-routes
…to send out geolocated and mapped information about requests
Including approved TCPs and re-routes
…to send out geolocated and mapped information about permitted activity
…to receive questions, reports and complaints
…information on the status of the response to questions, reports and complaints
…to report and validate violations (mapped and geolocated) and to identify code and permit violations in the field in real-time
…to notify the public of schedules, road closures, and re-routes
…to update the system of record automatically
…to update asset infrastructure when changes are made by private development^[5]
…to receive and validate payments
…to report remotely on inspections of permitted work
…to route plans electronically for review by secondary reviewers inside and outside the city firewall
…to understand the allowed uses of the right of way in real-time, including temporary closures (TCPs). This should include the locations of all permitted encroachments (and ideally unpermitted encroachments as well).
…to know the location of all infrastructure buried in the right of way and above it; including information about that infrastructure (voltage of power lines in conduits, etc.)
…to provide estimated timeframes for review
…to send out inspection reports electronically
…to record and manage time spent at any one job site
…to update the future inspection schedule based on inspection results and inform contractors of upcoming inspections
…to track final inspections and notify affected partners of asset improvements and changes

As SDOT ASSET MANAGERS, we need…

…an updated and validated list of assets in the right of way^[6]
…a process to update the inventory with assets that are in the right of way but not in the database
…a process to make sure all new assets are included correctly, with location data, in the asset inventory database
…a process or systems to allow us to update the asset inventory from the field, with geolocation
…a regular audit of assets to make sure our inventory is trustworthy

Footnotes:

^[4] This may initially start with equipment but should grow to include assessing embodied carbon in construction and capital projects. Carbon cost should always be presented in tandem with dollar cost to incentivize lower carbon or zero carbon alternatives in process and materials.

^[5] To protect existing SDOT assets and features during ROW construction, to represent the city’s best interest in row jurisdictional permitting authority

^[6] And accurate attributes required for decision making (condition when needed, category, ownership, dates, etc.)

Need More Information?

This is a draft plan. It was developed by Benjamin de la Pena, Mary Alyce Eugene, Alex Hagenah, and Sam Marshall along with their colleagues from across the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

If you have questions about this plan, please send us email via draft_tiip@seattle.gov.

If you have questions about SDOT, please visit our website at www.seattle.gov/transporation.