CHAPTER 1

Introduction

To effectively plan and operate transportation systems, agencies need to use a wide variety of data. However, existing data silos; a lack of common data formats; hesitation or fear of sharing data; and traditional, rigid data management practices limit transportation agencies in their ability to exchange, integrate, and use data for analysis, reporting, and decision-making. Furthermore, as transportation agencies continue to make use of the ever-evolving sources of new data and to make their data more accessible, some of the issues faced include gaining confidence in the data and understanding their quality and variability, reconciling data discrepancies between different sources, validating processes for turning data into information, and understanding the implications of big data approaches and applications. More modern approaches to data management can improve the efficiency of data-driven processes as well as support innovation across transportation agencies.

Research Objectives

NCHRP Project 08-119, “Data Integration, Sharing, and Management for Transportation Planning and Traffic Operations” began in September 2019 and ran through December 2023. The objective of this research project was to develop tools, methods, and guidelines for improving data sharing, integration, and management practices to enable transportation agencies, in collaboration with private- and public-sector stakeholders, to make better planning and operations decisions. The research specifically sought to uncover and share best practices, lessons learned, challenges and opportunities, and emerging practices for data sharing, integration, and management; opportunities and information on partnering with private-sector data providers; and the need for and approaches to preparing for and managing big data.

Overview of Research and Organization of Report

NCHRP 08-119 involved three phases:

• Phase I: Information Gathering and Identification of Products. Phase I of the research involved gathering information from a wide variety of sources; narrowing in on transportation planning and traffic operations use cases that could benefit from improved data sharing, integration, and management; assessing agency challenges and needs with respect to data; and identifying potential products for development in subsequent phases of the research.
• Phase II: Documentation of Effective Practices, Challenges, and Needs. Phase II involved documenting the relevant knowledge, use cases, datasets, tools, challenges, needs, and lessons learned that were discovered during Phase I of the research. The approach involved creating a centralized, searchable, web-based resource library in which to document the knowledge and resources.

• Phase III: Development, Testing, and Deployment of Products. Phase III of the research involved developing a set of products, identified and selected from the Phase I research outcomes, that could help to move the needle in the state of the practice in data sharing, integration, and management within and between transportation and partner agencies and organizations.

The remaining chapters of this Research Report document the research approach, summarize the research outcomes, and provide the stand-alone research products developed by the research team to address agency challenges and needs. The material is organized as follows:

• Part I: Conduct of Research
  • Chapter 2. Information Gathering and Identification of Products. Provides an overview of the Phase I research approach, activities, and outcomes.
  • Chapter 3. Documentation of Effective Practices, Challenges, and Needs: Web-Based Knowledge Library. Presents and describes the web-based knowledge library created in Phase II of the research.
  • Chapter 4. Development of Research Products. Provides an overview of each of the research products selected and created to assist transportation agencies in advancing their understanding and capabilities in the sharing, integration, and management of data to improve planning and operations use cases.
  • Chapter 5. Summary and Recommendations for Future Research. Summarizes the outcomes of NCHRP 08-119 and provides recommendations for future research and development to continue to advance the state of the practice in data sharing, integration, and management for transportation agencies.
• Part II: Research Products. Each chapter in Part II presents a stand-alone product (including references) of the research for NCHRP 08-119:
  • Chapter 6. Data Decision Tree for Big Data in Freight Transportation Planning and Operations
  • Chapter 7. Freight Data Interoperability Framework: Update
  • Chapter 8. Use of Waze for Cities Partnership Data for Operations and Planning
  • Chapter 9. Vehicle Probe Data Primer
  • Chapter 10. Improving the Sharing, Quality, and Management of Data to Support Traffic Incident Management Use Cases: A Guide
  • Chapter 11. Uses of Smart Work Zone Devices for Work Zone Data Feeds: Five Case Studies
  • Chapter 12. Shared Mobility Data: A Resource Guide
  • Chapter 13. Managing Sensitive Shared Mobility Data
  • Chapter 14. LinkerAT: Guidelines and Demonstration for Implementation of an Improved Conflation and Geodata Reference Process
  • Chapter 15. Opportunities and Challenges in Improving the Use of Data in Integrated Corridor Management Systems
  • Chapter 16. Using Connected Vehicle Data for Transportation System Management