NICE AND AZ DOES IT : PHOENIX'S ITS MASTERPLAN

This article explains how metropolitan Phoenix is benefiting from AZTech, a $35 million, seven-year partnership of the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, the Arizona Department of Transportation, several public agencies, and private constituents that acts as an information vehicle for transportation management. The project uses cell phones, pagers, emails and faxes to relay traffic information such as slow-downs, construction, accidents and weather hazards. WAP technology enables real-time mobile, direct, two-way wireless access to the Internet. The article also describes the freeway management system (FMS), the AZTech Road Closures and Restrictions System (RCRS), the Highway Conditions and Reporting System (HCRS). Emphasis is on the value of data and the important role in plays in the effectiveness of the various systems. The federal government hopes that by demonstrating the effectiveness of travel information systems in several metropolitan areas, including Phoenix other areas will undertake similar projects.