Acadia National Park ITS Field Operational Test: Evaluation plan

Battelle

From executive summary: "This document presents the plan for evaluating technologies known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) that will be implemented in Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, Maine. Acadia National Park was selected as a site for an ITS Field Operational Test (FOT) through collaboration of the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Transportation. As in Acadia, many National Parks are experiencing severe transportation problems, which frustrates their dual mission of preserving natural and cultural resources while providing visitors with a meaningful and pleasant experience. Intelligent Transportation Systems may help provide solutions to some of these problems. Battelle Memorial Institute was selected by U.S. DOT to conduct an independent evaluation of the efficacy of the ITS technologies at Acadia and to document the lessons offered by the FOT so that other National Parks or locations with similar transportation problems can learn from the experience. The plan contained in this report represents the second stage of a multi-stage process for conducting the evaluation. Based on the results of a strategy workshop at Acadia National Park on May 24, 2000 with representatives of stakeholder organizations, the evaluation plan was guided by priorities in six evaluation goal areas: customer satisfaction, mobility, safety, efficiency, productivity and economic vitality, and environment and energy. Hypotheses are presented on the expected impact from ITS in each goal area, and measurements are identified that can be used to test those hypotheses. Several approaches to collecting data will be used, including surveys, personal interviews, focus groups, system data from the ITS components, agency records, and direct observation. The ITS system architecture for Acadia includes nine system components in three general areas: transit management, traffic management, and traveler information. A team led by SAIC was selected by U.S. DOT to work with local stakeholders to design and deploy the ITS components as an integrated system.The implementation schedule for the system calls for much, if not all, of the installations of ITS technologies planned for Acadia to be operational in time for the 2001 summer tourist season. Based on that schedule, the evaluation plan will proceed with baseline data data collection in 2000 so that post-deployment impacts can be measured with data collected in 2001."

Acadia National Park ITS Field Operational Test: Evaluation plan

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