Regional and Statewide Coordination Program Area

Regional and Statewide Coordination includes the communication and partnering among various operating entities, such as emergency response services, traffic management systems, and public transportation systems. Coordination can include sharing of real-time operational data and information with various stakeholders in the region, development of coordinated response plans, transit coordination, and public-private partnerships in the region.

NRO is working with a wide range of stakeholders in making travel throughout the region as reliable and efficient as possible. One of the key initiatives in this regard is the MATOC Program, an initiative to improve inter-agency traffic operations and coordination in the greater Washington, D.C. region. It is a partnership between the District (of Columbia) Department of Transportation, Maryland Department of Transportation, VDOT, and WMATA. Its goals include:

• Strengthen multi-agency coordination among transportation response agencies during incidents based upon improved standard operating procedures and notification practices.
• Improve the technological systems by which transportation agencies can share data with each other to aid incident management.
• Improve the quality and timeliness of the information available through current sources (e.g., radio and television stations) on transportation systems conditions, especially during incidents.
• Coordinate with the University of Maryland on the separate but related RITIS data clearinghouse. RITIS will provide real-time transportation data compiled from each of the region's transportation agencies, and will be the primary source of information used within the MATOC Program.
• Help ensure transportation systems condition information is provided to emergency management and public safety agencies to aid in their responses to declared emergencies or major disasters. During such incidents, MATOC will provide transportation emergency management support to public safety agencies leading of the response.

There are two major toll facilities within the NRO boundaries—the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway. Within the past year, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) assumed control of the Dulles Toll Road in order to direct a portion of toll revenues toward a regional Metrorail extension to Dulles Airport. The Dulles Greenway extends the Dulles Toll Road to Leesburg. It is under the ownership and control of a private firm, which performs maintenance and makes improvements on the toll way. VDOT no longer actively maintains or operates these tolled sections but coordinates with the operating entities extensively on incident and road condition information.

In addition to the existing toll facilities, the upcoming HOT lanes will have dedicated traffic management centers and traveler information services that will be primarily concerned with setting and publishing toll rates that will vary in real time to ensure that speeds on the HOT lanes do not dip below 45 miles per hour. These centers will be staffed and operated by private entities and will coordinate with the TOC. While the details regarding the breakdown of responsibilities between NRO and the private entities have not yet been established, it is likely that the TOC will back up the HOT traffic management centers during their off hours.

Arlington County and the City of Alexandria are the two largest locally operated traffic signal systems in NRO. The cities of Falls Church, Fairfax, and Herndon also operate their own signal systems. NRO coordinates with these local agencies to maintain traffic flow across the jurisdictional borders. In addition, NRO must coordinate with these agencies in incident and evacuation scenarios.

NRO coordinates with adjacent VDOT jurisdictions and VDOT Central Office in various information sharing activities including sharing information on incidents and construction events through the VA Traffic portal. NRO is also actively involved in planning for operations with the VDOT Central Office.

The following strategies carry out regional and statewide coordination related activities:

1. Planning Coordination
2. Continued Participation in MATOC and RITIS Development
3. VA Traffic Integration

Market Packages

Currently, there are no market packages in the regional architecture directly addressing this topic.