[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 97 (Friday, May 20, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12320]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 20, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[FHWA Docket No. 94-2]

 

Request for Public Participation in the Development of the 
National Program Plan for Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems; 
Announcement of Public Forums

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation solicits public participation 
on a second draft of a National Program Plan (the Plan) for Intelligent 
Vehicle-Highway Systems (IVHS). IVHS applies advanced technologies such 
as information processing, communications, and electronics to surface 
transportation needs; examples include in-vehicle route guidance 
systems, collision-avoidance systems, ``electronic'' license plates, 
personalized public transit systems, and automated highways. The draft 
Plan describes the systematic development of a set of IVHS user 
services, including the research, development, operational testing, and 
commercial product development that need to be accomplished to reach 
deployment of these services. Because the Plan is being developed with 
the user as the focus, the Department is interested in participation 
from a broad range of individuals and organizations including, but not 
limited to, public officials from State and local governments, consumer 
groups, vehicle manufacturers and other private sector entities, 
transit authorities, toll authorities, small businesses, academic 
institutions, associations, and individual citizens. In addition to 
this request for comments, a series of five public forums will be held 
to generate discussion and obtain feedback on the scope of the Plan. 
These forums will be held in the following cities: Detroit, June 20, 
1994; Hartford, June 22, 1994; Washington, D.C., June 24, 1994; Los 
Angeles, June 27, 1994 and Houston, June 29, 1994.
    This is the second notice on the Plan. The first notice, at 58 FR 
65814 (December 15, 1993), contained background information on the 
national IVHS program, including a detailed description of the user 
services. Comments received in response to that notice have been 
utilized in preparing the second draft of the Program Plan that is now 
available.

DATES: Comments on the May 1994 draft are due July 8, 1994. Comments 
received after that date will be considered to the extent possible.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Docket Clerk, Docket No. 94-2, 
room 4232, United States Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20590. Commenters on the first draft will 
automatically receive a copy of the May, 1994 draft; others may obtain 
a copy by contacting the Federal Highway Administration, HTV-10, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Room 3400, Washington, D.C. 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Euler, Chief, Program Management 
and Systems Engineering Division, Federal Highway Administration, HTV-
10, 400 Seventh Street, SW., room 3400, Washington, DC 20590, Phone: 
(202) 366-2196, Fax: (202) 366-8712 or Beverly Russell, Transportation 
Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, HTV-10, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Room 3400, Washington, DC 20590, Phone: (202) 366-2202, Fax: (202) 
366-8712.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The objective of the IVHS program is to apply advanced technology 
in the areas of information processing, communications, control, and 
electronics to improve safety, reduce congestion, increase mobility, 
reduce the energy and environmental harm caused by transportation, and 
increase economic productivity. The IVHS program also incorporates the 
use of strategic planning and innovative management practices at all 
levels of government to implement those initiatives which enhance our 
national surface transportation system, strengthen our economy, and 
benefit a broad range of users.
    The Plan will attempt to integrate Federal, State, local 
government, and private sector activities in a single document to 
present a coherent picture of how the public and private sectors will 
work together to achieve IVHS program goals. The Plan seeks to reflect 
the consensus view of all parties interested in the development and 
deployment of IVHS. To that end, the second draft incorporates various 
of the comments received through the earlier notice process, as well as 
those received from individual members and staff of IVHS AMERICA, a 
broad-based, non-profit organization that also serves as a utilized 
Federal Advisory Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App. 2). IVHS AMERICA will also be distributing copies of the 
Plan to its membership, and member comments to IVHS AMERICA need not be 
duplicated in comments to the DOT docket.
    The Plan is intended to clearly present the IVHS program to 
Congress, other government leaders, and private sector entities. It is 
intended to guide investment decisions in the development and 
deployment of IVHS products and services to be made by private 
entities, the Federal government, and local governments; to facilitate 
prioritization and coordination of IVHS development activities; to 
reduce duplication of effort; and to ensure IVHS program activities are 
focused toward deployment of IVHS services in a nationally compatible 
intermodal system.
    The Plan is being developed based on a set of user services, each 
of which is designed to respond to perceived needs of particular users. 
These have been grouped into the following categories or ``bundles'': 
Travel and Traffic Management, which would improve the flow of traffic 
and provide travel-related information to the public; Public 
Transportation Management, which would assist in delivering improved 
public transportation systems; Commercial Vehicle Operations, which 
would improve the efficiency and safety of commercial fleet operations; 
Electronic Payment Services, which would allow travelers to pay for 
transportation services with electronic cards or tags; Emergency 
Management, which can be used by police, fire, and rescue authorities 
to improve their management of, and response to, emergency situations; 
and Advanced Vehicle Safety Systems, which would provide improved 
vehicle safety.
    The deployment of these user services will depend on a range of 
issues that will be assessed in formulating and implementing the Plan, 
including cost, public acceptance, the maturity or availability of the 
technologies, and regulatory issues. The Plan will also serve as the 
framework for a continuing process that will assess progress and allow 
government and private sector investment decisions to be made after the 
views of all interested parties have been considered.
    The second draft of the Plan is substantially more complete than 
the first. Chapters on Integration, Deployment Support, and Program 
Assessment have been added, with the Integration chapter incorporating 
materials included in the National Compatibility Planning chapter of 
the earlier draft. The Integration chapter includes a functionality 
figure that assists in analyzing decision options, costing potential 
investments, and depicts the marginal investment required for deploying 
added functionality. Additional information is provided as to how the 
user services relate to IVHS program goals and objectives, including 
environmental, energy, and safety concerns. In response to a number of 
comments, the user services have been ``bundled'' as described above, 
and the lengthy materials describing them have been relocated to a 
separate volume. The Deployment chapter is in an early stage of 
development; materials are included that indicate the direction in 
which the chapter is headed, summarize many of the factors that are 
expected to influence deployment decisions, and relate examples of 
ongoing IVHS activities. However, many details have yet to be included. 
While the Overview section has been expanded, the Executive Summary is 
still in preparation.

Information Requested

    The Department is interested in receiving information, suggestions, 
and opinions on (1) the scope and thrust of Plan, (2) the completeness 
and accuracy of the recently completed additions to the draft, (3) 
additional materials that should be included within the Deployment 
chapter, and (4) any other comments that would assist in further 
developing the Plan. The following issues are examples of other areas 
in which public comment would be helpful:
    1. Are the benefits of IVHS products and services apparent, such 
that they will be successful if costs are kept reasonable?
    2. Do the user services accurately present a vision of foreseeable 
technological development, in terms of feasibility and milestones?
    3. Does the draft Plan reflect an objective and balanced 
consideration of the safety, efficiency, energy, environmental, 
productivity, and accessibility goals of the IVHS program?
    4. Are there additional activities or applications properly within 
the sphere of IVHS that have not been included within the Plan?
    5. Emissions testing and mitigation has been identified as a 
prospective additional user service. Is the description and discussion 
accurate? Should this be included as a separate user service, or 
retained within Travel Demand Management?
    To facilitate stakeholder participation, the Department is holding 
public forums to facilitate the direct and interactive participation of 
the public in the development of the Plan. The dates and locations of 
these summer 1994 public forums are: (1) June 20, Westin Hotel, 
Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan 48243; (2) June 22, Holiday Inn, 
50 Morgan Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06120; (3) June 24, Marriott 
Crystal Gateway, 1770 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 
22202; (4) June 27, Renaissance Hotel, 9620 Airport Boulevard, Los 
Angeles, California 90045; and (5) June 29, Hilton Hobby Airport, 8181 
Airport Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77061. Each session will begin at 
8:30 am., and continue until all questions and comments have been 
addressed (estimated at 12:30 pm). An overview of IVHS and the Program 
Plan will be presented, with questions and comments from the public to 
follow.

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48; Pub. L. 102-240, Secs. 
6051-6059, 105 Stat. 2189-2195.

    Issued on: May 13, 1994.
Rodney E. Slater,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-12320 Filed 5-19-94; 8:45 am]
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