[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38739-38740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16370]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Development of the Disaster Response and Evacuation User Service 
and Completion of the Version 5.0 Update to the National Intelligent 
Transportation System Architecture

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Disaster Response and 
Evacuation (DRE) User Service will be available after August 15, 2003, 
at the following URL: http://www.its.dot.gov. Additionally, this notice 
announces that Version 5.0 of the National Intelligent Transportation 
System (ITS) Architecture will be available for review and comment for 
a 30 day period after August 15, 2003, at the following URL: http://www.iteris.com/itsarch. The focus of this version of the National ITS 
Architecture is to incorporate the new DRE User Service and 
modifications that have been made to seven of the existing user 
services to better address transportation safety and security relating 
to natural disasters, terrorist acts, and other catastrophic events.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on National ITS 
Architecture Development and Evolution: Mr. Lee Simmons, (202) 366-
8048, ITS Joint Program Office (HOIT-1). For information on ITS in 
general: Mr. Michael Freitas, (202) 366-9292, ITS Joint Program Office 
(HOIT-1). For legal questions: Ms. Gloria Hardiman-Tobin, (202) 366-
0780, Office of the Chief Counsel (HCC-40); 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by using a 
computer, modem, and suitable communications software from the 
Government Printing Office's Electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202) 
512-1661. Internet users may reach the Office of the Federal Register's 
home page at http://www.archives.gov and the Government Printing 
Office's Web site at: http://www.access.gpo.gov.
    An electronic copy of the Disaster Response and Evacuation (DRE) 
User Service can be retrieved from the ITS Web site at: http://www.its.dot.gov/arch after August 15, 2003. In addition, the entire 
National ITS Architecture Version 5.0 may be reviewed through a link 
at: http://www.iteris.com/itsarch after August 15, 2003. Through this 
Web site, the ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) intends to solicit 
comments on the new National ITS Architecture Version 5.0 for a period 
of 30 days.

Background

    The National ITS Architecture provides a common framework for 
planning, defining, and integrating intelligent transportation systems. 
This common framework represents the starting point for more detailed 
regional and/or project architectures in which local characteristics 
are addressed appropriately. The scope of the National ITS Architecture 
is defined by a set of user services. Each user service represents the 
most common activities and operations that transportation stakeholders 
perform to sustain efficient and safe travel of people and goods.
    The National ITS Architecture began as a program in 1993 to 
incorporate the

[[Page 38740]]

29 user services that were defined in the National ITS Program Plan. 
That stakeholder-based consensus effort was completed in 1996. 
Stakeholders identified a need for the Disaster Response and Evacuation 
User Service in order to address management of the surface 
transportation system during all types of disasters such as, natural 
disasters, terrorist acts, and other catastrophic events. This service 
is the fourth additional user service integrated into the National ITS 
Architecture and involved public sector and some private sector 
stakeholders representing emergency responders, public safety workers, 
and other elements of the surface transportation system.

Disaster Response and Evacuation User Service

    The functional areas addressed in the new DRE User Service are 
those that involve ITS technologies, integration with other 
transportation systems that are represented in the National ITS 
Architecture, and those that will benefit surface transportation safety 
and efficiency. The DRE User Service is broken into two primary 
subservices with each addressing a number of functional areas. The 
disaster response subservice consists of eight major functions: 
Coordinate response plans, monitor alert levels, detect and verify 
emergency, assess infrastructure status, manage area transportation, 
critical service restoration, coordinate response/recovery, and 
disaster traveler information. The evacuation coordination subservice 
consists of four major functions: Evacuation planning support, 
evacuation traveler information, evacuation transportation management, 
and evacuation resource sharing.

National ITS Architecture Version 5.0

    With respect to the updated Version 5.0 of the National ITS 
Architecture, existing user services which were modified to further 
address new aspects of transportation security included: Incident 
management, public transportation management, public travel security, 
on-board safety and security monitoring, freight mobility, hazardous 
materials security and incident response, and emergency notification 
and personal security.
    One new subsystem, Security Monitoring, has been added to the 
twenty-one subsystems in existence in the National ITS Architecture. 
Four new terminators have been added and new market packages have been 
defined to reflect the additional services described by the 
Architecture. In addition, equipment packages, process specifications, 
architecture flows and data flows have been added to accommodate the 
new user service and the transportation security modifications. The 
National ITS Architecture Version 5.0 will include an overview of the 
new security-related changes as well as hyperlinks to information on 
securing of ITS itself--information systems security, operations and 
personnel security, and the management of security policy/procedures.
    Other modifications made to the National ITS Architecture for 
Version 5.0 include support for 511 traveler information systems, 
improvements to the hypertext, and updated mappings to the ITS 
standards activities such as efforts in 5.9 GHz dedicated short-range 
communications.
    The National ITS Architecture Version 5.0 addressing transportation 
security updates, including the new DRE User Service, may be reviewed 
through a link on the National ITS Architecture Web site, http://www.iteris.com/itsarch, after August 15, 2003. Through this Web site, 
the ITS JPO intends to solicit comments on the new National ITS 
Architecture Version 5.0 for a period of 30 days. Once we have analyzed 
these comments, the final version is planned to be posted on the U.S. 
DOT ITS Web site, http://www.its.dot.gov/arch in October 2003 with CD 
ROMs available for distribution in November 2003.

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 101, 106, 109, 133, 315, and 508; sec 
5206(e), Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 457 (23 U.S.C. 502 note); and 49 
CFR 1.48.

    Issued on: June 23, 2003.
Mary E. Peters,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-16370 Filed 6-27-03; 8:45 am]
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