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AGENDA
Transportation Committee Regular Meeting
4:30 PM - Monday, August 1, 2016
Council Conference Room, 7th Floor, City Hall – 1055 S. Grady Way
1. Acyclica Lease for Travel Time Data Collection
a) AB - 1710
2. Emerging Issues
AB - 1710
City Council Regular Meeting - 11 Jul 2016
SUBJECT/TITLE: Request for Approval to Lease Acyclica Products for the Use of
Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ Technology to Collect Travel Time and
Origin/Destination Data
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Refer to Transportation (Aviation) Committee
DEPARTMENT: Transportation Systems Division
STAFF CONTACT: Chris Barnes, Transportation Operations Manager
EXT.: 7220
FISCAL IMPACT SUMMARY:
The initial and annual costs of this product will be funded by the Public Works Transportation Capital
Investment Fund, Intelligence Transportation System Program. The total project budget for the Intelligence
Transportation System Program is $44,224.78. To lease Acyclica products, the initial expenditure required is in
the amount of $10,400 and will require an ongoing yearly maintenance expenditure in the amount of $5,000.
SUMMARY OF ACTION:
During the February City Council Retreat, the Public Works Transportation Systems Division outlined the
potential use of Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ equipment to gather data including vehicle traffic counts, speed
surveys, travel time, turning movement counts and determining the percentage of pass-thru traffic in key
corridors. The City Council directed staff to obtain more detailed information concerning the initial and
annual costs of using Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ technology.
The results of this investigation are outlined in the attached staff report provided by Chris Barnes,
Transportation Operations Manager. The conclusion is that for an initial expenditure of $10,400 and an
ongoing expenditure of $5,000 each year thereafter, the Public Works Transportation Systems Division can
equip 6 major corridors with the antennas necessary to collect the data. Additionally, it will require 4 hours of
staff time when the equipment is moved between corridors. Initially, we anticipate moving the equipment
every 2 weeks to estimate a baseline of traffic information for each corridor.
The initial and annual costs to lease Acyclica products will be paid from the Public Works Transportation
Capital Investment Fund, Intelligence Transportation System Program (317.122162.016.595.11.63.000). The
attached staff report outlines this expenditure.
EXHIBITS:
A. Issue Paper
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to lease Acyclica Products for the use of Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™
technology to collect travel time and origin/destination data with a required initial expenditure of $10,400 and
annual maintenance expenditure of $5,000.
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
M E M O R A N D U M
DATE:June 30, 2016
TO:Randy Corman, Council President
Members of Renton City Council
VIA:Denis Law, Mayor
FROM:Gregg Zimmerman, Public Works Administrator
STAFF CONTACT:Chris Barnes, Transportation Operations Manager, ext 7220
SUBJECT:Applicability of Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ Technology
ISSUE:
Should Council authorize the Public Works Transportation Systems Division to lease
Acyclica products for use of Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ technology for traffic counts,
performing vehicle speed surveys, collecting corridor travel time data, performing
origin-destination studies and collecting turning movement counts?
RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the Public Works Transportation Systems Division to lease Acyclica products
for use of Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ technology for traffic counts, performing vehicle
speed surveys, collecting corridor travel time data, performing origin-destination studies
and collecting turning movement counts This data will provide the Transportation
Operations Section the best data to update the City’s arterial Synchro traffic signal
timing analysis program to retime corridor signals once per year. The City should
continue doing turning movement counts, 24-hour traffic volume counts and speed
studies with a contractor or by City staff using traditional equipment.
BACKGROUND:
Accurate and reliable traffic data information is very important for the efficient
management of our roadway network, reducing congestion and reducing travel time.
The information can also be useful for measuring performance related to traffic
volumes, vehicle speeds and performing origin-destination studies.
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
Randy Corman, Council President
Members of Renton City Council
Page 2 of 8
June 30, 2016
Bluetooth™ is a wireless technology that allows personal computers, lap tops, cell
phones and other electronic devices to communicate with each other and to transfer
information from one device to another. It uses radio waves and is designed to be a
secure and inexpensive way of connecting and exchanging information between
wireless devices1. Bluetooth™ technology obtains data from Bluetooth™ devices (cell
phones, GPS navigation devices, etc.) using media access control (MAC) address
matching. This method records the MAC address of a device passing one location and
notes the time difference when the same MAC address passing a different location. The
device has to be in discoverable mode to be able to detect the information.
Wi-Fi™ uses a similar approach. When using Wi-Fi™ one can typically capture a larger
sample size since most cellphones have Wi-Fi™ signals that remain activated by users.
Bluetooth™ technology typically has a match rate of 5% of vehicles in a corridor, while
the match rate of data for Wi-Fi™ technology is 35%-45%.
Wide ranges of travel time data collection technology, including Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™
technology, have been introduced over the last decade. Table 1 shows a comparison of
some of the travel time data collection technology that is used by other agencies in our
region. Wi-Fi™ and/or Bluetooth™ technology have the capability of collecting data that
can be used to calculate corridor travel times and origin-destination of vehicles.
Using Bluetooth™ or Wi-Fi™ technology for turning movement counts and two-way
traffic counts is not as accurate as current methods.
TABLE 1 – Comparison of Travel Time Data Technology
Blue Mac
(Digiwest)
Blue Toad
(Traffic-Cast)
BlipTrack/
BlipSystem
(Blip System)
Acyclica
Iteris Vantage
Velocity
(Iteris)
Detection
Technology
Bluetooth™
only
Bluetooth™
only
Bluetooth™ &
Wi-Fi™
Bluetooth™
& Wi-Fi™Bluetooth™ only
Mounting
Type Pole Mounted Pole Mounted Pole Mounted Pole
Mounted
Mounted within
Cabinet (Antenna
on Top)
Data
Connection
Method
Cellular
modem 3G Modem 3G Modem 3G Modem Ethernet
Power
Options
Battery/
Solar/
Wired
Battery/
Solar/
Wired
Wired Wired Wired
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
Randy Corman, Council President
Members of Renton City Council
Page 3 of 8
June 30, 2016
Travel Time Comparison:
The City recently installed a demonstration version of a Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ system
from Acyclica. The system was installed in the NE 4th Street Corridor from Hoquiam
Avenue NE to Union Avenue NE.
A travel time study was performed in the morning peak period using the floating car
method. The floating car method uses a vehicle that travels in the platoon of moving
vehicles at the average speed of the platoon. Generally, the test vehicle will pass a
vehicle for every vehicle that passes it. The test vehicle driver will attempt to vary the
time of day at which the vehicle enters the traffic stream at the beginning of a segment
so as not to follow a platoon that is progressing well or one having to stop at most red
signals. Once data was collected using the floating car method, we then compared the
data with the travel time data collected by the Acyclica system.
The floating car method was a 1-day study, whereas the Acyclica data was collected
over a 5-day study. The Acyclica data is believed to be a better representation of what
is happening in the corridor than the manual data. We used the travel time from
Hoquiam Avenue NE to Union Avenue NE (westbound) on NE 4th Street for the
comparison with the results shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2 – Travel Time Comparison
Floating Car Method Acyclica Product
Time from Hoquiam Avenue NE to
Union Avenue NE 77 sec 103 sec
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
Randy Corman, Council President
Members of Renton City Council
Page 4 of 8
June 30, 2016
TABLE 3 – Cost Comparison for Travel Time Study of 6 Corridors
Study
Methods Details for Study Setups Cost Cost per
Year
Cost per
Quarter
Data Collection: 3 hours for 2 people per
corridor to drive and manually collect data $5,400Floating Car
method Data Process & Analyze: 4 hours to process
data and analysis per corridor (one person)$2,880
$8,280 $33,120
Hardware and software lease/year $5,000Using
Acyclica
Hardware &
Software
Signal technician cost for installation and
removal of equipment from signal cabinet or
pole. Analysis is performed by the Acyclica
software
$3,600
$8,600 $19,400
Product purchase cost/year $14,325
Blip System
(Hardwire)Signal Technician cost for installation &
removal from signal cabinet or pole with
analysis done by program
$3,600
$17,925 $28,725
Product purchase cost /year $4,655Blip System
(Solar
powered
System)
Signal Technician cost for installation &
removal from signal cabinet or pole with
analysis done by program
$3,600
$26,875 $37,675
Table 3 shows a cost comparison between different systems and our in-house floating
car method. We have compared the cost for yearly and quarterly data collection. The
cost of using the floating car method and Acyclica system are very comparable if you are
performing the study in one corridor once per year. If we collect travel time data on a
quarterly basis, or if we increase the number of corridors we evaluate, the Acyclica costs
less than the floating car method.
There are two items to be considered:
1.Do we need to collect quarterly travel time data?
2.If collected, do we have the necessary resources to use the data?
Ideally, travel time data collection studies should be performed once per year in each
corridor. The data would be used to update the City Synchro traffic level-of-service
model and modify the signal timing based on the data gathered. Since 2014 we have
been able to complete only one corridor travel time analysis.
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
Randy Corman, Council President
Members of Renton City Council
Page 5 of 8
June 30, 2016
TABLE 4 – Cost Comparison for Origin-Destination Study
Study Methods Details for Study
Setup Unit Cost
Units
required
for one
O-D
# of
Hours
Cost for
Origin-
Destinati
on Study
Origin-
Destination Study
From Consultant
Consultant 800 5 N/A $4,000
Acyclica/Blip
System Origin-
Destination Study
Signal technician
cost for installation
& removal from
signal cabinet or
pole
Assuming $60 per
hour per signal
technician
5 10 $600*
*This cost is additional to the cost of products
Table 4 shows the cost associated to do an origin-destination study. If Acyclica or Blip
Systems are used, the only additional cost would be the signal technician time since we
will already have the units available.
TABLE 5 – Cost Comparison for Travel Time & Origin-Destination Study Once per Year
Study Methods Total Cost per Year
Travel Time Study (in-house) &
O-D Study (Contractor)$12,280
Using Acyclica
(Travel Time & Origin- Destination Study)$9,200
Using Blip System (Hardwired)
(Travel Time & Origin- Destination Study)$18,525
Using Blip System (Solar)
(Travel Time & Origin- Destination Study)$27,475
Table 5 shows a comparison of doing a combination of a travel time study and origin-
destination study once a year. The total cost for Acyclica is less per year if we combine
travel time and origin-destination study.
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
Randy Corman, Council President
Members of Renton City Council
Page 6 of 8
June 30, 2016
Advantages and Disadvantages:
The following advantages and disadvantages of using the Acyclica system travel times
and origin-destination studies:
Advantages:
Equipment and software can be
used for both travel time and
origin-destination studies.
Provides better average results
than the manual methods
because data can be collected
over a longer period of time at
no additional cost.
Data collection will allow traffic
signal timing of major corridors
throughout the city to be
updated on a regular basis.
Costs less than the combined
data collection for travel time
and origin-destination studies
using the manual method.
Does not require engineering
staff time to collect and analyze
the data.
Disadvantages:
Requires nearby power source
and needs to be at or near the
intersection.
Devices will need to be pole
mounted or installed in a signal
cabinet.
Attachment:BLIP Systems Bluetooth™ & Wi-Fi Technology Facts Sheet
cc:Eric Cutshall, Transportation Maintenance Assistant Manager
Heather Ulit, Transportation Administrative Secretary I
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
APPENDICES
TABLE 6 – Detail Cost Estimate
STUDY METHODS DETAILS FOR STUDY
SETUPS UNIT COST
N OF PERSON OR UNITS# OF HOURS# OF MAJOR CITY CORRIDORS#OF PEAK PERIODSCOST PER HOUR PER ENGINEERCOST
YEARLY
TOTAL COST
OF TRAVEL
TIME
QUARTERLY
COST OF
TRAVEL
TIME
Data Collection: 3 hours
for 2 persons per corridor
per peak period
Assuming $60/hour
for 1 Engineer and
$15/hour for 1 intern
2 3 6 2 $75 $5,400Floating Car Method for
travel time in 6 corridors
(5 intersections per
corridor for two peak
hours)
Process Data & Analysis:
4 hours to process data
and analysis (one person)
Assuming $75/hour
for Engineer 1 4 6 2 $60 $2,880
$8,280 $3,120
Product lease cost/year $1,000 5 --1 --$5,000
Acyclica Travel Time Signal Technician cost for
installation & removal
from signal cabinet or
pole
Assuming $60/hr. for
1 Signal Technician 1 10 6 --$60 $3,600
$8,600 $19,400
Product lease cost/year $2,865 5 --1 --$14,325
Blip System with Wi-Fi &
Bluetooth™ Sensor
(Hardwired)
Signal Technician cost for
installation & removal
from signal cabinet or
pole
Assuming $60/hr. for
1 Signal Technician 1 10 6 --$60 $3,600
$17,925 $28,725
Product Lease Cost /year $4,655 5 --1 --$23,275Blip System with Wi-Fi &
Bluetooth™ Sensor
(Solar System)Signal Technician cost for
installation & removal
from signal cabinet or
pole
Assuming $60/hr. for
1 Signal Technician 1 10 6 --$60 $3,600
$26,875 $37,675 AGENDA ITEM #1. a)
REFERENCES
1 http://www.eltis.org/sites/eltis/files/case-studies/documents/bliptrack_Wi-Fi™_tech_factsheet.pdf
AGENDA ITEM #1. a)