ITS Strategic Planning Process City of Calgary Alberta, Canada

In the past few years, the City of Calgary has enjoyed an extensive growth period. The growth has placed the city's transportation infrastructure under added strain. Several initiatives are underway to address these mobility problems including largescale infrastructure construction. The cost of satisfying the increased demand solely through additional infrastructure however exceeds the funding capabilities of governments. One solution that is being pursued is the implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Intelligent Transportation Systems or ITS is the application of technology to better manage traffic and maximize the utilization of our existing transportation infrastructure. The technologies are potential tools that will help to manage congestion, improve emergency vehicle response, optimize the operational effectiveness of our transit system and provide travellers with realtime information. Intelligent Transportation Systems are seen as an integral component of Calgary's Transportation Plan, supporting many of the City’s long term key policies and directions to achieve a well balanced, efficient and safe transportation network. As such, the City of Calgary recognizes the importance of ITS technologies and supports their deployment where and when it is shown to be a costeffective solution in achieving an interoperable, seamless, multimodal transportation network. The ITS Strategic Plan is meant to guide the various agencies involved in transportation in formulating their ITS plans or deployments over the next 10 years. Calgary’s ITS Strategic Plan was approved by the City Council in October 2003 following an extensive study by a team of City personnel, consultants and consultation with interested stakeholders. The City is now 3 years into the plan and has recently engaged a consulting firm to review and update the plan for the remainder of its liFE.