WTI

Grand Canyon Nat'l Park Variable Message Sign

Primary Investigator Contact Information

External Project Contact(s)

Report(s)

1. Grand Canyon National Park Dynamic Message Sign/Highway Advisory Radio Operations Plan
   1. Zhirui Ye, Jaime Eidswick, Stephen Albert
   2. 4W2106_Ops_Plan_Final.pdf
2. Grand Canyon National Park Dynamic Message Sign (DMS)/Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) Pilot Deployment/Evaluation - Exec Summary
   1. Jaime Eidswick, Zhirui Ye, Ph.D., Steve Albert
   2. 4W2106_Exec_Summary.pdf
3. Grand Canyon National Park Dynamic Message Sign (DMS)/Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) Pilot Deployment/Evaluation
   1. Jaime Eidswick, Zhirui Ye, Ph.D., Steve Albert
   2. 4W2106_Final_Report.pdf

Project Objective

The purpose of this project is to support implementation and evaluation of a VMS/HAR pilot deployment in Grand Canyon National Park.

Project Abstract

More than 4.4 million travelers visit the Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) every year. During summer peak season, the Grand Canyon Village area on the Park’s South Rim experiences heavy traffic and parking congestion. The GRCA proposed a pilot shuttle service to and from Tusayan (a city 5 miles south of the South Entrance Gate) to offer visitors an opportunity for car free travel to the park, to reduce traffic congestion along State Highway (SR) 64 through the South Entrance and within Grand Canyon Village, and improve access to the Canyon View Information Plaza and South Rim of the GRCA, where parking is limited at key destinations. The park started operating the pilot shuttle route on June 1, 2008 and the service will be available until September 1, 2008. Through this project, WTI will conduct tasks to promote and evaluate the shuttle service. Researchers will prepare an operations plan, which will propose the use of a Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) and two Highway Advisory Radios (HAR) on SR 64/US 180. The DMS will be used to report on parking conditions in the park, advise visitors to tune to radio, and report on traffic conditions; the HAR will broadcast transit service information, general park information, and fee options. Two HAR static signs will be used to inform travelers to tune to radio. In addition, the operations plan will provide operations and maintenance guidelines and develop message sets for DMS/HAR systems. The evaluation will analyze the effectiveness of the ITS systems and provide recommendations for future deployment of permanent units.

Task Descriptions

1. Concept of Operations Development
   1. Develop a Concept of Operations for the pilot VMS/HAR implementation, including siting locations and placement of up to 4 VMS/HAR units, authoring approved message sets, coordinating maintenance and operations of the system with park staff, and coordination with ADOT 511/VMS system.
2. Field visits
   1. Conduct two field visits: one trip for project initiation and concept of operations development, and one trip to review locations of the VMS/HAR deployments.
3. VMS/HAR Unit Specifications
   1. Determine specifications for VMS/HAR units and research availability of lease/rental units from local Arizona source for duration of pilot.
4. VMS/HAR Evaluation & Recommendations
   1. Develop methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of VMS/HAR system. Analyze survey data and provide recommendations for future deployment of permanent units.

Milestones, Dates, Schedule

Student Involvement

False

Relationship to Other Research Projects

False

Technology Transfer Activities

True

Transportation Research Board Keywords

National Park transportation, shuttle services, dynamic message signs, Highway Advisory Radio

Partners

Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (RM-CESU)