UDOT Goes for Gold

When it comes to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, performance is everything. The difference between winning and losing can come down to one one-hundredth of a second, half of a point or an overtime goal.

The same goes for transportation at the 2002 Winter Olympics—one glitch can throw off the performance of the entire transportation system enough that traffic will snarl, buses will be slowed and the light rail schedule delayed—and travelers will notice.

The Olympics demand perfection in order to achieve success, and nothing beyond perfection will allow Salt Lake City’s transportation system to go unnoticed.

CommuterLink, a $121 million project developed by the Utah Department of Transportation, the Utah Transit Authority, the Federal Highway Administration and various local governments, operates primarily to manage the flow of traffic and reduce traffic congestion on Utah’s roads and highways.

This same theme holds true during the 17 days of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, with additional emphasis placed on managing a seamless transit system to transport thousands of spectators—many of whom are unfamiliar with Salt Lake City, let alone North America—to and from the daily events.

Quite a daunting task, going unnoticed when striving for perfection at the 2002 Winter Olympics, but UDOT and CommuterLink are up to the challenge.

Transportation Management + Engineering looks at what it takes to run a transportation system smoothly, seamlessly and under the scrutiny of thousands of critics.

Transit’s vital role

According to UDOT, it has been estimated that over 174,000 daily spectators may attend the 140 ticketed events of the 2002 Winter Olympics. An additional 100,000 cars per day are expected to be traveling on Utah’s roadways in addition to the regular traffic. In order to help residents of Salt Lake City maintain mobility during the Games, efforts to reduce the average daily traffic by 20% have been encouraged by UDOT.

Regardless of the concerted efforts of the citizens of Salt Lake City, getting to and from the events entails four principal transportation systems in operation for the Games—each of which has the same goal: to transport spectators to sporting venues and other festivities so they can avoid driving a vehicle to these destinations.

These four transportation systems include the TRAX Light Rail System, the UTA fixed-route bus system, a Park and Ride transportation system and the Mountain View Express Bus service.

“UDOT has worked closely with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Utah Transit Authority and other city and county agencies to provide several alternatives for spectator travel,” said Robert Strong of the UDOT Traffic Operations Center (TOC). “Spectators can use UTA’s bus or TRAX Light Rail System to access venues in the downtown Salt Lake City area.”

UTA’s TRAX Light Rail System for the Games includes the existing system along with the new University TRAX line. The system operates at a higher frequency with longer trains than normal. The UTA added 10 new cars and borrowed 29 additional light-rail vehicles to double the number of cars that normally run.

Another vital aspect is UTA’s fixed-route bus system. The bus system continues to operate its regularly scheduled services, and spectators can ride the bus to connect with TRAX or head directly to downtown Salt Lake City.

Implemented solely for the Games, the UTA offers a total of 11 Park and Ride locations, stretching between Ogden and Provo, Utah, to help visitors and residents access downtown Salt Lake City.

“The SLOC [Salt Lake Organizing Committee] and UDOT have established a vast Olympic shuttle bus system between Ogden and Provo for spectators traveling to the downtown area,” said Strong. “Most venues house Park and Ride or Park and Walk lots where spectators can park their vehicles and either walk or take a shuttle to the venue area.”

The Park and Ride locations draw from 45 existing, commercial and temporary parking lots that entail 30,000 parking spaces in the Salt Lake Valley to the Salt Lake Ice Center, Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Medals Plaza. 

Park and Ride lots located closer to specific venues also serve Snowbasin Ski Area, Soldier Hollow, Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort and the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo. The remaining venues have Park and Walk lots, allowing spectators to park within walking distance of the Ice Sheet in Ogden, E Center, Utah Olympic Oval and Utah Olympic Park.

A shuttle departs from the Park and Ride lots and the destination every 15 minutes each day of the Games.

“For mountain venues, spectators can take the Mountain View Express, a roundtrip deluxe bus system,” said Strong.

The Mountain View Express ad-vanced reservation bus service operates a deluxe, express transportation service for a fee from Salt Lake City, Ogden and Provo to unloading areas at several of the mountain venues.

Where it all comes down

In addition to managing the four transit-based systems for the 2002 Winter Olympics, UDOT’s TOC, located in Salt Lake City, is the epicenter behind CommuterLink. As mentioned above, an additional 100,000 cars per day are expected to be traveling on Utah’s roadways in addition to the regular traffic.

Traffic information is collected and disseminated from a host of field devices.

“The TOC processes data from closed circuit television cameras, congestion detectors, traffic signal controls, ramp meters and weather sensors,” said Strong.

This information is then distributed to smaller traffic control centers in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, as well as the Utah Transit Authority’s dispatch center.

Due to the importance of maintaining a seamless transportation system throughout the Games, the personnel running the TOC have been increased to handle the extra capacities.

“The traffic operations center normally staffs 75 full-time employees,” said Strong. “During the Games, the transportation operations center will house double that amount and serve as the transportation headquarters for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.”

Field devices

Successfully managing and moving traffic in and out of the Games depends on the transportation information accumulated from the field devices mentioned above. Decisions can be made by TOC personnel in regards to any action that needs to be taken due to traffic conditions.

According to UDOT, approximately 200 CCTVs monitor traffic and transit in and out of Salt Lake City and they are found on I-80, I-215 and I-15 spaced out every 1⁄2 mile. Cameras also are located at key surface street intersections in order to detect cause and location of traffic delays as well as provide faster emergency response times.

Also measuring traffic control and isolate problem areas are traffic sensors located throughout the CommuterLink system. These sensors provide information on traffic volume, speed and, of course, congestion and are located every 1⁄2 mile along the freeways.

CommuterLink has incorporated traffic signal control on approximately 540 traffic signals in the Salt Lake area. Operators at the TOC adjust signals to accommodate traffic demand and reduce stops and delays at intersections. Signal timing also is adjusted when accommodating traffic using the surface streets as alternative routes.

Additionally, the signal timing has been developed to TRAX to flow concurrently with the traffic to prevent additional delays with motorists, according to UDOT.

As for the ramp meters, approximately 25 operate to help manage traffic flow on the freeways.

Finally, 21 weather and pavement icing sensors intermittently placed along the highway system allows UDOT to monitor winter weather, alerting motorists to snow-packed and icy conditions.

In case of a major snowstorm, the weather and pavement icing sensors play a vital role in concert with snow removal equipment.

“UDOT added 125 snowplow trucks, increasing its fleet to over 300 during the Games,” said Strong. “UDOT also has equipped 20 trucks statewide with anti-icing equipment to spray liquid on roadways in a storm to prevent snow and ice from bonding to the pavement.”

Also assisting in case of a snowstorm are 30 additional maintenance vehicles, according to UDOT. The primary function of these vehicles is to help with traffic control, snow removal and other weather-related activities.

Relaying real-time info to motorists

A crucial element in CommuterLink’s formula for success comes in the form of communicating the real-time traffic information with the motorists.

Once the data is analyzed from the field devices, the TOC/TCCs provide this information to a variety of outlets: electronic message signs, highway advisory radio (HAR), website or 511.

Pertinent information, both traffic and otherwise, is relayed to Olympic motorists via 55 permanently mounted message signs located on freeways and surface streets. Additionally, portable message signs operate in areas not covered by permanent message signs.

Motorists also can employ a HAR system offering more detailed information than communicated by message signs. Updated six times per hour, motorists can tune in to KSL1160 AM to find out the latest traffic conditions and weather information.

Before heading out to their vehicles, motorists are encouraged to check out current road conditions via the Internet (www.utahcommuterlink.com).

Finally, for Salt Lake City travelers who do not have access to the Internet, a special traveler information hotline is now available. By dialing 511 on any touch-tone phone, callers can access all the latest updates and current road conditions.

“The 511 travel information hotline provides callers with the latest traffic updates, current road conditions, public transportation information and weather forecasts,” said Strong.   TME