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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVII (G) Open Roads Policy from Metroplan Orlando ( 119 Agenda 9-16-2003 Item VII G vtETROP LA\ A RegonalTransportaron Partnership September 5, 2003 Honorable Scott Vandergrift, Mayor City of Ocoee 2625 Cedar Bluff Lane Ocoee, FL 34761 Dear Mayor Vandergrift: As Chairman of METROPLAN ORLANDO, Central Florida's regional transportation planning partnership, one of my priorities for the coming year is to reduce the impact that traffic incidents have on our transportation system. Traffic incidents cause capacity reduction or increased demand on a roadway. Approximately 54 percent of the congestion in our region is caused by traffic incidents. To address the effect of traffic incidents on our transportation system, I recently convened a Traffic Incident Management Executive Forum with the public safety and transportation agencies in our area. The Forum provided an opportunity to discuss this issue and to develop ideas on improving transportation through better coordination between the agencies responsible for managing traffic incidents. As a result of the Forum, METROPLAN ORLANDO is leading a public awareness effort on traffic incident management in the Orlando Metropolitan area. I believe this effort can have an immediate impact on the practices used to respond to and clear incidents. On August 13, 2003, the METROPLAN ORLANDO Board unanimously approved a Resolution that supports the adoption of the "Opens Roads Policy". The policy is an agreement between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol on providing a quick response to incidents and restoring the safe and orderly flow of traffic to a roadway. Additionally, METROPLAN ORLANDO encourages local governments to consider endorsing and implementing the policy on their roadways. A copy of the Resolution and policy are enclosed for consideration by the City of Ocoee. If you have any questions or require additional information on the Resolution or the "Open Roads Policy" please contact Eric Hill, METROPLAN ORLANDO at 407.481.5672 ext. 316 Very truly yours, Ted B. Edwards Chairman Enclosure One Landmark Center•315 East Robinson Street•Suite 355•Orlando,FL 32801 ® metroplanorlando.com $' (407)481-5672 Suncom 344-5672 ❑ (407) 481-5680 Suncom (407) 344-5680 Courthouse Station LYMMO Stop State of Florida "OPEN ROADS POLICY" Quick Clearance for Safety and Mobility This agreement by and between the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and the Florida Department of Transportation(FDOT) establishes a policy for FHP and FDOT personnel to expedite the removal of vehicles, cargo, and debris from roadways on the State Highway System to restore, in an URGENT MANNER the safe and orderly flow of traffic following a motor vehicle crash or incident onFlorida's roadways. Whereas: Public safety is the highest priority and must be maintained especially when - injuries or hazardous materials are involved. The quality of life in the State of Florida is heavily dependent upon the free movement of people, vehicles, and commerce. The FHP and FDOT share the responsibility for achieving and maintaining the degree of order necessary to make this free movement possible. Agencies have the responsibility to do whatever is reasonable to reduce the risk to responders, secondary crashes, and delays associated with incidents, crashes,roadway maintenance, construction, and enforcement activities. The following operating standards are based on the philosophy that the State Highway System will not be closed or restricted any longer than is absolutely necessary. • Be it resolved: Roadways will be cleared of damaged vehicles, spilled cargo, and debris as soon as it is safe to do so. It is understood that damage to vehicles or cargo may occur as a result of clearing the roadway on an urgent basis. While reasonable attempts to avoid such damage shall be taken,the highest priority is restoring traffic to normal conditions. Incident caused congestion has an enormous cost to society. Florida Highway Patrol Responsibilities Members of FHP who respond to the scene of traffic incidents will make clearing the travel portion of the roadway a high priority. When an investigation is required, it will be conducted in as expedient a manner as possible considering the severity of the collision. Non-critical portions of the investigation may be delayed until lighter traffic conditions allow completion of those tasks. The FHP will close only those lanes absolutely necessary to safely conduct the investigation. The FHP will coordinate with FDOT representatives to set up appropriate traffic control, establish alternate routes, expedite the safe movement of traffic at the scene, and restore the roadway to normal conditions as soon as possible. Whenever practical, damaged vehicles on access controlled roadways will be removed to off ramps, accident investigation sites, or other safe areas for completion of investigations to reduce the delays associated with motorists slowing to "gawk." Tow trucks will be requested as soon as it is evident that they will be needed to clear the roadway. FHP will assure that all authorized tow operators have met established competency levels and that the equipment is of appropriate size, capacity, and design to meet all standards of the State of Florida. The FHP will not unnecessarily cause any delay in reopening all or part of a roadway to allow a company to dispatch its own equipment to off-load cargo or recover a vehicle or load that is impacting traffic during peak traffic hours or creating a hazard to the public. The FHP and FDOT will cooperate in planning and implementing clearance operations in the most safe and expeditious manner. Florida Department of Transportations Responsibilities When requested by FHP or other emergency agency,FDOT will respond and deploy resources to major traffic incidents 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Each FDOT District will develop and implement response procedures to meet the goal of providing initial traffic control within 30 minutes of notification during the assigned working hours of each maintenance yard, and 60 minutes after hours. The FDOT, in coordination with FHP,will upgrade traffic controls, determine detour routes, and discuss clearance strategies. When requested,FDOT will provide temporary traffic controls to ensure a safe work zone for all responders and the motoring public. The FDOT, in cooperation with the PHP,will determine and deploy the necessary heavy equipment and manpower to reopen the roadway if there is a delay in clearing the travel lanes, or if the task is beyond the capabilities of the wrecker service on scene. If cargo or spilled loads [non-hazardous] are involved, FDOT will make every effort to assist in the relocation of the materials in the shortest possible time, using whatever equipment necessary. All such materials or any vehicles relocated by FDOT will be moved the minimum possible distance to eliminate traffic hazards. FDOT personnel will document all hours and equipment used for traffic control,roadway clearance, and debris clean up. FDOT will place traffic control devices at the scene should any damaged vehicles or cargo remain on the shoulder adjacent to the travel lanes for removal at a later time. The FDOT and FHP will continually work together to ensure that the needs of motorists on state roadways are being met in the most professional, safe, and efficient manner. Page-2 METROPLA\ �•'t'i4 4 0 P. _ L'0 Ott t 411 tif . RESOLUTION NO. 03-11 SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA "OPEN ROADS POLICY" OF QUICK CLEARANCE FOR SAFETY AND MOBILITY ON THE STATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM WHEREAS, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are the duly designated and constituted agencies under federal and state law responsible for carrying out the urban transportation planning and programming process for urbanized areas that increases safety and mobility of the existing transportation system; and • WHEREAS, METROPLAN ORLANDO is the MPO for the Orlando metropolitan area and is responsible for regional transportation planning activities in a three-county area (Orange, Seminole and Osceola Counties); and WHEREAS, traffic incidents, defined as those events that cause roadway capacity reduction or increased demand, cause 54 percent of the congestion in the Orlando metropolitan area, and increases probability of crashes that are secondary to earlier incidents and risks injuries to incident responders; and WHEREAS, it is becoming increasingly apparent that traffic incident management, an organized cooperative effort to detect an incident, respond, manage the scene, provide traveler information and clear the roadway facility, will mitigate the economic and mobility impacts of a traffic incident; and WHEREAS, the goals of traffic incident management are to improve response and clearance times, reduce incident-related congestion and delay, reduce secondary collisions and improve responder safety; and WHEREAS, an effective traffic incident management program will result in significant travel time benefits to motorists in the Orlando metropolitan area; WHEREAS, the Traffic Incident Management Executive Forum held on July 31, 2003 showed that benefits of traffic incident management are best achieved through the use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), greater coordination between emergency medical services, law enforcement, fire and rescue, transportation agencies and review of the regulations that govern vehicle removal operators; and WHEREAS, as a result of the Traffic Incident Management Executive Forum, METROPLAN ORLANDO will play an important role in a traffic incident management public awareness campaign for the Orlando metropolitan area; and RESOLUTION No. 03-11 Page 2 of 2 (with attachment) WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) have established an "Open Roads Policy" (copy attached) for FDOT and FHP personnel to expedite the removal of vehicles, cargo and debris from the roadway on the State Highway System to restore, in an urgent manner, the safe and orderly flow of traffic following a motor vehicle crash or incident; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that METROPLAN ORLANDO supports the adoption of the State of Florida "Open Roads Policy" and encourages local governments to consider endorsing and implementing the policy on their roadways. Passed and duly adopted at the regular meeting of the METROPLAN ORLANDO Board on this 13th day of August, 2003. CERTIFICATE - The undersigned duly qualified and acting Chairman of METROPLAN ORLANDO, hereby certifies • that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a resolution, adopted at a legally convened meeting of the METROPLAN ORLANDO Board. , tpid Ted B. Edwards, Chairman Attest: ;kJ f EU.i.t:-L. Virgi 'a L. Whittington, Manger of Board Services and Recording Secretary