Information Services Advisory Board
MINUTES
September 7, 2006, 5:30 p.m.
Town Hall Campus
Council Large Conference Room #10035
316 N. Academy Street, Cary, North Carolina
www.townofcary.org
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 5:34 p.m.
Present: Donna Bravo, Terra Brown-Shelton (5:38 p.m.), Lee Douglas, Mark Evangelista, John Fitzpatrick, Tangie Hofer, John Nolander; Council liaison Julie Robison; Staff liaisons Susan Moran and Teri Peralta; Guest Speaker Dick Moore, Traffic Engineer for Town of Cary
Absent: Frank De Vita, Dayna Guzik, Nazi Kite
Approval of Minutes
The Board unanimously approved the minutes from the August 3, 2006, meeting.
Old/New Business
a. Council Requested Dynamic Sign Message Input
Mr. Evangelista introduced Mr. Moore who first asked Ms. Moran to reiterate Council’s request. Ms. Moran stated that Council has asked for the Information Services Advisory Board and the Police Department’s Citizens Assisting Police volunteer group to brainstorm ideas for messages that could go on the Dynamic Message Signs. She explained that the content of these messages must stay within the context of any rules, regulations, and agreements that the Town is required to abide by. She noted that these messages would have to fit within the constraints of the NCDOT guidelines.
Ms. Brown-Shelton arrived at 5:38 p.m.
Ms. Moran then turned the meeting back over to Mr. Moore who explained that because the signs are installed on state roads, the Town must comply with an encroachment agreement from NCDOT and the messages on these signs must conform to the same basic format that the state uses on its dynamic message signs throughout the state. He noted that message content is limited to traffic-related issues, public health and safety, Amber Alerts, and so on.
Ms. Robison came in at 5:40.
The Board made the following message suggestions:
1. Information on peak travel times, rush hours in Cary
2. Traffic metering – cars per minute or per hour across a specific section of road
3. Speed metering – identifying the specific speed of a car
4. Ozone alerts
5. Carbon monoxide levels in the air
6. Actions that can be taken by drivers to reduce adding to air quality problems such as Park & Ride / C-Tran availability and carpool tomorrow, especially if ozone information is available the night before
7. Escaped felon in the area (similar to AMBER Alert)
8. Boil water
It was noted that some of these topics might only be used during the testing period and might not conform to state guidelines once the system is fully operational.
MOTION: Mr. Douglas moved to recommend that the ISAB is supportive of the signs being used for such topics as traffic alerts, health and safety notices, ozone alerts, delays due to construction, weather, road flooding, or ice, increased event traffic, Amber alerts, and so on, and recognizes considerable potential for these signs. Ms. Hofer provided the second, and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Fitzpatrick made a recommendation that Council direct staff to speed up use of the existing operational signs as part of a pilot program, whether a complete set of messages is developed at this point or not, so that citizens can see the value of these signs more quickly, refining our efforts based on feedback. Mr. Nolander expressed concern that these would need to be messages of value. All agreed that the messages should not be frivolous in nature but should be specific messages citing a delay for a known problem, health and safety issues, lane closures for construction or paving, etc.
Ms. Moran suggested that the ISAB make a formal statement that the group believes that staff should use all resources as effectively as possible to be on top of those signs during the testing period.
MOTION: Ms. Bravo moved that the ISAB recommend that council direct staff to begin using value-added, timely messages on these signs as soon as possible on all operational signs and that all resources the Town of Cary can afford to spare be directed toward implementing that. Ms. Hofer seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Evangelista then recommended that the Board keep the topic of Dynamic Sign Messages on the rest of its upcoming agendas in order to generate additional specific message suggestions, along with the regularly scheduled topic of discussion.
MOTION: Ms. Brown-Shelton moved that Council direct staff not to leave the signs blank and that, rather than keeping a static message on the signs staff should begin posting valuable and varying messages so that citizens are aware the signs are functioning. Ms. Bravo provided the second. Mr. Nolander and Mr. Fitzpatrick voted against the motion, expressing concern that some of these messages might not fit within the constraints of current NC regulations. The motion carried with a majority vote.
The Board also suggested that at some future time there should be a compilation of messages and abbreviations and that these be available on the Town’s Web site for citizens to be aware of every possible abbreviation. It was also suggested that once there is a list of messages, it would be good to bring in some citizens to review and offer feedback. Ms. Robison agreed and thought a focus group would be beneficial.
Ms. Moran told the Board that she would be creating a staff report for the October Operations Committee meeting that summarized the ISAB and CAP Team recommendations.
Statement of Findings
Mr. Evangelista noted that there was more work to be done by Board members in preparation for the next discussion. He noted that there were three motions that carried and several suggestions and recommendations to Council. Ms. Moran acknowledged that the Board has found value in the dynamic message signs and plans to continue participating in the optimization of this communications vehicle.
Citizen Comments
Ms. Robison stated that she received an e-mail from former Board member Kelly Komisky who recommended that we look at the issue of making sure that everything on the message signs is also available on the Web site, noting that this was also suggested by the Board.
Member Comments
Mr. Evangelista commended the Board members for focusing on the benefits of the dynamic message signs and not promoting a sense of having to defend or “sell” the signs.
Ms. Moran stated that, while there may have been times the Board has felt detached from Council, maybe not fully used by Council, this is a great example and a perfect time for everyone to step back and see that Council wanted this Board to look into this topic.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.