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"No one likes being stuck in traffic, and no one wants to spend time
stuck in congestion when they could be home with their family or
doing something else they enjoy," Blagojevich said. "And thanks to
new technology, we can help drivers avoid that kind of frustration.
Our new traffic alert system means drivers can get up-to-the-minute
information about congested areas and travel times, which can help
them avoid delays and get to where they're going faster." The new
system -- at
www.iltrafficalert.com -- allows people to register for
customized e-mail traffic reports providing travel times, vehicle
speeds, construction work, congestion and incident information about
72 route segments on Chicago area expressways and suburban tollways
via e-mail, cell phone text messaging or other mobile devices.
Additional segments will be added pending completion of construction
projects and other factors. The system is being launched in the
Chicago area as part of Department of Transportation's ongoing
congestion mitigation efforts.
When people register, they must:
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Choose the segments
of roadways they want to be alerted about.
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Select the one or
two times of day when they want to receive alerts.
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Select the days of
the week they want to receive alerts.
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Select whether they
want to customize alerts to receive them only if the average
speed on the road is below a certain threshold.
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Select the types of
data they want to receive: incidents, construction, congestion
reports or travel times.
The new system was developed in conjunction with the University
of Illinois at Chicago Department of Computer Science and
subcontractor Delcan Corp. The system can register up to 1,000 new
users every 15 minutes, so Department of Transportation officials
caution that if demand for the new service is high, users may have
to wait several hours if they encounter problems signing up for the
system.
Department of Transportation Secretary Timothy W. Martin, urged
drivers not to read their hand-held devices while on the road.
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 "We want this new system to help commuters avoid congestion, not
to contribute to crashes," Martin said. "That's why when signing up
for the alerts, set the time of day for before you are scheduled to
hit the road. We want drivers who are behind the wheel to stay
focused on their driving."
George Billows, executive director of the Illinois Trucking
Association, described the new system as "easy and user-friendly."
"I am confident that many ITA members will use this site on a
regular basis," Billows said. "The selection of road segments,
times, days of the week, etc., was excellent. Drivers with e-mail
via phone or BlackBerry, on-board computers, and certainly
dispatchers will be able to make their selections to fit their
operational needs."
The new e-mail alert systems follow the launch of
www.gettingaroundillinois.com, a website that provides
information about winter road conditions, construction activity and
average daily traffic counts. The site also allows users to map
travel destinations, such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations,
airports, tourist attractions, museums, hospitals, schools and
government agencies.
In another congestion-relief effort, the Department of
Transportation is teaming up with the Regional Transportation
Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, Illinois Tollway, Pace, Metra
and Chicago Area Transportation Study on a marketing campaign dubbed
"drive less. live more." The campaign is designed to encourage use
of mass transit and car pooling and is funded through a federal
congestion mitigation grant of $1 million secured by the Department
of Transportation.
Other congestion relief efforts on the state's roadways include
the governor's $5.3 billion Congestion-Relief Program on the
Illinois Tollway system, called Open Roads for a Faster Future,
which will reduce travel times by rebuilding and restoring 90
percent of the system, widening and adding lanes to many miles of
existing roads, converting 20 mainline toll plazas to barrier-free
Open Road Tolling, and extending Interstate 355 south to I-80 in
Will County. Open Road Tolling lanes are now available at 17 plazas.
[News release from the governor's
office] |
