FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 2, 2000
Contact: Lori Irving
Tel.: 202-366-0660
FHWA 53-00

U.S. Department of Transportation Extends Comment Period on Proposed ITS Rule

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) today announced that it has extended the comment period for the proposed Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture and Standards Conformity rules until Sept. 23, 2000.

The proposed rule by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), along with a notice of a request for comment on the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) National ITS Architecture Consistency Policy for Project Development, would implement a provision in section 5206(e) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the landmark surface transportation law that President Clinton signed on June 9, 1998.

"By helping to reduce traffic congestion and ease the way for motorists to reach their destinations, these proposals for ITS would advance President Clinton and Vice President Gore's initiative to make our communities more livable," Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle said.

The proposed rule and notice would emphasize the need to develop an ITS integration strategy as part of the transportation planning process. The proposed rule and notice would further require development of an ITS regional architecture, based on the National ITS Architecture, to which subsequent ITS projects will adhere. The ITS regional architecture includes a concept of operations and conceptual design. Documentation requirements and oversight are designed to supplement the existing planning and project development processes.

The proposed rule and notice also would encourage the use of applicable ITS standards and interoperability tests and would require the use of those that have been adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation. At this time, USDOT has adopted no standards or interoperability tests.

The proposed rule and notice culminate a multi-year USDOT initiative that included listening sessions. The initiative resulted in the proposed framework for planning and project development that supports integration and interoperability of intelligent transportation systems.

The proposed rule and notice can be viewed by searching for the docket numbers at USDOT's electronic docket management system web site, http://dms.dot.gov. The proposed rules and collateral information also can be viewed at FHWA's and Federal Transit Administration's web sites: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov and http://www.fta.dot.gov.

Comments on the rulemaking and the notice can be submitted electronically via USDOT's http://dms.dot.gov. Written comments on the proposed rulemaking, "Intelligent Transportation System Architecture and Standards" should be marked Docket No. FHWA-99-5899. Written comments on the "Request for Comment on the Federal Transit Administration National ITS Architecture Consistency Policy for Project Development" should be marked Docket No. FTA 99-6417. Written comments on both should be sent to the Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, D.C. 20590-0001.