Dear ADOT: no info better than bad info

By on April 16th, 2008 In Hype!

trafficMaybe you’ve noticed that ADOT has added a new feature to its freeway management system wherein they are providing motorists with travel time estimates during commute hours.

Well, this morning I found myself on I-10 just West of Elliot Rd. and the sign above informed me that it was going to be 25 minutes to the 143. Traffic was moving pretty well so I was surprised by the estimate — and being the anal mo fo that I am I decided to clock the travel time myself. It took me eight minutes.

Thanks for the information ADOT. Here’s some free PR advice — your reputation sucks already thanks to years of construction, cost overuns, in-fighting over freeway rights of way (any chance we’ll settle on a Pecos Freeway alignment before cars become obsolete?), etc. If you’re going to provide a new service to help motorists, maybe you should make sure you can actually provide the service first.

Comments

Dan Wool Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 9:10 am

Len,

Surprised at your rant.

8 minutes when they said 25? That’s called underpromising and overdelivering. Most of us in PR recognize that as a best practice! So, is getting to your appointments early!

As a daily commuter on I-10 I’ve appeciated the updates – especially on the way home. That’s where they’d blow it if they underestimated the commute.

Charlotte Risch Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 10:49 am

ooohhhhhh….you ARE cranky! ha. i am too! well, I have to agree that while its annoying to see an overestimate, I’d MUCH rather see an overestimate than underestimate. I guess I don’t pay as much attention to those signs…maybe because I work at home :) Today is a great day to work at home because I need a NAP!

Tim Tait Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

Shortly after the project was launched to display travel time estimates on some overhead message boards, several local TV stations did the famous “put it to the test” stories. Those reports found the estimates to be on target. But like all technology, it is never 100 percent accurate, 100 percent of the time. That’s why ADOT launched this as a pilot project — to see how well it works, if it makes a difference with congestion, if drivers find it useful and if it is worth the cost.

More information, including a survey, is available here: http://az511.com/dtt/index.php. If you have good or bad experiences with the estimates, let us know so that programming or equipment changes can be made.

Here are how the estimates are generated: roadway and acoustic sensors measure the volume and speed of traffic. That data is fed into a computer continuously, which generates the red-yellow-green traffic maps and sends the information to the overhead freeway signs, updated every five minutes. The team is looking at updating the sign estimates more frequently and providing the actual estimate rather than a figure rounded to the nearest five.

There are several major projects in progress currently in the Valley, 100 miles constructed in the past decade, 100 more to be built as part of the current 20-year plan, and a statewide construction program of more than $1 billion over five years. The final project from the 1985 election will open to traffic this summer; all of these projects have generally been done on time and on budget. Those “years of construction” are all for voter-approved projects, funded by taxpayers in Maricopa County.

Anytime anyone has questions about who does regional planning (the Maricopa Association of Governments), how a project becomes reality, the federally required layers of study or the status of the “Pecos Freeway” (the proposed South Mountain Freeway), I am always available and willing to help explain it all. Transportation is complex and thick with requirements – but ADOT has dedicated more resources and personnel to genuine PR and public involvement activities.

Regards,
Tim Tait, ADOT
602-712-7070 ttait@azdot.gov

Jim Veihdeffer Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

I concur with the original post by Len. As part of the AMFC (anal mo fo club) I time everything but my toenails, and I invariably find the estimated time from the 202/51 split east is way off. Besides, do they have nothing better to do with those electronic signs than tell us how slow it’s going to be when there’s no alternative? I have even less use for traffic reports on the radio. Having commuted on and off here for 20 years, I can affirm that there has not been a single instance where one of those reports has done me any good. I still remember the pre-Rte. 51 reports on KDUH!, ” Traffic is heavy on the Dreamy Draw this morning.” Oh yeah? Ya think it will be hot today too? There have actually been times when the traffic guy said he was flying overhead of some landmark and I noticed I was at the very spot…but no sign of an airplane or copter in sight.

Updating Gresham, I propose Veihdeffer’s Law: “Whether in e-mail chain letters or traffic info, bad info drives out good.”

Dan Wool Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 9:46 pm

but ADOT has dedicated more resources and personnel to genuine PR and public involvement activities.

And they monitor and comment on blogs when warranted!

Kudos and thanks Tim.

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