Border Wait-Time Archive
Project website: CascadeGatewayData.com
The Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) Data Management System (DMS) archives cross-border traffic data collected from U.S. and Canadian in-road detector systems located at the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway ports-of-entry between Whatcom County, Washington State and British Columbia. The goal of the project was to provide an online query tool and reports to the public regarding historic wait times at the border, traffic volumes, queue lengths, and other information which previously was not stored.
This project was a joint Canadian - U.S. effort. Funding partners included:
- Transport Canada ($110,000 CAD)
- British Columbia Ministry of Transportation ($55,000 CAD)
- WA State Department of Transportation ($40,000 USD)
The project was managed by the Whatcom Council of Governments (WCOG).
In 2004 The International Mobility and Trade Corridor Project (IMTC) agreed to endorse a binational project to create an archive of the data being collected by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation (BC MoT) to calculate and deliver of dynamic border wait-time reports to drivers via variable message signs (VMS).
That same year, funding was assembled from Transport Canada, BC MoT, and WSDOT to create and operate the ATIS-Data Management System (DMS) archive.
Work on the project commenced in June of 2006. The project was managed by the Whatcom Council of Governments (WCOG), the lead agency of IMTC.
Project milestones included:
- Development of a schema-based standard for organizing the traffic data coming from the Washington and British Columbia systems.
- A GPS inventory of both the state’s and province’s ATIS system vehicle-detector locations and subsequent development of a cross-system translation table.
- Development of a database with capabilities including automated FTP uploads and interface with an end-user website.
- Development of an archive and data query website CascadeGatewayData.com
- Automation of criteria-based e-mail alerts for U.S. and Canadian federal border inspection agencies.
- Parallel development with the U.S.-Canada Border Information Flow Architecture (BIFA).
- Significant progress towards binational arrangements for ATIS system maintenance.
2008 Improvements
In 2008 signifiant changes were made to the back end of the database allowing for the system to function better as the data archive increases in size.
The system also now stores data from the new wait-time information systems in place northbound at the Pacific Highway, Lynden/Aldergrove and Sumas/Huntingdon ports-of-entry.
Future Additions
Continued expansion of cross-border ATIS in the Cascade Gateway region is a high priority for IMTC agencies. Objectives include instrumentation of other border-crossings in the region (southbound Lynden/Aldergrove and Huntingdon/Sumas). Other system priorities include expanding coverage to commercial vehicles at all ports-of-entry, utilizing existing in-road technology such as weigh-in-motion detectors and CVISN transponder readers to collect and store vehicle type and travel time information, and the development of a network to provide travel time for cross-border corridor segments (i.e. Bellingham to downtown Vancouver).
For More Information
Contact Hugh Conroy, Project Manager, at (360) 676-6974.