By Doug Allport
This article was first published in the OGRA Milestones.
The modernization of municipal road information communications began three years ago, in Renfrew County. Since then, more than 40% of Ontario municipalities have purchased or been provided with the tools to improve how they communicate their road closures, obstructions, restrictions and cautions.
In many of these municipalities, you will find a municipal paramedic chief and or fire chief leading this modernization. Their goals include reducing emergency response times, and improving disaster response, by eliminating longstanding road information communications problems.
Before modernization, the Renfrew County Paramedic Service needed to relay road information from 19 roads departments in the County, the roads departments in six adjoining counties/regions the paramedics also responded in, as well as the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF). Many of the emails and faxes they received lacked sufficient detail to accurately map, and few included the impact, e.g. detour around a lake. It was not always clear if a road closure was just for the public, or responders as well. Keeping track of future projects was particularly challenging, and end of project notices were not always sent. Today, most of the information is mapped for them.
It has never been practical for every agency to map all of the road information on all of the roads they travel, just as it has never been practical for every agency to map all the roads. This modernization effort was long overdue, and we have Renfrew County to thank for being the first, and for helping define the made in Ontario solution.
The Transnomis Municipal511 road information management and communications service was developed with, and for public works, emergency responders and managers, GIS and communications. The simple to use web app supports mapping and communicating road obstructions in less time than it takes to compose an email; from the side of a road, or at a desk. The information from all participating municipalities is aggregated and presented on a public map with provincial road information (www.Municipal511.ca), and then shared electronically with emergency responder applications, navigation applications, provincial agencies and others. Many municipalities have embedded the public map in their website, so that their citizens and residents can see what is taking place on all of the roads in the municipality. The service also sends email notifications, that include a mapped image of the issue location, and web links to maps that present that issue with all of the others. Behind the scenes, the service supports disaster response.
This modernization effort goes much further, and with other Ontario technology providers. Many Ontario paramedic services are moving to electronic dispatch this year, which also aims to shorten response times. The Interdev Technologies - CADLink application receives and displays the 911 dispatch information for the paramedic, it creates a patient record, and it presents the paramedic with a mapped route to their destination; that includes road obstructions found in Municipal511.
Many Ontario volunteer fire services are looking forward to the next update of the popular Fluent IMS - Who's Responding app. This Ontario technology supports emergency responder notification, communications, planning and navigation. The next app update includes an integration with Municipal511.
There's one more solution required to complete the road information puzzle, and it is an information exchange. Many cities and regional municipalities already manage road information in traffic and GIS systems, and those systems can be effectively and efficiently connected with one another, and with the solutions presented. With Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) support, the OGRAOntario Road Information Exchange (ORIE) Governance Committee was established in September 2019. The Committee members represent municipalities of most sizes and related departments (public works, traffic, transportation, and IT), the 407 ETR, the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs (OAPC) and the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC). The committee oversees ORIE (and Municipal511) data types and data sharing policy.
There is much to be proud of for the Ontario municipalities modernizing their road information communications, as well as the Ontario Good Roads Association and the Ontario technology providers participating. Our made in Ontario solution is like no other in North America, and perhaps the world. We have developed a solution that serves emergency responders and managers, public works, traffic departments, permit approvers, truckers, the public, tourists and many others.
It is important to note that we would not have achieved so much in so little time, were it not for municipal paramedic and fire chiefs leading this modernization. And I would be remiss to not add that this effort would not have got off the ground, without the leadership and support of Renfrew County Paramedic Chief, and Emergency Services Director, Mike Nolan. Thank you!
