Welcome to the homepage for the Regional Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architectures for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth, through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), Office of Transportation Planning, has developed the current Regional ITS Architectures with extensive input from four Regional ITS Planning and Coordination Committees consisting of agencies and organizations involved in transportation throughout Massachusetts. The efforts of these Committees and other transportation stakeholders involved in the process have resulted in four Regional ITS Architectures, each one representing a vision for integrated and coordinated deployment of ITS.

Intelligent Transportation Systems encompass a broad range of advanced technologies in the field of transportation. ITS improves transportation safety, enhances productivity, and increases personal mobility through the integrated application of these technologies. To fully maximize the potential of ITS technologies, ITS deployment requires an approach to planning, implementation, and operations that emphasizes collaboration between relevant entities and compatibility/interoperability of individual systems. At the core of this process is an architecture that provides overall guidance to ensure coordination and integration of individual ITS deployment projects, without limiting stakeholder design options.

This website is designed to assist planners of ITS projects in reviewing their projects in relation to the appropriate Regional ITS Architecture. The architectures also serve as useful tools throughout the project development process, focusing stakeholders on ensuring the compatibility and interoperability of ITS systems, products, and services.

For the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, four Regional ITS Architectures have been developed, covering the following regions:

• Metropolitan Boston
  
  
• Southeastern Massachusetts
  
  
• Central Massachusetts
  
  
• Western Massachusetts

The current architectures are the result of a formal update conducted during 2010 of the original four architectures completed in 2005. The development of these architectures was a multi-year, collaborative effort by numerous agencies, organizations, and other transportation stakeholders across the Commonwealth. To remain useful and relevant, all four architectures are periodically reviewed and updated. The most recent update to the architectures will be completed in December 2010. An overview of the initial development effort and the most recent update is provided in the Executive Summary (to be provided in the Final Website). For an explanation of the Architecture Development Process, click here. For a Summary of Changes made to the architectures in 2010, click here.

The Regional ITS Architectures are valuable tools for planners and operators of the Commonwealth’s transportation system. Each architecture provides a framework for planning and implementing ITS in regions across the Commonwealth. They also serve as a guide for how agencies can work together to improve interagency coordination, improve transportation safety, increase productivity, and provide enhanced services to the traveling public.

In addition, the Regional ITS Architectures provide a basis for satisfying federal requirements for ITS projects funded with highway trust funds (including the mass transit fund). These regulations require that such projects be consistent with the appropriate Regional ITS Architecture(s). Therefore, it is vital that project proponents use the architecture as a guideline during project development, just as FHWA and FTA will be using the architecture when reviewing the project. The following links provide further details on these federal requirements: