Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10009 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10009 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 9, 2017 �s ° rte Page 2 of 2 SUBJECT: STORM-RELATED CALL CENTER OPERATIONS "+qrF rn Yg7'3 Storm Operations This system tends to work well for typical emergencies and incidents that occur from time to time, such as traffic signals that stop working in the middle of the night. It also works well for large special events, such as the Super Bowl, where there is time to plan and adjust staff hours on a temporary basis. Wind storms present a unique challenge, however, in that they often occur during non-business hours and, while forecasted, often result in little or no appreciable damage. Ramping up for every forecasted storm would be exceedingly costly. Therefore, departments have protocols for fueling equipment, taking equipment home, and having on-call staff for times when damage is severe enough to require a quick after-hours response. Most public safety calls that come in during and immediately after storms are related to lightning strikes, downed trees, power outages, blocked streets, and other calls that often require a response by Police or Fire. TPW, Parks, and Code all have storm crews that are activated for major storms. Typically, the first few hours after storm events are devoted to moving debris out of the street and coming back for it later. Calls about these problems generally peak quickly and then drop off until daybreak when they will rise again as residents head to work and find more damage in the daylight and along minor streets. This second peak also involves a large number of duplicate calls, for which multiple citizens are reporting the same hazard. The City Call Center is staffed to answer these calls and has a contingency to add staff from other City departments to handle these calls should the volume exceed capacity. As a major storm begins to unfold, departments start to call in additional staff. There may be a period of time when public safety and support departments are overwhelmed by calls. In these situations, 911/Life/Safety calls are handled first and storm debris calls last. As storm debris calls are moved from 911 to other departments, those departments may become overwhelmed and some calls may go to voicemail. This is less than ideal, of course, but it tends to be the most cost-effective and safest way of handling the spike in calls since the voicemail is checked immediately or soon after being left. Proposed Changes Upcoming adjustments include: 1. The new CRM system will improve efficiency and should result in fewer calls going to voicemail. Storm debris calls can be entered at multiple points, online, by smartphone and consolidated into an efficient work-order system. 2. The City Call Center has an emergency plan for ice storms, power outages at the center, and other critical conditions. This plan can be modified for wind storms so that call center staff can be activated and operate out of their own homes to help both 911 and Water Department Field Operations. These operations would involve some additional overtime costs, but staff can use flexible schedules to control these costs. Imminent hazards such as wires down in the street should be called into 911 while downed trees and other non-hazardous/not blocking the roadway debris should be called into the City Call Center at (817) 392- 1234. For additional information, please contact Brandon Bennett, Code Compliance Director, at (817) 392- 1234. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10010 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 9, 2017 DJA� Page 1 of 2 SUBJECT: OPERATION OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND STREET LIGHTS 1675 The purpose of this informal report is to provide information on the operation of traffic signals relative to their timing and synchronization and the operation of street light fixtures and how they are programmed to turn on and off. Street Light Operations The City maintains over 66,000 street lights located along City streets and freeway facilities. The street light fixtures are programmed to turn on and off through use of a photocell that is wired to control an individual fixture or a series of fixtures, depending upon the physical layout of the lighting and its connection to the electric power source. The photocell measures the amount of ambient light in the area and when it decreases to a certain level, controls a power switch in the street light fixture electrical system that allows current to flow to the fixture. The reverse occurs when the ambient light increases and the photocell turns the power switch to the off position, stopping the flow of electrical power. The City's street lights are not controlled by a central system. Throughout the year, the on and off time periods of the street light fixtures adjust with daylight savings time changes. If street light fixtures are lighting during the day or not activating at night, the photocell is likely not operating correctly, which requires staff to physically address the malfunction. In the future as technology advances and becomes cost effect, smart street light fixtures will be able to communicate wirelessly with a central system to indicate power outages or inoperative components. Traffic Signal Operations The city currently operates and maintains 875 signalized intersections that are controlled by 762 traffic signal controllers. 113 signalized intersections share operations with a single traffic signal controller. This condition occurs most frequently at freeway intersections with frontage roads in both directions and other closely space intersections where coordinated operations are required to optimize capacity. In these situations, depending upon the location, one traffic signal controller may manage signal timing at two, three or four intersections. The retiming of traffic signals is scheduled to occur once every three years. Approximately 300 intersections are retimed each year to improve operations in response to changes in travel patterns. Some locations are retimed more frequently in response to localized changes in development, new travel patterns, new roadway segments, and changes in pedestrian and bicycle utilization. The continued growth and redevelopment throughout the City, creates ongoing changes in vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle travel patterns and the need for improved traffic signal timing. Synchronization or coordination of traffic signals exists along many major thoroughfares throughout the City as well as in the downtown area. There are 639 intersections that operate in a coordinated manner, 140 in the downtown area and 499 intersections along 40 major thoroughfares. In FY 2016, 20 major thoroughfares were retimed in a coordinated manner, which included 240 intersections. In FY 2017, 35 corridors, 300 intersections, are scheduled for retiming. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS