LEE'S SUMMIT, MO. –The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) bestowed Kansas City Scout with its Regional Leadership
Award on Friday June13, 2008. The award recognizes individual and institutions that demonstrate leadership and excellence
in the improvement of the quality of life for the region’s citizens. US Senator, Pat Roberts and Missouri State Senator,
Chris Koster also received this high honor. Award recipients were honored for advocating regional programs, advancing
the vision of the region as a community of excellence, addressing regional challenges, and applying innovative
solutions to regional problems.
The award was presented to E. Jason Sims, Manager of Kansas City Scout and Jerry Younger, Kansas Department of
Transportation, Deputy Secretary for Engineering & State Transportation Engineer, at a luncheon ceremony held today at the
Westin Crown Center, in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Scout earned the award for its “Travel Time Implementation Project”, which highlights the need to reduce congestion on
area interstates and the realization that conventional methods such as pavement expansion had already been exhausted. As a
solution Kansas City Scout launched Travel Times, and in a concept new to the nation, combined Travel Time Messaging with
Incident Messaging in an innovative two-phase message concept.
Travel Times represents the time it takes a driver, driving at current freeway speeds to travel from one fixed point to
another target. Incident Messaging along with Travel Times greater satisfies the commuting public’s desire to receive
real time travel information. If an incident occurs, messages are configured to show both travel time messages and
incident messages. This information now lets commuters gauge how long it will take to get past the blocked lane(s) coupling
travel times with incident information drivers can make informed decisions about alternative routes.
