Announcing Plan Share: Democratizing Work Zone Permitting in the United States

In an era where streamlined communication and collaboration are pivotal, one.network is excited to announce the launch of Plan Share in the United States. Plan Share is set to transform how Departments of Transportation, utility providers, contractors, and individuals across the country plan, manage, and record street and road works. Plan Share is not just a tool; it’s a step toward democratizing right of way management across the United States.

The Current Challenges in U.S. Traffic Management

Traffic management in the United States has had a continual pain point: Departments of Transportation (DOTs) at all levels often need help navigating siloed and incomplete data. A unified system is necessary to maintain cohesive communication and efficient coordination. This fragmentation extends beyond DOTs, affecting the public, contractors, and utility providers, who currently lack access to a centralized view of planned or live road work and lane closures. Additionally, the status of lane closure permits is scattered across various platforms, making cohesive planning and response difficult. This disjointed approach hampers efficiency and compromises both road safety and congestion management.

Plan Share: Empowering Interagency Coordination

Plan Share fulfills a critical need for interagency communication and collaboration by offering a consistent, high-quality data system; it replaces “back of the napkin” road closure planning with a robust, mobile-focused road management platform. This shift ensures the accurate execution of projects, allowing contractors and state agencies to access information on adjacent projects, thereby preventing conflicts and enhancing efficiency.

Plan Share Use Cases:

Plan Share for Projects stands at the forefront of transforming work zone management for State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), including a multi-year deployment with the Florida DOT. Plan Share for Projects supports FDOTS’s mission toward improving statewide traffic efficiency and safety through its lane closure notification system. Mirroring the successful program by FDOT, Plan Share for Projects is positioned to support all state-level DOTs in their work zone permitting needs.

The essence of Plan Share for Projects lies in its ability to centralize the permit application process for any organization, such as capital improvement contractors or utility companies, that needs to perform work affecting the right of way. The platform simplifies this process into an easy-to-follow three-step procedure, all housed within a centralized location. This allows DOTs to swiftly approve, reject, or request updates to permit applications through a unified dashboard, ensuring faster approvals while maintaining high data quality standards, such as required for the Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx)  and Connected Work Zone (CWZ), that will help ensure navigation providers take notice of planned data and allow for the advancement towards a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) future.

Plan Share for Permitting caters specifically to the needs of cities and counties, offering a streamlined approach to managing permit applications from the public. This variant of Plan Share mirrors the functionalities available in Plan Share for Projects. Through a tailored public portal that is embedded in the local road agency website, the public can submit, view, and manage their right of way permits. Plan Share, is tailored to accommodate a more comprehensive array of public needs, from block party permits to lane closures for driveway replacements.

This user-friendly interface allows any member of the public to apply for permits through the same simplified three-step process, ensuring that DOTs can manage these requests with the same efficiency and oversight as they do with more extensive project submissions. What sets Plan Share for Permitting apart is its adaptability and ease of integration; the map-based permitting solutions can be seamlessly embedded into any agency’s website, enhancing accessibility for all users.

Both Plan Share for Projects and Plan Share for Permitting highlight one.network’s commitment to democratizing right of way management. By providing comprehensive, easy-to-use solutions, one.network is not just improving the workflow for DOTs but is also ensuring that every stakeholder has a voice in the right of way management process.

Benefits of Plan Share

• Empower your permitting team: Manage your incoming applications more effectively by spotting planning conflicts and opportunities upfront – saving you time and money on your projects.
• Seamless approval workflows: Easily group permits by application status, applicant, or other custom filters, so that you always know which permits require immediate attention. Customize your internal workflows by assigning internal users or teams to specific permits, whilst also ensuring organization-wide visibility of all projects.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Comprehensive data analytics provide valuable insights, facilitating strategic planning and policy formulation.
• GIS-Enhanced Public Permitting Portal: Embed our permitting portal into your agency’s website to provide your applicants with an intuitive, map-based submission process. Applicants submit their applications with GIS data, including location and traffic control measures–meaning less data entry is required for the road agency.

Enhancing Coordination with Plan Share’s Advanced Integrations

In addition to redefining the work zone permitting process, Plan Share takes a leap further through centralized data and communication by seamlessly integrating with Live Link and the one.network Traffic Management module. These integrations form a holistic right of way management ecosystem, enhancing operational efficiency and safety on a new scale.

Setting a New Benchmark in Work Zone Permitting

Plan Share is at the forefront of redefining the permitting process across the United States, symbolizing a technological leap and a transformative shift in permitting methodologies. Integrating seamlessly with Live Link and Right-of-Way Management provides a holistic and potent solution that elevates efficiency, enhances proactive measures, and bolsters safety. Our system equips Departments of Transportation, utility providers, and contractors with the tools required for superior roadway collaboration.

By streamlining planning, enabling real-time communication, and enhancing management workflows, Plan Share transforms the permit application landscape. The antiquated process of printing PDFs, manually filling out forms, and enduring weeks of silence while awaiting permit approval is now a relic of the past. Plan Share ushers in an era where Departments of Transportation can offer the responsive, user-friendly experience that the public demands, leading to a more transparently managed traffic environment across the nation. This holistic approach modernizes organizational permit procedures and redefines how the public interacts with roadways, promising a significant uplift in the daily commuting experience for millions. With the rollout of Plan Share, one.network invites all stakeholders to join in this pivotal movement towards a more thoughtful, safer, and more democratic approach to right of way management.

For more information on how Plan Share can modernize your right of way permitting processes, contact us.