NLTAPA Quarterly Newsletter - Winter '23
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Quarterly News & Updates
Winter | '23
The NLTAPA Quarterly Newsletter is your source for information, news, and updates related to all things LTAP. If you have questions or content you would like included in an upcoming edition, please email NLTAPA Communications Workgroup co-chair, Brittany Cloyd, at brittany.cloyd@uky.edu.
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President's Corner
Happy New Year!
As we look back at 2022, I hope you had great success as we transitioned to our “new normal” with many LTAPs seeing a return to in-person training while expanding our online sharing, training, and innovation services.
I am delighted to have the Tribal Technical Assistance Programs (TTAPs) back within NLTAPA. Six of the seven TTAPs have been developed and the last will be established this year. We look forward to having these new Programs join Workgroups and the Executive Committee. Being able to share ideas and learn from each other is the hallmark for NLTAPA and will help us continue to grow.
The NLTAPA Executive Committee had an excellent retreat in Columbus, Ohio, in November. We met for three days and discussed past accomplishments of NLTAPA, how NLTAPA can better serve our members, onboarding of new members, stronger communication, and expanding ways to collaborate with FHWA and our partners. We want to focus on building communication within our regions and nationally, which will not only help Centers but encourage more sharing and outreach.
Most of us have our list of New Year’s Resolutions. For professional development, I would encourage you to become involved with one of our many Workgroups. Workgroups allow you to connect with other Centers, share ideas, and help turn those ideas into services for our customers. Workgroups provide boundless opportunities for training and professional growth both at our annual meeting and year-round. Check out the NLTAPA Workgroups.
As I’m writing this, it gives me great ideas to include in the Center Assessment Report (CAR). This is your chance to share with FHWA your Center’s accomplishments through 2022. This will also allow FHWA to see areas where support could be provided or share with LTAPs/TTAPs how to implement great innovations taking place across the country. I would encourage you to reach out to other Centers if you have questions or need assistance in developing these reports. LTAPs/TTAPs love to share and help. FHWA is a great resource and has put together a fabulous webinar with the Professional Development Workgroup. The Program Assessment Report (PAR) and CAR are due on January 16.
As we look to 2023, we will again have the opportunity to educate and work with our local governments to apply for Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the SS4A discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over the next five years, starting with applications in September of 2022. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the National LTAP/TTAP Annual Meeting to be held in Columbus, Ohio, on July 17 – 20, 2023.
I wish you all a wonderful New Year.
National News
2022 Annual Report Highlights NLTAPA Accomplishments
The 2022 Annual Report is live. View the interactive version or download the PDF on the NLTAPA website.
2023 NLTAPA Conference: July 17-20 in Columbus, Ohio
During the past several months, the Ohio LTAP has been working steadily with the Conference Workgroup to prepare for hosting the 2023 National LTAP/TTAP Annual Conference. Please visit the Conference Workgroup webpage for the latest updates and upcoming announcements. We look forward to seeing you here in Columbus, Ohio this summer!
STAY TUNED for a call for session topics and presenters! This will be sent out via the Google Group. Attendees can preview the agenda here.
Donna Shea Moderates APWA CDL Training Implementation Idea Exchange
Donna Shea, Director for the T2 Center at the University of Connecticut, moderated the November CDL Training Implementation Idea Exchange, hosted online by the American Public Works Association (APWA). Many LTAP Centers have seen continued confusion and concern related to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Entry-Level Driver Training (EDLT) and the nationwide discussion provided to be an effective exchange of knowledge, experience, and approach.
Driven by audience response, the webinar began with a discussion of the new requirements. Donna also spoke to LTAP Center efforts across the country to help local agencies incorporate these new requirements. Aside APWA's Becky Stein, Donna worked through uncertainties and collected concerns, information, and resources to address with the community at large. The webinar was recorded and resources were compiled to assist local agencies and LTAPs in preparing for the new requirements.
Training Resources Workgroup Renews MOA with NHI
The Training Resources Work Group completed the renewal of a Memorandum of Agreement with the National Highway Institute to replace the first version from years hence. The MOA establishes the terms under which NHI and NLTAPA will collaborate to: i) refine and deliver existing NHI training course materials for local/tribal audiences; ii) define NLTAPA instructor standards; and iii) establish a FHWA review and acceptance process prior to the NLTAPA use of NHI training course materials.
While the previous version of this MOA was less successful than either party anticipated, the experience informed this round and we believe we have a more workable arrangement as a result. That said, there are many moving parts and we wanted to ensure that the LTAP community had a good understanding of our boundaries and processes, so we hosted an informational session with Joe Conway and Tom Harmon, the recording of which can be viewed online.
We encourage all LTAP personnel to take a look at the recording to understand the mutual assurances made between the stakeholders. It is essential to our future collaboration that we all respect the boundaries of the MOA. The Training Resources Work Group has completed the initial stripping of three NHI courses and submitted them back for a look before the community begins using those materials. We anticipate moving at a faster pace with release of courses once we get through this pilot round.
Anyone with questions can reach Andrew Morgan at andrew.morgan@mail.wvu.edu or Matt Carter at matheu@udel.edu.
Safety-Focused EDC-7 Innovations Announced for 2023-2024
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced the latest round of transportation through the Every Day Counts Program (EDC-7). This program has helped Local Highway Jurisdictions identify and quickly deploy proven, if underutilized, innovations that save time, money and other resources to build out the transportation network better, faster, and smarter.
Integrating GHG Assessment and Reduction Targets in Transportation Planning
Rethinking DBE for Design-Build
Nighttime Visibility
for Safety
EPDs for Sustainable Project Delivery
Strategic Workforce Development
Enhancing Performance with Internally Cured Concrete (EPIC2)
Next Generation TIM: Technology for
Saving Lives
Fourth National Summit on Rural Road Safety Announced
The National Center for Rural Road Safety is happy to announce the dates, theme, and location of the fourth National Summit on Rural Road Safety!
The theme is Resources for Rurals. The focus will be relevant rural road safety training and practical, low-cost ways to improve rural road safety. And big news: They've partnered with the National Association of Development Organization’s (NADO) National Regional Transportation Conference for this summit!
A registration link will be provided soon. Visit the webpage for more information.
When:
September 12-14, 2023
(afternoon of 14th will be trainings)
Where:
Sheraton Oklahoma City Downtown
(1 N. Broadway Ave., Oklahoma City, OK)
Center Sharing
Delaware T2 Center Personnel Help Host Snowplow Roadeo
Staff from the Delaware T2/LTAP Center joined DeLea Founders Insurance Trust, a collection of Delaware local agencies that self-insure for occupational injury, for the 2022 Snowplow Roadeo at the University of Delaware STAR Campus in Newark, Delaware. Rusty, Sandi, Tiffine, and Matt helped organize, setup, and judge the event on one of the last slightly warm days of the season. Plow operators compete for accuracy and time to highlight the dangers present with winter maintenance and sharpen their skills before the beginning of the winter maintenance season.
The Delaware Department of Transportation provided the drums and cones for the course and the University allowed use the site. Staff from the Delaware Center have helped host all five of the annual events held so far and look forward to it each year as an opportunity to connect with so many Delaware local agency personnel. See highlights of the main event on the Delaware T2 Center YouTube Channel and also the small equipment roadeo, which recognizes the growing need to maintain sidewalks and curb ramps for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Connecticut Launches New Green Snow Pro Program
Groundwater contamination is a growing problem in Connecticut, and Michael Dietz, the director of the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources at UConn, is working on multiple fronts to address it.
An educator at UConn Extension in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Dietz has spearheaded major initiatives to understand and resolve this critical issue in Connecticut and regionally with the help of colleagues at UConn and partners across the state.
One of those initiatives – a small program offering reduced-cost well water testing to homeowners in the state – has received a $350,000 award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will allow Dietz to extend the reach of the program in rural communities.
Dietz hopes to make the service available to 1,000 homeowners over the two years of the grant, a considerable increase from the 25 homeowners served by the program as of 2021.
To continue this article, click here.
Connecticut's newest LTAP employee, Shannon O'Loughlin, joined the T2 Center in August as the Educational Program Coordinator. She will be leading the Green Snow Pro Program.
Delaware's First Separated Bikeway is Open for Business
The City of Newark, Delaware is home to the University of Delaware and an active residential population. As such, there is a healthy mix of motor vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders jockeying for space within legacy corridors originally designed exclusively for cars and trucks. Healthy might not be the best word, because the congestion of mixed road users in this Complete Streets environment creates a great deal of conflict and the Delaware Department of Transportation is focused on pedestrians in its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, given its unenviable title as leader in per capita pedestrian fatalities.
DelDOT has embarked on a slew of upgrades and initiatives aimed at safer travel for both pedestrians and cyclists, and the recently opened Delaware Avenue Separated Bikeway is a new approach with hope to manage the conflicts along the corridor better. The Delaware T2 Center’s Rusty Lee and Matt Carter are keenly interested to see how well the facility operates and in particular, how well cyclists adjust to being managed by the dedicated signals.
Indiana LTAP Partners with No Boundaries to
Highlight Creative Transportation Solutions
In October, No Boundaries members met in Indianapolis for the group’s second peer exchange of the year. Hosted by Indiana DOT, the event included roundtable discussions on hot-button transportation maintenance topics such as cost and supply-chain issues and successful strategies to prompt implementation of maintenance innovations.
Featured presentations from the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program and Indiana University’s Transportation and Autonomous Systems Institute (TASI) highlighted how the state’s partners are seeking to advance and implement creative transportation solutions, while Illinois DOT shared the importance of pollinators and how the agency is maintaining its roadsides with these delicate habitats in mind.
Learn more about the No Boundaries Peer Exchange or visit the Indiana LTAP webpage.
New England APWA Chapter Connects:
Virtual Education Series Available Online
The APWA New England Chapter has an online vault of Chapter Connects (Virtual Education Series) videos readily available to aid local governments and LTAP Centers. Share these with your local governments or use them as inspiration for your next Lunch and Learn!
Shout out to Regina Hackett of Connecticut LTAP for the management of this valuable and shareable resource! With topics that range from Shared Streets to Winter Operations, Budgeting to Culverts, and Marketing to Drones, this diverse video collection is sure to benefit many in the world of Public Works.
Kentucky Continues Free Webinar Wednesdays
Kentucky LTAP started offering free one-hour webinars on the second Wednesday of each month when the pandemic hit. Though we have resumed in-person trainings, the Webinar Wednesday series is a free tool that locals can continue to utilize. Webinars range in topic with tracks in Leadership and Transportation. Click the image to register for this year's offerings or share with your locals.
All Webinar Wednesdays are offered at 9am EST. They are held on Zoom.
Roadway Management Conference Gets a Little Help from Indiana LTAP's Rich Domonkos
The Roadway Management Conference is hosted annually by the five-state (PA, WV, VA, MD, DE) Mid-Atlantic Region of LTAP and T2 Centers and is moved around the region. The conference is targeted towards local agency personnel who design, construct, and maintain roadways.
Three days of technical training and demonstrations are combined with ample time for attendees to meet each other and form important relationships that can serve them for years. This year's RMC was at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia and it was a great array of technical presentations, outside demonstrations, and lots of local agency personnel getting to know each other and share ideas.
Rich Domonkos from the Indiana LTAP (Purdue University) joined us at this year's RMC to demonstrate a pre-check truck walkaround with an eye towards snowplow season. For our conference attendees, Rich talks about what to look for, but more importantly, WHY. Most elements of Rich's demonstration apply equally to more common, non-commercial vehicle class trucks, be it four wheels, six wheels, or ten. You can see Rich’s demonstration on the Delaware T2 Center YouTube Channel.
Effective Meetings Through Dots & Post-Its
One of the biggest challenges of running a successful meeting is getting good feedback from participants. The New York LTAP Center/Cornell Local Roads Program uses something we call, Dots & Post-Its during our annual Highway School Planning Committee meeting.
Learn more about the Dots & Post-Its system and how it can make your meetings more effective by browsing the tip sheet.
FHWA Updates
Throughout 2022, The FHWA Local Aid Support team has been very busy connecting with the LTAP Centers and re-establishing the TTAP Centers. LAS has attended multiple LTAP regional meetings and NLTAPA Executive meetings; held monthly Innovation Exchange webinars; and kept transportation communities informed through the Local Aid Support Newsletter. The LAS team would like to thank the LTAP and new TTAP Centers for the good work that is happening across the country; and we look forward to continuing the momentum in 2023!
New Online Training Available
The FHWA Local Aid Support team continues to expand its online training resources available for transportation professionals.
The new Motor Grader Operator training course is ready to access via the Local Aid Support website. The 6-part course covers the basic safety, operation, and functionality of motor grader equipment for the purposes of constructing, maintaining, and rehabilitating unpaved, gravel roads. Professional Development credits are available on a state-by-state basis.
Six TTAP Centers Officially Re-Established
The FHWA recently awarded six Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) cooperative agreements to support Native American access to funding, improve safety, and economic opportunity. The centers will assist Tribal communities as they seek to access $3 billion in Tribal Transportation Program Funding made available by President Biden’s infrastructure package, as well as additional Federal funding opportunities.
The new centers will provide American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal governments with training, technical assistance, and technology services that best meet the needs of Tribal communities, including on-demand, virtual, and hands-on services that strengthen Tribal capacity for self-governance of transportation programs.
For more information on TTAP, visit
https://bit.ly/LAS_TTAP
National STIC Network Meeting: Mark Your Calendar
All STIC members and those working on your innovation implementation teams are invited to the next National STIC Network Meeting on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 2:00pm-3:30pm EST. Request a local breakout room following the National STIC Meeting by January 20th (see below for more information).
The National STIC meeting is to provide a forum for FHWA and STICs to share information across the STIC Network. This meeting allows STIC members to ask questions of the transportation community leadership to help shape their own innovation practices and to spark further conversations between states.
Local Breakout Opportunity
We can provide a breakout room if your STIC would like to meet with those in your state that are attending the National STIC Meeting. Please contact Sara Lowry (Sara.Lowry@dot.gov) by Friday, January 20, 2023 if you would like to add a local breakout room to the end of this Zoom meeting.
Accommodation Requests
The Federal Highway Administration is committed to providing equal access to this meeting for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, please contact Sara Lowry (Sara.Lowry@dot.gov) with your request by close of business Friday, January 20, 2023.
Questions or Ideas
Please share any questions you have for FHWA Leadership, topics/discussion areas that you or your STIC would like included in National STIC Network Meetings, or any innovation ideas to Sara.Lowry@dot.gov.
Past meetings can be viewed here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/stic/national_stic_meeting_recordings.cfm
Geosynthetics Field Installation Notes Tracker Mobile Application
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Local Aid Support Team announced the release of the Geosynthetics Field Installation Notes Tracker Mobile Application. The new mobile app is a collaborative effort with the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) to provide instant access to information on the various types and functions of geosynthetic material for use in road construction and maintenance projects. The handheld technology is geared towards transportation industry professionals.
Construction and maintenance workers can download the Mobile App for information on specification requirements and site inspection guidance for walls, slopes, pavements, erosion control and drainage. Other key features include quick searches, notes tracker, bookmarks, shared documents, and informational videos
Build a Better Mousetrap
FHWA will soon accept applications for the 2023 Build A Better Mousetrap National Innovation Recognition Program.
Build a Better Mousetrap highlights innovative solutions to transportation issues that has helped improve transportation programs for local and tribal regions.
The 2022 Build a Better Mousetrap Booklet features the national winners and honorable mentions.
For more information or marketing materials, visit https://bit.ly/BABM_Home.
Build a Better Mousetrap 2022 Showcase video: https://bit.ly/BABM_Video
Growing Your BABM Program Webinar: Save the Date!
Join FHWA-LAS, the Innovation & Implementation Workgroup, and the Communications Workgroup for a one-hour webinar on launching this year's Build a Better Mousetrap Program at your Center.
Click the image, scan the QR code, or visit bit.ly/BABM23 to register.
Staff/Center Changes
As part of our improved communications strategy, we are recognizing and celebrating staff changes through the quarterly newsletter. Please email brittany.cloyd@uky.edu and marilee.enus@unh.edu if you have any new or exiting staff. For new staff, provide a short bio and headshot along with their role.
Hawaii DOT Reorganizes LTAP Program Management
The Hawaii DOT is reorganizing its LTAP program and the state university will now manage/run it.
The new contact is Prof. Guohui Zhang and he is the new lead at University of Hawaii. His email is guohui@hawaii.edu.
Mel Chung at Hawaii DOT will still oversee the program. Her email is mungfa.chung@hawaii.gov.
Connecticut LTAP Welcomes Shannon O'Loughlin
Shannon O'Loughlin joined the Connecticut LTAP in August.
She is the Educational Program Coordinator.
Shannon is leading the Green Snow Pro Program and is part of the Editorial Team and Workshop Training Team.
Louisiana LTAP Welcomes Victor Lockwood
Several changes have been in the works at Louisiana LTAP, the most recent of which is welcoming Victor Lockwood as the new Business Manager.
Victor will most likely be your first contact in the LTAP office, answering the phone, helping with course registrations, and running the many business functions of the LTAP Center.
He is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in business and client relationship management, contracts administration, and financial collections and operations. He previously worked as Grants and Development Coordinator at LSU where he also served as Cost Center Manager for LRTC and assisted in all departmental-sponsored projects.
New Hampshire LTAP Welcomes Lee Cooper
Lee Cooper joined the New Hampshire LTAP as Program Coordinator.
Prior to joining UNH, Lee previously worked in operations management and marketing.
She will lead several important initiatives for UNH T2 in coming months, including helping roll out our new Road Safety Advocate Program, developing a library of safety countermeasures and practices that local road agencies have implemented in New Hampshire, and creating a series of short explainer videos.
Nevada LTAP Congratulates Steve Seeds on Retirement
Nevada's Steve Seeds, Technical Program Director, retired from his position. Congratulations on your retirement, Steve!
Nevada LTAP Welcomes Carrie Brown
Carrie Brown joined the Nevada LTAP as Co-Program Director.
Her motto is:
“We honor our people
by keeping them safe.”
Carrie is Northern Paiute and Klamath, and an enrolled member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. She currently resides in the Reno area with her husband and two children.
Carrie has 15 years' experience in public health and human services; she has been a car seat technician since 2003 and became CPS instructor in 2016. She holds a BA in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governor’s University. Carrie has served tribes as a Director of Human Services, Injury Prevention Coordinator, Safety Circuit Rider, and currently, as the Co-Director of the Nevada Local Training and Technical Assistance Program under Applied Pavement Technology.
Special Achievements
We love to congratulate our LTAP friends on achievements and awards!
Let the LTAP community celebrate you. If you'd like to share your own
accomplishment, or that of a coworker, in the next newsletter, email Brittany Cloyd.
Stay in Touch
Whether you are new to LTAP or a veteran who would like to be "in the know," the NLTAPA Google Group is a great way to stay informed and connected across the entire LTAP universe.
*Please note - the NLTAPA Google Group is limited to LTAP center staff.
