Volume 2 | Issue 2

Greetings!

Making connections is what the Florida LTAP Center is all about! Training and sharing event information is important to the continuing education of the transportation workforce. The Florida LTAP Center also recognizes that addressing your technical assistance questions - and finding those meaningful solutions - can help our local agencies move ahead to the next phase.

Your dedication to your job, resilience, and willingness to adjust while navigating the unknown last year are why we continue to gladly serve you as a resource to connect you from problem to solution. Thank you for your active participation in Florida LTAP trainings, and please check out our new offerings in this newsletter and on our website.

Sincerely,

Florida LTAP Center

Congratulations to Seminole County Public Works, Engineering Division, winner of the 2021 Florida LTAP Center “Build a Better Mousetrap” Competition, and the 2021 recipient of the National Build a Better Mousetrap-Smart Transformation Award category! In addition, Seminole County was voted at the NLTAPA Annual Conference as the overall winner to be spotlighted! The Build a Better Mousetrap competition celebrates innovative solutions for challenges that local and tribal transportation workers encounter; innovations can range from the development of tools and equipment modifications to the implementation of new processes that increase safety, reduce cost, and improve the efficiency of our transportation system. (Story continues below)

Newsletter Contents:

Build a Better Mousetrap Florida and National Winner Announced

Florida Receives Three FHWA America’s Byways Designations

FDOT Releases New Version of the Florida Greenbook

ITS Florida Award Nominations Open

USDOT Rescue Plan Funding Allocations Announced to Advance Transit Projects in 13 States

FHWA Launches Local Road Safety Plan Do-it-Yourself Website

Upcoming Florida LTAP Center Trainings:

Intersection Safety
Horizontal Alignment
SRTS Updated Guidelines and Application Workshop
FHWA Value Capture
FHWA Reducing Roadside Obstacles

Upcoming Events:

FDOT Transportation Symposium
Road Weather Management Stakeholder Meeting
EDC Safety Summit Series

Funding Resources:

Florida Job Growth Grant Fund Cycle
FTA Areas of Persistent Poverty Program
FHWA: Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Program

Poll Question: What Day of the Week Do You Prefer for Training?

Seminole County is the 13th most populous county of Florida’s 67 counties and accounts for 2.2% of Florida’s population. County residents who fall within the definitions of a person with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) make up approximately 7.1%, (33,000+) overall population estimate of 471,000. The Seminole County Asset Management Team wanted to update its ADA inspection process with a more streamlined surveillance application that would quickly and efficiently evaluate and improve ADA accessibility across the county network. The existing process was dated and resulted in a time-intensive duplication of efforts for inspectors.

Seminole County previously developed applications to streamline inspection processes and the Asset Management Team saw an opportunity to develop a similar combination of apps to begin tracking ADA inspections.

The ADA Ramps Inspection Survey123 form features an intuitive design that facilitates manual data entry in the field. Each entry includes specific guidance to assist new or inexperienced inspectors in completing their assessments. The software also allows entries for notes, photos, and GPS location data. Users can review assignments and assignment status in the Workforce dashboard. Users can also review submitted inspections in the Survey123 Data dashboard and generate individual reports for each ramp inspected. All information captured in the field is uploaded and updated in near real-time, eliminating the need to transcribe inspection results.

Workforce management was improved by using the ArcGIS Workforce mobile application that uses the power of location to coordinate the field workforce. The application supports inspectors by providing directions to scheduled inspections, notifications when near an inspection site, review project plans, and FDOT ramp documents included with each assignment. The application reduces reliance on paper and provides everyone with access to the authoritative data they need to add and track inspection requests, assign projects to inspectors, and track inspector progress in the field.

Inspectors noted the application provides the county significant savings as the average inspection time in the field was reduced from 1.5 hours to 5 minutes per ramp, and the time to document inspection results in the office was reduced from 8 to 16 hours per project to zero. The total time to inspect a project was reduced from 3 to 4 days to 1 to 1.5 days.

News

FDOT Releases New Version of the Florida Greenbook

The Manual of Uniform Minimum Standards for Design, Construction and Maintenance for Streets and Highways (2018 Florida Greenbook) has completed its rulemaking and is now the current version to use for local projects. The Florida Greenbook provides criteria for streets, roads, highways, bridges, sidewalks, curbs and curb ramps, crosswalks, bicycle facilities, underpasses, and overpasses used by the public for motor vehicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian travel. This manual is intended for all transportation facilities of the state or national highway systems.

It is available on the FDOT Roadway Design Office website at the following link:

https://www.fdot.gov/roadway/floridagreenbook/fgb.shtm

ITS Florida Award Nominations Due August 22, 2021

Do you know someone who should be recognized for their significant contribution to the ITS transportation network, industry, and to the traveling public during this calendar year?

ITS Florida is now accepting award nominations in a variety of categories to recognize these key contributors for their drive to propel ITS throughout the state of Florida in a safe, efficient, and professional approach.

For Front Line of the Year Award information visit: https://fs16.formsite.com/ITSFlorida/New-Award-2020/index.html

For ITS Florida Award information visit: https://fs16.formsite.com/ITSFlorida/Awards_complete/index.html

Seeking Panel Members for FY 2022 Projects in the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP): Nominations Due August 12, 2021

BTSCRP is seeking nominations for individuals with relevant expertise and experience to volunteer to serve on each BTSCRP FY 2022 project oversight panel. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) Executive Board approved four new research projects for the BTSCRP 2022 research program.

Qualified individuals must be nominated by August 12, 2021.

Three Florida Roadways Receive FHWA America’s Byways® 2021 Designation

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has lead responsibility for the National Scenic Byways Program within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). There are two designations - All-American Roads (AAR) and National Scenic Byway (NSB). Recently, the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway received the designation as an AAR comprising 72 miles of mostly two-lane roadway that navigates the one-of-a-kind features unique to Florida's natural beauty, history, and serenity. The land and waters on either side of the Byway have been part of the sweep of American history, nature, archaeology, and recreation for nearly 500 years making the roadway a destination itself. River of Lakes Heritage Corridor and Scenic Highway 30A received NSB designations for characteristics associated with the intrinsic qualities that are distinctive, most representative, and recognized throughout their region.

Learn More

A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway

Scenic Highway 30A

River of Lakes Heritage Corridor

USDOT Secretary Buttigieg Announces $250 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding Allocations to Advance 22 Transit Projects in 13 States

The U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a total of $250 million in federal funding allocations to help communities across the U.S. protect the jobs of workers involved in constructing transit projects, ensuring the continued advancement of those critical pieces of infrastructure, despite the impacts of COVID-19. Three out of the 22 transit projects in the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program were awarded to Florida cities. Funding is provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Learn More

Slow Down, Stay Cool Florida

Traveling throughout Florida can be just as much fun as getting to your destination. During the holiday and vacation seasons, Florida’s roads can be some of the busiest in the country. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is committed to the safety of all motorists on our roads and strives to educate everyone on safe driving practices to always Arrive Alive. Check out the FLHSMV "Safe Summer Travel'' page for educational resources to share with your organization and other partner agencies.

FHWA Launches Local Road Safety Plan Do-it-Yourself Website

Thirty people die each day in rural roadway departures, and more than 40% of those deaths happen off the State system. This means that local agencies must work alongside departments of transportation to help save these lives.

Local road safety plans (LRSPs), a form of safety action plans, are a data-driven way to prioritize safety activities and improvements and justify agency investment decisions. LRSPs are scalable and can be modified for any level of available data and expertise. They involve stakeholders from the "5Es" of traffic safety - Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency medical services, Education, and Everyone else. Like State Strategic Highway Safety Plans, LRSPs include a vision and mission component, helping all entities, including elected officials, rally around a shared vision, such as helping residents they serve get home safely.

Learn More

Intersection Safety Outreach and Education Products Available

FHWA's Intersection Safety Program is pleased to share outreach and education products to assist State, local, and Tribal partners in advancing intersection safety efforts in their communities.

Three videos have been produced to help advance efforts to implement intersection solutions that also reflect the Safe System approach. For intersections, this approach involves separating users in space and time, modifying conflict angles, and reducing speed through conflict areas—all to manage the kinetic energy involved in a potential collision. Each video is 3–5 minutes, and is intended to help State, local, and Tribal agencies explain these intersection solutions to their communities.

Upcoming Trainings

Intersection Safety Three-Part Series

The Florida LTAP Center presents this webinar series on Intersection Safety. Intersections are locations of planned conflict. Where there are conflicts, there exists the potential for crashes.

This three-part webinar series will examine different types of intersections and their unique operating characteristics. The workshop will also introduce appropriate safety countermeasures that have proven to be successful at different intersection types.

Participants will learn about intersection types –signalized and unsignalized intersections – and the issues associated with them. Participants will also learn about the various roadway users that need to be accommodated at an intersection.

Most important, participants will learn effective safety countermeasures to be applied at intersections and where to find more information on intersection safety treatments.

*This webinar series is provided at no cost and will award a certificate to those fully attending and completing the webinar. Professional Development Hours will be provided upon request during registration. Each session in the series will award 2.0 PDHs, and a total of 6.0 PDHs can be earned for fully attending all sessions.

Horizontal Alignment – Determining Curve Signage and Setting Advisory Speeds Two- Part Series

The Florida LTAP Center presents this webinar series on Horizontal Alignment – Determining Curve Signage and Setting Advisory Speeds. Horizontal curves are changes in roadway alignment that create a more demanding environment for the driver, vehicle, and pavement. Recent data analysis shows that 28% of all fatal crashes occur on horizontal curves. Furthermore, about three times as many crashes occur on curves compared to tangential sections of roadways and most of these crashes are roadway departures. These statistics make horizontal curves prime sites for safety improvements.

This workshop will cover the importance of curve warning signage, how to select the appropriate curve signage, and how to properly set curve advisory speeds, the basic rules of signage, and other options to improve safety on curves. The series will help local agencies meet compliance dates for horizontal curve signage from the MUTCD.

*This webinar series is provided at no cost and will award a certificate to those fully attending and completing the webinar. Professional Development Hours will be provided upon request during registration. Each session in the series will award 2.0 PDHs, and a total of 4.0 PDHs can be earned for fully attending both sessions.

2021 Safe Routes to School Updated Guidelines and Application Workshop

This workshop will go over the changes in the guidelines for the 2021 Call for Applications. Don't miss this, as the program will have new requirements. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining this GoToTraining.

Register for the 2021 Safe Routes to School Updated Guidelines and Application Workshop using the link below for you FDOT District. There will be one session for each District in Florida, (https://www.fdot.gov/agencyresources/districts/).

FHWA Value Capture Strategies

August 4 - October 6, 2021, 1:00-3:00 pm ET

FHWA is hosting a series of Value Capture Strategies webinars that will detail the Value Capture techniques promoted in the FHWA's Every Day Counts (EDC-5) initiative. This year's series focuses on the intersection of Innovative Finance and Innovative Project Delivery Tools. These webinars will detail more Value Capture best practices collected from throughout the U.S.

The program will feature subject matter experts and peers who successfully used Value Capture in tandem with innovative finance and project delivery techniques to advance new and modernized infrastructure projects.

Registration is free but is limited. Certificates of Completion and Confirmation of Attendance are available!

FHWA Reducing Roadside Obstacles

August 12, 2021, 1:00-3:00 pm ET

This FHWA EDC-5 webinar collaboration with NLTAPA and the National Center for Rural Road Safety will discuss reducing roadside obstacles. Rural roadway departures make up one-third of U.S. traffic fatalities—about 30 people a day.

While valued as a community asset due to their beauty and environmental benefits, trees are the single most commonly struck objects in serious roadside crashes. Trees are the most harmful obstacle in approximately 3,500 fatalities each year, about 10% of all traffic fatalities. This webinar will focus on how several agencies are strategically removing trees to provide for safer recovery during roadway departures. State, local, and tribal stakeholders – plan to attend to learn how you can address tree crashes to provide a more forgiving roadside.

Upcoming Events

FDOT Transportation Symposium 2021

Now through December 2021

The FDOT Transportation Symposium will continue virtually and the 2021 schedule of events is available. Keep your staff and industry partners up-to-date with DOT policies, procedures, and best practices by attending one of these informative sessions. PDH credits will be offered for the live version of the webinar. Recorded webinars will be posted to view at a later date.

Road Weather Management Stakeholder Meeting 2021

August 4 - 5, 2021, 12:30 - 4:30 pm ET

Each day will run from 12:00 to 4:30 pm (ET) (with a 30-minute break from 2:00-2:30). Topics to be discussed include:

Extreme Weather Events
Innovative Solutions by Transportation Agencies
Technology & Research Projects
Weather Responsive Management Strategies (WRMS)
Performance Measures
Community Update (Committees, Pooled Fund Studies, etc.)

Funding

2021-2022 Florida Job Growth Grant Fund Cycle

The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state. Proposals are reviewed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) and chosen by the Governor to meet the demand for workforce or infrastructure needs in the community to which they are awarded.

Workforce Training Proposal

Workforce training projects will provide Floridians with transferable, and sustainable workforce skills applicable to more than a single employer and with equipment associated with these programs.

Public Infrastructure Proposal

Public infrastructure projects can include transportation and utilities needed to support economic development.

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FTA: Areas of Persistent Poverty Program 2021

The FTA announces the opportunity to apply for $16.3 million in competitive grants for FY 2021. This program supports projects that will improve transit services or facilities in areas of persistent poverty through planning, engineering, technical studies, or financial plans for projects. Applicants are encouraged to work with non-profit organizations or other entities of their choosing to develop an eligible project.

The Areas of Persistent Poverty Program is intended to:

Support the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities and protecting public health and the environment.
Support transportation planning to improve transit service in areas experiencing long-term economic distress.
Improve transit access for environmental justice populations, provide equity-focused community outreach in underserved communities, and remove barriers to opportunity.
Increase access to jobs and healthcare through enhanced transit options and improved facilities.

Learn More

FHWA: Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Program

FHWA has announced the FY 2021 Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Program and will make up to $10 million in grants through Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 693JJ321NF-AIDDP. The program provides funding as an incentive to accelerate the implementation and adoption of innovation in highway transportation. Eligible activities may involve any phase of a highway transportation project between project planning and project delivery, including planning, financing, operation, structures, materials, pavements, environment, and construction. FHWA will provide AID Demonstration grants to eligible State DOTs, Federal Land Management Agencies, and Tribal governments.

Key NOFO Dates:

Notice of Intent to Apply Deadline: August 3, 2021: 11:59 pm (ET).
Application Submission Deadline: September 28, 2021; 11:59 pm (ET).

FHWA will host an AID Demonstration Information Session on July 27, 2021 at 1:00 pm (ET) to provide an overview of the FY 2021 program. Participation is not mandatory to submit an application under NOFO 693JJ321NF-AIDDP; however, potential applicants are encouraged to participate. Registration is not required to attend the information session. This will be a Microsoft Teams Live Event and will be recorded.

Learn More