Innovation Station: Colorado's "You Show Us" Contest Winner - Sign Repair Stand 

The Colorado LTAP (Local Technical Assistance Program) hosts an innovative idea contest every year called "You Show Us." The contest is very similar to the CT T2 Center's "Creative Solutions" contest. Colorado's LTAP Program encourages their state and municipal employees to enter the "You Show Us" contest because it is a worthwhile way to share their innovative ideas with others who may benefit from their concepts. It is also a good way for individuals, crews and departments to get some well-earned recognition for their efforts. It's a real morale booster for everyone!

One of the winners of the "You Show Us" contest built a mobile Sign Repair Stand. The stand was created because municipal employees from the Street Department found they were facing challenges with two of their many tasks: maintaining all of the City's information and regulatory signage (name sign's speed limits, stops, etc.) and low to the ground right-of-way tree trimming around signage and other structures. The City did not have the resources to buy a vehicle specifically designed for these duties, which resulted in safety risks to the crew and inefficiency completing the tasks. So, the crew set out to design a Sign Repair Stand that would allow them to work efficiently and lower the risk of injury to individual employees.  

Click here to find out how they did it!

Tips from Tony
 

 

If you have roadway safety questions, please contact:

Anthony Lorenzetti, P.E. - Safety Circuit Rider

(860) 486-5847 or anthony.lorenzetti@uconn.edu

	West Hartford (top left), West Hartford (top right) and Ellington (bottom)

Community Connectivity Grant Program - Let'sGoCT!

The Community Connectivity Program is intended to improve conditions for walking and bicycling to and within Connecticut's community centers. Community Centers are defined as places where people from a particular municipality can meet for social, educational, employment or recreational activities. This program is one of the outputs from Governor Dannel Malloy's Let'sGoCT! Transportation program which addresses short-term and long-term transportation needs across the State.

Under Let'sGoC T!, the Community Connectivity Grant Program (CCGP) has been developed to provide construction funding for local initiatives that will contribute to reaching the overall goal of the broader Community Connectivity Program. Projects funded through the CCGP will allow municipalities to perform smaller scale capitol improvements. The Department will administer the CCGP and will solicit applications for grants from municipalities. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and will range between $75,000 and $400,000.

Guidelines for the program and an electronic application can be found here. The application deadline for the CCGP is 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 1, 2017. Each municipality will be allowed to submit one application. 

CIRMA - Avoiding Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases

The Tick Testing Program at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) has reported higher tick populations and higher rates of infection with Lyme disease spirochetes and other pathogens this year. In fact, 38% of the ticks tested positive for Lyme disease.

Public Works, Park & Recreation, summer camp counselors, and many public school employees who work out-of-doors may be exposed to tick bites and the diseases they carry this summer. CIRMA urges its members and their employees to take precautions to avoid tick bites.

Ways of avoiding tick bites include:

• Stay on trails and paths, and avoid areas with high grasses and weedy underbrush.
• Wear a hat and light-colored clothing (so ticks can be easily spotted), including long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into boots or socks.
• Use insect repellents. Reapply repellents as needed. (Always follow product labels). 
• Use insecticides such as permethrin for greater protection on clothing, but not on skin. One application to pants, socks, and shoes may be effective through several washings. 
• Check skin and clothing for ticks daily. 
• Wash and dry work clothes using the "hot" setting to kill any ticks present. 
• Ticks should be removed immediately by using fine-tipped tweezers. 

The CT Department of Transportation has teamed up with the CT Children's Medical Center to develop a program called  Watch for Me CT.  The "Watch for Me CT" program aims to reduce pedestrian and bicycle injuries and deaths through a comprehensive, targeted approach of public education and police enforcement. 

On the program's website, you can learn more about how to be a safer driver, bicyclist, and pedestrian, and ultimately, reduce the number of people hit or killed by vehicles on Connecticut roadways.  All Connecticut communities are encouraged to use "Watch for Me CT" campaign materials to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety in their communities. They are currently working on downloadable info sheets you will be able to print and post in your town hall and other community facilities to help spread the word.