LOCAL CONNECTIONS
Your Monthly Bulletin from Louisiana LTAP Center
July 26, 2019 // Volume 2, Issue 6
A compilation of e-news, resources, tools and opportunities that help local public agencies enhance transportation innovation, mobility and safety efforts across Louisiana communities.


Check out our Summer 2019 Edition of the LTAP Newsletter, click here.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Louisiana LTAP to exhibit at the LMA Annual Convention
The Louisiana LTAP Center will be participating as one of the exhibitors of the Annual Louisiana Municipal Association (LMA) Convention scheduled on August 1-2, 2019 at the Monroe Civic Center.

LTAP is sponsoring two booth displays this year. One is the official LTAP booth, and the other is the Destination Zero Deaths (DZD), which is the overall vision of Louisiana's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).

We invite LMA attendees to swing by LTAP Booth (#89) and DZD Booth (#90), and know more about what available resources we can provide you.

The exhibits will run from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on August 1, and from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon on August 2. For more information about the LMA Convention, click here.
LTAP CLASSES
Roads Scholar #4: Temporary Traffic Control for Local Agencies
Louisiana LTAP is holding classes on Roads Scholar #4: Temporary Traffic Control for Local Agencies , with LTAP Program Manager Steve Strength as the instructor.

This course is intended for engineers, technicians, inspectors, and maintenance personnel whose duties require an intermediate understanding of traffic control in work zones, including design, setup, and management of traffic controls. 

For questions , email Olivia Phelps at Olivia.Phelps@la.gov.
Local Public Agency (LPA) Training in Alexandria
Louisiana LTAP, in partnership with DOTD and FHWA, will be offering another round of
the 3-day Local Public Agency (LPA) Training Program classes on November 5-7, 2019 in Alexandria, LA. Join us for 1 day or all 3.

Day 1: Qualification Core Training
Day 2: Project Development and Design Process for the LPA Responsible Charge
Day 3: Construction, Engineering, and Inspection (CE&I) 

Registration information available online in August. 

 
INNOVATION
Ouachita Parish's innovation submitted as official Louisiana entry into the National Build A Better Mousetrap competition
Louisiana LTAP is proud to submit Ouachita Parish's transportation innovation into the National Build a Better Mousetrap Competition 2019. Entries from other LTAP centers will be deliberated, and winners will be announced at the National Local Technical Assistance Program Association (NLTAPA) Conference on August 12-15, 2019 in Stowe, Vermont.

Ouachita Parish Public Works Department’s Catch Basin Lid Assist Tool is lightweight, efficient, and inexpensive way of lifting and lowering catch basin lids for inspection purposes. It only cost them less than one hundred dollars ($100) including labor. Truly innovative, indeed.

Ouachita Parish Public Works' local entry won the Louisiana competition and was awarded during the Louisiana Parish Engineers and Supervisors Association (LPESA) Spring Conference this past May. Re ad more.

Every Day Counts: Crowdsourcing for Operations
Providing low-cost, high-quality data on traffic operations
One of LTAP’s focus areas is Innovation —at the local level.
A number of current initiatives including FHWA’s Every Day Counts (EDC),
provide opportunities to highlight successes and encourage innovative thinking.

This month, we feature an EDC-5 innovation, Crowdsourcing for Operations.
Crowdsourcing benefits transportation operations by enabling quicker monitoring
and assessment of system performance, a more targeted and proactive response,
and programmatic operational improvements. Read more.

ROAD SAFETY
New changes coming to Louisiana's child car seat laws

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards recently signed a bill into law that changes existing laws for child passenger safety seats starting later this year.

As of Aug. 1, 2019, any child who is younger than 2 years old must be restrained in a rear-facing child safety seat until they reach its weight or height limit. Read more.

Car seat fitting stations are available statewide.

FHWA to hold two 2-day STEP workshops

FHWA will hold two workshops that promote a Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) , an Every Day Counts (EDC) innovation.

The workshops are scheduled on August 6-7, 2019 in Hattiesburg, MS and on August 8-9 in Jackson, MS. This course is intended to help state and local transportation professionals address pedestrian safety issues through design and engineering solutions.  For more information, please contact Terry Winstead at twinstead@mdot.ms.gov or Jessica Dilley at dsitesecretary@gmail.com .
FHWA shares video series on Low-cost Safety Improvements

FHWA recently posted the Low-cost Safety Improvements video series on their YouTube channel. This month's highlight is the Longitudinal Pavement Markings. P a vement markings are one of the least expensive countermeasures available for improving safety and can reduce crashes by 15 percent. Agencies should consider installing them. View all of FHWA videos here.
October 2, 2019
National Walk To School Day

We encourage local communities and schools across Louisiana to participate in the National Walk to School Day on October 2, 2019. Just simply walk to school or work, then post it on social media with a hashtag #walktoschoolday.

This campaign is in conjunction with Louisiana LTAP Center's efforts to support a Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP), which is one of the Every Day Counts (EDC) innovations. Read more about how you can celebrate walk to school day.
TRAINING & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Pavement Preservation Class in Lafayette area
LTAP conducted the last round of Roads Scholar #7: Pavement Preservation & Road Surface Management series with Nick Verret as class instructor. 

Participants were from City of Carencro, Lafayette Consolidated Government, Town of Grand Coteau, St. Martin Parish Government, and City of Youngsville.

AASHTO's Transportation Curriculum Coordinating Council (TC3) offers training to local public agencies at no cost
If you are a transportation practitioner working for a local or tribal government and want to improve your construction, maintenance, and material selection processes and projects, FHWA and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials have over training modules made o ver 190 web-based training (WBT) courses with additional courses planned through the Transportation Curriculum Coordinating Council (TC3). Read more.

SAVE THE DATE!
LPESA Fall Conference 2019
October 2-3, 2019

Following the success of its Spring Conference, the Louisiana Parish Engineers and Supervisors Association (LPESA) will be holding the Fall Conference on October 2-3, 2019 at the Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel located at 832 Martin Luther King Road in Charenton, LA. More information about registration, hotel and agenda will follow on www.lpesa.org.
Destination Downtown
September 11-13, 2019

This is a regional conference sponsored by Louisiana Main Street, Mississippi Main Street Association and Main Street Arkansas, attracting more than 200 professionals in preservation-based commercial district revitalization, including new and experienced downtown and neighborhood Main Street directors, board members, architects, planners, economic development professionals, public officials, volunteers and consultants.


WEBINARS & CONFERENCES
ACROSS THE NATION
Webinar: Toolkit for Measuring Public Involvement Effectiveness in Transportation
July 30, 2019 at 1:00-2:30 PM (CST)
TRB will conduct this webinar featuring the NCHRP Research Report 905 that will illustrate on how transportation agencies can use a rigorously tested, user-friendly tool to measure the effectiveness of their public involvement. Some registrants will need to pay $95 to attend this webinar.  Read more.

Webinar: Safe System for Rural Areas
July 31, 2019 at 12:00-1:30 PM (CST)
This webinar will introduce principles of Safe Systems and provide context for the Safe Systems approach in relation to other traffic safety initiatives (such as Vision Zero) and paradigms.

Stakeholder Meeting: Road Weather Management Stakeholder Meeting
August 27, 2019 in Phoenix, AZ
The purpose of the meeting is to provide a venue for peer exchange among road weather management stakeholders and practitioners consisting of State Departments of Transportation, local agencies, academia, vendors, weather service providers (public and private), and consultants.

Webinar: Stormwater Management
August 31, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The Arkansas DOT's Technology Transfer Program presents this webinar that will discuss the basics of stormwater management and best management practices for preventing erosion and controlling sediment. Read more.

2019 National LTAP-TTAP and NTTD Conference
August 12-15, 2019
This year's National LTAP-TTAP Conference will be held in conjunction with the National Transportation Training Directors Conference scheduled on August 12-15, 2019 at the Stoweflake Resort in Stowe, Vermont. Read more.

International Conference on Low Volume Roads
September 15-18, 2019
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is sponsoring the 12th TRB International Conference on Low Volume Roads on September 15-18, 2019 in Kalispell, Montana. This conference examines new technologies and new techniques in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and administration of low-volume roads. Read more.
How May LTAP Assist You?
At Louisiana LTAP, we strive to provide local public agencies the necessary technical assistance and training opportunities that will enhance transportation project delivery and improve traffic safety in local communities. We value your feedback, so tell us what specific training and/or materials you want us to offer in the future.
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Louisiana Local Technical Assistance Program


LTAP is a division within the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC), a collaborative effort between the DOTD and LSU.