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April 2018
Issue 47
2018 Workshop Calendar Now Available!

The 2018 T2 Training Calendar is Available! Click here to view training opportunities available in 2018.

We will continue to update the schedule with dates and locations, so check in with us regularly. If you are interested in hosting a class, please email Shelly Desjardin at shelly.desjardin@uconn.edu .
Our mission is to foster a safe, efficient, environmentally sound transportation system by improving skills and knowledge of local transportation providers through training, technical assistance, and technology transfer.
In This Issue:
  • 2018 Roadway Safety Poster Contest Winners Announced
  • Tips from Tony
  • Work Zone Safety Facts
  • New Tailgate Talk—Ladder Safety
  • National Public Works Week: May 20-26, 2018
  • Innovation Station: Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Information Search Tool
  • Town Crier: Mike Gantick on Fill a Public Works Truck Food Drive
2018 Roadway Safety Poster Contest Winners Announced

The T2 Center is happy to announce the winners of the 2018 Roadway Safety Poster Contest! Our three winners and three honorable mentions were invited to attend the Connecticut Work Zone Safety press Conference on April 9th. At the press conference, the children were presented with ribbons and gift baskets from Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman to honor their artistic achievements and their contributions to Connecticut's Road Safety efforts.

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who participated!
Tips from Tony
At the April Safety Circuit Rider Advisory Committee meeting, we celebrated the retirement of Robert Turner, Safety Engineer, CT Division Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Bob has been a champion of road safety in Connecticut for 17 years and a strong supporter of our Safety Circuit Rider program efforts. We really appreciate all of Bob's contributions—he will be missed.
Bob has created a great safety resource that will be his legacy to the CT Safety Community. You can find the Highway Safety Roadmap here .
If you have roadway safety questions, please contact:
Anthony Lorenzetti, P.E. - Safety Circuit Rider
(860) 486-5847 or anthony.lorenzetti@uconn.edu.
National Public Works Week: May 20-26, 2018

"The Power of Public Works" theme for the 2018 National Public Works Week poster gives voice to the impact the many facets of public works have on modern civilization. From providing clean water to disposing of solid waste, to building roads and bridges or planning for and implementing mass transit, to removing snow on roadways or devising emergency management strategies to meet natural or man-made disasters, public works services determine a society's quality of life. This year's poster honors the vital contribution public works professionals make every day to communities all across North America, and it invites the public to celebrate their quiet dedication and indispensable influence on our way of life.

Click here to view National Public Works Week resources from the American Public Works Association (APWA).
New Tailgate Talk—Ladder Safety
The T2 Center has published our newest Tailgate Talk informational brief. Each Tailgate Talk focuses on one on-the-job safety topic and is designed to be shared with your crew at the beginning of their day. When employees are presented with safety material in small chunks, in a setting in which they are comfortable, they are more likely to retain that information and put it into practice.

The newest Tailgate Talk focuses on Ladder Safety . According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), "falls from portable ladders (step, straight, combination and extension) are one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities and injuries." Falls from ladders make up nearly a third of construction deaths. These deaths and injuries are preventable, and falls can be prevented by following safe work practices. In public works, we are often employing ladders from less stable, unlevel areas, along with other challenges, and good safety practices are essential.
Innovation Station: Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Information Search Tool

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has created an online Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Information Search Tool. By typing in keywords or selecting from the Popular Topics popup, you can search for information from more than 100 reports, guidebooks, and training documents, each of which meets FHWA's standards of quality. Every page of each resource has been cross-referenced to the search and filter options listed on the website.

Click here to check out this awesome resource.
Mike Gantick on Fill a Public Works Truck Food Drive
Mike Gantick, the Director of Public Works for the Town of South Windsor and member of the New England American Public Works Association (NEAPWA) Chapter's Awareness Committee, sat down with us to discuss this year's Fill A Public Works Truck Food Drive, which will be held during the 2018 National Public Works Week, May 20-26, 2018.

"I am a member of the NEAPWA Chapter Awareness Committee. This idea came out of the Committee as a way to unite public works professionals across New England in a positive, caring and giving way."

"The primary goal of the Fill a Pubic Works Truck Food Drive is to collect food and household provisions for local community food banks and raise awareness of public works departments' (DPW) operations, including highlighting the things that residents can do to help the DPW crews do their jobs. This is an opportunity to unite all public works departments during a positive annual event."

"Food and goods donations are especially critical during the early summer months as schools get out. National Public Works Week occurs near the end of most school year calendars and is a time when many public works departments already have public outreach events planned, making the implementation of this event a little easier. It can be as simple as having a drop-off bin at your Town Building or working with your local grocery store to collect food goods. Every little bit HELPS!"

To learn more about the Fill a Public Works Truck program, click here .
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Use these links to get more information about the Connecticut Technology Transfer (T2) Center:
If you have any ideas or suggestions for future  Connecticut Crossroads  topics, please feel free to email the designer Regina Hackett at  regina.hackett@uconn.edu