- Welcome Our New T2 Team Member
- Signal Spotlight: Partnering for Public Education
- Town Crier: Look Who's Moving Up in Public Works
- Innovation Station: TC3 Offers Video Resources for Locals Through Its YouTube Channel
- Warren's Words of Wisdom: Padmount Transformers
- NEW Tailgate Talk: Safe Operation of a String Trimmer
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Welcome Our New T2 Team Member
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The T2 Center is very pleased to announce that we have hired a new Safety Circuit Rider, Melissa Evans.
Melissa comes to us with a wealth of municipal experience. She was the Traffic Operations Coordinator for the Town of Greenwich for over 20 years.
Please give Melissa a warm welcome when you see her. She will be located in Room #202, at the T2 Center office at the Longley Building in Storrs, CT and will be traveling all over Connecticut helping local agencies with their roadway safety needs.
If you have any questions about local road safety concerns, you can contact:
Melissa Evans, Safety Circuit Rider
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Signal Spotlight: Partnering for Public Education
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Watch for Me CT is a statewide campaign aimed at reducing the number of vehicle collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists through awareness, education, and enforcement. Program manager Amy Watkins spoke at our recent Traffic Signal Circuit Rider program advisory committee meeting and is partnering with the T2 Center and municipalities to educate the public on Leading Pedestrian Interval.
Cities and towns in Connecticut, including Stamford, Norwalk, and Manchester, are implementing concurrent pedestrian phasing and leading pedestrian intervals at signalized intersections. Education for pedestrians and motorists notifying them of this change is essential because pedestrians in Connecticut are accustomed to crossing intersections during an exclusive pedestrian phase where all vehicular traffic is stopped. At intersections with concurrent pedestrian pha
sing, drivers and pedestrians will need to be more aware of other intersection users.
Watch for Me CT also raises awareness through public service messages, special events, sponsorships, and partnerships. We at the T2 Center look forward to partnering with Amy to support Watch for Me CT’s awareness efforts. For more information on the Watch for Me CT program, visit
www.watchformect.org
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If you have traffic signal systems questions, please contact:
Theresa Schwartz, P.E., P.T.O.E. - Traffic Signal Circuit Rider
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Look Who's Moving Up in Public Works
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The following people have recently earned a promotion in their agencies.
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Chuck Marshall of South Windsor Department of Public Works, was recently promoted to Fleet Manager.
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Jeff Lemay of the Town of South Windsor recently passed his Class IV Operator Certification (highest score—last year only 1 of 13 test takers passed; it's a very difficult test to pass). Jeff is now officially the Plant Supervisor for the South Windsor Water Pollution Control Facility.
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Patrick J. McLaughlin, P.E., was promoted to Director of Public Works for the City of Norwich.
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Franz Redanz II, was promoted to Superintendent of the Department of Public Works for the City of Norwich.
Congratulations to all!
If you have news from your agency or would like to brag about your crews and their promotions in our monthly Crossroads newsletter, please email
[email protected]
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TC3 Offers Video Resources for Locals Through Its YouTube Channel
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A state-based initiative recently adopted as a Technical Service Program within AASHTO, the Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TC3)'s mission is to develop and maintain a quality training curriculum to enhance the competency of the nation's transportation Construction, Maintenance, and Materials technical workforce.
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Warren's Words of Wisdom: Padmount Transformers
by Warren Rogers, C.S.P.
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Two recent near-miss accidents involving digging and backing into some electrical field equipment installations, which everyone should already know better about, tells me maybe we need to do a review of what they are and how to protect yourself and crew when you get around them.
Padmount Transformers
Those green metal boxes on the ground are dangerous only if you do something to make them angry. Much like bears, if you don’t bother them, they’ll not bother you. Padmounts vary in size based on how big the customer needs are, but they are all pretty much the same combination of metal, electricity and oil. If there is a fire in a pad mount, do not spray water; trust me, electricity doesn’t like water and you won’t either.
Mentioning bears, here’s a little safety tip: When working in an area where bears are known to be around, always work with someone who runs slower than you do. One of my favorites!
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NEW Tailgate Talk: Safe Operation of a String Trimmer
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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.
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Gas powered string trimmers, also known as weed wackers, are commonly used to trim areas of grass or light vegetarian or to trim around buildings, trees, and areas that can't be mowed with a regular mower. Brush cutters are used to cut down vegetation with heavier stalks.
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Use these links to get more information about the Connecticut Training and Technical Assistance (T2) Center:
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If you have any ideas or suggestions for future
Connecticut Crossroads
topics, please feel free to email the designer Regina Hackett at
[email protected]
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