March 2018 Issue 46

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 . Click Here to Register for Training Online 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:

National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week Innovation Station: 2018 Creative Solutions Award Tips from Tony Town Crier: Simsbury's Public Works Excellence in Risk Management Award NEW CT Public Works Video New Tailgate Talk—Work Zone Safety: Barricades & Warning Devices

National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week (NWZAW) 2018 is scheduled for April 9th thru April 13th. This year's theme is Work Zone Safety: Everybody's Responsibility. NWZAW is an annual spring campaign held at the start of construction season to encourage safe driving through work zones. The key message is for drivers to use extra caution in work zones. Wednesday, April 11th is Go Orange Day! Show your support for Work Zone Safety by wearing orange on April 11th. Join the American Traffic Safety Services Association's (ATSSA) movement by taking an "orange selfie" and share your photo on social media. Use the hastag #OrangeforSafety. And, as always, represent the CT Department of Transportation by using #GoOrangeDayCT and #ObeytheOrange! For more information click here .

Innovation Station: 2018 Creative Solutions Award

Have you or someone in your crew built a device to help make a job safer or more efficient? Have you improved a process that has increased safety, saved time or reduced cost? If so, let us know about it! The Creative Solutions Award recognizes individuals and departments that have found innovative ways to get the job done safely and efficiently with resources they have on hand. Share your "homemade" gadget, tool, equipment modification or process with us and let us share it with the Public Works Community through the Connecticut Creative Solutions Award. Winners receive recognition at our annual Graduation and Awards Ceremony and their Creative Solutions are entered into the National Build a Better Mousetrap Competition sponsored by the National Local Technical Assistance Program Association. Not sure your gadget would make the cut? Check out our online guide to see examples of past w inners—and maybe get inspired to try something new! Deadline is May 1 st —submit your entry today! Click here to get the Entry Packet.

Tips from Tony Would you like more information about Roundabouts, Centerline Rumble Strips, HAWK Signals, High Friction Surface Treatments, or other traffic safety topics?

Find the answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

If you have roadway safety questions, please contact: Anthony Lorenzetti, P.E. - Safety Circuit Rider (860) 486-5847 or anthony.lorenzetti@uconn.edu.

Town Crier: Simsbury's Department of Public Works Excellence in Risk Management Award On January 26th, the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) presented the Town of Simsbury's Department of Public Works with its 2018 Excellence in Risk Management Award (including a $2,500 Excellence in Risk Management Grant) in the category of New & Innovative Risk Management Initiatives. The department is recognized for creating new approaches that have reduced losses in the workplace to a record low $19,000 for the past five years while maintaining productivity. Click here to continue this article.

NEW CT Public Works Video To celebrate our 35 years of working with such amazing Public Works employees in Connecticut, our T2 staff wanted to develop a video that you could use to highlight the value you bring to your community, to help recruit new public works employees and to help educate newly elected officials. Click here to view the video.

New Tailgate Talk—Work Zone Safety: Barricades & Warning Devices 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 Work Zone Safety: Barricades & Warning Devices . Road and highway work usually require a great deal of traffic control. Both require modifying the existing traffic patterns and, more importantly, the driving habits of the public. Today we will discuss the use of barricades and signs.

Click Here for the Latest Tailgate Talk

Tips from Tony ~ Answer The state's Department of Transportation has developed "The Connecticut Safety Spotlight" series of technical flyers on current highway safety topics. The flyers are posted on the Connecticut Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) website . Web links to the individual technical flyers are listed below, click on the names: New Distractions for Drivers—A Growing Concern Designing for Older Road Users Reducing Head-on Crashes: Centerline Rumble Strips HAWK Pedestrian Signals: High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk Better Traction Saves Lives: High Friction Surface Treatments Improving Safety for All Road Users: Roundabouts Keep checking the site for future updates.

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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