Florida Technology Transfer Quarterly – Established 1984
Director’s Message
Feature Article: Florida APWA Recognizes T2 for 30 Years of Service
Upcoming Classes
Center News
- PedBike Safety Resource Center
- Watch This Space!
- Announcing the NEW Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Outreach and Support Grant
- Helmets (are delayed, but…) Available!
- Occupant Protection Safety Resource Center
- Upcoming Meeting of the Florida Occupant Protection Coalition
Center Resources
- Searching for Safety or Technical Training?
- Subscribe to the UFTI-T2 Newsletter
It’s hard to believe that it is already December, and the holiday season and a new year are just around the corner! I hope you are all looking forward to a little downtime and time with family and friends.
In the meantime, our busy fall here at T2 continues with the hiring of new staff (sort of new – we’ll explain shortly) and several new initiatives.
We are delighted to announce two new staff members: Chandell Campana and Scott Tison. With experience as an administrative assistant in UF’s Division of Enrollment Management and Department of Otolaryngology at UF, Chandell is used to working in a complex administrative environment – perfect preparation for T2! When we say sort of new, we are referring to our new Lead Instructor Scott Tison. Many of you already know Scott from his previous years of service at T2, before his “detour” to North Carolina. We are delighted to welcome Scott back home to North Central Florida and to T2. Scott’s reputation as an outstanding trainer has only become more confirmed in recent years. Our search for a dedicated in-house trainer could not have resulted in a better choice!
In a recent newsletter, we announced the launch of the Florida Traffic Safety Resource Center (FTSRC), which combines into one source all the materials needed to conduct safety training for FDOT’s 17 safety emphasis areas. You already know the largest programs among these areas: the PedBike Safety Resource Center and the Occupant Protection Resource Center, which support hundreds of events every year throughout Florida to improve safety. You’ll be hearing more about the other emphasis areas in the near future, such as lane departures, aging road users, and distracted driving. By way of a quick update: work is still underway to develop the necessary tools to make all this available to safety programs throughout Florida.
We are also very excited about the a new workforce development project (detailed below) that T2 is leading for the Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education (STRIDE) Center, one of 10 University Transportation Centers funded by FHWA as a focus for transportation research. STRIDE is a consortium of 10 universities in the Southeast, led by UF, with an emphasis on the problem of congestion.
As the population of the Southeast continues to grow and its urban areas expand, congestion has become an increasingly serious issue, limiting the efficiency of roadways and leading to losses in economy and productivity and increases in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In our previous work, we developed an understanding of issues that lead to congestion, including both engineering and administrative factors. An important issue is coordination among the many agencies that share responsibilities for roadways and staff knowledge within those agencies. This project will build upon the Phase-I project on strengthening the workforce development practices in the Southeast region of the US. In this phase, the T2 Center along with partners from the Citadel and Tennessee Tech University will implement recommendations from Phase-I and host an extensive symposium focusing on technology in transportation that can help them improve their knowledge of congestion mitigation methods. Together, these activities will raise the bar for congestion mitigation throughout the region.
You can also watch our newsletter as we pursue new directions recommended by members of the UFTI External Advisory Board in an all-day meeting on Friday, October 22 at UF. Speaking for the T2 Center, the meeting was very effective and useful. We would like to express our special thanks for those leaders in government, industry, and academia who take their time to consider our needs, our best opportunities, and future direction. These individuals give an expert outside point of view and keep us in touch with the many directions the larger transportation community is taking. Their support and advice is invaluable, and results of this meeting will be tangible.
Florida APWA Recognizes T2 for 30 Years of Service
At the recent American Public Works Association, Florida Chapter, Conference and Exposition, help November 2–5, in Orlando, the UFTI-T2 Center was honored by the chapter with a certificate recognizing the center’s 30 years of service and participation with the APWA Florida Chapter. On hand to receive this honor were Scott Tison and Wanda Tison, who are respectively the T2 Center’s lead trainer and program administration.
This was Wanda’s first APWA meeting, but Scott has a long history working with APWA members and attending the annual meetings. While the award presentation luncheon was a highlight, Scott and Wanda were otherwise actively engaged throughout the event, enjoying the presentations and hospitality and networking with elected officials, contractors, and local agencies.
The Florida Chapter of the American Public Works Association is one of the largest chapters in the country, as dedicated professionals work to maintain and improve services that include water resources, stormwater, utilities, waste water, recycling, and more for the over 20 million residents of Florida and its 100 million visitors per year! The Florida Chapter held its 2021 conference and expo at the Orange County Convention Center and the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. Though the event is annual, last year’s was cancelled due to Covid.
UFTI-T2 training courses are being offered at various times as shown below. Currently, all UFTI-T2 Center training courses are offered online.
Advanced Training
- Designing Intersections for Safety – 12/16/2021
- Temporary Traffic Control for Law Enforcement – 12/16/2021
- Technique Tuesday: Accessibility in the Work Zone – 1/4/2022
- Implement MUTCD Update for U.S. Local Agencies – 1/6/2022
- Emerging Technologies: Connected Vehicles – 1/7/2022
- Fundamentals of Roadway Plans – 1/21/2022
- Transportation Equity (TE) Certification Modules – 2/9, 3/1, 3/8, 2022
- Transportation Asset Management – 2/11/2022
- Fundamentals of Data Analytics and AI for Engineers – 3/2, 3/9, 3/16, 2022
- Designing Roads for Safety of Pedestrian, Bicyclist, and VRU Webinar – 5/12/2022
Pilot/Escort Flagging and Temporary Traffic Control
- Pilot/Escort Flagging (each course is one session)
- Pilot/Escort Flagging – Weekend (each course is one session)
12/18/2021 ………… 1/15/2022
- Intermediate Temporary Traffic Control (each course is 16 hours of training over two days)
- Intermediate Temporary Traffic Control – Refresher (each course is one session)
- Advanced Temporary Traffic Control (each course is 20 hours of training over two days)
12/22-23/2021 ……….. 1/12-13/2022
- Advanced Temporary Traffic Control – Refresher (each course is one session)
Greetings from the Florida Traffic Safety Resource Center!
PedBike Safety Resource Center
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Resource Center is going through some changes! And even though our name will change, you can expect the same great service!
Keep watching this space for updates!
Announcing the NEW Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Outreach and Support Grant
New name, same great service – You are probably familiar with the work of the PedBike SRC. For ten years, we have supplied educational materials and safety gear for communities across Florida, as well as outreach and local support. In the coming weeks we will launch a new Resource Center and new outreach efforts!
The goal is to streamline and expand the outreach efforts and combine the various resource centers around the state. (More on this later).
The Florida Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Outreach and Support Grant will continue outreach efforts around the state by request. We will have a team dedicated to supporting efforts in your community. We will even bring helmet-fitting expertise and Walker the mascot to your local event. Now, all your outreach needs can be addressed by contacting us by email or phone to schedule support for your local outreach.
Contact Paul Simpson by email or phone to discuss your event, pmsimpson@ufl.edu or 352-273-1694!
Helmets (are delayed, but…) available!
The helmet program will be part of the outreach grant with the same goal of keeping you and your community safe and supplied with bike helmets for kids and adults.
We encourage you to continue your local education and outreach efforts. If you have questions about the program or any of the resources please contact Paul Simpson by email or phone to discuss: pmsimpson@ufl.edu or 352-273-1694
Be Seen, Be Safe!
─ PedBike Staff
Occupant Protection Safety Resource Center
Upcoming Meeting of the Florida Occupant Protection Coalition
The FOPC will conduct a meeting on December 8-9, 2021, meeting in-person (tentative), in Gainesville, Florida. This will be the first in-person meeting in almost two years. Please visit the following website for up-to-date information: http://www.floccupantprotection.com/.
For more information on this and future meetings please contact leilani.gruener@dot.state.fl.us.
SEARCHING FOR SAFETY OR TECHNICAL TRAINING?
T2 can work with you to meet your training needs. Whether it is heavy equipment, project management, Traffic Engineering Fundamentals, or countless other topics.
We can provide an array of training geared to give you the most relevant information without the need to travel. Let us know your areas of interest, and we can work with our experts to provide training either in instructor-led or virtual formats.
Many of our courses are approved for Professional Engineer (PE) credits.
Contact Jasper Masciocchi at j.masciocchi@ufl.edu or 352.273.1685 to discuss your training needs.