Posts Categorized: Every Day Counts Initiative

Webinar: Safer Rural Roadways

Posted & filed under Every Day Counts Initiative, LHTAC News, T2 News.

Thursday, December 12, 2019
1:00 PM -2:30 PM [EST]

Does danger threaten your rural road drivers with blind curves, slippery surfaces, shoulder drop offs, cross traffic turning conflicts, or other run off the road risks? Counteract danger with a systemic plan of proven safety countermeasures.

Every Day Counts’ Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departure (FoRRRwD) identifies four safety program pillars that promote proven products.  The emphasis on rural roads, proven countermeasures, a systemic approach, and safety action plans; improves safety, reduces crashes and injuries, saves lives, lowers costs, and saves time.
 
Want to know more?  Come hear several local agencies share examples that demonstrate the benefits and effectiveness of their safety plans to improve safety on their rural roadways by using proven safety countermeasures in a systemic approach.  The topics and presenters include:

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FHWA’s Virtual Public Involvement

Posted & filed under Every Day Counts Initiative.

Engaging a 21st Century Audience

The 21st century audience seeks and consumes information in a much different way than previous generations. Social media, blogs, and online news outlets are preferred over traditional forms of media such a print newspapers and radio. To capture the attention of a distracted audience, transportation practitioners must not only embrace changes in communications and technology, but become proficient users of these mediums. To help practitioners navigate this changing environment, FHWA developed a series of fact sheets and short videos highlighting innovative and proven, public involvement techniques for today’s transportation plans and projects. Highlighted VPI tools and strategies include:

  • Building a Social Media Presence – Are you having trouble attracting an engaged following on your social media platforms? Learn how to develop a robust, social media community here.
  • Targeted Online Advertisements – Hard copy newspaper subscriptions are down, and online media consumption is up. Strategic use of online advertisements is a cost-effective solution.
  • Telephone Town Halls – Engaging individuals over large geographic areas can be an issue for effective public involvement. Telephone town halls could be your solution.

These techniques were discussed by practitioners during Webinar 2 of the Extending our Reach webinar series. To find out how virtual public involvement can help your agency expand its outreach, contact Scott Allen, FHWA Office of Planning, or Carolyn Nelson, FHWA Office of Project Development and Environmental Review.

Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian

Posted & filed under Every Day Counts Initiative, LHTAC News.

In 2018, an estimated 6,227 pedestrians died in the United States, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association– the highest total number of pedestrian fatalities since 1990. Pedestrian fatalities increased by 35 percent between 2008 and 2017, while other traffic fatalities decreased by six percent. The Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) program promotes proven countermeasures at pedestrian crossings to reduce growing numbers of pedestrian fatalities.

The seven countermeasures include: crosswalk visibility enhancements, raised crosswalks, refuge islands, Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs), Road Diets, and Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs). READ MORE

How Many Bridges to Bundle?

Posted & filed under Every Day Counts Initiative, LHTAC News.

When it comes to project bundling, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. States have successfully used bridge bundles ranging from 2 to more than 500.

  • Missouri replaced or rehabilitated 802 bridges over 3.5 years using a single contract for 554 bridges and smaller bundles for the remainder.
  • Georgia accelerated the replacement of 25 local bridges using 5 bundles with 4–6 bridges each, based on location.
  • Pennsylvania is replacing 558 State bridges in under 3 years in a single public-private partnership procurement. The State also offers a local agency program that bundles bridges with similar designs into smaller contracts.

Learn about the criteria used to determine bundle size and select projects for these programs and others in FHWA’s Bridge Bundling Guidebook. For details, contact Romeo Garcia, FHWA Office of Infrastructure, or David Unkefer, FHWA Resource Center.