NYS LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program

Road Chatter

From the New York State LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program

January 2024

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

Welcome to a longer year. We get an extra day for 2024 in the form of February 29th. This gives us one more day to be better which is the real purpose of New Year's Resolutions.

We can be better by improving ourselves. Learn a new skill, get more exercise, be more patient, and try to see all sides of a conflict before wading in with a solution. Try something small and stick with it. Make a new good habit.

We can be better by doing better at work. Look to improve your team by setting realistic but challenging goals. Maybe this year you will try to do more ditching per day or eliminate safety hazards for your crew and the citizens we serve. Maybe this is the year you complete that full inventory of everything in the shop.

We can be better by improving our community. A local highway department or public works department is at the same time the most visible and most invisible part of local government. When things run smoothly (literally and figuratively) people take roads and streets for granted and do not even think about them. When there are delays or potholes, everyone decries the rough roads and asks why are they working on my road now. Communicate with the public in the good times to help them see your good work and improve understanding when there are delays and potholes. A well run highway system is one of the best parts of a strong community.

Thank you.

- David Orr, P.E.

Stay up to date with the NYS LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program.

Click here to be added to our mailing list.

Spring workshop registration is open!

Check out our full-year workshop lineup!

What we have coming up!

Develop a Pavement Management System through the Local Roads Program

The CAMP Summer Internship provides municipalities a way to develop and implement a pavement management system for their agency. Utilizing a college student helps municipalities overcome the time constraints of gathering information and setting up a program that can better assist the local highway departments in understanding, managing, and budgeting for their roadway network maintenance. With the assistance of NYSLTAP – Cornell Local Roads, this program is offered each summer to provide municipalities with the opportunity to develop a pavement management program.

Build a Better Mousetrap

Well, now is the time to show off a project your agency is proud of in our Build a Better Mousetrap Competition!

We are looking for something that you, your employees, or crew designed and built; it can be anything from the development of tools or equipment modifications, to a new process that increases safety, reduces costs, improves efficiency and/or improves the quality of transportation.

Foundational Webinars

Tuesdays, from 9:00 am - 10:00 am

January 9th - Departmental Duties

January 23rd - Road & Street Legal Issues*

January 30th - Worker Safety

February 6th - Culverts*

February 13th - Finding, Retaining & Motivating Employees

February 20th - Work Zones*

February 27th - Purchasing & Financing

March 5th - Surface & Subsurface Drainage*

March 12th - Pavement Maintenance*

*Anticipated to be worth PDH credit

Upcoming Events and Conferences

National Center for Rural Road Safety

National Center for Rural Road Safety will be holding several Road Safety Champion Program (RSCP) career focused pathway trainings for Maintenance & Construction (M&C), Planning & Engineering (P&E), and First Responders starting in January 2024.

Registration and webinar details can be found here.

Innovation in Project Delivery: From Hard Hats to Safety Helmets

January 29 from 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Description:

NIOSH and its partners are working to prevent work related (WR) traumatic brain injury (TBI). Consistent with the hierarchy of controls, prevention of WR TBIs should begin with efforts to design out hazards and to use engineering and administrative controls at construction worksites and among construction workers. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as helmets remains essential in many construction settings to prevent injury. The industrial "hard hat", originated over 100 years ago to protect workers from head injuries due to falling objects overhead (ANSI Type 1). The industrial "safety helmet" is designed to reduce the force resulting from a blow to either the top or sides of the head (ANSI Type 2)

Construction Inspection Training Course

Description:

Looking for training on stormwater management? The EPA has five online modules available at no cost.

The training course consists of five training modules and a final exam and takes approximately seven hours to complete. They are self-paced, so you can take them at your convenience (this is not a substitute for the DEC 4-hour course).

Vision Zero and the Importance of

Roadway Lighting Webinar

January 17 from 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST

Description:

This webinar will focus on how roadway lighting plays a key role in safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. It will also touch upon the impact of lighting on neighborhood connectivity and how lighting will help state and local agencies achieve Vision Zero in their agencies. We will review and provide examples of how the way we design lighting can impact visibility of VRU's. We will also review some of the significant and upcoming research related to roadway lighting as it relates to VRU's.

Community Outreach

Snowplow safety is an important topic this time of year. If you are going to talk to school-age children, you do not have to reinvent the wheel! Check out Sammy Snowplow and their activity book.

Pro Tip: Start off the session with an engaging book about snowplows, and be ready to answer any and all questions!

Resources

Community Corner Infographics

These infographics were created to help the highway and DPW crews communicate effectively with the community on items of concern.

Click here to view our Community Corner Series.

On the road and have a question?

Check out our new question submission section! Send us a picture or drop us a note! Let us know what we can do to help you.

We are one click away!

Flagger Tutorial

Looking for something to help your crew freshen up for flagging? Look no further. The NYSLTAP-CLRP has revamped its flagging tutorial. Broken down into 4 lessons; the MUTCD, Work Zone Safety Responsibility, the Work Zone and Flagging, Equipment and Procedures.

Check out the tutorial.

Health Highway Habits

New year, new me, right? In this ongoing segment, we will discuss small steps to creating healthy habits.

Staying fit for the work we have ahead of us is extremely important. This season involves a lot of lower back strain like: sitting for long periods of times, and moving heavy odd objects.

Check out our Stretching 101 Tailgate Talk to ease into a morning stretching routine.

New York State LTAP Center -

Cornell Local Roads Program nysltap.clrp.cornell.edu