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It seems inevitable that winter maintenance activities involve lots of paperwork. Keeping track of your operations is important, because you can’t manage it if you don’t measure it. But is there a way to do away with the paperwork and data entry and instead automate the data collection process? What sort of reports do you need to generate to be able to manage your operations effectively? Let’s discuss what it would take to go paperless. You may be surprised to learn that this goal is more easily reachable than you think.
Read MoreAgencies throughout North America are under pressure to maintain or increase winter maintenance performance with reduced or stagnant funding. Design requirements such as the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) and complete streets and green infrastructure initiatives have the potential to produce features that can make winter maintenance efforts inefficient. This presentation will offer tools for building trust and credibility with planners and engineers to increase the likelihood that road maintenance and snow and ice control needs are part of the overall considerations for capital improvement projects.
Read MoreEmerging vehicle technologies are increasing the demand for advanced infrastructure. There are over 300,000 signalized intersections in North America and it will take several years for local governments to convert these traffic signals to include needed features. Over 46,000 potential non-intersection sites (bridges, dangerous curves, and on ramps) need to be retrofitted or replaced. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Connected Vehicle (CV) pilot program has deployed testing sites in New York City, Tampa, Florida; and the State of Wyoming. Other cities across the U.S. are installing roadside units (RSUs), modifying traffic signals. Learn about federal grants available through the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program.
Read MoreWe know our facilities and processes the best. So, the question must be asked- “”How would I break this?”” Answering that questions will provide you the best opportunities for eliminating vulnerabilities, hardening potential targets, and preparing your staff for how to respond if the unthinkable happens.
Read MoreThe path to creating smart cities starts with managing your assets. In these days of wireless communication there is really no excuse for not better monitoring and managing public works and infrastructure assets. In Australia, parks, grounds, and public spaces are managed within the frameworks of monitoring, control, and access. Monitoring allows measurement of factors such as how much water or electricity that a park or facility uses. Control allows agencies to save money and can be based on sensor inputs such as programmed actions based on time of day (such as irrigation or street lights). Access could relate to a user pay system for community hall access or tracking usage of parks or facilities. This presentation will explain how these asset management concepts and practices are part of smart city development.
Read MorePlanned and hosted by APWA’s Water Resources Committee Flooding and Resiliency The presentations on Day One of the Public Works Stormwater Summit provide an important overview of how public works agencies can prepare for potential flood risk and build resiliency into infrastructure planning. 2:00 – 3:20 p.m. Smokey HIll River Renewal: A Holistic Renewal of a Water Resource and the Community The community of Salina, Kansas, has embarked on an exciting and ambitious plan to revitalize 6.8 miles of the Smokey Hill River corridor. In the 1960s the main channel was diverted away from downtown as a flood control measure. Today, however, a grassroots effort to reinvigorate the community and restore river flow is being planned using engineering methods to lower long-term maintenance costs and improve water quality. Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, you will be better able to: 1. Be inspired to reinvigorate forgotten and neglected areas near local water resources. 2. Use various public engagement tools to align projects with goals for flood control, passive recreation, and ecosystem restoration. 3. Explore engineering methods to lower long-term maintenance costs and build resiliency. Is That 100-Year Storm Really a 1% Chance? Discovering the Limitations of Depth Duration Frequency (DDF) Tables DDF curves for rainfall are used to determine designs for stormwater and flood control projects. The curves are derived from statistical analysis of historical rainfall data that typically covers several decades. But these analyses have limitations that stormwater professionals need to understand to better assess flood risk. Based on extreme events observed in some regions and changes in climate patterns, the application of historical statistics is coming into question. This presentation features examples from recent storms in the Houston Metro Area. Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, you will be better able to: 1. Discuss the limitations of DDF curves derived before modern radar technology was used to monitor storm events. 2. Identify how aerial distribution of storms affects single gauge statistics. 3. Use probability distributions to calculate frequency of extreme events beyond the 100- and 500-year models. Using Asset Management to Drive Stormwater Improvements The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, is using an asset management approach to reimagine their stormwater management program. The master planning process began with an in-depth visioning and prioritization summit. Stormwater assets were inventoried using GIS and a condition assessment program was developed for both engineered assets and the natural system. The risk-based prioritization system weighed both consequence and likelihood of failure before a comprehensive capital improvement program (CIP) was developed. Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, you will be better able to: 1. Identify best practices for building resiliency into your stormwater management practice. 2. Develop communication strategies to promote the value of stormwater planning and management to various stakeholders including the public, business interests, and elected officials. 3. Incorporate asset management principles into stormwater management practice. 3:30 – 4:50 p.m. Panel Discussion: Resiliency in the Wake of Water-Driven Disasters Recent history demonstrates the challenges public works professionals face when nature throws a curve ball. This panel discussion will focus on the opportunities created for development of sustainable and resilient water system infrastructure, through recovery measures and ultimate rehabilitation/repair of water systems. The panel will include representatives from Emergency Management and Water Resources Technical Committees along with FEMA staff. Climate impacts require sustainable strategies to protect our communities and to recover from potential impacts of water-driven emergencies.
Read MoreA robust and responsive public works sector is crucial to the strengthening of our communities. Public works makes a difference to the livability of our cities and current public works leaders must do more to facilitate the personal and professional growth of the next generation of public works professionals. Learn how public works leaders in Australia have adopted a contemporary approach to ensure that young professionals have the skills and knowledge to step into and embrace leadership roles.
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The National Weather Service has simplified some of its products and services to meet the needs of local governments and the public in building towards a Weather-Ready Nation (WRN). This presentation will explain the WRN concept, the WRN Ambassador Initiative, the Impact-based Decision Support Service, and Hazard Simplification Project.
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Fishers, Indiana, is a growing community just north of Indianapolis with high public expectations for public works services. They’ve created a snow removal strategy that is fluid and adaptable to different situations. Don’t miss this exploration of how they determine resource allocation and manage labor and equipment costs during snow events. No two snowflakes are the same; your snow removal strategies don’t have to be either.
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Discover how the winter road technologies being implemented by public works departments tie in with the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts and Weather Savvy Roads initiatives. It is essential that local governments and FHWA work together to plan for the impacts of new transportation and vehicle technologies on winter road safety.
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