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The City of South Bend, Indiana, was one of the recipients of the 2016 USDOT's Mayor's Challenge Award for Overall Success for its Smart Streets Initiative. The goal was to create a sense of place and support a vibrant downtown, which included the creation of streetscapes that required conversion of one-way to two-way streets, wide sidewalks, bicycle facilities, on-street parking, street trees, and public arts. This project also simultaneously addressed utility coordination and green solutions related to the city's long-term combined sewer overflow (CSO) plan. Construction of this project required adaptive strategies to address underground conflicts and delays.Learning Objectives:Examine South Bend's Smart Streets Initiative.Review the challenges and solutions that occurred during the planning and implementation of the two-way conversion.Evaluate the economic and social impacts of complete streets.
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Lakeland, Florida, has adopted a leading pedestrian interval (LPI) phase at 25 of its signalized intersections in the Central Business District. This consists of providing the pedestrian with a five-second ""head start"" compared to motorists. The pedestrian should be in a better position to finish crossing the intersection more safely. To assess LPI's effectiveness, a before and after study is being conducted. Preliminary results support that LPI-treated intersections do result in a reduction of crashes without adversely affecting intersection levels of service. They appear to work best in pre-timed signal locations. Two pedestrian-activated push button locations showed no significant reductions in crashes.Learning Objectives: Evaluate the benefits of installing LPI at intersections.Examine the process the City of Lakeland used to install LPIs at its intersections.Review Lakeland's data regarding the number of crash reductions occurring at LPI intersections.
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RISE (Reentry Initiative through Structured Employment) – The City of Fishers, Indiana, has created an inspiring program designed to both recruit highly motivated employees into public works positions and, more importantly, help in the rehabilitation process of citizens who made bad choices, paid their debt to society, and are now faced with the challenge of finding meaningful employment. Feeling that just providing employment is not enough, they established a monthly training regimen that includes basic personal financial management skills. Participants are also given the option of going through the agency's in-house CDL class. If there are positions available when participants complete the program, an opportunity is offered for them to apply for full-time employment. If no positions are open and they were model employees, they can receive a letter of reference from the Mayor. Will this solution work in your community?Learning Objectives: Provide a unique solution to workforce recruitment and engagement.Attract applicants that are motivated and eager to perform.Develop a life-changing program that affects the well-being of potential employees and their families.
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Self-Assessment is an excellent way to examine and evaluate your agency's current management policies and procedures. In this session, you will gain an understanding of why self-assessment can improve effectiveness,…
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Operations managers know they can no longer operate as they have in the past for many reasons including increased operational costs, declining budgets, loss of staff and increased service level…
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Implementing change in a public works department can be challenging, to say the least. Whether battling the ""we have always done it this way"" syndrome, or trying to adopt new technologies or practices, a public works manager can face many obstacles on the road to a high functioning department. This session will be led by a 28-year public works career veteran who will describe how using modern leadership practices and philosophes has helped his department turn the corner into a 21st century success story.Learning Objectives: Delegate tasks and projects more efficiently.Communicate new ideas and deal with resistance to change.Manage a successful organization change program.
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(Presented by APWA's 2017 Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) Class)APWA's Emerging Leaders Academy provides intensive leadership and management training within the context of public works. It encourages professional growth through a strong network of peers and offers an in-depth introduction to APWA at the national and chapter levels. As an element of their class project, the 2017 Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) participants have investigated how public works departments can increase their presence and reputation within their communities. Their findings revolve around four major components: Leadership: Explore the qualities of servant leadership and why this type of leader is successful in the public works environment. Resilience: Consider how well your public works agency adapts to adversity and meets the challenges of disaster response and infrastructure resilience. Outreach: By engaging the public through events, various forms of media, a strong outreach program empowers people of all walks of life to feel an emotional connection to public works and all the services provided to the community. Technology: By using 21st century technology, including social media, public works is able to provide two-way exchanges of information, involving the public in collaborativeLearning Objectives: Identify the type of leaders that can best serve your public works operation and the community at-large.Discuss the importance of building resiliency into to public works infrastructure and services.Develop a public outreach program that deploys social media and other communication strategies to increase the presence and reputation of public works with your community.
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Successful implementation of asset management does not happen by accident. It requires a carefully considered plan to ensure that your agency's goals are met and measureable results are achieved. Using Polk County's pavement management program as a case study, this session will review the steps for implementation, decision-making and reporting requirements, software configuration, testing, and training. Also featured in this session will be a case study highlighting how Dunedin, Florida performed a stream-lined implementation using best practices, a gap-fit process, and field calibration exercises to ensure expected results.Learning Objectives: Conceptualize the process needed to perform a critical review of an existing asset management system and then plan for updates and enhancements.Recognize the functionality required in an asset management software package as it pertains to all collected assets and the agency's goals.Analyze the cost-effectiveness of a robust asset management plan and gain support from key decision-makers.
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As public works professionals, we are confident in our ability to do everything from repairing potholes to responding to emergency situations. But one thing that we are not necessarily good at is advocating for our profession and our public works departments. Learn about Charlotte County, Florida’s successful outreach program, which includes “”touch a truck”” sessions at community events and elementary schools, job fairs at high schools and community colleges, and a strong social media presence. They have not only increased visibility within the community, but also improved employee morale.Learning Objectives:Implement a department-wide rebranding project.Communicate communication with the public using social media.Educate the next generation about the importance of public works to the economic progress and quality of life of the community.
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Privatization, de-privatization, managed competition-this panel of solid waste management leaders will NOT answer the question on which system is best. (Sorry!) But they will share their expertise and case studies concerning the costs and benefits of each option, discuss issues with service delivery and customer service, and provide tools you can use to design or tweak your service delivery systems. We'll also focus on how to ensure better customer service, fair treatment of employees, and a safe working environment.Learning Objectives:Discuss the different benefits between privatization, de-privatization, and managed competition.Examine how to analyze costs benefits between the three options.Review how to ensure better customer service and a safe working environment.
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