Serving Native Nations in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma
SP TTAP e-News for February 23, 2016           
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Save the Date: Planning Seminars in May
Transportation Planning Seminar instructors
Byron Bluehorse (Navajo) and Kyle Kitchel (Osage)

To assist tribes in transportation and safety planning, the Southern Plains Tribal Technical Assistance Program (SPTTAP) Center will be hosting a two-day Transportation Planning Seminar and a one-day Safety Planning Seminar in Oklahoma City mid-May.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the SPTTAP survey over what planning resources and topics are most needed.

Transportation Planning

May 16-17 (Tue.-Wed.)

 

Safety Planning

May 18 (Thu.)

 

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How Will the Proposed National Safety Plan Affect You?

Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) invites tribes to attend Webinars on either February 24 or March 3 about how the proposed Agency Safety Plan would affect tribal transit programs as currently structured.

Register to Attend:

February 24 Webinar or March 3 Webinar

Both webinars will offer the same content. Among other impacts, the proposed plan would require tribal transit programs to implement safety plans based on the principles of Safety Management System (SMS). The proposed National Safety Plan would be FTA's primary tool to disseminate guidance, technical assistance, templates, and other safety rulemaking resources tribal transit providers require to improve their safety performance.

Comments about the proposed National Safety Plan are due from tribes that receive federal funding for transit programs by April 5, 2016.


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Native Nations Eligible for
Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects Program

Under the new FAST Act, Native Nations are now eligible to apply for project funding from the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) program.

The program provides grants or credit assistance for safety improvements, reduction of highway congestion, improvements to roadways vital to national energy security, railway-highway grade projects and projects that improve connectivity between freight and roadways. The funds can support development and planning of nationally significant projects, or construction, rehabilitation, environmental mitigation, and acquisition of property or equipment.

Total project budgets considered will range from $5 million to over $100 million. Tribal governments would need to contribute 20% of total project budget for NSFHP projects. Awarded grants would fund up to 60% of total project cost through NSFHP and funding from other federal sources allowed, for a maximum of 80% of project budget being from federal sources.
CALL FOR VENDORS
2016 National Tribal Transportation Conference

The 19th Annual National Tribal Transportation Conference will be held in Anaheim, Calif., Oct. 3-6. The conference seeks sponsors and vendors ready to exhibit! For details, check out the Vendor Information Packet.
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Tribal Signmaking Guidelines

Sign denoting boundaries of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
The FHWA announced new road signage in the Clearview font will no longer be approved after Feb. 23. The administration selected the font Clearview as a new typeface in 2004 because initial studies showed signs using the font were more visible at night.

More in depth research revealed the increase of nighttime visibility was primarily due to replacing old signage with new, more reflective signage. Additional tests showed Clearview is not as legible on signage with a significant negative-contrast ratio, such as black type on a yellow background.

Signs already using the Clearview font do not need to be replaced, yet the FHWA recommends tribes creating new signs should select from other fonts listed in the agency's approved signage style guidelines.
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CDC
Photo courtesy the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Reducing Fatigue-Related
Crashes Top Priority for 2016

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) included the need to reduce fatigue-related crashes as one of the top 10 highest priority safety issues across the country for 2016.

"Our cars are safer and smarter than ever before, yet we continue to lose 35,000 people each year in car crashes," said National Safety Council President and CEO Deborah A.P. Herman. "The Most Wanted List is a roadmap guiding us toward zero deaths on the road."
Marketing Your Tribal Transit Program

Tribes seeking additional resources for promoting their Tribal Transit Program in their communities can explore the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) Marketing Toolkit online. The Website includes tips for developing a marketing plan, brainstorming effective strategies and templates for creating branded rider maps, ads and other marketing collateral.
UPCOMING TRAINING AND EVENTS:
Webinars on Safety Toolkit

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) invites staff of Native Nations to attend a series of free webinars on Feb. 23 and March 22 to learn more about conducting safety analysis of tribal roadways.
The webinars supplement the Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads safety toolkit published by FHWA in 2014.

To attend, sign in here.
Feb. 23
12 Noon to 1:30 p.m. Central
 
March 22
12 Noon to 1:30 p.m. Central
Intersection and Interchange Geometrics Workshop

The Local Technology Assistance Program (LTAP) and SPTTAP are offering a course on innovating intersection and interchange design to improve safety, traffic flow and budget.


Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), one of the most common innovative intersection designs that relies on crossovers, diagram by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), one of the most common innovative intersection designs that relies on crossovers, diagram by Federal Highway Administration.

To learn how to incorporate geometric designs into projects on tribal roads, register to attend this free one-day course today. Lunch will be provided, courtesy ADS Pipe.

March 2
Choctaw, Okla. 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

March 3
Claremore, Okla. 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

INSTRUCTORS:
  • Mark Doctor, P.E.~ Federal Highway Administration Resource Center
  • Laurence Lambert, P.E., PTOE ~ Vectura Consulting Services, LLC Design

Fact Sheet
Plan Reading (LTAP Roads Scholar Course)

This two-day course covers how to read and interpret plans used for county and city road and bridge projects.
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. 
Bridge Welding Certification

Tribal employees and community members who are experienced welders now ready to earn their certification are invited to attend a two-day class in Yukon, Okla.
Yukon, Okla.

The first day, students will review the welds they will be required to perform on the test. An independent certification firm will test students the second day and those who pass will be certified.

The training day is offered free of charge by SPTTAP through our partner: Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), also part of the Center for Local Government Technology. Those who take the test will be billed an $80 fee by the firm to take the test, the remainder of their $270 of their testing and certification fee will be paid by LTAP.
Training in Kansas March 16 and 17
Kickapoo Tribe In Kansas

SPTTAP will be offering classes in Horton at the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas. The tribe requested a Defensive Driving course and the oft-requested youth safety course: Alive @ 25.

The Southern Plains TTAP Center serves tribes in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. For a list of classes offered by the center, visit: https://ttap.okstate.edu/additional-ttap-classes.

To request training for your tribal employees and community members, contact Karla Sisco (karla.sisco@okstate.edu) or Amy M. Echo-Hawk (amy.m.echo-hawk@okstate.edu).

Additional Resources:
e-Construction for Contractors and Consultants

Join host John Cooper in a free Webinar on resources from AASHTO and FHWA helpful in deploying e-Construction projects within your state.

Part of the Every Day Counts Webinar series, the free e-construction Webinar begin at 12:30 p.m. Central Time on March 16.
March 16 - 12:30 p.m.
An Overview of the Factors and Processes to
Increase Organization Safety Culture
March 22 10 a.m. to 11:30 am CST

This free online training event provides an overview of successful factors and processes that can help you develop a strong safety culture in your tribal transportation agency.
Pamela Jurney, Cross Timbers Consulting, offers assistance to Rachel Dinwiddie, Seminole Nation.
ArcGIS Workshop 3:
Editing Basics - March 22

There is one seat left in this workshop! This session is dedicated to editing tables, points, lines, and polygons in ArcMap, and how to create Domains within a geodatabase. Whether you need to edit geometry or data, the goal of this workshop is to help you save time and make the editing process easier.

Wednesday, March 22
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Class Limit: 12; Stillwater
Southern Plains TTAP Center | Oklahoma State University | 405.744.6049 | 
ttap.okstate.edu
This material is based upon work supported by the U. S. Department of Transportation under Agreement No. DTFH61-12-H-00004.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Federal Highway Administration.