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Save the Date!!!
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April 19-22, 2015:
SDITE Annual Meeting in Biloxi, MS
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| 2014 Executive Board | |
Kirsten Tynch
Bill Seymour
Secretary / Treasurer
Hollis Loveday
International Director
Rick Day
Past-President
Martin Bretherton
District Administrator
Craig Hanchey
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Available Editions
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SDITE Apparel | |
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Future Annual Meetings | |
2015 - Biloxi, MS
2016 - Nashville, TN |
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Newsletter Staff | |
Reviewers
Becky Malenke
Radha Swayampakala
Lindsay Walker
Social Media
Jeff Stephenson
Add Your Name Here Next Edition! |
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Greetings!
We're a few days away from the official start of summer and it's starting to heat up out there! Here are some fun facts about summer, brought to you by ParkRideFlyUSA:
- School summer vacations were invented by educator Horace Mann in 1840.
- France's Eiffel Tower can grow by more than 6 inches in summer due to the expansion of the iron on hot days.
- The names of the key summer months have Roman origins. June is named after Juno, who was the wife of Jupiter.
- Watermelon is not a fruit, but a vegetable.
- Ice pops were invented by accident in 1905 by 11 year old Frank Epperson. He mixed soda and water and left the mixture out overnight with the stirring stick still in it. Since the temperature was low, the mixture froze. He patented the idea in 1924.
This edition is full of content so feel free to digest small amounts at a time. Or if you are feeling adventurous, take it all in at once.
Finally, let us know what you think about The Connector. Love it? Hate it? Feedback is always welcome to make sure we get you a better product. Email me.
We hope you have a great summer! Stay cool and stay safe!
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Presidential Message
By: Kirsten Tynch
It's hard to believe we are halfway through 2014. It's been a busy and exciting year as your President. The Annual meeting at Reynold's Plantation in Greenboro, Georgia was fantastic. It was the most ambitious Annual Meeting that we have ever held, and I want to thank the Georgia LAC for all of their hard work. I also want to send a special thanks to our sponsors for the Annual Meeting. Through their support we had almost $40,000 in sponsorships. Without their support as well as the ABD support we receive, we could not hold the types of meetings that we do or provide the valuable services to our membership. We had over 350 members and guests at the Annual Meeting this year, and at the Annual Meeting, we recognized our SDITE Award Winners. They were:
MEMBER AWARDS:
Craig Hanchey - Herman J. Hoose Distinguished Service Award
Richard Caudle - Marble J. Hensley Outstanding Individual Activity Award
James Foster - John F. Exnicios Government Employee Outstanding Service Award
Jack Humphreys - Excellence in Transportation Engineering Education Award
Sean Coleman - Joseph M. Thomas Outstanding Young Member Award
SECTION AWARDS:
Georgia - Best Large Section
North Carolina - Runner-Up Best Large Section
Alabama - Best Small Section
South Carolina - Runner-Up Best Small Section
BEST STUDENT PAPERS:
Outstanding Student Paper Award Undergraduate Student - 1st Place
Haley Sims, University of Mississippi, "Impacts of Rapid Urbanization on Transport and Energy Demands Along the Mississippi River Transportation Corridor"
Outstanding Student Paper Award Graduate Student - 1st Place
Chandani Malla, South Carolina State University, "Exploration of Mobile Device Applications in Collecting Vehicle Speed Data"
Outstanding Student Paper Award Graduate Student - 1st Place
Mohammad Jalayer, Auburn University, "Develop Calibration Factors With Consideration of Crash Record Threshold Changes"
Outstanding Student Paper Award Graduate Student - 2nd Place
Mahdi Pour Rouholamin, Auburn University, "Wrong-Way Driving Entry Points and Statistical Characteristics: A Case Study of Crashes on Illinois Freeways"
BEST STUDENT CHAPTER:
WINNER - Clemson University
2nd Place - Georgia Tech
3rd Place - University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Congratulations to each of our award winners!
Earlier this month, I was able to attend the Alabama/Deep South Joint Annual Meeting in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was a great opportunity to hear more about what each Section is doing for their membership. An example of a wonderful idea is the $5 Alabama has included in each meeting registration fee to be set aside for their scholarship program. This fee in addition to their spirited live auctions and other fundraising has allowed them to present over $300,000 in scholarships since the program's inception. Their goal is to provide a meaningful scholarship on a yearly basis. For example, at this year's Annual Meeting they presented 2 scholarships totaling $18,000, enough to cover a year's tuition for the 2 recipients. What a way to truly support our future transportation engineers. As I endeavor to visit each Section this year, I look forward to learning and sharing more ideas to increase the value of ITE to our members.
 | | Alabama Section President (Greg Dawkins), SDITE President (Kirsten Tynch), ITE International President (Hibbett Neel) |
I want to remind everyone that the deadline to apply for Leadership ITE is September 15th. Information on the program can be found at: http://www.ite.org/leadership/. SDITE was honored to have 5 members part of the inaugural class. We look forward to seeing future SDITE members in this valuable program.
Thank you allowing me to serve as your President. I look forward to working with the Sections and members throughout the rest the year.
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SDITE 2014 Annual Meeting at Lake Oconee
By: John D. Edwards
 | | 2014 SDITE Annual Meeting Site |
By all measures the 2014 SDITE Annual Meeting was a roaring success. Thanks to the hard work of Keith Strickland and Todd Long, Local Arrangements Co-chairs and the entire Local Arrangements Committee the meeting was well attended (355 persons), challenging technical sessions, a great Spouse program and national exposure to International ITE Leaders. The Georgia Section should be proud !!!
The 2014 Annual Meeting was the 51st meeting of what was originally the Southern Section of ITE, which was to become the Southern District with its current boundaries set in 1988. Appropriately, the first meeting of the "Southern Section" occurred in 1953 in Atlanta, Georgia. Since that time we have had nine Southern Section/Southern District meetings in Georgia - more than any other state in the District.
 | | Mark Rosekind, NTSB Chairman |
It is appropriate at this point to highlight some of the facts and events related to the Georgia Section's hosting of the 2014 meeting and some of the previous meetings. Beginning with the 2014 meeting and going backward: We had 355 persons at the 2014 meeting: 41 spouses, 68 ABD delegates, 56 students and other persons and 190 members.
 | | Keith Golden, GDOT |
More importantly, the technical sessions were outstanding with Mark Rosekind, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, keynote speaker; Randal Weitman, Georgia Ports Authority; Hibbett Neal, International ITE President; Tom Brahms, CEO of International ITE; Kirsten Tynch, SDITE President; Keith Golden, Georgia DOT Commissioner and Keith Strickland, HNTB.
A wide range of technical issues and public safety were covered including Traffic Management, Ramp Metering, Atlanta's Managed Lanes Implementation Plan, Quick Response Operational Improvements, Savannah Port Expansion, "Big Money Goes Around the World", Virginia Roundabout Guidance, and Relationships Between Urban Transportation, Physical Activity and Public Health.
 | | The Ritz Carlton Hotel on Lake Oconee |
The spouse program was chaired by Kelli Long and Jan Strickland and included tours to Madison, reception, dining and dancing at Variety Works, a tour of historic homes and lunch at the Blue Willow Inn. With the great hotel, Ritz Carlton, the Spouse Program and the recreational and Oconee Lake facilities and atmosphere, the spouse program was memorable.
Previous meetings of the Southern Section/ Southern District held in Georgia include 1953, 1956, 1961 and 1967 held in Atlanta in conjunction with the Southern Safety Conference. In 1971 the Southern Section meeting was held in Savannah, followed by Calloway Gardens (1987), Atlanta (1995), Savannah (2005), and Lake Oconee (2014).
 | | VIPs at the Annual Banquet |
Some interesting facts about previous meetings: In 1967 the meeting was moved from the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown to the Ramada Inn in Chamblee due to the delayed opening of the Hyatt Regency (construction delays). Karl Bevins was the Local Arrangements Chairman. This happened again in 1972. In 1971 the Annual Meeting was held in Savannah and Malcolm Smith was the Local Arrangements Chairman. In 1972 the meeting was moved to Memphis, Tennessee when, again, the Hyatt Regency Hotel opening in Knoxville was delayed by a labor strike at the Hyatt Regency. Bob Fosnaugh was Local Arrangements Chairman In 1987 the Annual Meeting was held at Calloway Gardens and we had snow! Joe and Barbara Thomas and John and Gerlene Edwards were co-chairs of the meeting. In 1995 the meeting was held at Colony Square in Atlanta and Kenny Voorhies was the Local Arrangements Chairman and in 2005 the meeting was held in Savannah and Marsha Anderson Bomar was the Local Arrangements Chairperson.
An interesting fact about the 2014 Annual Meeting was the attendance of so many leaders of ITE and the transportation profession. There were two Past Presidents of ITE in attendance in addition to the current president, Hibbett Neel; Tom Brahms, CEO of ITE and his wife, Linda, were here; an Honorary Member was in attendance, several Past District Directors and the current District Director was also present.
A full version of this article in PDF format can be found here.
(Editor's Note: Thanks to John for the article!!)
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From the Sections...
Some quick notes about activities within some SDITE Sections:
Georgia Section ITE
The June Meeting of the Georgia Section is in Atlanta and will take place tomorrow (June 19). Come hear an update from Mr. Keith T. Parker, AICP, MARTA General Manager/Chief Executive Officer on the progress MARTA is making to improve the 9th largest transit system in the country. Mr. Parker took the leadership position at MARTA on December 10, 2012. He will provide an update on current initiatives, transit funding, and three expansion projects. More information can be found here.
Kentucky Section ITE
KYSITE had 18 golfers at this year's outing. Although the skies were threatening all day, the weather turned out to be gorgeous. The winning team of Mike Sewell (Gresham Smith and Partners) and Dirk Gowin (Louisville Metro) finished 12 under par and graciously donated their winnings back to the scholarship fund. Bill Seymour (HDR) and Ron Herrington, who won Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin, respectively, also took their winnings and donated back to our fund. With the help of these winners, all our golfers, and our generous sponsors, we raised $2,200 for our students.
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SHSP, HSM, Who Knew? Surveying Safety Programs in the SDITE Member States
By: Steve Strength, PE, PTOE
(Editor's Note: This is an excerpt for a slightly larger document. I strongly encourage you to click here for the full article).
As part of the SDITE Strategic Plan, the Technical Knowledge (TK) Team helps coordinate the Annual Meeting technical program, compiles technical agendas for Section meetings as a reference for members, and addresses relevant technical issues for the District. At the Annual Meeting in Greensboro, Georgia, the TK Team participated in the "Doing the Safety Dance" technical session by discussing a proposed survey of Safety Programs in the SDITE Member States. The discussion and survey are focused on two components: Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) implementation, and use of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) in the various jurisdictions in the Southern District.
The SHSP is a document prepared by each State encompassing multidisciplinary, or 4-E strategies (engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency services), to address road safety issues, including fatalities and serious injuries on all road classifications and at both State and local levels. Required by SAFETEA-LU and expanded by MAP-21 to include provisions for developing measures of safety performance, each State is required to have an SHSP and to use it to direct their safety efforts utilizing State specific crash data. The State's SHSP should target the most serious safety problems, defined by Emphasis Areas, as identified by their own crash data. As early as 2004, ITE's Safety Action Plan adopted by the International Board of Direction (IBOD) identified a number of areas where attention should be given High Priority, including Intersections, Before/After Studies, Speed Management, and Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety. ITE considers itself a Provider of technical expertise and a Developer of standards in these high priority areas, in addition to lower priority areas such as Roadway Departure, Vulnerable Users, Work Zone, and Highway/Rail Crossings. Therefore, it is imperative that ITE members be aware of, and participate in, the SHSP process in their States in addressing such issues.
Nature of the Problem
According to the USDOT, every State in the Southern District except Virginia exceeded the US rate of fatalities per 100,000 population in 2010, and every State in SDITE exceeded the level of 500 road fatalities in the year 2012. The South has a high percentage of rural two lane roads, higher vehicle miles traveled per resident, and relatively good weather year round, compared to other US regions, all of which contribute to higher exposure rates on road types that characteristically see higher rates of fatal crashes than urban or multilane roads. State SHSP's address these characteristics and target the implementation of crash countermeasures where they will do the most good.
Next Steps - Get Involved!
While this draft version of the survey is by no means scientific, it does indicate a wide range of knowledge and levels of expertise residing within SDITE. The TK Team will be taking this survey to the State DOT Highway Safety Offices for more complete and official data on the State of our States. In the meantime, you are encouraged to fill out the "Beta" version of the survey and to let your voice be heard. For a copy, simply e-mail Steve Strength at the Louisiana LTAP Center, steve.strength@la.gov and scan and return it at your convenience (yeah we're still promoting our Southern District forest products industry here lol). Feel free to distribute these to your colleagues and fellow Section members as well. We need your input and your ideas to make our roads safer.
Thank you, from the SDITE TK Team!
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Off-Road and Out-of-Office
 Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Director of the National Park Service Jonathan B. Jarvis recently added 21 trails in 11 states to the list of National Recreation Trails. Click here to see what's new in your area. |
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Officer/Member Profile
1. Name: Becky Malenke
2. City/State: Hoover, Alabama
3. Place of Work:
Neel-Schaffer, Inc.
4. Title: Project Manager
5. Degree(s):
- BS in Civil Engineering, Auburn University
- Master of Community Planning, Auburn University
6. Certifications:
Professional Engineer: AL, FL, GA, MS, SC
7. Place of Birth / Family:
Rochester, MN (However, I haven't lived there in many years.)
8. What do you do day-to-day?
I work on a wide variety of transportation projects including roadway design, aviation planning and design, rail crossing inventories, transportation planning, traffic, asset management, and GIS.
9. What are your hobbies?
Playing musical instruments, traveling, reading, geocaching
10. Favorite color?
Blue and green
11. In what capacity have you served SDITE in the past?
Member of the SDITE Leadership Development Committee, currently the ALSITE Immediate Past President (previously President, VP, Secretary/Treasurer, and Service Committee Chair)
12. Desired Superpower:
Teleportation -- I love to visit new places both domestic and abroad, but I don't particularly enjoy long flights or car rides.
13. If I were not in transportation, I would:
own and operate a Christian children's camp
14. Five Quick Questions:
- Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi
- Dogs or Cats? I prefer dogs, but I'm allergic to both.
- Telephone or Email? Email - It offers the opportunity to revise before delivery.
- Pen or Pencil? Pen (Yes, I am aware that this answer contradicts the reasoning given in my previous answer.)
- Apple or Android? Apple
15. Three Interesting Facts About You:
1. I have been to 5 continents, 15 countries, and 45 states (including Alaska and Hawaii). I'd like to add Australia to this list and will gladly accept any donations to help make this dream a reality! :)
2. I'm a risk taker when it comes to adventure but not when it comes to money.
3. I have been in the audience for both the Today Show and the Tonight Show.
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ITE International Elections
The election for 2015 International ITE President and Vice-President is just around the corner. We have two great candidates and we hope that many of you had an opportunity to meet them in Greensboro. If you didn't, or need a refresher, please take a few minutes to learn about them.
More informaton on each candidate can be found on the ITE website.
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Curbside Haiku
Your next installment of Curbside Haiku...
The New York City Department of Transportation launched a safety education and public art campaign in November 2011. Artist John Morse published a series of twelve art/haiku signs that were installed city-wide to promote road safety. These signs were placed near eye-level at high-crash locations near cultural institutions and schools. The next several issues of The Connector will feature a new haiku. Enjoy!
Cars crossing sidewalk:
Worst New York City hotspot
To run into friends
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Have You Seen This?
This month's video comes from the TV Show "Mythbusters''. Perhaps some of you have seen the show, or even this particular episode. Keep in mind that this is for entertainment value only and nearly all of us can easily poke a few holes in their approach. But it is kind of fun to see transportation featured on television like this.
 | | 4 Way Stop Vs Roundabout - Mythbusters |
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We hope you enjoyed this edition. Stay tuned for another edition in mid-July.
Sincerely,
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Scott Walker, Editor
Southern District ITE |
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