GEORGIA ROADS "BETTER ROADS THROUGH COOPERATION" Volume 22, No. 18 Winter 2011 A Newsletter of Georgia's Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) National Work Zone Awareness Week 2011 "Safer driving. Safer work zones. For everyone." When you hear Work Zone Safety, many times you do not think about having to make work zones safe for pedestrians. Pedestrians present special safety and mobility concerns that should not be overlooked. If you have a work zone area, you must ensure that you provide a safe and convenient passage to all pedestrians. Inside this issue: Event Calendar 3 Deploying New Inno- 4 vations Asset Management 5 Mowing 6 GDOT Efforts 8 LAP 9 Chainsaw 10 Traffic Counter 12 Severe Weather 14 Considerations for Design of Pedestrian Accommodations: The need to accommodate pedestrians in work zones can be identified by observing existing pedestrian usage and accommodations prior to the start of work. The presence of pedestrians in the area, existing sidewalks and other pedes- National Work Zone trian paths, and pedestrian generators such as schools, Awareness Week residences, and parks, all indicate that pedestrians are April 4-8, 2011 likely to be present in the work zone. If existing sidewalks must be closed, relocated, or otherwise affected by the planned work activity, temporary facilities should be provided. The following considerations should be addressed when a need for pedestrian accommodations in the work zone is identified: Direct conflicts between pedestrians and vehicular traffic, work vehicles, and other work activities should be avoided. Temporary pedestrian facilities should provide safe, accessible routes that replicate as nearly as practical the most desirable characteristics of the existing facility. Covered walkways should be provided where pedestrians are exposed to potential injury from falling objects. Adverse economic consequences to business establishments in the work zone should be avoided by maintaining pedestrian access. (continued on page 13) 1 Christy Lovett, Program Director Beverly Fontenot, Staff Develop/Training Coordinator II Adele Samuel, Program Assistant Address GDOT, LTAP 276 Memorial Drive, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30303 Phone: 1-800-573-6445 LTAP Website: www.dot.ga.gov/localgovernment/ltap Fax: 404-463-3564 Email: LTAP@DOT.GA.GOV The Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) is a nationwide effort financed jointly by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and individual state departments of transportation and/or universities. The program's purpose is to disseminate the latest state-of-the-art technologies for roads, highways and bridges to municipal and county highway and transportation personnel. The Georgia LTAP is supported by FHWA and the Georgia Department of Transportation. Publishing the Georgia Roads Newsletter is one of LTAP's responsibilities. The opinions, findings or recommendations expressed in this newsletter are those of the Georgia LTAP Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of FHWA or the Georgia Department of Transportation. The Georgia Roads Newsletter is distributed free of charge to counties, cities, towns and other transportation partners. Don't forget to maximize resources and improve training by taking advantage of the LTAP lending library for hundreds of resource materials. The library is an excellent FREE source for state and local government agencies. Use our videos and other materials for your in-house training programs. See a list of all available titles at the following website: www.dot.ga.gov/doingbusiness/trainingresources/Docum ents/LTAP/Videocatrev1119.pdf Letter from the Director Hello everyone...the LTAP Advisory Committee just had our quarterly meeting this week in Macon and we discussed a lot of good ideas for LTAP in the future. We had a good group in attendance that brought a lot of good suggestions to the meeting. One of the main focuses of the Advisory Committee is to ensure GA LTAP meets the needs and challenges of all the local agencies to our best ability. We discussed some new training ideas that you can look out for in the near future which include Asset Management, Pavement Evaluation (PACES), Drainage Workshop, Roundabouts, and more on the FHWA Every Day Counts and Retroreflectivity. As always, if you have an idea for any training please send us an email or give us a call. Best wishes, Christy 2 DATE EVENT CALENDAR LOCATION Chain Saw Safety March 30 June 1 August 19 September 7 ACCG County Buyers Mart April 29-May 1 Highway Capacity Manual 2010 Workshop June 1 Georgia Dirt and Gravel Road Workshop June 14 June 15 GMA Convention & Expo June 26-27 Work Zone Traffic Control Call to set up this workshop at your location Stockbridge, GA Rome, GA Moultrie, GA Jesup, GA Savannah, GA Macon, GA Macon, GA Tifton, GA Savannah, GA Mark your Calendar ! For up-to-date training opportunities, checkout our website at www.dot.ga.gov/localgovernmnet/ltap Most classes are free for local government representatives. To register for a class, please go to our website. You can also email us at ltap@dot.ga.gov or call 1-800-573-6445. 3 Deploying New Innovations Accelerated Project Delivery Methods The sooner that projects are delivered then the soon that the public can enjoy them. This is the driving force behind the Accelerated Project Delivery Method initiative. Federal Highway believes that the ability to delivery timely transportation projects to the public depends on the highway community advancing the following two innovative practices to a level of routine use by both highway agencies and contractors: the owner and the construction manager are able to agree on a price for construction, they sign a construction contract and the construction manager then becomes the general contractor. CM/GC allows State DOTs to remain active in the design process while assigning risks to the parties most able to mitigate them. Source: www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/projects/methods/ index.cfm #design-build Design-build Construction Managed/General Contractor With the traditional Design-Bid-Build (DBB) highway construction method, highway project may take up to 13 years to deliver. The Accelerated Project Delivery Methods (APDM) initiative is designed to help reduce the time it takes to deliver highway projects to the public. We are confident that with accelerated project delivery methods, State DOTs can deliver projects 50 percent faster. EDC is promoting APDMs such as DesignBuild (DB) and Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC), which have proven to shave years off project schedules in some cases With DB project delivery, the designer-builder assumes responsibility for the majority of the design work and all construction activities. This provides the designer-builder with increased flexibility to be innovative, along with greater responsibility and risk. About Every Day Counts... According to Victor Mendez, FHWA's Administrator: Our society and our industry face an unprecedented list of challenges. Because of our economy, we need to work more efficiently. The public wants greater accountability in how we spend their money. We need to find ways to make our roads safer. And we have an obligation to help preserve our planet for future generations. But it's not enough to simply address those challenges. We need to do it with a new sense of urgency. It's that quality--urgency--that I've tried to capture in our initiative, Every Day Counts (EDC). EDC is designed to identify and deploy innovation aimed at shortening project delivery, enhancing the safety of our roadways, and protecting the environment. CM/GC occupies the middle ground between the traditional (DBB) and (DB). In a typical CM/GC scenario, the owners of a project contract with a general contractor to serve as the construction manager, to provide the owner with constructability, pricing, and scheduling information during the design process. As the design nears completion, if For more information on FHWAs Every Day Counts Initiative visit their website at www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/ 4 Asset Management... What Does It Mean to You? Asset management is a term you hear a lot these days but may still wonder....what is asset management and should I be concerned with it? Every agency, no matter how large or small should be managing their assets at some level. When you talk about roadway management, there are various groups of decision-makers and stakeholders. Engineers worry about at the technical aspect of roadway management. Elected officials worry about how far the available funds will go and what roads are most important to the public. The traveling public wants roads that drive and look good. Between the large inventory of aging roads and bridges and trying to address all of the needs of the stakeholders, there needs to be a way to collect and analyze roadway data. This is the idea behind Asset Management. Over the last decade, many state highway agencies have established Transportation Asset Management programs to help document their organization asset conditions, allocate funding and determine the most effective use of available funds. They have learned that this concept provides transportation leaders information and tools needed to make informed decisions about the operations of their organization. The LTAP office will provide asset management training to help increase the use of asset management principles within local agencies. There will be two courses offered on this topic. The first course will help introduce asset management concepts and help participants understand how implementing asset management practices will lead to a better way of doing business. The second course will help local agencies learn the procedures needed to collect and analyze data and how to tailor asset management activities to match the agency's needs and resources. The target audience for these courses include Maintenance Superintendents, county Engineers, Road Program Managers and anyone else responsible for putting together recommendations for elected officials and agency administrators. If you are interested in this training, in the future look for the course flyer or check our website for locations and dates. Which road should we pave? 5 Getting the Roads Ready for Spring jayedwardsauction By Shelly-Ann Simpson, GDOT Government and Community Relations Specialist The Georgia Department of Transportation will resume regular mowing and litter pickup cycles during the upcoming spring season. According to the Department's Landscaping Architect Manager William Wright, the Department will conduct three mowing cycles on major interstates (four in Metro Atlanta) and two mowing cycles on secondary state routes. Beginning mid April, you will see Department staff mowing alongside the road "The Department and clearing litter and debris that has increased in the past year. Budgetary re- will conduct three straints spanning the last two years forced the Department to reduce the regular mowing cycles on mowing and litter pick up schedule. In an effort to maintain the level of service major interstates Georgian's are used to, the Department allowed local municipalities and private and two mowing corporations to enter into maintenance agreements to permit them to mow cer- cycles on secondary tain roadways. state routes." Although maintenance agreements help to resolve mowing concerns, despite our best efforts, litter continues to be a problem across the state. More often than not, litter reappears on Georgia's roads within days after a cleanup. The vast amount of litter that is found on our roads causes safety and health hazards, and the Department spends millions of dollars to rid roadways of litter. The public can get involved in litter prevention and commit to cleaning up roadsides in local communities by breaking the habit littering, changing the behavior of others who litter, and encouraging friends and neighbors to join Georgia DOT's Adopt-A-Highway Program. The program is open to anyone interested to include businesses, civic organizations and local governments. To volunteer, groups must have at least six members, with three backup members. All members' contact information must be provided to the Department prior to acceptance of an application. The Department will erect an Adopt-A-Highway sign with the group's name after the first pickup. To contact the Adopt-A-Highway coordinator, visit the website at www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/ programs/environment/adoptahighway/Pages/default.aspx. The Department looks forward to working with local partners to continue to maintain the roadways and keep Georgia beautiful. 6 Mowing for Safety Spring is in the air and many will be turning those tractors into rotary mowers. Safely operating the equipment is of the utmost importance. Mowing Operations Hints: Don't Mow too often. This wastes money, exposes mowing crews to traffic hazards more than needed, and can damage the vegetation. Mow at the wrong time. Good timing reduces the frequency of mowing required by cutting the vegetation in the right stage of growth. Mow too short. Leaving the proper height helps maintain the stand of vegetation and keeps small litter objects hidden. Mow steep slopes if you don't need to. Steep slopes increase the risk of mower accidents. Mow when wet. This is hard on equipment. Operate equipment carelessly and scar trees and shrubs. Mowing is tedious but care must be taken to avoid accidents and preserve valuable plantings. Do Read the operator's manual thoroughly. Protect yourself from the sun. Use the canopy on the mower. Wear sun screen and a hat and shirt. Strip grass from around the tree, in a circle, to help avoid mower wounds that can kill trees. The radius of the circle should be 1 to 3 feet depending on the size of the tree. Remove low tree branches that can click an eye or throw the operator off balance. Mow in the direction of oncoming traffic. This results in less impact if a missile is thrown out and also provides better visibility. Ballast or weight the tractor properly. Mow slopes steeper than 1:2.5 (Vertical: Horizontal) with a side-mounted mower on a boom if the tractor unit remains on flatter surfaces while mowing. Operate side-mounted or boom mower units on the uphill side of the tractor to limit the possibility of overturning the tractor. Be sure the mower has a roll-over protection structure (ROPS). Use the seat belt at all times. Replace broken or lost chain guards to deflect debris immediately. Using flail type mowers reduces the amount of debris thrown. Cover all V-belts, drive chains and power takeoff shafts. Raise mowers when crossing driveways or roadways. Shut off power before checking any mower unit. Block a mower before changing, sharpening or replacing a blade. Any blade being re-installed should be checked for cracks or damage that will lead to failure. Check for leaks before leaving the shop. Refuel away from waterways. Keep spill kits/materials on hand in case of oil or fuel leaks in field. Use flashing lights and Slow-Moving-Vehicle emblems and road signal to alert traffic. Use MOWING AHEAD or MOWING AREA signs or signs with similar legends to warn traffic. Signs should not be more than one to two miles ahead of the mowing. (continued on page 13) 7 Georgia DOT Efforts To Make Roads Safer Are Paying Off By Keith Golden, GDOT Director of Permit and Operations Consider the number 1,744. That's roughly the population of the lovely town of Darien on Georgia's coast; or of Richland in Stewart County home of the annual Pig Fest barbecue festival. It's also the number of lives lost on Georgia highways in 2005. That's the fourth highest total of any state in the nation and a jarring wake-up call to the Georgia Department of Transportation an agency with safety its primary mission. Fatalities have decreased every year since and 2010 is on track to continue the positive trend. In fact, the annual number of deaths on Georgia roadways declined by 449 some 25 percent from 2005 to 2009. This was more than good fortune and coincidence; it also was tragedies avoided and lives saved as the result of a concerted effort by the Georgia Department of Transportation and other agencies to make Georgia's roads safer. That effort is centered on Georgia DOT's Strategic Highway Safety Plan. That plan features datadriven emphasis areas focused on such things as affordable engineering solutions, enforcement, motorcycle safety, seatbelt use and impaired driving. Public awareness-building campaigns are making a tremendous difference, but there is much more going on in the continuing, behind-thescenes implementation of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The Department's Office of Traffic Operations staff is refining Georgia's transportation infrastructure to improve safety and further reduce fatalities, injuries and crashes. Every Georgia DOT project is designed and constructed to meet or exceed federal safety guidelines. But Department employees are going above and beyond the guidelines looking for still more ways to improve safety. "The annual number of deaths on Georgia roadways declined by 449 some 25 percent from One example is a focus on 2005 to 2009. " dividing traffic flows with the installation of medians, which have been proven to save lives. Raised medians reduce the total number of crashes by 55 percent, thus, dramatically reducing head-on collisions. Incidents involving pedestrians are typically slashed by 80 percent on urban roads with medians. Another effort focuses on preventing vehicles from leaving roadways. Rumble strips along shoulders and centerlines, improving road drainage in wet weather and the use of reflective tape and striping to improve nighttime visibility all are part of the effort to keep Georgians safe. (continued on page 14) 8 Local Administered Projects (LAP) Certification According to FHWA, Locally Administered Projects (LAP) by cities and counties in 45 States across the nation are estimated to involve $6-8 billion in Federal-aid contracts. Annually, nearly 20 or 25 percent of the national Federal-aid program is now administered by local public agencies. In Georgia's Statewide Transportation Improvement Program 20.86 percent is currently shown as locally administered projects. The purpose of the Local Administered Project Manual is to establish uniform practices for authorizing qualified Local Public Agencies (LPA) to manage certain core activities for Federal-aid funded projects. Under Title 23 U.S.C., the State Transportation Agencies are responsible for the administration of Federal-aid transportation projects. Title 23 U.S.C. does not recognize local entities as direct recipients of Federal-aid funds. Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) assumes the responsibilities of the Secretary of Transportation for all Federal-aid projects. GDOT stewardship includes the responsibility to assure local projects meet or exceed all applicable Federal and State laws, standards and requirements. The roles and responsibilities of the Federal Highway Administration-Georgia Division (FHWA), GDOT and Local Governments are also defined in the LAP Manual. The Department has created the GDOT Project Manager role, who is the responsible organizational point of contact for defining Local Government qualifications, certification and Local Government Let Project coordination. The GDOT Local Administered Project Manual will be revised whenever new Federal-aid project requirements are released. The LAP Manual is located on the GDOT webpage. Both LAP and Plan Development Process training classes are routinely offered by GDOT to ensure any local agency administering Federal-aid projects obtain the proper certification. Please visit the GDOT webpage at www.dot.ga.gov or contact the LTAP office for more information. 9 Chainsaw Safety Like many other useful tools, a chainsaw is capable of causing injury or death if proper chainsaw safety principles are not followed. Learning to use a chainsaw safely is beyond the scope of a single article. Hopefully you have someone available to show you the basics of using your chainsaw, especially for big jobs like felling trees. When you feel ready to head to the woods on your own, here are some tips for staying safe while cutting wood. comfortable for moving but close fitting at the same time. You don't want loose garments to get caught in the saw. If at all possible, always try to have someone with you when you are working with a chainsaw. A second person can go get help in the event of an accident, and they can help provide first aid. Chainsaw safety requires that you have an adequate first aid kit with you, as well. First, be careful when fueling the chainsaw. Like any other gas powered tool, there is always the possibility of fire or explosion, especially if you are smoking or spill gasoline on a hot part of the machine. So the first rule of chainsaw safety is to fuel it with caution. (If you happen to be using an electric model, be very careful with the cord!) Next, make sure the chainsaw is in proper operating condition. Learn to inspect the guide bar and chain, the chain catcher, the anti-vibration mounts, the hand guards, and any other chainsaw safety features on your chainsaw. Regular maintenance and inspection will minimize any accidents occurring because of malfunction. Keep it lubricated according to manufacturer's instructions, too. Wear the right kind of clothing and protective gear when using your chainsaw. Steel toed boots are good to wear, as is a hard hat. Safety goggles will protect your eyes from splinters, and ear protection will protect your hearing from damage due to the noise of the chainsaw. Make sure your clothing are Know your chainsaw well enough to be able to turn it off in a second without having to look. Also, avoid instances in which kickback is likely to occur. Kickback is a dangerous situation in which the chainsaw suddenly lurches upward out of control. Here are some things to do to avoid kickback. Don't over-reach with the saw. Keep it below the level of your chest. Watch that you don't let the nose of the guidebar bump anything accidentally, and always use the power on full strength whenever you are making a cut. Keep your left hand firmly on the handle, too. If you happen to be left-handed, you are at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to chainsaw safety. Chainsaws are designed to be used with the right hand dominant. To use one left-handed is a safety hazard, so you should make every effort to learn to use it right-handed. It is also possible to find a left-handed model of chainsaw. Cutting your own wood can be a great source of energy efficient, renewable heating fuel, but there are hazards. Make chainsaw safety practices a nonoptional part of your wood-cutting. This article was reprinted from an article published at Forestry Articles with permission. 10 Chainsaw Maintenance for a Long Life (Yours and the Chainsaw's) Learning how to maintain your chainsaw in top working condition could easily be a matter of life and death. While the new chainsaws are equipped to be safer than ever, the chainsaw is still considered to be the most potentially dangerous power tool in the world! Paying attention to maintenance can save your life or prevent a disabling accident, as well as extending the life of the machine. Here are some basic principles of chainsaw maintenance. you could need to check and clean the filter as often as every day. The fuel filter needs to be cleaned regularly as well. . If you want to maintain your chainsaw well, frequently check all the nuts, bolts, and screws to make sure they are staying tight. The spark plugs and carburetor need to be cleaned and adjusted periodically. Hoses and starter rope need to be checked and replaced as necessary. First, keep your chain sharp. A dull chain can contribute to accidents and wear you out. When the chain is sharp, you can tell because the saw does the cutting for you. It will spit out chunks of wood up to a fourth inch across. If it seems like you are doing half the work, and it is spitting out sawdust, then you need to change to a sharp chain or get the chain you are using sharpened. You can learn to sharpen your own, although it only costs $10 or so to have a pro sharpen it for you. If you can afford it, it is a very good idea to have a couple of sharp chains with you at all times so you can change out one that gets dull because you accidentally ran into a rock or something with it. Keep the chain clean, tight, and oiled. As you use the chainsaw, make sure sawdust and wood chips are not building up in the chain. Check before each use that the chain fits snuggly against the bar, but it should be loose enough that you can move it with your gloved hand. Check the chain oil and fill the reservoir as needed before each use. Adding gas requires care when you maintain your chainsaw. Blend the oil and gasoline as directed in the owners' manual. Combine them well before adding to the chainsaw, because the oil can sink to the bottom of the gas can. that is malfunctioning. When the chainsaw is idling, make sure the chain is not moving. If it is, you need to turn down the idle speed for safety's sake. Basically, any time the chainsaw is not operating properly and you can't figure out the problem, don't hesitate to get help. It is too dangerous to try to use a chainsaw There are a few things to remember when you store your saw for a month or more. To properly maintain your chainsaw during those down months, drain all the fuel from the tank and from the lines. Also drain the oil. Remove the chain and store it in a tightly covered container filled with oil. Clean the entire saw well when you are storing it. With a little common sense and paying attention to details, you can maintain your chainsaw so that it will safely give you many years of service. Clean the air filter often and replace it any time the saw seems to be losing power. During periods of high use, This article was reprinted from an article published at Forestry Articles with permission. 11 Traffic Counter Program Do you want to know the category and number of vehicles utilizing a particular road? The LTAP Office has traffic counters that can be loaned to your agency for your to obtain traffic data. These units are the ADR-1000 Plus traffic counters and use TOPS software to manipulate the collected data. The software is available for download. Sign Retroreflectivity The time is drawing near for everyone to have a Sign Retroreflectivity Management Method in place (January 2012). One thing to remember as you address the signs below the minimum retroreflectivity level is that once you replace the sign, everything associated with that sign must be brought up to the minimum levels in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devised (MUTCD) 2009 edition. This includes such things as post, height of sign, distance from the edge of pavement and basically anything dealing with proper placement. If your local agency does not have a copy of the MUTCD, please contact our office and we can provide you with one free of charge. Share Your Stories with the LTAP Community We would like to hear from you...Share your successes and your challenges with the LTAP community. If you have tried something new that is working well, send in the details. It may be include in the LTAP newsletter. If you don't have a long story , simply submit a photo with a brief description showcasing any interesting transportation features or innovative solutions in your community. 12 Federal Highway Administration sign retroreflectivity (WZAW continued from page 1) Pedestrian information needs: Advance information placed at appropriate distances before the work zone allows pedestrians to make timely decisions about routes through or around the work zone. This is especially important when existing pedestrian routes are closed or detoured. Transition information--allows pedestrians to find a safe path through and around work zones. Important when the pathway is restricted, diverted, or detoured. Work area information--aids the passage of pedestrians through the work zone. This information is needed on all pedestrian routes except detours. Exit information directs pedestrians back to the original route. Important when the pedestrian route is diverted or detoured. This article was adapted from Creating Safer Work Zones: Improving Operations Both Sides of the Barrel at http:// safety.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/planning/fhwasa03011/ (Mowing continued from page 7) Traffic Control for Mowing Operations Mowing is a moving operation taking place off the roadway. Therefore, it requires different traffic control from other maintenance operations. The most important thing to remember is to make the mower unit highly visible to drivers. That way, drivers will be alert to the mower unit and be able to avoid any potential collisions. Some tips include: 1. Operate rotating yellow lights on mower tractors. 2. Install Slow-Moving-Vehicle emblems on all mower tractors. 3. Install yellow flasher lights on roll bars on the top of tractor cabs and operate these at all times. 4. Install an orange flag or pennant on a whip to show the location of the tractor in high grass or over the edge of slopes. 5. Operate the tractor with headlights on at all times. Warning signs such as MOWING AHEAD, ROAD WORK AHEAD and similar signs may be placed along the road. The MOWING AHEAD sign is preferred. The sign is to be used in advance of mowing operations on the right-of-way. Place it on the shoulder so that approaching drivers can read the message easily (2 feet off of traveled roadway). As work progresses, move the signs so there are one to two miles between signs and the actual mowing work. Mount the signs on a breakaway portable support that will not be knocked over or blown down easily. Cover or remove the sign during lunch break or any other times when work is not in progress. Do not cover or remove the signs if you have stopped mowing to repair or adjust equipment because the warning to drivers is important to safety operations. Source: FHWA Vegetation Control For Safety- A Guide for Local Highway and Street Maintenance Personnel May 2007 at http:// afety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa07018/#safe, or check out our video on Straight Line Mowing. 13 Plan for Severe Weather by Barbara Pratt, GDOT State Risk Manager Take time now to prepare for the extreme weather the rest of the year can bring, said Charley English, director of GEMA / Homeland Security. Tornadoes, storms and floods can devastate our communities, but devastation can be minimized if we're prepared. Be sure every family member knows important phone numbers for schools, offices, home and emergency services. Identify an out-of town contact. It might be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call in town, so an out-of-town contact is in a better position to communicate among separated family members. Identify a meeting place near your home where family members can meet if separated during severe weather. Identify a meeting place away from your home where family members can meet if your neighborhood in not accessible. Map out evacuation routes in case you are ordered to evacuate, and keep at least a fourth of a tank of gas in your car. Know your insurance policies and whether your home is in a flood zone (GA Effort continued from page 8) If a vehicle does leave the roadway, safety measures have been implemented to minimize dangers. These include installation of cable barriers or guardrails, relocation of utility poles and removal of trees and vegetation that present collision hazards. Georgia DOT often is criticized when trees are removed from along roadways, but collisions with trees account for more than 25 percent of all vehicle fatalities and are the most common collision object nationwide. Intersections are another focus. Department engineers look at incident data for intersections around the state and routinely make changes to improve performance and safety. Adjustments to signal timing; use of larger traffic signals with enhanced lighting; additional signage and other efforts are used to lower incident rates. Pedestrian safety is just as important as motorist safety. There is a heavy emphasis placed on intersections where pedestrian traffic is greatest. Research shows that less than five percent of pedestrian fatalities occur within marked crosswalks at intersections with traffic signals. Similarly, an improperly located crosswalk can create greater danger for pedestrians. So the Department is focused on adding appropriate pedestrian accommodations while also improving existing facilities. Safety enhancements aren't as visible as new roads or bridges; more often than not, they go unnoticed. But they are an integral part of Georgia DOT's mission. And the staff who implements the safety program is among the many Department groups committed to providing a safe, seamless and sustainable transportation system that supports Georgia's economy and is sensitive to both its citizens and its environment. 14 ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LOCAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 276 Memorial Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30303-3743 Working with Georgia Cities and Counties to Improve Transportation LTAP is all online... Are you? If you are not currently on Georgia LTAP's emailing list to receive training information and the quarterly newsletter, be sure to go online and register. Are you seeking affordable training for you and your staff? Do you need training that offers real solutions to the real transportation challenges we face in Georgia? If so, please visit our website and review the Training Opportunities. For courses that you are interested access the Registration link. You can also access past Georgia Roads newsletters that you may have missed. LTAP Website: www.dot.ga.gov/localgovernment/ltap Postage Pavement Rehabilitation Training Surveying Class Cement Application Training Cement Application Training 15 CUT IF MAILING OR FAX TO 404.463.3564 Georgia Department of Transportation Local Technical Assistance Program 276 Memorial Drive S.W. Sponsored by: Georgia Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway GEORGIA ROADS Is a technical newsletter about local roads published by the Georgia Department of Transportation Local Technical Assistance Program. 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