During this past summer, the Florida Transportation Technology Transfer (T2) Center at the University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) conducted a series of listening sessions under the Florida Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). The listening sessions provided an opportunity for LTAP staff at the T2 Center to receive input from local agencies about their transportation-related training, technical assistance, data collection, and equipment loan needs. The information gathered from the sessions will help guide actions to improve the delivery of services provided by Florida LTAP. Funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), LTAP provides assistance to local counties, cities and more to improve roads and bridges by supplying a variety of training programs, serving as an information clearinghouse, providing new and existing technology updates, including personalized technical assistance and producing informational newsletters for its constituents.

Listening sessions were held in Alachua, Highlands, Lee, Leon, Okaloosa, Orange, and Palm Beach counties. In collaboration with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension, UFTI’s T2 Center, which houses the Florida LTAP, hosted the listening sessions at IFAS Extension offices. In total, 31 representatives attended the sessions. The majority represented local agencies from 10 counties. A regional representative from the Heartland Regional Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) also participated, which extended the reach of the sessions to four additional counties.

Some of the training needs identified included assistance with securing and maintaining funding for local transportation projects, especially better understanding funding requirements. Local agencies identified the need for training in methods and analysis tools to help identify local funding priorities, such as asset management techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis tools. Other training needs included traffic signal technician level training and assistance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition planning.  Another recommendation was the need to continue heavy equipment training and to expand the courses to cover additional areas.  A new area not on T2’s radar was to retain qualified staff with Commercial Driver’s licenses.

In general, rural areas require more direct technical assistance and support in all aspects of the transportation process, while urban areas require more technical trainings. This sessions also revealed that funding for training is limited, while most participants agreed that webinars were not always the best means of addressing the training needs. Many preferred single-day, hands-on training.

Florida LTAP will address these recommendations by adding new engineering and technical staff to be able to increase the variety of trainings provided and also to provide direct technical assistance.  To better connect with local and rural agencies about the services available through the Florida LTAP, local agencies encouraged Florida LTAP to engage them in existing processes and meetings. Florida LTAP recently participated in the HRTPO meetings, and it is working with the regional agency to provide direct technical assistance to counties. Another recommendation of participants was to work with local human resource departments to better understand their training and technical assistance needs.

In coordination with FDOT, T2 is developing new classes and training opportunities and will continue to leverage internal resources, such as the work of the Transportation Safety Center, to provide assistance to rural agencies in conducting road safety audits and to identify appropriate cost-effective safety countermeasures that can be implemented.

For more information, contact:
Maria Cahill, AICP
Director, UFTI/T2 Center
352.273.1676
mcahill@ufl.edu