Local Technical Assistance Program Technology Transfer Centers

From Fall 1994
Volume I, Number 3

In 1981, the Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) was created by the FHWA to improve local highway agencies' access to technologies that help meet the needs of rural roads, bridges, and public transportation. As part of this effort, the FHWA established a nationwide network of RTAP Centers to provide information, advice, and training to local agencies.

In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act expanded program responsibilities to include urban areas and American Indian tribal governments. The program was renamed the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), and the Technology Transfer (T2) Centers were expanded to a network of 55 centers serving states, territories, and tribal governments. These centers can provide a wealth of resources on traffic safety and other highway and transportation issues. Center resources include newsletters, training courses, instructor's guides, user manuals, and workshops. Centers also develop technical assistance programs based on local agencies' needs. Some use mobile vans to bring training to agency personnel who otherwise would not receive it. Others provide Spanish-language manuals and videos.

The T2 Center located at the University of Florida Transportation Research Center provides a good example of what an LTAP Center does. The Florida T2 Center distributes over 32,000 copies of its newsletters each year. Its lending library includes print documents and videotapes collected from a large number of sources, including the FHWA, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), professional and industrial organizations, and the other T2 Centers. The center also holds training workshops, operates a van for mobile trainings, and exhibits and presents at professional meetings and conferences.

In 1993, the FDOT asked the center to help organize a statewide road safety conference. The Florida Symposium on Highway Safety: Working Together for a Safer Florida was the first statewide event of its kind and attracted over 200 participants. The symposium featured plenary sessions and concurrent workshops on issues including work zone safety, data exchange, and innovative technologies.

One of the program's focal points was further publicizing the Community Traffic Safety Program (CTSP) concept. This approach to highway safety utilizes local area teams including representatives from the "4 E's" (engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services) who meet regularly to coordinate traffic safety efforts in their locality.

To effectively address the highway safety problems we face, we cannot rely on one group of safety professionals to do it alone. Seldom is any one agency equipped to handle all three aspects of the safe driving equation: driver, vehicle, and highway.

We must deal with all the "4 Es"--enforcement, emergency medical services, education, and engineering--to achieve the level of highway safety that our citizens deserve. Working separately each group has done fairly well, but working together, we can have a greater impact.

--George "Ed" Rice Jr., State Safety Engineer, Florida Department of Transportation, Closing Remarks, Working Together for a Safer Florida

For more information on LTAP or to find the address of your state's T2 Center, contact the T2 Clearinghouse, American Public Works Association, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 393-2792.

Building Bridges Home Page

http://www.edc.org/HHD/csn/buildbridges/bb1.3/LTAP.html
Revised: October 24, 1996

©1997 Education Development Center, Inc.