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Technical Assistance

Do you remember the TV gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? If contestants could correctly answer a series of 15 questions they won $1,000,000. If they ran into a question they could not answer, they had a “lifeline” that could be used to phone a friend who could help answer the question. Think of TTAP’s Technical Assistance program as your phone-a-friend lifeline. There may not be a million dollars on the line, but we can help you answer that question that has you stumped. We can even go one better than Millionaire. If we don’t have the answer, we can use lifelines of our own to find additional answers from other UT faculty and staff members, TTAP instructors, TDOT and FHWA contacts, and even other LTAP centers.

Demonstration of the Safety Edge device.

TTAP transportation technical assistance is FREE to every city or county in Tennessee. Technical assistance projects range in scope from a single phone call or email to several on-site visits, depending on the nature and complexity of the issue at hand. Technical assistance projects cover a broad range of topics, including traffic operations, highway safety, roadway drainage, and pavement management. Traffic counts, traffic signal warrant analyses, and speed studies are among our most frequently requested technical assistance activities. Local government officials may request TTAP assistance by telephone (1-800-252-7623 or 865-974-5255) or email (TTAP@utk.edu).

Equipment Loan Program
TTAP also offers an equipment loan program as part of its technical assistance efforts. Any Tennessee city or county may utilize these items, including traffic counter-classifiers (tube counters), turning movement count boards, and handheld traffic sign retroreflectometers. TTAP staff members are available to provide instruction and assistance in the use of this equipment. Our equipment is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please make your loan request several weeks in advance if your activities are on a fixed timeline.

Traffic signal control box.

Sidewalk Inventory and ADA Compliance Assistance
We’ve already talked about TTAP’s training workshops to assist city and county officials as they perform ADA self-evaluations, develop transition plans, and implement upgrades to bring all sidewalks, curb ramps, and crosswalks into compliance. While ADA has far-reaching implications for all aspects of local government, city and county streets and highway officials must typically focus their ADA compliance efforts on sidewalks and related pedestrian infrastructure.

In 2019 TTAP will provide targeted technical assistance to local agencies that are working to conduct ADA self-evaluations and/or to update transition plans. At the center of this assistance effort will be an open-source geographic information system (GIS) software tool that will allow agencies to build an inventory of pedestrian infrastructure assets, evaluate common compliance issues related to these assets, and to identify and prioritize projects to improve compliance. TTAP will provide training, documentation, and technical support for the use and implementation of this inventory software. On-site data collection assistance will also be available through this effort.

Watch future issues of RoadTalk for more information on TTAP’s ADA technical assistance services. If you’re interested in partnering with TTAP as one of our pilot communities, please contact Melany Noltenius at mnolteni@utk.edu for more information.

Traffic Signal Asset Management System (TSAMS) Assistance
We’ve also talked about traffic signals in the context of TTAP’s training and continuing education program. Traffic signal technology is changing at a rapid pace. All of the old, familiar components are still there, but the technology in and around the controller cabinet is making tremendous leaps forward. Think about how your cell phone has changed in the last 10 years. In 2008 you probably had a flip phone (if you were tech-savvy) that served as your link to friends, family, and coworkers when you were not at home or in the office. Today most of us carry a smart phone in our pocket that would have given us super-human powers only 30 years ago.

In fact, I found a comparison that stated “A single Apple iPhone 5 has 2.7 times the processing power than the 1985 Cray-2 supercomputer.” Think about that for a minute, then consider that the same advances are occurring in the field of traffic operations. We’re also entering (or advancing into) to alter operations in real-time. At the same time, many agencies operate signal systems that are more than 20 years old. Think about a 20-year-old cell phone or desktop computer. How could you possibly function in today’s world with that kind of technology? Yet we routinely take this approach with traffic signals.

Traffic signs.

The first step in adopting new technologies is actually quantifying what we currently use. Some agencies already maintain detailed traffic signal equipment inventories, but most do not. TTAP plans to develop an online traffic signal asset management system (TSAMS) tool that will allow cities and counties across Tennessee to begin gathering, sorting, and sharing information about their traffic signal systems. This asset will benefit local agencies by providing a framework to detail existing assets, identify gaps and deficiencies that will hinder implementation of new technology, and ultimately to lay out a plan to utilize the impressive capabilities of today’s (and tomorrow’s) traffic signal technology. The TSAMS database will also assist state and federal officials by providing a greater understanding of the traffic signal systems that are maintained and operated exclusively by local agencies in Tennessee.

We will provide additional information when the TSAMS database is available for use. In the meantime, please contact Airton Kohls at 865-974-0298 or akohls@utk.edu if you have any questions about this technical assistance opportunity.


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