ATSSA Signal March/April 2019

The Signal | Mar/Apr 2019 5 ATSSA News Innovation and the future of roadway safety There were 205 exhibitors at 688 booths in the Tampa Convention Center’s 200,000 square feet of exhibit space at the 2019 Traffic Expo, showcasing the latest in roadway safety infrastructure devices—making it the biggest Traffic Expo to date. ATSSA members and pub- lic agency officials were able to see these devices firsthand and learn how they can implement them back home to ad- vance roadway safety. On Feb. 11, ATSSA’s Circle of Innovation (ACOI), Solutions Edition gave state de- partments of transportation (DOTs) an opportunity to share roadway safety infrastructure devices that have been able to counteract roadway safety chal- lenges the departments are facing. This year’s ACOI focused on these counter- measure solutions, while in years past the ACOI event helped members iden- tify safety challenges that needed to be addressed. During the Enforcement of Specifica- tions Open Forum, ATSSA members dis- cussed the challenges associated with uniform enforcement of bid specifica- tions for roadway projects. They learned how other state DOTs handle enforcing specifications and their ideas on how to solve these challenges. And big chang- es are ahead for the association follow- ing the Traffic SignalsOpen Forum, where participating members unanimously decided to move forward with request- ing that ATSSA’s board of directors ac- cept companies in the traffic signals in- dustry segment for membership. “There were several constructive con- versations that took place during ATSSA’s Midyear Meeting and now at the 49th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo on this topic, and with the support of all of the stakeholders in the room, we will now take this request to ATSSA’s board for consideration,” said Clark. ATSSA also moved forward on a part- nership with non-profit FailSafe-ERA with an initiative called the Right Roads Job Training and Placement Program. The program helps citizens returning More than 3,500 roadway safety professionals gathered in Tampa for ATSSA’s 49th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo. ATSSA Chair Juan Arvizu provided remarks on the programs and initiatives the association is championing during the Opening General Session. The Foundation’s annual golf tournament and sporting clays event offered fun for all, while raising funds for the non-profit’s programs.