UGPTI Staff Participate in National Transportation in Indian Country ConferencePosted: Sep 24, 2018 Staff from the NDSU's College of Business and Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute participated in the National Transportation in Indian Country Conference in Duluth, Sept. 17-20. More than 500 participants attended educational sessions and demonstrations focusing on safety, law enforcement, project management, transit, technology and innovation, planning, legislation and regulation, and maintenance and preservation. Kim Vachal participated in a panel on crash data reporting which focused on improving traffic crash reporting on tribal roads so local leaders can use the data to develop strategies to reduce accidents. Vachal is an associate professor of transportation and logistics and leads UGPTI's Rural Transportation Safety and Security Center. Rob Lynch conducted a focus group to gain feedback on self-paced online training materials for tribal transit. The materials are designed to provide transit management training for tribal transit professionals. Lynch is training coordinator for UGPTI's Small Urban and Rural Transit Center. Lynch also participated on a panel focused on challenges of transit and mobility in rural areas. Jill Hough presented on how research how research at the Small Urban, Rural, and Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM) can help tribes with transportation planning activities. Hough is an associate professor of transportation and logistics and is director of UGPTI's Small Urban and Rural Transit Center which collaborates in SURTCOM with the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University. Dale Heglund, director of UGPTI's ND Local Technical Assistance Programs (NDLTAP), discussed NDLTAP outreach and training initiatives that could have applications for tribal road agencies. He discussed the process for transforming severely deteriorated paved roads into high-quality gravel roads; a Bridge 101 training that teaches local road staff how to inspect and maintain local bridges; and strategies to improve and maintain signs on local roads. Jody Bohn Baldock, academic coordinator for NDSU's Transportation and Logistics Program, attended and staffed an exhibit to promote NDSU's on-line graduate programs in Transportation and Logistics. NeTia Bauman, former tribal outreach coordinator for UGPTI, served on the planning committee for the conference. |