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| Click the graphic above for information on the symposium or to register for this year’s event. For questions or comments, please contact Jill Krug by phone: 850-332-7976, ext. 215. |
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| Regional Transportation Priorities |
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| More than 60 people from across northwest Florida gathered as West Florida Regional Planning Council and Florida’s Great Northwest, hosted the “Regional Transportation Priorities: Connectivity and Planning for Growth” meeting on Friday, Aug. 24 at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
Project priorities from the Florida-Alabama, Okaloosa-Walton, and Bay County Transportation Planning Organizations were shared as Planner, Gary Kramer, and GIS Coordinator, Jessica Paul, presented the projects via WFRPC’s interactive map. Additionally, FDOT GIS Coordinator, Corey Webb shared an interactive mapping tool and special guest speaker, Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council Executive Director, Carl Mikyska discussed the importance of the regional perspective in transportation planning.
The event provided a forum for attendees to discuss projects of concern providing TPO staff with valuable comments to consider in the planning process. |
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| Florida-Alabama TPO staff members Austin Mount, Mary Beth Washnock, Dawn Schwartz, Jill Lavender, and Kathy Saldana joined FDOT liaison, Bryant Paulk, and DRMP Vice President, Ben Faust, on tours of the traffic management centers in Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The team was able gather information on the processes and partnerships involved in building a traffic management center and hear firsthand about the benefits of such a facility.
In 2015, Escambia County entered into a continuing professional services contract with DRMP, Inc. to provide general traffic engineering operation and management services including signal retiming, transportation engineering, planning, and other support services for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties.
WFRPC staff was also able to enjoy a half-day peer exchange with executive director of the North Florida TPO, Jeff Sheffield, while in Jacksonville. |
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| The Bay County TPO met at the Bay County Governnment Center on August 22. |
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| Public Input on Project Priorities |
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Bay TPO staff held a TPO/TCC/CAC project priorities public workshop at the Bay County Government Center on August 29.
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During the August Florida-Alabama TPO meeting, new Chairman, Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, presented outgoing Chairman, Commissioner Rob Williamson, with a plaque of appreciation for his service.
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| Public Input on Project Priorities |
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WFRPC Planner, Gary Kramer, discusses the Florida-Alabama TPO project priorities at a public workshop in Navarre on August 20.
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| The Okaloosa-Walton TPO met on August 16 at the Okaloosa County Administration Complex in Shalimar. Several citizens from the area were present to comment on the project priorities. |
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| Public Input on Project Priorities |
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| A project priorities workshop was held for the Okaloosa-Walton TPO/TCC/CAC on August 28 at the Freeport Community Center. |
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| Mobility Week, launched in central Florida in 2017 to promote transportation choices and achievements, will be celebrated in northwest Florida from October 27 through November 3, 2018. rideOn Commuter Services will implement the initiative to build awareness of safe, multimodal transportation choices by hosting an annual collection of outreach events. These events will provide individuals with opportunities to explore alternative transportation choices available to them and learn how multimodal transportation reduces traffic congestion, benefits the environment, and improves community health. If your organization or community has an event during Mobility Week related to safe, multimodal transportation choices such as a bike ride, helmet fitting, or bus system promotion, please contact Caitlin Cerame to become a participating agency with FDOT’s Mobility Week. |
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| On August 10, WFRPC staff members, Caitlin Cerame and Katie Wilhelm, were recognized at Escambia County’s Learn Play Grow Summer Camp end-of-summer appreciation ceremony at Oakcrest Elementary School for their interactive and educational programs, Safe Routes to School and Bay Day. Safe Routes to School teaches students to walk and bike safely to school, and Bay Day teaches students about the watershed and natural environment. |
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| Living Shorelines Symposium |
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| As staff to the Bay Area Resource Council, WFRPC partnered with University of West Florida’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences to host the 2018 Living Shorelines Symposium on August 3. More than 100 people attended the event which featured presentations on best practices, lessons learned, and projects in the Northwest Florida and Alabama coastal regions. Click here to view presentation slides from the symposium. |
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