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Board’s December meeting features annual reviews of trucking, highway safety and public transportation

Review of the trucking advisory council’s annual activities, a briefing on highway safety planning efforts and a discussion of public transportation — including the addition of a new regional member — were highlights of the Idaho Transportation Board’s business meeting Dec. 17 in Boise.

Public Transportation Advisory Council’s annual report
The Public Transportation Advisory Council (PTAC) was established through legislation to advise the department on issues and policies regarding public transportation in Idaho. PTAC provides an annual report to the board highlighting its activities, system improvements and issues, and goals and objectives for the next year.

The council provides clear financial reports, establishes transparent and equitable evaluation system for projects and the grant-application process, and defines the relationship between mobility support services and economic opportunity. One of the activities for 2016 will be to work on statewide planning efforts to highlight transit needs.

District 6 PTAC appointment
The council is comprised of six members appointed by the Board. One member is to be appointed from each of the six districts.

Three candidates submitted applications for the vacant District 6 position. The seated PTAC members reviewed the applications and believe all candidates are fit to serve on the Council.

The board appointed Mike O’Bleness from Idaho Falls to serve on PTAC through Dec. 17, 2018. Some of his work experience was as a pre-vocational coordinator, where he supervised transition-aged special education students in independent-living skills and vocational programs, and director of rehabilitation, which involved supervising all rehabilitation services offered by Development Workshop, Inc. He is currently on the board of directors for the Targhee Regional Public Transportation Authority.

Trucking Advisory Council (TAC) Annual Report
The TAC advises the board on issues and policies concerning freight transportation, trucking safety and services in Idaho. TAC also provides an annual update on their activities.

Some of the topics of discussion this past year included 129,000-pound truck routes, legislation to increase transportation revenue, the overlegal permit system, dyed diesel fuel, weigh-in-motion technology, and pilot-car certification.

Strategic Highway Safety Plan
The board heard about the recent workshop to update the SHSP. Numerous ITD employees and its partners gathered in Boise earlier this month to start updating the plan.

The 2016-2020 plan will identify goals, strategies, and counter measures to address highway safety. There are three emphasis areas: high-risk behavior, vulnerable roadway user, and severe crash types. The 11 focus areas identified in the previous plan are being retained: aggressive driving, distracted driving, occupant protection, impaired driving, bicycle/pedestrian, mature drivers, youthful drivers, motorcycle, lane departure, intersections and commercial motor vehicle.

The next steps are to finalize the focus-area groups so they can start meeting to draft their strategies. The draft findings will be presented at the Highway Safety Summit in March, where additional comments will be sought and incorporated as appropriate. The SHSP is expected to be finalized in June.

The department’s internal Strategic Safety Team will partner with the Idaho Traffic Safety Commission on oversight of the plan.