Throwback Thursday

This photo is from 1972.  Can you tell which city street this is?  Give us your answer in the comments.

KDOT and KTA to study truck parking

KDOT and the Kansas Turnpike Authority have started a freight truck parking study.

“As more freight is moves across the state, truck parking needs to be reevaluated in order to determine if current needs are being met,” Kansas Transportation Secretary Mike King said. 

 
The state’s truck parking capacity, conditions, trends and opportunities will be studied to develop recommendations to improve state freight network safety, efficiency and competitiveness. 

“We will identify and analyze factors that are likely to affect future truck parking choices and needs,” Secretary King said. “This will give us a chance to develop and evaluate a range of solutions.”

Freight corridors of significance identified by the Kansas Freight Advisory Committee will be analyzed.  Special emphasis will be taken on I-70, I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike as well as secondary freight network routes.

The study, which will be done by consulting engineers HNTB, will complete in October.

How fast would you want someone to drive through your office?

Transit Day at the Capitol tomorrow

KDOT’s Office of Public Transportation will be recognizing public transportation in Kansas on the second floor of the rotunda at the Statehouse in Topeka, Tuesday, March 10 from 8 a.m to noon.

            

“Public transportation offers the means for thousands of Kansans to access employment opportunities, educational resources and medical services,” said State Public Transportation Manager Josh Powers. “We’re extremely excited about our new, regionally-coordinated transit business model, and this event is a chance for KDOT staff and providers in our program to meet with legislators and other stakeholders and brief them on the state of public transportation in Kansas.”

Participants will include representatives from Topeka Metro, Lawrence Transit, the Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency, Kansas Truck, the American Public Transportation Association, the Community Transportation Association of America, the Kansas University Transportation Center and the Kansas Rural Transit Assistance Program, the Kansas Public Transit Association and the South West Transit Association.

If you have an interest in public transportation and would like to learn more about the event please contact Powers at 785-296-4907 or joshuap@ksdot.org

Don't miss out on the drone discussion

Agriculture is the topic of the first in a series of discussions about the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by public and private interest groups in Kansas.  The working sessions will culminate at the Kansas UAS Summit in Wichita this fall. 

The agriculture discussion is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 11 at the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) headquarters, 1320 Research Park Drive in Manhattan. Subsequent meetings will be hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division at various locations around the state.
 
“We continue to field inquiries about the use of UAS, or drones, in production agriculture,” said Billy Brown, Agribusiness Development Coordinator for KDA. “Research efforts by KDA recognize that inherent obstacles exist, regulatory and otherwise, that are preventing further beneficial use of UAS in agricultural production systems,” he said.


The discussion will focus on four areas:

•  What are specific applications of UAS in production agriculture? 
• What barriers exist preventing the use of UAS in production agriculture (technology, privacy, etc.)?
• What will the proposed Federal Aviation Administration regulations and policies allow and prohibit?

• In what ways can the state of Kansas assist in eliminating these barriers?

 This meeting will focus solely on the use of UAS in the agriculture sector. Subsequent meetings, which will be scheduled later for spring and summer, will focus on: 

•  Emergency management and law enforcement, Hutchinson
• Research and survey, Salina.
• Small business interests, Wichita
• UAS policies and regulations, Topeka.

 “The full integration of unmanned aerial systems is expected to make Kansas a leading state for total economic impact and jobs,” said Jesse R. Romo, Director of Aviation at KDOT.  “It’s prudent for us to be on the leading edge of this budding industry, to understand the needs of industry, and to try and figure out how we safely and efficiently get from here to there.
  
The public is invited to listen to all the discussions provided by the roundtable participant invitees.

For the March 11 agriculture discussion, a conference call code is listed below for those who are unable to attend but wish to listen.  For more information about the agriculture round table, contact Billy Brown, KDA Agribusiness Development Coordinator, by email at Billy.Brown@kda.ks.gov or phone (785-564-6752). 

Conference Call Dial-in Number: (866) 620-7326

 Conference Code: 9530108754