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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBack-Up DocumentsOffice f the Chief of. Police Miami, Pia OCT 2 2.2 i RICK SCOTT GOVERNOR FOOT Florida Department of Transportation 605 Suwannee Street ANANTH PRASAD, P.E. Tallahassee, FL 32399-0450 SECRETARY September 23, 2014 Dear Chief Manuel Orosa, Thank you for joining the second phase of FDOT's initiative to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety through high visibility enforcement. Your contract outlines your scope of work and payment details. This letter addresses the most common questions and issues identified in the first phase of the program. Below are a few reminders and additional details to help guide the planning, implementation, and reporting of your enforcement operations. Invoices, payroll documentation, and the required documentation forms included in your contract must be submitted for each calendar month. It is expected that your agency will conduct operations with the frequency, duration, and level of staffing matching the amounts reflected in your contract (any deviations from the plan in the contract due to unforeseen circumstances, such as weather, illness, etc., must be documented in your monthly invoice). It is also required that the locations documented with your invoices match the proposed locations. Reimbursement is based on perfoiinance as specified in the contract. As you plan your operations, we want to reiterate that program funds may only be used for officer overtime hours spent conducting on -street enforcement operations that promote pedestrian and bicycle safety and making on -street contacts with the public to deliver the provided program safety messages. The funding is not to be used for any of the following: production or printing of materials, training or administration, school or community group outreach events, bike rodeos or other safety presentations, or any other enforcement efforts already funded from another source such as an FDOT safety grant. Please ask should you have any questions about allowable uses of the funding. Only hours from officers on the signed and dated authorized personnel list that have completed the training requirements will be eligible for reimbursement. The authorized personnel list will document and verify the contract billing rate for each officer. The authorized personnel list may be updated after the contract is completed to add newly trained officers or update billing rates. All updated personnel lists must be signed, dated, and approved prior to the completion of any program operations by new officers. This High Visibility Enforcement Program is managed through contracts, not grants, and is not a component of the Highway Safety Grant Program. Understanding the pedestrian and bicycle related traffic laws and practicing safe behaviors is the primary objective of this program. Completion of the attached training materials created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is required for all participating officers, www.dot. state.fl.us • "Pedestrian Safety Training for Law Enforcement." A self -paced, interactive CD-ROM. • "Enhancing Bicycle Safety: Law Enforcement's Role". A self -paced, interactive CD-ROM. • View the video "Enforcing Law for Bicyclists". CD included, and link to this 7-minute video can also be found here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Bicycles/Enhancing+Bicycle+Safety:+Law+Enforcement's +Role To support the education objective of this program, you are required to create and issue a press release announcing the initiation of targeted enforcement activities within 30 days of your first enforcement activity. At least one additional press release and/or media involvement event is required and all resulting articles or media clips should be documented and included with monthly invoices. Included with this letter is a list of safety tips and talking points that can be used when working with the media. The educational materials described below are to be distributed routinely throughout your enforcement operations. The sole intended use of these materials is that each pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist that you speak with on the street should be given the safety tip card and laws synopsis cue card. • Safety Tip Card: safety tips for all roadway users with an emphasis on pedestrian and bicyclist behaviors, and the website link for more infoiniation. • Laws Synopsis "Cue Card": abbreviated text of the laws that address motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists, along with a website link for more information. If you agree to participate in the Bicycle Light Distribution Program, a limited supply of bike lights: white front and red rear lights will be provided to you upon receipt of the completed Bicycle Light Distribution Assurance (attached). Bicycle Lights are to be distributed free of charge to traditionally underserved, transportation disadvantaged populations and are to be secured on the Bicycle by the Officer at the time of distribution. Your program application identified the specific pedestrian and bicyclist safety concern locations and issues in your community. While your contract is to equally enforce the laws for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists, we encourage you to develop a tailored approach for each of your hot spot locations and the corresponding safety issues based on the data. We also encourage you to implement your enforcement in three stages for each location starting with education, progressing to warnings, and finally issuing citations. Distribution of the program's educational materials should accompany all contacts made with the public through all three phases. FDOT is committed to directing resources to the efforts that result in the greatest safety improvements. To that end, we have partnered with the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida to evaluate the overall impacts of your pedestrian and bicyclist safety enforcement operations. To support that effort, it is required that you fully complete the enforcement operation reporting form to be submitted with your monthly invoices. A separate reporting form should be completed for each operation at each location. For example, do not show the citations data for multiple locations on one form even if completed during a single shift. A completed example of the documentation form is included with this letter and the required information includes the following: • Basic details: date, start time, end time, number of officers, officer names, agency, location, and the specific safety issue identified in your application for the enforced location • Identify the specific enforcement approaches used to target each of the modes during that specific operation • Identify the total number of contacts made with each mode during that operation in that location. For example, this should equal the number of tip cards that are distributed to each mode, including each person that received a verbal interaction, a written warning, or a citation. • Note each Florida Statute section cited including the number of warnings/citations given and the mode that was cited under each Statute • Note any unique observations including the weather, a special event, crash observed, etc. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns as you get started or. as you complete the operations. We are glad to discuss your chosen approaches or any other ideas you may have that would help you accomplish the program's goals. Your primary point of contact for all contracting, invoicing, and reporting questions is Jeanette Rouse: Jeanette Rouse, High Visibility Enforcement Coordinator Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Phone: 813-974-5389 Email: rouses@cutr.usf.edu Thank you, Trenda McPherson Enclosures: Draft contract Approved personnel form template Completed samples of monthly invoice, officer time and operation reporting forms Safety tips/talking points for developing press releases Sample tip card and laws cue card Bicycle Light Distribution Assurance Training Materials