Public Meetings for Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update and Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Plan

The South Central Planning and Development Commission is requesting your participation in providing input on two separate transportation planning documents. Meetings will be held in various locations and times throughout these area. Your local knowledge and input is extremely valuable to us as we prepare the plans!

The Houma-Thibodaux Metropolitan Transportation Plan will detail roadway and transit projects within Assumption, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes. The Plan will highlight new roadways and the widening of existing roadways in addition to emphasizing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, safety improvements, future transit service, and other strategies to alleviate congestion.

The South Central Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Plan will detail projects and policies aimed at the reduction of bicycle and pedestrian related crashes and fatalities within a seven-parish area including Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, and Terrebonne.

The public is invited to participate in the planning process through a series of short, interactive workshops designed to provide planners with needed local knowledge pertaining to the area’s transportation network. Participants will be given an opportunity to identify areas of congestion, unsafe segments of roadways, and potential solutions to those problems.

Workshops will be held at the following dates and locations:

April 30, 2019
Terrebonne Parish Main Branch Library
151 Library Drive, Houma
6 p.m.

May 2, 2019
Terrebonne East Branch Library
778 Grand Caillou Road, Houma
6 p.m.

May 7, 2019
Thibodaux Branch Library
3154 705 W 5th Street, Thibodaux
5 p.m.

May 9, 2018
Mathews Government Complex, Training Room
4876 Highway 1, Matthews
6 p.m.

May 14, 2019
Assumption Parish Main Library
293 Napoleon Avenue
2 p.m.

Let’s Make Everyone Count – National Street & Shelter Point-in-Time Count

During a 24-hour period in the last ten days of every January, homeless advocates across the nation seek to count the sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons within their coverage areas. The Point in Time (PIT) Count greatly affects funding, both private and public, for homeless services and affects the methodology of those services. A thorough count is crucial in identifying and understanding both the progress we’ve made and the gaps within our services. Collecting data on homelessness increases public awareness and attracts resources that will lead to the eradication of the problem. The Houma Region count will be held the night of January 28, 2019.

The Houma Region count which will encompass Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, St. John, St. Charles and St. James parishes will greatly affect the federal funding made available to the Houma Region.

Federally funded homeless shelter and transitional housing agencies are mandated to count all sheltered persons that are homeless. The more difficult task is counting unsheltered persons. If unsheltered homeless persons are not included in local point-in-time counts, their needs could be under-represented as governments, nonprofits, and key stakeholders at the federal, state, and local level plan to respond to the problem.

When is the PIT reference period?
The night of January 28, 2019 through the morning of January 29, 2019
How long can the surveys be conducted?
January 28, 2019 through February 1, 2019 (persons counted must have been homeless on the night of the 28th)
Who do we count?
Homeless persons that are sheltered (emergency shelter or transitional housing clients) and unsheltered (living in place not meant for human habitation)

If you know of any homeless hot spots within our community, have any questions or would like to be a PIT volunteer, please contact Kelli Cunningham, Community Development Administrator for Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government at 985-873-6591 or kcunningham@tpcg.org.

PDF Version

Now Accepting Submissions for the 2018 Capturing Safety through the Eyes of a high school student & college student

We want to see traffic safety through the eyes of our teens and young adults!

The South Central Regional Safety Coalition (SCRSC) is inviting teens and young adults from organizations throughout the South Central Region to submit entries for the 2018 teen traffic safety video and photo contest. You can even ask your state and local law enforcement agencies, emergency personnel, teachers, mentors, parents and friends to help you.

We only ask that teens (15-18 years of age) are present in the photos and videos for the teen contest and that young adults (18-24 years of age) are present in the college contest.

 In addition to our South Central Region’s prizes being sponsored by State Farm and Shell, this year’s winning video submission will be used as an educational tool for other teens at the statewide level.  Thanks to Louisiana Highway Safety Commission and 2018 Ford Driving Skills for Life Grant, the grand prize winners for video submission will be selected to participate in a one-day conference geared towards peer-to-peer change in traffic safety.

PRIZES:

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS: $250.00 CASH FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION + PLAQUE + GOODIES

1^ST RUNNER UP WINNERS: $100.00 CASH FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION + CERTIFICATE + GOODIES

3^RD PLACE: CERTIFICATE + GOODIES

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: October 30^th, 2018

Contact Person: Cassie Parker 985-851-2900 or cassie@scpdc.org. 

Please LIKE us on Facebook (South Central Regional Safety Coalition)

FOLLOW us on Twitter @SCRSafetyCo.

Use #CaptureSafety2018 #DZD 

YOU MUST ADDRESS AT LEAST FOUR OF THESE TRAFFIC SAFETY FOCUSED AREAS: 

1. Hazard Recognition (Detecting hazards in the driving environment/identifying potential threats when you are behind the wheel)
2. Vehicle handling (Accelerating, braking, turning, eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and wearing your seat belt)
3. Space Management (It’s all about safe distance, managing the road space around your car, think of bicyclist and pedestrians too.)
4. Speed Management (A factor in almost 1/3 of all crashes is speeding, change the behavior)
5. Distracted Driving (Think out of the box, texting is not the only distraction)
6. Impaired Driving (Drugs and/or alcohol impair your brain to make good decisions, how can you help others realize the dangers of impaired driving?)

ELIGIBILITY AND RULES:

• Any public/private high school organization/group, home-school youth group, and faith-based youth group in the Parishes of Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne are eligible to submit.
• ALL PARTICIPANTS must complete Consent and Media Release Waiver (If participant is below 18 years old, he or she must have a parent/guardian complete and sign Consent & Media Release Waiver. (Forms can be located at https://www.scpdc.org/home/traffic-safety-contest/
• A letter of endorsement signed by both club adviser and principal for each submission.
• An entry form must be completed and submitted for each submission.
• You must address four of the traffic safety focused areas.
• Language use must be suitable to young audiences, including children.
• Photo entries must be submitted in high-resolution and of JPEG format. On the entry form, please elaborate the safety message in 100 words or less.
• Video entries must be between 30 seconds and one minute, saved in DVD format and contain an original safety message in the script.
• Most importantly, please do not violate any Louisiana Traffic Safety Laws when filming your submissions which means NO KEKE.
• Plagiarized submissions will result in automatic disqualification.
• Failure to follow all of the rules will result in disqualification.
• Young adults aged 18-24 must be present in photo and/or video for college submission.
• Youth aged 15-18 must be present in photo and/or video for teen/ high school submission.

CRITERIA FOR JUDGING (same in both photo and video):

                        Originality                   40%

                        Creativity                    30%

                        Overall Message         30%

                        TOTAL                         100%

 TEEN (15-18) CONTEST GOALS:

1. Encourage teenage drivers to advocate for safe driving decisions.
2. Allow teenagers to become the voice of positive messaging in their respective schools, churches and communities.
3. Heighten involvement from parents and teachers to motivate young drivers to drive responsibly and safely.
4. Provide students the opportunity to bring out their creativity and resourcefulness while fostering comradeship on and off campus.
5. Create a safety culture among teens through peer-to peer dialogue and activities.

YOUNG ADULT (18-24) CONTEST GOALS:

1. Encourage college students to advocate for safe driving decisions.
2. Allow college students to become the voice of positive messaging in their respective communities.
3. Heighten involvement from professors and mentors to motivate college students to drive responsibly and safely.
4. Provide students the opportunity to bring out their creativity and resourcefulness while fostering comradeship on and off campus.
5. Create a safety culture amongst college students through peer-to peer dialogue and activities.

ELIGIBILITY AND RULES:

• Any public/private high school organization/group, home-school youth group, and faith-based youth group in the Parishes of Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne are eligible to submit.
• ALL PARTICIPANTS must complete Consent and Media Release Waiver (If participant is below 18 years old, he or she must have a parent/guardian complete and sign Parent Consent & Media Release Waiver.
• A letter of endorsement signed by both club adviser and principal for each submission.
• An Entry Form must be completed and submitted for each submission.
• You must address four of the traffic safety focused areas.
• Language use must be suitable to young audiences, including children.
• Photo entries must be submitted in high-resolution and of JPEG format. On the entry form, please elaborate the safety message in 100 words or less.
• Video entries must be between 30 seconds and one minute, saved in DVD format and contain an original safety message in the script.
• Most importantly, please do not violate any Louisiana Traffic Safety Laws when filming your submissions which means NO KEKE.
• Plagiarized submissions will result in automatic disqualification.
• Failure to follow all of the rules will result in disqualification.
• Young adults aged 18-24 must be present in photo and/or video for college submission.
• Youth aged 15-18 must be present in photo and/or video for teen/ high school submission.

ENTRY SUBMISSION:

Photo and/or video entries must be saved in a USB flash drive and submitted along printed & signed entry form, endorsement letter and Parental Consent/Media Release Waiver by HAND DELIVERY or MAIL to:

South Central Planning & Development Commission

P.O. Box 1870 Gray, LA 70359

5058 West Main Street, Houma, LA 70360

ATTN: Cassie Parker

Subject:  South Central Regional Safety Coalition

2018-19 Capturing Safety through the Eyes (of a Teen or of a College Student) – Traffic Safety Contest

2017-18 Grand Prize Winner is Lutcher High School Art Club!

Check out the video here.

Call for Projects: Safe Routes to Public Places

DOTD has announced the 2018 Safe Routes to Public Places Program (SRTPPP) Call for Projects. Applications to fund projects for the purpose of improving safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users will be accepted from Monday, February 19, 2018 through Friday, April 20, 2018. Additional program information including the application, the submittal procedure, program guidelines, project funding, eligibility, selection and implementation may be found on the DOTD/SRTPPP website at the following link: http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Multimodal/Highway_Safety/SRTPPP/Pages/default.aspx

The SCPDC Planning staff is available to assist your agency with its application. Please contact Cassie Parker at 985-851-2900 or cassie@scpdc.org for more information or if you have any questions.

SCPDC OFFICES CLOSED: JANUARY 17, 2018

Due to the weather conditions expected for Wednesday, January 17th, our offices will be closed.