KC Scout Shout!

  Anytime transportation departments and consultants can collaborate and come together is a win. KC Scout had the honor to host on behalf of KDOT the ENTERPRISE Board Meeting on Tues., Sep. 19 in Lee’s Summit. ENTERPRISE is a group of members from states across the U.S. as well as Canadian agencies according to their website. Enterprise stands for “ E valuating  N ew  Te chnologies for  R oads  Pr ogram  I nitiatives in  S afety and  E fficiency.” Seven department of transportations like MN, IL, MI, IA, TX, WI, and KS attended followed by two consultants Athey Creek and CTC & Associates. A full day was planned with an agenda and the highlight was a tour of KC Scout by Traffic Systems Supervisor, Kelly Alvarez, an overview of Operations Green Light by Traffic Signal Analyst Barry Viss. MoDOT ER has the opportunity to share the JAWS unit on a MoDOT ER truck.

9 Lake Winnebago Safety Day took place on Thursday, Aug. 26 and various agencies including MoDOT’s Emergency Response (ER) attended the event. Among those attendees was MoDOT ER Operator, Kenneth Cassway. “The event was informative with many different attendees and vendors like the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, Lee’s Summit Bomb Squad, and more,” said Cassway. According to Cassway, attendees had the opportunity to look at the grappler unit Cass County uses on the front of patrol cars to disable a vehicle during a pursuit. Winnebago Police Department demonstrated the explosive force of an airbag and the fire department demonstrated rescuing a motorcyclist under a pickup truck. Kenneth had the opportunity to display the Emergency Response vehicle and answer questions. “I got to answer some great questions from multiple agencies. I also got to spend some time with Lake Winnebago Police Chief, Richard Williams, and some of their officers. What a great department,” stated Cassway.

  Administration Technician, Nancy Powell and Traffic Systems Supervisor, Kelly Alvarez represented KC Scout at OOIDA  (Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association)’s Health and Wellness Fair on Thursday,  Sept. 14. OOIDA is a national trade association based out of Oak Grove, MO dedicated to serving “owner-operators, small sleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators,"  according to their mission statement . Approximately 300 men and women who work at O.O.I.D.A had the opportunity to attend the fair and learn about different health and wellness organizations within the KC area. KC Scout partnered with MoDOT’s Traffic department to provide two tables of safety information describing Scout’s activities as well as Buckle Up Phone Down initiatives at the fair. A p

At KC Scout, there are always eyes in the sky monitoring traffic to ensure travelers are safe. In 2019, the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) leaned into their resources at KC Scout and created a command center that activates for NASCAR events at Kansas Speedway. Fans are never shy of going to the events to support their favorite race car drivers and the events can draw in very large crowds requiring law enforcement to pay close attention to road conditions. In their command center, KHP has access to KC Scout cameras so they can proactively monitor and respond to traffic for the event. “ KC Scout has always coordinated with KHP for these types of events,” explains Traffic Systems Supervisor, Kelly Alvarez. “In the event of an incident impacting interstates in the area, the public can feel reassured that these great agencies are working hand in hand for quick and safe clearances.” KC Scout also works closely with KHP to create specific event DMS messaging for traffic. Being a bi-state a

KC Scout is a place that not many people want to miss out on touring. Some say it’s like a “mini-NASA” with all the screens throughout one big room. Traffic Systems Supervisor, Kelly Alvarez hosted several City of Lawrence employees and affiliates for an in-house  tour  of the Scout Traffic Management Center on  Friday, September 1. The purpose of the visit  was  to observe and  learn about current technology  KC Scout uses such as traffic analytics.  The City of Lawrence  was interested in learning if they could  deploy similar technology to manage traffic within Lawrence.  The City Engineer Kyle Gonterwitz used the Schedule Tour feature on the KC Scout webpage to initially set up the tour. This was the first time a tour has been arranged via the KC Scout homepage since the feature was reactivated following the COVID-19 pandemic. “KC Scout is steadfast in working with other agencies and strengthening our partnerships through sharing resources and best practices. We are pleased they

Teamwork and creating a positive work environment is something KC Scout strives to accomplish every single day. One way to put it is “Teamwork makes the Dream Work” and Scout is no stranger to collaboration and problem solving with its bi-state agency shared between MoDOT and KDOT. To keep the skills up to date, a half day conflict resolution training took place in Lee’s Summit on Tuesday, September 12. KC Scout Manager, Randy Johnson and Traffic Systems Supervisor, Kelly Alvarez coordinated with MoDOT’s Kansas City District Human Resource Manager, Mike Montgomery, who has over 20 years of experience in training and conducting civil/military engagements. “Continuous improvement is not only important for an individual, but for a team,” explains Montgomery. One of those important components of an effective team is the ability to resolve conflicts.  With 50 people in KC Scout and 9 distinct functional teams, that means a lot of people are talking to team members that work on things dif