Author: tyler-deboard

Categories
News

Safe and sound: Fire Chief Werner leads $1 million data sharing project

The City of Charlottesville recently received a $1 million grant from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to establish a regional and statewide information-sharing plan. According to Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner, the region’s unfavorable experiences with wet microbursts and snowstorms in recent years made it clear that current protocol simply wasn’t cutting it.

Werner, who has crisis management experience, also has remarkable enthusiasm for new technologies and instant information. (Last week, he sent media three messages within 45 minutes concerning a school bus accident on McIntire Road; two included photos.) Werner will lead the implementation of a joint system for public safety organizations. He hopes to facilitate “better information sharing across all agencies,” he told C-VILLE.

Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner—a prolific photographer and texter when it comes to alerting locals to emergencies—will oversee a $1 million grant to create an integrated emergency management system. Photo by Kelly Kollar.

Federal agencies will also be able to see regional events in real-time, enabling them to quickly allocate resources should a catastrophic event occur.Part of the project will focus on preemptive safety measures. Updated road sensors could electronically inform the Department of Transportation when temperatures approach the freezing point so road crews are prepared to prevent icy roadways. Flood river gauges would provide the same assistance in evacuating residents who may be in danger.

“Being proactive rather than reactive is one of the main benefits of this project,” said Werner.

Shared data will be used to generate an interactive area map, which will include current weather and road conditions, evacuation zones, and events around Charlottesville. In the event of poor weather or a car accident, such technology would help reroute traffic patterns.

Area residents will be vital to enhancing situational awareness.
Those with smart phones may be able to contribute to the interactive map by providing details and photographs of dangerous or damaged areas. Responders could assess the scope of damage in affected areas and arrive prepared.

Sharing information in real-time leads to “a much better sense of what’s happening in our community at any given moment,” Werner said. He added that the current system of generating a list of reported incidents, such as fallen trees, is not the most effective means of presenting safety concerns.

Werner has witnessed success in situations where technology provides a visual reference from statistics and reports. For example, officials in Louisa County noticed a fault line after rendering earthquake damage statistics onto a map.

“If you don’t have the capability of seeing things visually, you’re probably not making the best decision that you can make,” Werner said. He expects that this project will allow safety agencies to perform their duties at a much higher level.

The project will create a model for information sharing that may be replicated in other parts of Virginia and potentially throughout the nation. According to the timeline, the project is set to finish by June 2012.

I bike, U Bikes: UVA pushes for bike-share program

The University of Virginia is seeking $500,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation to launch its own UBikes chapter, part of the nation’s largest bicycle sharing program.

If the program gets rolling, students would pay into the program and enjoy access to over 100 bikes at 13 stations around UVA. Scanning their student ID at a station, they would be able to unlock and ride a bike to their destination, then return it to a nearby UBikes station upon arrival. The university estimates that each bike would be used three to five times per day, according to NBC29.

UVA received a $35,000 grant last year from the Commonwealth Transportation Board in order to assess the scope of the UBikes project, including the station locations and safety concerns for bikers and pedestrians.

The program is similar to Charlottesville’s 2005 Yellow Bike program, which failed because many of the bicycles were quickly stolen or damaged. However, keeping track of users and property would be easier now thanks to advances in technology.

If VDOT awards the approximately $500,000 grant to UVA, students can expect to see UBikes on the roads by spring of 2013.

Of course, biking around Charlottesville can be a complicated feat. Read more of C-VILLE’s bicycle coverage here.

Albemarle, PVCC nab Governor

The Albemarle County Information Technology (IT) Department and Piedmont Virginia Community College took honors in the annual Governor’s Technology Awards. According to a press release, the program was established 11 years ago and “recognizes innovative technology initiatives in the public sector throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Albemarle County’s “eProcurement” received an honorable mention in the category “IT as Efficiency-Driver.” This program moves many of the Finance Department’s procurement and purchasing processes online, thereby eliminating paperwork and offering a cost effective means of supporting local schools and government agencies.

The IT Intern Program also received an honorable mention for “Innovation in Higher Education.”

Piedmont Virginia Community College and Albemarle County’s IT Department worked together to place information technology interns with local businesses and government agencies. These students gain hands-on work experience while filling Central Virginia’s need for skilled electronic, computer, and IT technicians. The program led to at least $16,200 dollars in cost-savings for Albemarle County from 2010 to 2011.

Click here for more information and the full list of winners.

Heartening news: UVA speeds up heart attack treatments

The UVA Health System is working to decrease the time for diagnosing and treating heart attacks.

According to HealthCanal.com, UVA spent over $20,000 on a system that would allow electrocardiograms (ECGs)—machines that measure the heart’s electrical activity—to transmit information to local hospitals electronically. This quick communication allows doctors to read ECG information and begin treatment while patients are en route to the hospital, instead of waiting to begin when medical transport arrives. Dr. David R. Burt, a UVA specialist in emergency medicine, told HealthCanal.com every 30-minute reduction in treatment time increases survival rate by 7.5 percent.

Currently, only 25 percent of area squads are able to electronically transmit ECGs, but every squad is expected to be capable beginning in December. Previously, Madison County rescue squads would send supervisors to fax ECG results from the dispatch center or from convenience stores.

Supervisors want impact studies before the Western Bypass is built

Construction of the western bypass will not begin without further analysis and public input.

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass a resolution regarding the western bypass. According to Charlottesville Tomorrow, the Board hopes that the Virginia Department of Transportation will hold meetings and conduct more research on the western bypass before construction begins next year.

VDOT has been asked to conduct studies on the health effects of constructing a highway near Albemarle County schools and to evaluate current traffic patterns in order to alleviate the impact on the surrounding county.

Critics had hoped that such measures would be taken before VDOT markets the project to potential contractors or enters into a contract for construction, a process that state Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton hopes to initiate by the end of this month. 

Journey Through Hallowed Ground gets $1.3M federal grant

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded a $1.3 million grant to the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG), a tourism program that provides history education about a 180-mile stretch between Charlottesville and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. According to the Washington Business Journal, JTHG will use the grant to develop digital applications to highlight notable historic sights along the route—not altogether different from some of the efforts taken to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Virginia.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground was named a National Scenic Byway in 2009. That year, Journey spokesman John Jones stated that historic designation could double the number of visitors to the area.

More information on the Journey Through Hallowed Ground can be found here.

UVA dorm construction tied to Gilmer Hall basement leak

At 4:35am today, UVA Chief Facilities Officer Donald Sundgren received a call about a large leak in the Gilmer Hall basement. The basement was covered by a 3”-deep mixture of mud and water.

“We’re cleaning it up now,” Sundgren tells C-VILLE. “We know the cause.”

According to Sundgren, the leak is tied to ongoing construction on Alderman Road, where crews are working to connect the new first-year dorms to UVA’s underground steam tunnel system. Throw in the recent wet weather, and Gilmer Hall developed something of a soggy basement.

The leak, Sundgren says, represents a situation that facilities management is “kind of used to.” He says that the University has many issues with leaks in buildings. While Sundgren has not received word on the impact of the Gilmer Hall leak, he believes that clean-up will be swift.