Recording of Midyear Digital Opening General Session now available

Registration is open for the remainder of Midyear Digital

If you couldn’t join us for Monday morning’s Opening General Session of Midyear Digital, a recording is now available so you can catch what you missed.

The session includes remarks from Minnesota Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner and Chief Engineer Nancy Daubenberger. Midyear had been planned for Minnesota before COVID-19 forced modifications of ATSSA’s plans. The pandemic shifted the annual Midyear Meeting to a fully virtual platform for the first-ever Midyear Digital, which kicked off Monday morning.

Daubenberger spoke about the impact of the pandemic on her state, including traffic counts and revenue decreases. She noted that MnDOT has been able to avoid layoffs and furloughs.

She also touched on the May 25 death of George Floyd and the efforts of her department to address equity.

Opening General Session also featured a town hall style panel moderated by ATSSA Vice President of Government Relations Nate Smith. The three panelists offered their “6:60:6 Predictions” for the roadway safety industry.

Panelists included Ken Simonson, chief economist, Associated General Contractors of America, who provided a 6-12 month economic forecast for the construction industry; Jeff Davis, senior fellow and editor at Eno Transportation Weekly, who provided a 60-month forecast for transportation funding; and Hilary Cain, vice president of Technology, Innovation and Mobility Policy with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, who provided a 6-year forecast for connected and autonomous vehicle technology (CAV).

Cain said the nation is “on the cusp of incredible transformation” regarding connected and automated vehicle technology if the Federal Communications Commission “does the right thing” and leaves alone the safety spectrum. The FCC is considering opening up the 5.9 GHz band, also commonly referred to as the safety spectrum, to other uses such as WiFi.

After the Opening General Session, Monday’s agenda included three Council Meetings and a Virtual Coffee/Social Hour. Today’s agenda includes council and committee meetings followed by an ATSSA PAC Reception at 5.

It’s not too late to register for Midyear Digital, which runs through Thursday. The entire program is at your fingertips with the Midyear Digital app that’s easy to download and keep you on track.