Our CALTAP Team was impressed again thist year by the highly innovative approaches taken by our Build a Better Mousetrap contestants to solve real world problems confronting California's local public transportation agencies.

In selecting the 2023 winning entries, our review panel considered the impact, originality, applicability and transferability, cost effectiveness, time savings, and overall benefit to the agency and surrounding community. After careful deliberation, we are happy to announce the winners of this year's Build a Better Mousetrap Competition.

Congratulations to both our winners and applicants for improving California's roadways!

Pioneer Award: City of Walnut Creek

Congratulations to the City of Walnut Creek for developing Safe Sightings of Signs & Signals (SSOSS) for Automated Traffic Signal Sight Distance Checks.

When traffic signals are obstructed or not clearly visible, it can lead to limited reaction times, confusion, collisions, and other safety hazards. By automating the assessment of traffic signal visibility, the software saves time, increases accuracy, and significantly reduces the risk of error and danger to personnel.

SSOSS is an open-source software solution that can be used by agencies to replicate this process and achieve similar results in terms of time and cost savings.

Innovative Project: Port of Long Beach

Congratulations to the Port of Long Beach for launching the Academy of Global Logistics (AGL) at Cabrillo High School.

This four-year pathway focuses on careers in global logistics and supply chain management that includes real-world and experiential learning opportunities relevant to daily life.

The program is now in its seventh year and across the school district, where students choose their high school, more eighth-graders than ever rank AGL as their top choice. In addition, 91% of students who enter AGL in ninth grade stay with the pathway all four years.

Runner-Up: Port of Long Beach

As our top runner-up, we also honor the Port of Long Beach for their Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path and Ocean Boulevard Connector.

When the Port announced plans to build the new Gateway Bridge in 2011, communities organized to seek the inclusion of a bicycle path as well as a safe connection from existing bike paths in downtown Long Beach.

The Port agreed and with the opening of the Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path and Ocean Boulevard Connector on May 20, 2023, the local communities are receiving the expanded bicycle and pedestrian access they have longed for.

We're thankful to all participants for their submissions and for making this year's competition a success.

Next up: We're advancing each of these innovations on to represent California in FHWA's National BABM Competition, so stay tuned for heopfully more good news to come!