The Kleingers Group is proud to be both a sponsor and to help plan the 2016 Safe Routes to School National Conference.

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the National Center for Safe Routes to School recently announced that the 2016 conference will be held April 5 to 7 in Columbus, Ohio.

Since 2012, The Kleingers Group has served as one of just a few Safe Routes to School Statewide Consultants to the Ohio Department of Transportation and has worked on more than 4 dozen Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects throughout the state.

The Kleingers Group is a leader in creating both school travel plans and infrastructure design, creating safe and convenient opportunities for children to walk or bicycle to school.

According to the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the conference will bring together program representatives, state departments of transportation, planners, elected officials and community members to provide an opportunity for individuals, agencies and organization involved with Safe Routes to School to network, engage in educational opportunities, become inspired, and form partnerships.

The Kleingers Group is proud to sponsor the partnership’s goal of creating safer and more walkable communities and to share its traffic safety expertise.

More information about the conference is available at www.saferoutesconference.org.

As concussions caused by sports injuries continue to gain attention, it becomes more and more important for synthetic field owners to complete regular maintenance to ensure that their field continues to be safe for their players.

In November, Sportworks Field Design added G-MAX testing to its arsenal of field testing tools, allowing schools and other field owners to test the impact of the synthetic turf on players’ bodies and, more importantly, their heads.

Some studies highlight ways a synthetic field can be safer for players than natural grass. But over time, as a field gets more and more use, the infill can migrate away from high-use areas and begin to thin. The obvious result is that the field can get harder with less shock absorption each time a player falls. Field owners may be tempted to skip maintenance because of cost, but an unmaintained field can be a liability when players get hurt.

Sportworks recommends all owners perform G-MAX or “Impact Attenuation” testing annually to measure the shock absorption of synthetic turf throughout the field. The test is performed in accordance with ASTM Standard F355-A ensuring the field falls within an acceptable range.

Because Sportworks is a civil engineering firm and does not build fields or perform maintenance, field owners can be confident that the results are completely independent and unbiased.

The end result is owners can reduce their liability and be confident that their field is up to standards, and ultimately safe for players.

After a recent ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication, Otterbein University broke in their new synthetic turf field Saturday with a 20-0 win over Marietta College.  The Kleingers Group worked with MSA Architects on the renovation of Memorial Stadium.  The new project includes upgrades to the Memorial Stadium field turf and track facilities.  Two of our sports field design gurus, Craig Honkomp and Megan Cyr, were on hand to take in the game and field dedication ceremonies.

We are excited to announce our newest small business enterprise (SBE) certification! Recently, we received our SBE certification through the City of Cincinnati.  This certification allows us to meet small business hiring goals for a variety of projects through Cincinnati Water Works, Cincinnati DOTE, and other City departments.

In addition to the City of Cincinnati, we are also certified as an SBE through the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, the City of Dayton, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.