A Letter from the Editor

By Stacey Butler, Director of Marketing & Communications, FES | ACEC Florida

The Fall 2025 issue of Engineering Florida is dedicated to one of the most essential priorities in our profession: safety. Whether it’s designing resilient infrastructure, protecting workers in the field, or safeguarding communities on Florida’s roadways, engineers have a direct role in shaping a safer future for us all.

In this issue, we highlight FDOT’s Target Zero, a bold initiative aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries across our state. This feature ties directly into a broader conversation on pedestrian and cyclist safety, where innovative design strategies, technology, and public education efforts are being combined to reduce risks on Florida’s streets.

We also turn our focus to the built environment, exploring advances in structural engineering and recent building code updates that continue to raise the bar for resilience. Complementing this is our story on infrastructure inspection and monitoring using AI and VR, showing how emerging technologies are saving time and resources while lightening the load for engineers across the state. And because safety begins at the jobsite, we take a closer look at workplace safety practices that protect the engineers, contractors and laborers who bring our projects to life, spotlighting Haskell’s award-winning safety programs.

Our Market Spotlight takes you to Escambia County, where growth and investment are creating new opportunities for firms while highlighting the importance of forward-looking planning. In our Education Update, we highlight the impactful work being done at the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research, where research and innovation are directly supporting the development of safer, more efficient transportation systems.

Beyond safety features, you’ll also find our Legislative Update, which looks back on the 2025 session. While lawmakers worked through a tighter budget, Florida remained committed to continued infrastructure investment, though political tensions highlighted just how challenging funding and policy negotiations have become. With committee weeks for the 2026 session set to begin this fall, now is the time for engineers, firms, and professional associations to engage, share expertise, and help shape funding priorities and policy proposals before bills are formally filed in January.

As always, we hope this issue of Engineering Florida provides both insights and inspiration as engineers continue to improve the safety, quality, and resilience of life across our state.