Effective Public Involvement Using Limited Resources (2010)

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91 APPENDIX D Tools,Techniques, and Examples of Their Use Utilizing the Internet and Intranet Advertising an on-line corridor public meeting on MapQuest (Mr. Bob Brendel, Missouri DOT, Jefferson City, Missouri) Missouri’s I-70 corridor project is approximately 200 miles long. Because of the length of the corridor, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) was looking for a cost-effective way to advertise a corridor-wide meeting that was also going to be broadcast on-line. In 2009, they approached MapQuest and bought an ad that would pop up every time anyone searched for an address within a certain distance of their project. The pop-up ad told MapQuest users what the meeting was about, when it would occur, and how to access the on-line presentation. The ad cost less than $100 to place and MoDOT estimated that more than 140,000 people saw it. While all 140,000 MapQuest users did not connect to the on-line meeting or attend the actual meet- ing, MoDOT felt that those who had seen the pop-up ad were more informed about the I-70 corridor project. Approximately 130 people attended the actual meeting and another 600 viewed the meeting on-line, with a high percentage of the on-line view- ers submitting comments. After having reviewed the comments, MoDOT officials felt that the comments received from the on- line viewers were generally better thought out and much more focused that those received from the public who attended the meeting. MoDOT’s central office has shared the technique with its districts and they are looking into using this same technique on other corridor projects. Using intranet surveys of school students to reach all popula- tions (Mr. Jabari Parker, Georgia DOT, Atlanta, Georgia) Georgia DOT (GDOT) was looking for a way to efficiently sur- vey a 32-county rural area in southwest Georgia about their transportation needs. Census information and individual school enrollment information revealed that most counties were sparely populated, had high percentages of low-income populations, had high percentages of the populations with low educational attainment, and several counties had minority majority popula- tions. Information obtained from database marketing companies confirmed that a low percentage of the households in the 32-county area had Internet connections. An e-mail blast to those identified by the database companies would have reached only those households that could have afforded a computer and an Inter- net connection, and would not have reached those who were low income. In an attempt to utilize the Internet in a way that would provide access to all income groups, and racial and eth- nic groups, the Superintendent of Education for each of the 32 counties and 4 independent city school districts were con- tacted. They were asked if they would allow a hyperlink to be embedded on their individual intranet home pages so that their students could access a multi-question survey about their daily use of the transportation system. Students accessed the survey from their computers in their school’s computer lab, com- pleted it, and submitted it on-line to the consultant. In addition, paper copies of the surveys were sent to schools in other coun- ties, filled out by hand, and returned by mail to the consultant. As a result, more than 4,400 surveys were completed and returned. Costs included making phone calls to the superintendents, sending a follow-up letter to the superintendents, printing paper surveys, and sending stamped self-addressed packets of surveys to the schools. Using intranet surveys to reach downtown business employ- ees (Mr. Drew Joyner, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh, North Carolina) As part of the I-40 Business project in Winston–Salem, North Carolina, downtown business employees were surveyed about whether they preferred to shut down a portion of I-40 Business totally for two years or partially leave it open to traffic for six years while reconstruction took place. Business owners and operators were identified using Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Partnership lists, as well as canvassing individual office building lobbies. Phone calls and letters were sent to the businesses and they were asked if they would embed a hyperlink on their home page so that their employees could click on it, fill it out, and submit it to the consultant. This allowed downtown businesses owners and their employees to be sur- veyed without leaving their seats. Targeting these individuals engaged both in-town residents and suburban commuters, a dif- ficult group to effectively and economically reach. This same techniques was used to inform businesses, and through them their employees, about upcoming project events. Using Visualizations Using videos reaffirmed the axiom that a picture is worth a thousand words (Mr. Karl Welzenbach, Volusia County MPO, Dayton Beach, Florida) Volusia County Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), asked Florida DOT (FDOT) to provide a video of the proposed improvements to Clyde Morris Boulevard for the proj- ect’s public hearing. Prior to this, FDOT had only shown the city representatives a two-dimensional typical section of the pro- posed improvements. While the city representatives assured FDOT and the MPO they understood the typical sections, the MPO was concerned that the city representatives didn’t truly understand all of the project’s ramifications. The MPO asked FDOT to undertake a pilot project that would create videos of proposed improvements and to use the Clyde Morris Boule- vard project as the first test case. FDOT presented a video that showed the existing condition morphing into the proposed improvements. When the video was shown to the city represen- tatives, they realized that it was not at all what they had antici- pated. As a result of the video, the city representatives decided not to pursue the improvements. In 2009, the total cost of FDOT’s pilot project was $100,000 for 15 project videos. At approxi- mately $6,700 per video, this equated to approximately 3% of the money spent during the Planning, Development, and Environ- mental phases of a typical project. The MPO posted the videos on its website so they could be viewed by the general public. Creating videos of concepts that had not been used in Missouri (Mr. Bob Brendel, Missouri DOT, Jefferson City, Missouri) MoDOT has a multi-media unit in their central office that is available to all of their districts to use. Often, MoDOT shows a video at the beginning of meetings to prepare the public for what they are going to see at the meeting. If they have a message or a concept that they can demonstrate visually instead of using sta- tic boards they do this. When MoDOT proposed reconstructing and widening I-70 truck only lanes, the first time this concept had been used in its state, they prepared a visualization that

demonstrated how it would operate and what it would look like. The video was posted on YouTube and has been seen approxi- mately 10,000 times during the past year. MoDOT feels that using videos has helped the public understand the improvements that are being proposed. Asking the public to take pictures of the things that are impor- tant to them (Ms. Judith Dovers, Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta, Georgia) The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) in Georgia sponsored a photo contest last year and asked people of all ages to take pho- tographs, bring them to the ARC, and talk with ARC staff mem- bers about what the images represented. ARC got the idea from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Chicago’s MPO, and used it for their two-year visioning project called “Fifty Forward.” It was ARC’s way of finding out what residents treasured and what they wanted changed. ARC put the pictures on Flickr so every- one visiting the site could see what others treasured or wanted changed. The contest involved not only the photography commu- nity, but also a variety of local community-based organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Atlanta Celebrates Photography (Atlanta’s annual photography festival), technical schools, col- leges, museums, and art shops. The ARC used Metro Cultural Coalition as their advisors and selected representatives of Care, Boys and Girls Club, the museum community, and Atlanta Cele- brates Photography to judge the submissions and pick four win- ners. The winners were announced at an ARC breakfast and given prizes such as Air Tran airline tickets and photography classes at the Showcase Photography Studio. The pictures received during the contest showed ARC the different ways that people see things and think about them. One of the groups involved in sending ARC photographs was the Savannah College of Art and Design. As a result of their interest, ARC is considering hiring a Savannah Col- lege of Art and Design intern to help them communicate some of its work. ARC considered the event such a success that they are going to hold the contest again next year. Holding the Meeting in the Right Place, on the Right Day, at the Right Time Breakfast meetings (Mr. Eric Johnson, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (COG), Sacramento, California) The Sacramento Area COG in California was trying to increase participation from its business community in their Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Rather than having a night meeting as they normally did, they had a breakfast meeting on a Friday morning and experienced much more participation from the business com- munity. They found the business community preferred to have meetings before their work day began. Middle of the day and evening meetings (Ms. Elizabeth Smith, Tennessee DOT, Nashville, Tennessee) Tennessee DOT (TDOT) mailed out its first newsletter with an attached stamped self-addressed post card. On the post card were several questions including three concerning meeting logistics: what location is the most convenient for you (three locations were suggested and an “other” blank was provided), what time of the day or night is most convenient for you (two- hour increments beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 9:00 p.m. were provided), and what day of the week or weekend is the most convenient for you to attend a meeting (Monday through Sunday were provided). Approximately 15% of the 4,000 post cards were returned with two times of the day or night chosen more often than others. The time period that garnered the highest response was 7:00–9:00 p.m. and the second highest was 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Kingsport, Tennessee, is a retirement destination, has a large num- ber of active “soccer moms,” and has a large number of second shift employees. The older adults wanted a daylight meeting, the 92 “soccer moms” wanted a meeting that occurred before 3:00 p.m. when their children got home from school, and those on the second shift wanted a meeting that occurred when they were not work- ing. Each of these demographics wanted a meeting in downtown Kingsport, a location that would also allow first shift downtown business employees to attend during their lunch hour. These meeting were held on a Wednesday at the Civic Auditorium and generally attracted 100 or more attendees. The more traditional evening meeting from 7:00–9:00 p.m. was held in the suburbs and attended by traditional first shift workers and others who lived in suburban Sullivan County. These were held on a Thurs- day evening in the gym of one of the large Baptist churches and were generally attended by approximately 200 or more individ- uals. TDOT’s willingness to seek input from the public, be flexi- ble, and adapt to the publics’ life and work schedules resulted in larger turnouts at their meetings. Sunday afternoon and all day meetings (Mr. Mike Lobdell, Georgia DOT, Atlanta, Georgia) GDOT’s Buford Highway project in Atlanta involved two major population groups, Hispanics and Asians (Koreans, Chinese, and Vietnamese). The Hispanics composed approximately 90% of those who lived, worked, and sent their children to school along Buford Highway. The Koreans, Chinese, and Vietnamese composed approximately 10% of the population and they owned or operated businesses along Buford Highway, but did not live along Buford Highway. Because of the language and cultural differences, two distinctly different public involvement plans were developed to engage these populations. A citizens’ advisory committee was formed with representa- tives of community-based organizations, faith-based organiza- tions, major property owners, advocacy groups, local elected offi- cials, and others. Two of the major property owners, Plaza Fiesta Shopping Center, and Mercado del Pueblo, and a community- based organization, Center for Pan Asian Community Services, volunteered to provide space at their locations for meetings, sug- gested appropriate times for meetings, and agreed to provide interpreters. Advertisements were placed in the ethnic and main- stream newspapers, and on ethnic and mainstream radio and tele- vision stations. In addition, flyers in English and Spanish were given to school children who attend the schools within the corri- dor and they were asked to take them home to their parents. The first meeting for the Hispanic population was located in the northern portion of the project corridor at Plaza Fiesta, the largest shopping center in the project area, from 4:00–8:00 p.m. on a Sunday. The shopping center provided four tables with set ups and put them at each of the four entrances. They also pro- vided eight bi-lingual interpreters who conducted 345 oral sur- veys. The second meeting for the Hispanic population was located in the southern portion of the project corridor at Mer- cado del Pueblo, the largest Hispanic grocery store in the proj- ect area. It was held from 2:00–6:00 p.m. on a Sunday. One table with a set-up was provided and located opposite the bakery. Four bi-lingual interpreters were provided and they conducted 168 oral surveys. The oral surveys were conducted by bi-lingual English/Spanish interpreters because many in the Hispanic com- munity did not read Spanish or English. The surveys asked three questions, with the first being do you think there are too few, enough, or not enough sidewalks, street lights, bus shelters, sig- nalized intersections, etc., on Buford Highway. The answers to this question would be used to influence roadway’s redesign. The second question was what do you cross Buford Highway to get to—a grocery store, school, bank, medical clinic, etc. This question was asked in order to identify “desire lines” between one side of the roadway and another. Mid-block crossings would be studied to see if they were feasible given that signal-

93 ized intersections were more than one mile apart. The third question asked what would be the best way to get project infor- mation to them—which newspaper, radio station, television, church, etc. This question was asked because no personal con- tact information was requested in order not to frighten away those who might have questionable legal status. The Center for Pan Asian Community Services set up appoint- ments for personal meetings with three Korean, three Chinese, and three Vietnamese business owners and operators at their places of businesses. These meetings were scheduled and con- ducted by interpreters in each language. Each individual was interviewed using the same survey that had been conducted with the Hispanic population. The results of the surveys were summarized and incorpo- rated into the redesign of the project. The meetings were adver- tised in mainstream and ethnic newspapers, radio, and televi- sion; announced from church pulpits; and distributed as flyers left at each apartment complex (in English and Spanish), at every business (in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese), and taken home by school students (in English and Spanish). In addition, posters in English and Spanish were left with businesses. For the first time, GDOT created temporary large metal roadside signs in English/Spanish, English/Korean, English/Chinese, and English/Vietnamese. A 4-foot by 16-foot display of the corridor was created and photographs of landmarks such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Latin American Association, and Plaza Fiesta were located along the corridor so that the public could orient themselves. In addition, before and after visualizations were located on the dis- plays to show what the proposed improvements would look like. Almost no written language was shown on the displays. Smaller boards were also provided in English/Spanish, English/Korean, English/Chinese, and English/Vietnamese. On these was an item- ized list of improvements the public had identified in the oral surveys. Next to this list was a description of what was proposed for the corridor. This was done so that the public could see that their input had been incorporated into the roadway design. A second public involvement event was scheduled at Plaza Fiesta on a Sunday from 4:00–8:00 p.m. for the Hispanic popula- tion to view the displays and talk with bi-lingual interpreters. More than several hundred people viewed the displays, talked with interpreters, and filled out comments sheets. A court recorder and a bi-lingual interpreter were also available. The survey with the Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese busi- ness owners and operators revealed that there was no one time period that was convenient for business owners and operators to attend a meeting; therefore, the meeting was scheduled for a Thursday at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. In the past, the Korean, Chi- nese, and Vietnamese communities had not responded to invita- tions by flyers and advertisements as they felt these were too impersonal. Therefore, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese inter- preters were hired to build a telephone tree. They were asked to spend eight hours telephoning friends, family, businesses, local associations, civic clubs, and other similar groups and person- ally invite individuals and members to the public information open house at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services. More than 100 business owners and operators and members of the general public attended the meeting. Handouts were pro- vided in English/Korean, English/Chinese, and English/Viet- namese; interpreters were available in all languages; and a court recorder with interpreters was also available. Providing the public with transportation to a meeting (Mr. Peter Bond, Caltrans, Sacramento, California) Within one of the California DOT’s (Caltrans’) project areas, there were several large retirement homes. In an attempt to engage this portion of the population, Caltrans provided vans to pick up the residents, bring them to the open house meeting, and return them to the retirement homes. Holding open house meetings (Mr. Peter Bond, Caltrans, Sacramento, California) Caltrans’ version of an open house meeting brings all aspects of the project to one place under one roof in a location within the project area that is accessible to all. Typically nine Caltrans staff members attend and are stationed at tables located around the room. Each table is dedicated to a different aspect of the project such as envi- ronmental, design, right-of-way, construction, etc. By bringing together these individuals, the public can get all of their questions answered at one meeting. Generally it takes people 45 minutes or more to go around the room and stop at each table. Prior to the meeting, Caltrans advertised in the local newspapers and some- times flyered or left door hangers throughout the project area. The advertisement and flyers provide basic information about project, as well as the date, time, and location of the open house meeting. Leveraging Relationships Partnering with others (Mr. Bob Parson, Michigan DOT, Lansing, Michigan) One of the innovative things that Michigan DOT (MDOT) did as part of their State Long Range Plan was to partner with the state library of Michigan. The library helped MDOT with its outreach to traditionally underrepresented populations who frequented libraries and used the library’s computers. MDOT conducted a marketing effort that appealed to the libraries and worked with the libraries that agreed to participate. Piggybacking on a high school football game (Mr. Peter Bond, Caltrans, Sacramento, California) California’s Central Valley is like small town America, where football is a religion. In these small farming communities, high school football games are a major event that is attended by most of the community. Several times Caltrans has piggybacked on these high school football games and set up an information booth in the stadium during games. It has been an effective way to engage a large part of the population simply by knowing where they were going and following them. Caltrans has used this technique not only on specific projects, but also on updates of its California Transportation Plan. Prior to arriving, Caltrans distributes flyers or door hangers throughout the project area or sends information to churches and schools. Identifying gatekeepers to Marysville’s Hmong population (Mr. Peter Bond, Caltrans, Sacramento, California) Caltrans’ Third River bridge crossing replacement project was located in Marysville, a small town about 30 miles north of Sacramento. By analyzing preliminary demographic informa- tion, Caltrans’ staff identified a large Hmong community living in the town. Prior to the first community information meeting, Caltrans sent out flyers to local residents to provide them with information about the project and let them know the date, time, and place for the meeting. During the meeting, the Caltrans proj- ect manager noticed that no one from the Hmong community was present. He asked others in the town about the Hmong and found out that they had escaped from Laos where the government had tried to exterminate them. It occurred to him that this experi- ence might make the Hmong apprehensive about getting an invi- tation from a government entity such as Caltrans and reluctant to

attend a government-sponsored meeting. With the help of local residents, the project manager identified school teachers and clergy members that the Hmong trusted. He asked them to invite the Hmong community to the next community information meet- ing. Leveraging the relationships the school teachers and the clergy had with the Hmong resulted in some members of the Hmong community participating in the second community infor- mation meeting. Realizing that the middle-aged and older Hmong spoke mostly Hmong and very little English, Caltrans translated its follow-up invitations into Hmong. Engaging this community was possible because Caltrans understood the com- munity’s history, identified trusted caretakers, leveraged those relationships, and translated materials into Hmong. Playing Interactive Games Several fiscally constrained interactive games have been devel- oped as public involvement tools. These are often used as part of the public involvement process for prioritizing elements of the following: • Long range transportation plan, • Short term transportation plans, • Statewide transportation improvement programs, • Transportation improvement programs, and • Project specific plans. These interactive games are used because they do the fol- lowing: • Engage the public beyond traditional “decision points” meetings, • Educate the public on why and how transportation plans and programs are developed and their process, • Educate the elected officials and professionals as to the perceived needs of the public, • Provide concrete examples of desired projects, • Avoid lecturing to the public, and • Ensure active/true public involvement and allow immedi- ate hands-on participation. These interactive games offer a number of advantages over traditional public involvement such as the following: • Leveling the playing field by giving every resident the same amount of money and influence; • Eliminating the conflict between the public and the agency by requiring the public to reach a consensus among them- selves; • Relying on almost no written information so all residents, including the low literate, limited English proficient, and visually impaired can play; • Providing project-specific recommendations; • Constructing maps that visually document the residents’ transportation choices; • Letting residents explain their choices to others; • Including a mechanism to rank their choices under fiscally constrained conditions; • Accommodating any number of residents; and • Taking approximately one to two hours to play. Charlotte County/Punta Gorda MPO’s Strings and Ribbons (Ms. Lisa Beaver and Ms. Nancy Wagner, Punta Gorda, Florida) In 1998, the Charlotte County/Punta Gorda (Florida) MPO staff created the original strings and ribbons game. Its name comes from the different colors of string and ribbon used to represent different transportation improvements. Red string 94 represented a four-foot sidewalk, and blue string a six-foot sidewalk. These materials were used because of the MPO had limited funds to spend and string and ribbon were inexpensive and could easily be glued to maps. The MPO wanted to use the interactive game to accomplish the following: • Increase the number and diversity of participants in the regional planning process, • Make the process more interesting and enjoyable for both their staff and the public, • Transfer complicated information more easily between their staff and the public, and • Identify specific needs in the context of cost and available revenue for their 1998 Transportation Improvement Plan. The MPO found that the standard way of doing things wasn’t working, wasn’t any fun, and as a result no one showed up for their meetings. Using strings and ribbons, they created a game that was low tech, low cost, lots of fun, and people wanted to play. The participants could buy roads of various types and sizes, bridges of various widths, different bus transit services, variable width sidewalks, trails, bus shelters, traffic signals, buses and drivers, landscaping, and other features. As a result, the following happened: • The number of participants increased. • The diversity of participants increased, • The events were more fun for both the public and the MPO staff, and • Complicated information was easily transferred between the public and staff. The Center for Neighborhood Technology’s Transopoly, Neigh- borhood Transopoly, and eTransopoly (Ms. Jacky Grimshaw, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago, Illinois) In 2001, Chicago’s Center for Neighborhood Technology cre- ated a trio of strings and ribbons offshoots called “Transopoly, Neighborhood Transopoly, and eTransopoly.” This non-profit advocacy group utilized Transopoly, a game played with rib- bons as part of their Long Range Transportation Plan process. The game documented the public’s suggested inputs to the Long Range Transportation Plan, which then was sent to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. In past years information had been collected at small group meetings held throughout the area. From this information, a series of small group reports was drafted and returned to the game players for them to verify that their vision, values, problems, and solutions had been correctly stated. Once public approval was obtained an area plan was pre- pared. After all of the area plans were completed, one over- reaching plan was created for the region. The game has been played with residents who could not read, did not speak English, and were hearing and visually impaired. Volusia County MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan Ver- sion (Mr. Karl Welzenbach, Volusia County MPO, Daytona Beach, Florida) In 2004, the Volusia County (Florida) MPO used a variation of strings and ribbons to promote public involvement in its 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan (http:www.vcmpo2025.com/ input.html). The MPO played games at more than 30 different locations, engaged more that 691 people, and identified more than 1,900 projects for consideration. The Volusia County MPO displayed each map by date of session on its website and took the improvements identified by the public and prioritized them based on how frequently an improvement was suggested. The MPO defined a “citizens Long Range Transportation Plan alter- native” by taking the Long Range Transportation Plan budget

95 and applying it to this prioritized improvements list until the bud- get was expended. This list was then given to the MPO Board and modeled along with other plans. The list of groups that played the game included, but was not limited to, the following: • High school and college students, • Hispanic associations, • Housing authority residents, • Emergency response personnel, • Bicycle and walking clubs, • Senior groups, • Faith-based organizations, • Visually impaired groups, • Municipal employees, • Friends of the library, • School board transportation department employees, and • Members of the general public. As a result, interest in the MPO process increased, participa- tion at the MPO meetings increased, the game educated the pub- lic to the costs of transportation improvements, and the MPO was so pleased with the results that it plans to use strings and rib- bons for their next Long Range Transportation Plan update process. The Bluegrass Area Development District’s Bluegrass Monop- oly (Mr. Bruce Duncan, Bluegrass Area Development District, Lexington, Kentucky) In 2005, Kentucky’s 10-county Barren River Area Development District (ADD) and 17-county Bluegrass ADD prioritized their unscheduled transportation needs projects. The Barren River ADD had identified a total of 81 unscheduled needs projects val- ued at $500 million, but only had a $166 million budget. More than 30 representatives from the 10-county regional transporta- tion committee gathered in Bowling Green and played the game for almost two hours. As a result of the session, one of the county judges in attendance used the game in her county for local project prioritization. The Bluegrass ADD had a similar list of 330 unscheduled needs projects valued at $4.8 billion, but only had a $1.6 billion budget. More than 80 representatives from the 17-county regional transportation committee met in Lexington and played the game for almost three hours. Prior to using the strings and ribbon game, the Bluegrass ADD had sent each regional trans- portation committee member a list of the unscheduled needs projects and asked them individually to select which projects they thought were most important. By bringing all of the com- mittee members together at one place and at one time, partici- pants completed the process faster, were able to select their “pet” projects, contributed to multi-county connector projects they never would have known were important to others in the region, identified their unscheduled needs projects in less than a day, and had fun. The Bluegrass ADD was so pleased with the response and results they created a DVD entitled “Bluegrass Monopoly” that described the event and sent copies to the state’s other area development districts and counties encouraging them to use the game. The Bluegrass ADD found playing “Bluegrass Monopoly” made prioritizing their unscheduled needs project easier and quicker. By using play money, they found that every- one understood the costs of the projects and just how far their funding would go. Miami–Dade County MPO’s blocks and ribbons (Ms. Elizabeth Rockwell, Miami–Dade County MPO, Miami, Florida) In 2008, the Miami–Dade County MPO used a game called “Blocks and Ribbons.” The game increased public participation in the regional planning process from only 24 people several years ago to almost 500. The MPO plans to expand the number of venues and increase the number of events for its future trans- portation projects. Taking the Time to Sit and Listen Small projects need public involvement too (Ms. Jeanette Wilson, Indiana DOT, Indianapolis, Indiana) Indiana DOT (InDOT) had a simple resurfacing project going through Advance, a small town of approximately 400 to 500 people. Because this was a small project, there had been no real public involvement process. Notices were sent to churches and posted throughout the town to let the residents know that there would be a public meeting on a certain night at a local small church. The church, located on the main road, had been chosen for the meeting location because there really was no other place in town to meet. InDOT staff, its public involvement consultant, and its resurfacing consultant went to Advance to meet with the local residents about the proposed resurfacing. As expected, there was a turnout of about 40 people. Going into the meeting InDOT’s goal was to separate the people into smaller groups and have a team member sit at each table and talk one-on-one with the locals to see what they had heard, what their fears were, and what they would like to see. InDOT gave out fake dollar bills to the public, defined the proj- ect’s budget, and asked them what they wanted to spend it on. What did they want to see in landscaping? What did they want to see on utilities? Did they want new sidewalks? A board was put up with a list of the different amenities that the public could choose from, and the public was asked to pick what they wanted as long as it did not go over the project’s budget. Before going to the meeting, InDOT had thought the public would be upset about the old trees along the road that would have to come down. The trees were at the point where they were being destructive and their root systems were tearing up the sidewalks. In talking with the public during the meeting, it became apparent that the public really wasn’t that upset about losing the trees. They didn’t like the grass strip between the curb and the sidewalk. Instead, they would rather have the sidewalk next to the back of the curb and have the grass strip on their side of the sidewalk. They felt that it was more difficult for them to maintain the grass strip when it was between the sidewalk and the street. The other thing that InDOT thought would happen was that people would be pretty comfortable talking in front of each other given that Advance was such a small town. Instead, everyone was quiet until they broke up into the smaller groups and then they started talking. They admitted that even though they knew each other they were afraid to voice their opinions in front because some people wanted their utility work done, others didn’t, while some wanted more ADA compliance, others didn’t. Separating the residents into smaller groups at tables turned out to be a pos- itive thing. Since then, this technique has been used on several other projects with fairly good results. Giving people an oppor- tunity to sit down and talk one-on-one allowed them to express themselves without fear, increase participation, and provide InDOT with valuable information. Utilizing Public Involvement Programs Creating the Community Characteristics Program (Ms. Elizabeth Rockwell, Miami–Dade County MPO, Miami, Florida) Approximately five years ago, the Miami–Dade County MPO hired Florida International University’s geographic information

system (GIS) lab to collaborate with them and create the MPO’s Community Characteristics Program (http://mpoportal.fiu.edu). This is an interactive, web-based GIS system designed for city planners and project managers to use to generate customized demographics for project-related reports of any selected area within Miami–Dade County. In addition, this tool helps users determine appropriate public involvement strategies for identi- fied targeted populations. A tutorial is also provided at this site. The first component of the Community Characteristics Pro- gram is interactive mapping. This web-based GIS program allows a user to input a project and its limits (including the abil- ity to specify a buffer width) into the database or onto the screen and then conduct a search. It produces census data (based on census block groups) and allows different demographics in the communities to be queried. Also, it produces a report on the demographics of that community and identifies locations within the community where meetings can be held that are central and local to the community such as churches or community centers. This information generally forms the basis of its public involve- ment plans. In addition to the GIS component and the demographic report component, the user can take the initial information and go to the second component of the Community Characteristics Program known as the community background report. Currently the MPO has more than 90 community background reports for the various communities within Dade County. Included in the community background report is the community’s development history, the boundary of the community, the attitudes of those in that community toward transportation, the transportation proj- ects that have been implemented in that community, and whether there were favorable or unfavorable attitudes toward those projects. The MPO is currently working on adding the names of formal and informal leaders and their association with political parties to those communities. The MPO first started creating community background reports for the 35 municipalities in Dade County. Having com- pleted that task, the MPO began creating community back- ground reports for the 20 major neighborhoods in the unincor- porated areas of Dade County. Then the MPO went back into the municipalities and the different neighborhoods within the municipalities. For instance, the city of Miami has Coconut Grove, Downtown Miami, the Brickle area, Overtown, and Liberty City and within those communities there are even smaller neighborhoods. This allowed the MPO to go from the micro level to the macro level and they have since been trying to identify all of the possible little niches and neighborhoods in the county. To date, the MPO has completed community back- ground reports on more than 90 neighborhoods. This year the MPO will attempt to identify another 20 neighborhoods. At this rate, the MPO expects to have community background reports for 150 or more neighborhoods within the next two years and beyond that to expand this to include new neighborhoods as they are created. The community background reports provide an array of information about each community including the following: • Physical boundaries, • History, • Community dynamics (selected census data), and • Sources of information. By using the first two components of the Community Charac- teristics Program, the user should begin to have a multi- dimensional picture of the neighborhoods. 96 The third component of the Community Characteristics Report is public involvement strategies. The public involve- ment strategies are a compilation of best practices from across the country. It is updated as other best practices are identified. These best practices or public involvement strategies are put into the MPO’s database and sorted by demographic type. They have public information strategies for the following demographic groups: • Age (seniors, working-age adults, and youth), • Disability (hearing impaired, sight impaired, physically challenged, and other), • Education (college education, high school diploma, and no high school diploma), • Income (low income and middle/affluent), • Language (English, Spanish, and Creole), • Race and ethnicity, and • Vehicle ownership (non-vehicle ownership and vehicle ownership). The user can click on “seniors” under “age” and will be directed to a page that provides “general, innovative, and technology” cate- gories. Across from them is the type of strategy identified as “edu- cational, promotional, and civic engagement.” Click on “mailing lists” under the “general” heading and be taken to another page that provides the following: • A description of the strategy, • Recommended target groups for the strategy, • Implementation guidelines and suggestions for the strategy, • Lessons learned/challenges in using the strategy, and • Case studies of using the strategy. “. . . and Justice for All” (Ms. Jean Merconi, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) published “. . . and Justice for All” in September 2001, as their strategy for the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people. The DVRPC is the MPO for the nine-county, bi-state Philadelphia–Camden–Trenton (PA/NJ) region and has an Envi- ronmental Justice Technical Advisory Committee and an Envi- ronmental Justice Participation Task Force. The DVRPC developed its environmental justice (EJ) assess- ment to mitigate potential direct and disparate impacts of its plans, programs, and planning process on defined minority, handicapped, and low income populations in the Delaware Val- ley region. The report provides background information about what EJ is; summarizes DVRPC’s existing EJ-related plans, poli- cies, and public involvement activities; and describes a quanti- tative and qualitative methodology for evaluating the long-range plan, the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and other programs. It proposed recommendations for policies and imple- mentation strategies to enhance DVRPC’s EJ responsibilities including an annual monitoring and evaluation process to ensure that the policies and implementation strategies remain effective. The qualitative review of the DVRPC’s existing plans and pro- grams included a summary of EJ-related policies and goals from the adopted long-range plan (both the Year 2020 Plan and their Year 2025 Plan), the adopted Year 2025 Regional Airport Sys- tems Plan, and the Regional Job Access and Reverse Commute Transportation Plan from 1999. Other planning documents reviewed included the Southeast- ern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey Bicycle and Pedes- trian Mobility Plans, a study of regional elderly mobility needs, the regional multimodal TIP, and the annual Unified Planning

97 Work Program (UPWP). The more technical quantitative methodology relied primarily on available census data, analyzed at the nine-county, bi-state, regional scale by municipality, or census tract for various indicators of disadvantage. These cate- gories included concentrations of the following: • Hispanic minorities, • Non-Hispanic minorities, • The elderly, • The handicapped, • Carless households, and • Number of households in poverty. The number of factors that applied in a given census tract or municipality represented the “Degrees of Disadvantage.” In addition, “Quality of Life Factors” were defined and included the presence or absence of the following: • Arterial highways, • Transit service, • Hospitals, • Employment centers, and • Job access/reverse commute transportation services. The resulting “Degrees of Disadvantage” and “Quality of Life Factors” maps were then combined to reflect the positive and negative influences of the region’s infrastructure systems (transit and highway access) and key services. These factors and data sources were expanded over time as the 2000 census data were released and will be reevaluated as 2010 census informa- tion is released. The Regional Transportation Plan and the TIP were evaluated separately using the combined map of “Degrees of Disadvantage” and “Quality of Life Factors” factors as an overlay. The resulting maps were evaluated from a geographic perspective (but also incorporating service and quality factors) to identify gaps or areas of low quality service. Such areas could become the focus of additional actions or mitigation efforts through future DVRPC planning and implementation activities, working with either county and local officials or the public. The identified disadvantaged areas also served as an “early warning” of the need to do additional local area EJ analysis as part of any subsequent environmental assessment of individual projects. In general, the DVRPC’s Year 2025 Transportation Plan and TIP were geographically extensive in terms of the scope and scale of their recommended projects and implementation funding. Few gaps or areas of lower quality service were found using the defined overlay methodology. In fact, many of the areas having four or more degrees of disadvantage were well-located with respect to planned and programmed transportation improvements and public transit service. However, most of the region’s outlying, rural areas were not well served by public transportation, were located further from the region’s major employment centers, and had lower “Quality of Life Factors” than the more urban and sub- urban communities. Where possible, one way to enhance the transportation accessibility of such areas was to focus on intro- ducing new or additional paratransit service and expanding job access services that connected outlying areas to nearby employ- ment centers or the region’s core transit network. DVRPC has adopted its 2030 Long Range Plan called Destination 2030: A Vision for the Future, and is working on their 2035 Long Range Plan called Connections—The Regional Plan for a Sustainable Future. The principles espoused by “. . . and Justice for All” have been integral to both plans. A copy of “. . . and Justice for All” can be found on DVRPC’s website http://www.dvrpc.org/planning/ regional/ej/chap1.htm.