19publicparticipation.pdf

Public

Participation

in

Transportation

Planning

in

Greensboro

Richard

Atkins,

Terry

Bellamy,

Don

Bryson,

and

Elizabeth

James

The

planning procedures involved in providing transportation within urbanizedareas have

un-dergone amajortransformation witiithe creation of

thelntermodai Surface Transportation EfficiencyAct

(ISTEA)

andtheCleanAirAct

Amendments

(C

AA

A).

Bothincludespecificmandatesthatrequire

adminis-tratorsto develop a public involvement processthat solicitsmeaningfulandtimelyinputfromthegeneral public. In accordance with these requirements, the MetropolitanPlanning Organizations

(MPOs)

are

re-quiredto promote increased

community

and private sector participationin allareasoftransportation plan-ning.

To

meet these requirements, the Greensboro

Department ofTransportation has changed their

ap-proachtowardspublicinvolvementthroughthe

devel-opment

ofseveralinnovativeconcepts.Thispaperwill describe several case studies that illustrate these concepts.

As

stated in theFederal Register, "Public

involve-ment

processes shall be proactive and provide

com-pleteinformation,timelypublic notice,fullpublic ac-cess to key decisions and opportunities for early continuing involvement."'

As

with

ISTEA,

a total

innovative publicinvolvementprocessmustbe devel-oped.Itshould allowthepublictoplayamajorpart in

thedecision-makingprocessoftransportation related

issues.Incontrast.thetraditionalmethodsofplanning

allowfor public

comment

and consideration after a

RichardAtkins,

MSCE.

BSCE. North CarolinaState Uni-versity- Terry Bellamy.

MCRP

IowaStale Universitv. BA. North Carolina

A&T

State University. Managerof Trans-portation Operations, Greensboro Department of

Trans-portation.

Dun

Bryson.

MSCE,

N.

C

State University,BSCE, YoiingstownState University. Elizabeth G.James, M.Ed.

N.C

A&T

State University, BS, N.C. CentralUniversity.

majordecisionhasbeen

made

anda"hardselfis

made

tocitizensforimplementation.Withthegrowingtrend

ofcitizenspro-actively

making

their localgovernments

andcommunities

more

responsivetotheirneeds,the

end resultofthe traditional process has been one of

increasinglynegativeandpessimistic sentiment.

The

empowerment

ofcitizengroupshas

become

the

wave

ofthe futureandactive participation inthe

decision-making

processisnolongerawish; ithas

become

an

expectation.

The

new

transportation planning process seeksto develop

new

partnerships,itispredicatedonearlyand

inclusive public involvement to develop long- and

short-rangeplans.

The

key

words

are "early",

"inclu-sive", and "involvement." In order to be effective, publicinvolvementmuststartearly oratthebeginning and must be inclusive ofall players in the process.

Greensboroisstrivingtomeettheseobjectives.

Description

of the

Greensboro

Service

Area

As

thecountyseat,Greensboroiscentrally located

inGuilfordCounty,whichispartofthe north-central

PiedmontTriadregionofNorthCarolina.Interstate85

connects Greensboro with

Durham

to the northeast

andCharlottetothesouthwest.Interstate40connects

GreensborotoWinston-Salemtothewest andRaleigh

and Wilmington to the east. Although only one of

severalincorporatedareasinGuilfordCounty,theCity

ofGreensboro accountedfornearly 53 percentofthe

county's population in 1990.

The

other incorporated areas are High Point and Jamestown, southwest of

Greensboro,andGibsonvilletotheeast.

Greens-bororesidentsarerelativelyaffluent.havesmall house-holds,anddisplay afairlyhigh incidenceofautomobile ownership,all ofwhichtend toreduce publictransit

demand.

Whilethereispopulationgrowthintheouter areasofthecity,

much

ofthatgrowthconsistsof low-densityresidentialandautomobile-oriented

commer-cial land uses.

Employment

centers are widely

dis-persed throughoutthecityand county.

Greensboro's land area and population have

in-creased over several decades.

Between

1980 and

1990, the population of Guilford

County

increased

approximatelyninepercent,while Greensboro's

grew

about eighteenpercent.Annexationaccountsfor

some

ofthisgrowth; majorland acquisitions increasedthe sizeofthecityfrom 60.7square milesto 81.8square

miles.

Like

many

other

American

communities,

Greensboro's population is aging because of lower

birth rates, longer life expectancy,and a baby

boom

generation which is approaching middle age.

Com-pared with 1980, there are

now

fewer children and

youth (under19),

many

more

adultsbetween 30 and45 years ofage, and

more

persons over45.

Settingthe

Stage

The

CityofGreensboro Departmentof

Transporta-tion

(GDOT)

hasalwaysattempted tobring

good

as wellasbad

news

toitscitizensinopentransportation planning forums.Duringaperiod

when

environmental-ists feel that there are no "good" roads,

when

the federal

government

ismandatingcleanairandwater,

and

when

consumersare not willingtogive uptheir

automobilesfor

mass

transportation,thetransportation professional

must

be sensitive to a

wide

range of

interests.

In 1985. the Greensboro

One

Bond

Task Force considered variousissuesand needs facingthe

com-munityas partoftheprocessof

recommending

abond

packagetobe placed beforethevotingpublicinthefall of that year. During their deliberations, it

became

apparentthatpublicparticipation

was

neededto

mea-sure existingpublicopinionconcerningtransportation.

AttherequestoftheCity Council,theTransportation

Planningstaffdevelopedaproposaltostudyexisting

servicesandassess theneedsand

demands

withinthe

community.

The

study

was

designedtoevaluate

ser-vicesagainst

community-based

goalsandobjectives

and to offer a set ofrecommendations or

improve-ments ifwarranted.

Two

committees were formedto designand

con-duct the study.

The

Technical Steering Committee,

composed

ofcity staffand service providers, with

additional representativesfrom the United

Way

and

theCity

ofHigh

Point,servedasadvisors fortechnical evaluation and analysis.

The

Advisory Committee,

composed

ofpoliticians,administrators, andprivate

citizens, sensitized the team to public attitudes and

needs.

The

finalstudy consistedofnine separatetasks:

1 Establishcommunity-basedgoalsandobjectives_for

public transportationinGreensboro,

2. Identify serviceproviderrolesandthepublicthey serve,

3. Assessservice performance ofcurrent providers,

4. Assessthefunding environment,

5. Assessthe legal environment,

6. Identify alternative service options,

7. Identify alternativeorganizationalstructures,

8.Evaluatealternativeorganizationalandservice

op-tions,and

9. DevelopafinalreportandpresentationfortheCity

Councilandcitizensof Greensboro.

The

following casestudiesprovidearepresentation

ofthe Greensboro Department ofTransportation's

effortsand

commitmenttowards

publicinvolvementin transportationplanning.

Case

#1:

Public

Involvement

Process

for

Review

and

Approval

of the

Greensboro

Urban

Area

Long-Range

Transportation

Plan

Under

the requirementsofthe Intermodal Surface Transportation EfficiencyAct of1991 (ISTEA), itis

the responsibilityof each Metropolitan Planning

Orga-nization

(MPO),

through itsTechnical Coordinating

Committee

(TCC)

andTransportationAdvisory

Com-mittee(TAC),toensurethatthe public isadequately

informedandinvolvedinthemetropolitan

transporta-tion planning process. In the case ofa significant revision orupdatetothe

Long Range

Transportation

Plan (LRTP), the

TCC

shall

recommend

a specific

Public Involvement Plan (PIP) appropriate for the particular action being considered. Developing, ap-proving,and implementingthePIPwillbe

among

the

VOLUME

20,

NUMBER

2

21

The

PIPshould include provisions enablingthe

TAC

to

monitorthe progressofthe process.

Each

PIP shall describe and schedule suitable ef-fortsdesignedtoinform,educate, buildconsensus,and

facilitateacollaborativedecision-makingprocess.

The

PIPwillbedesignedtoprovide timely informationto

potentially affected parties (such as publicofficials, citizens,andotheragencies) earlyin theprocessand

atimportant decisionpointsalongtheway.Potentially

criticalstepsindevelopingthe

LRTP

include:

• Defining

community

goalsandobjectives,

• Proposingstrategiesandpolicies,

• Reviewing assumptions andprojections,

• Identifyingdeficiencies,

• Establishingevaluationcriteria,

• Generatingsolutions,

• Evaluatingalternatives,

•

Recommending

andprioritizing projects,and

• Approvingthefinalplan.

Specialefforts willbe

made

tocontactandconsider theneedsof groupstraditionallyunderservedby

trans-portation systems and underrepresented in the plan-ningprocess,including but not limitedtotheelderly,the disabled, low-incomehouseholds,andminority

resi-dents.

A

varietyoftechniqueswillbe usedtoachieve thegoals ofthe public involvementprocessas effec-tively as possible. Potentialtechniques

may

include:

• Charettes,

• Transportationfairs,

• Interviews,

• _Focusgroups,

• Pollsandsurv'eys,

•

Newspaper

inserts/articles,

•

Commercial

radio.television,andpublictelevision,

• Newsletters/mailinglists, • Hotlines,

• _Workshops,

• _{Community/neighborhoodmeetings,}

• _{Task forces,}

• Steering/advisorycommittees,

• Written

comments,

and

• _Publichearings.

InitialTransportationAdvisory

Committee

(TAC)

approval ofthe PIP shall be required, and the

TAC

may

atanytimerequiresuchrevisions to thePIPas are

neededtomaintainafulland openprocess.Adequate

publicnoticeshallbe givenconcerninganyrevisionto

the PIP.

The

approved PIP will be

documented

and

made

available to the public, and will be included directlyorbyreferenceinthefinal

LRTP

document,

along with a

summary

ofsignificant

comments

and

responses.

The

typeanddegree ofpublicinvolvementrequired

toprovideeffective

community

inputand reviewfor the

Long Range

Transportation Plan

(LRTP)

varies accordingtotheactionbeingtaken.Thespecificpublic

involvementprocess described

below

should be

con-sidered the

minimum

acceptable level ofpublic in-volvement.

The

essential elementsofthe public involvement

processfortheGreensboro

Urban

Area's

Long Range

Transportation Planare:

1.

The

Greensboro

MPO's

Technical Coordinating

Committee

(TCC)

and Transportation Advisory

Committee

(TAC)

shallreviewand

comment

onthe draft

LRTP

document

prior to granting tentative approval.

The

tentativeapprovalshall besubjectto

public

comments

forwarded to the

TCC

and the

TAC

duringthepublicreviewperiod.

2.Copiesofthedraft

LRTP

willbe

made

availableto

the public in the City Clerk's office, the

County

Commissioners'office,andthe

GDOT

office.

The

publicreview period shallbethirty days.

A

notice

will be placed inthe major local newspapers for seven consecutivedaysatthe beginningofthe 30 day

comment

periodprecedingreviewandactionby

the

TCC

and

TAC.

The

notice will include a due

dateforcomments, locationsofdraft

LRTP's,

and

a contact person with an address and telephone

number.All

comments

should beinwriting.

A

public

meeting at the end ofthe 30 day period is at the

should be placedforthreeconsecutivedaysatleast

one

week

prior tothe meeting, andwill include a date, location,and contactperson.

3.Atleastone Greensboro

MPO

staffpersonshallbe designated to answer questions from persons or

groups concerningthe

LRTP.

4. Relevant information will beprovided in atimely

manner

to any citizens, public agencies, private providersoftransportationservices,orotherparties

orsegments ofthe

community

identifiedasbeing

significantly affectedbytheproposedactions.

5.Public

comments

shallbeassembled andpresented

to the Greensboro

Urban

Area

TCC

and

TAG.

Responsetothepublic

comments

shallbe prepared

atthe discretion ofthe

TAG.

When

a significant

number

ofwrittenororal

com-mentsarereceivedonthe draft

LRTP,

theGreensboro

MPO

shall preparea report summarizingthe public

comments

and their analysis and disposition. This report shall be submitted along withthe fmal

LRTP

document

totheFederal

Highway

Administration,the FederalTransitAdministration,and theNorth Carolina

Department ofTransportation

(NCDOT),

and

made

availabletootherpartiesupon request.

After reviewing public

comments,

the

TCC

and

TAC

shallmeettoconsider approvalofthefmal

LRTP

document. Ifthe final

LRTP

or action differs from

what

was

made

available for public

comment

to a degreethatraises

new

andunforeseenmaterialissues,

additionalopportunityforpublic

comment

willbe pro-vided.

The

Greensboro

MPO's

public involvement

pro-cess willbe coordinated with

NCDOT's

statewideand

project-specific public involvementplans

whenever

possible toenhance publicconsideration and reduce

costs, redundancies, and confusion. This Public

In-volvement Process will be evaluated periodicallyto

determine itseffectiveness, andrevised asnecessary

toprovidefulland openaccess.

Any

revisiontothePIP

will require a 45 day public review and

comment

period.

Case#2:

CitizenParticipationinthe

Greensboro

Transit Authority'

Beginning in 1934, the transit division of

Duke

Power

Company

providedbusservice fortheCityof

Greensboro undera 99-yearfranchise agreement. In

the early1980s,a

number

oftransitstudiesdetermined

that transit service levels and quality needed vast

improvement.

To

encouragepublicparticipation,

nu-merous

publichearingswereheldregardingthis issue.

In 1988, Greensborocitizens confirmedtheirstrong supportforimprovedpublictransitbyvotingtopassa

referendumallocatingmoniestosupportthe creation

oftheGreensboroTransitAuthority

(GTA).

Sinceitsinception,the

GTA

has dedicateditselfto activelyencouragingpublic participationona continu-ing basisthroughtheuseofinterviews, surveys, public hearings,sitevisitations,andinformational meetings.

Many

changes and improvementsinthe

GTA

system

are the directresultofcitizeninput

—

consideredtobe an invaluable source ofguidanceforthesystem.

On

July1, 1991,the

GTA,

underthedirectionofthe

GreensboroCit>'Council,

assumed

fullresponsibility fortheoperationandfuture directionof Greensboro's

publictransitsystem.Inordertomeetits

commitment

toenhancethe qualityofserviceandexpandthetransit

service areato meetthe needs ofagrowing

Greens-boro,

GTA

reached out to the

community

to help identifytheirrequirements.

GTA

didthisina

number

of

w

a\s.First,itconductedextensiveridershipsurveys

on the buses regarding the quality of service and

desired changes. Second, it interviewed local busi-nesses to determine employer and

employee

needs. Third,

GTA

helda seriesoffocusgroupswith riders

andnonriderstoidentify

unmet

transitneeds,potential destination sites, and public perceptions ofservice. Lastly,

GTA

hostedpublichearingstodetermine

pos-sible route,timeanddestinationchanges.

Meanwhile, marketresearch allowed the

GTA

to

reviewandrevise routesandschedulesto reflect shifts

in population density, changes in

demand,

and

new

development. All ofthe information gathered ledto

GTA"

sadoptionoffourmajorserviceimprovements,

whichinclude: expandedservice hours, serviceto

new

areas, improved

headways

and increased route effi-ciency.

The

system

was

further designedto provide on-timeservicetoawiderangeofrequested

destina-tions, includingentertainmentsites, cultural centers,

and schools.

GTA

also respondedto

community

re-quests for increased frequency ofservice, later run-ning hours on certain routes, and service to a local

community

college.

On

October7, 1991,

GTA

rolledout22

new

state-of-the-artbuses,officiallylaunchingitsexpanded

pub-lic transit system.

Each

bus is accessible, with a wheelchairliftand"kneeling"feature forpersons with specialmobilityneeds. Allbusesarealsoincompliance

with current

EPA

particulate emissions standards. Passengers are able to ride in comfort during the

VOLUME

20,

NUMBER

2

23

which

was

notavailable on the

Duke

Power

buses.

The

GreensboroTransitAuthority'smarketing

fo-cus also emphasizescitizen input and participation.

From

the initial

GTA

kick-offevent, the public has been anessentialandinvaluablepartnerinformingand

developingmarketingstrategies.Indeed,theprimary

missionofmarketingeffortsisto

communicate

ideas

toothers.

GTA

has takenthisconceptonestepfurther

andhas listenedtothepublic's ideasinordertobetter serve them.

Initialmarketingeffortsinvolvedaconcerted

cam-paign to inform Greensborocitizens ofthe

new

and

improved transit service. This consisted ofcreating

strong positiveawareness ofthe

new

system and its

benefits; educatingthe

community

aboutuseful

new

features of the service; and overcoming negative perceptionsregardingthe

Duke

Power

servicewhich hadresulted in lowridership.

A

widerangeof

media

was

utilizedtoreach extensiveportionsofGreensboro

citizenswithahigh-visibility,community-oriented

mes-sageemphasizingthe benefits ofpublictransit.

Pre-sentationstocivicgroups, displaysatculturalevents, participation in paradesandfairs,andtalks toschool

groupsreinforced

GTA's

message

tothecommunity.

GTA

isproudofthelevelof

community

involvement

utilized inmarketingitssystem.Greensboro'scitizens

continuing contributions will allowthe Greensboro

TransitAuthoritytoaccelerate intothe 21st Century

offeringexcellenceinservicetotheentireGreensboro community.

Case

#3:

The

Greensboro

Transportation

Exposition

(1

OnOctoberlO,

1994,thefirstTransportation

Expo-sition

was

heldat the GreensboroColiseum Special Events Center.

The

event

was

hostedby the

Greens-boroUrban AreaTransportationAdvisory

Committee

andthelocalpolicy

body

oftheMetropolitan Planning Organization.

The

Greensboro Departmentof Transportation

was

designated to serve asthe lead planning agency for

coordinating this event. Local staff

members

were

askedtodevelopasketchofthe

way

atransportation

fairor

expo

would

be organized.

A

transportationfair

orexpoisaneventusedto interestcitizensin transpor-tationplanningandtoprovidethemwiththe opportu-nity to learn about and

comment

on transportation

projects.

Normally held for one day, the event should be

heavily promotedwith local

media

coverage (televi-sion, radio, and newspaper).

The

expo should also

utilize visual exhibits, videos, maps, and models of

projectsandprocesses.Ata

minimum,

theexposhould include thefollowing;

• Visualinterestandexcitement,

• _Variety in exhibits: maps, photos, models, slide shows,videos, full-sized vehicles,andgiftitems,

• _{Accessibility} in a central location for the target audience,

• Extensivepublicityto attractparticipants,

• _{Attraction for a varietyof}peopleofallages, and

• Opportunitiesfor

comments

byparticipants.

The

1994 expo

was

divided into

two main

compo-nents: (I) visitation of eventsand exhibits, and (2)

active participationthrough panel discussionand

inter-actionwithlocal officials.This two-stage process

was

programmed

toallowtheexhibitstobevisited for the duration oftheevent, and the interactive sessionsto

take place duringtheeveninghourstoallowworking

individualsan opportunitytotakepart.

The

total pro-cess involved video cameras,

Q&A

stations, and

ongoingrecordingbylocaltransportationgroups ofthe

public's

comments,

suggestions, and concerns.

The

informationcollected willserve asareview and

cri-tiqueofthe eventaswellasaguideforplanningfuture

activitiesofthisnature.

Public participation at expo events can be predi-catedonseveralfactors: weather,day/date, location,

and awareness. Contact

was

made

with several

spe-cial interest groupsthroughoutthe city to raise their

awareness as well as seek input regarding items,

exhibits,anddiscussions.Atbest,asmall representa-tion ofcitizen groups

was

expected and did attend.

Other groups invitedtoparticipateincluded:

Volvo-GM,

EpeesTrucking,SierraClub,andthe local

Insti-tuteof Transportation Engineers chapterfrom North

Carolina

A&T

State University. Citizen groupsthat attended the expoclosely

examined

the information gathered and are expected to bring follow-up

com-mentstoanopen interaction sessionscheduled later.

Description ofthe

Expo

Startingatnoon on theday oftheexpo,thepublic

was

invited to see, feel, and learn about the

many

transportationmatters operatedbythe

C

ityof

and sign-marking trucl<s. Tiie Greensboro Transit Authority offered sciieduie information, bus passes,

andopportunitiestoreviewtheirhandicapped

acces-sible transit bus.

The

North CarolinaDepartment of Transportation presentedsafety exhibits,public

trans-portationandrailinformation,congestion technology,

and motorvehicleregistrationinformation.

Beginningat6;30p.m.,three interactivepanel

dis-cussionswerepresented overathree-hourperiod.

The

firstsessionfocusedonthe statusofall stateandlocal

transportation projects in the Greensboro area.

The

panel includedaspokespersonfrom

NCDOT,

alocal trafficengineer,acityengineer, a project planner,and the transit administrator.

The

second session

was

a

reviewofthecurrentI

STEA

efforts,including

expla-nationsofmetropolitanplanning, project selectionsand

funding,andnecessar\publicinvolvement.

The makeup

ofthissessionincludedastatewideplanningengineer. alocal trafficengineer,andcitybudgetandevaluation administrators.

The

th irdandfinalsession dealtwith an

overview ofthe various transportation-related

plan-ningefforts

underway

atthe local,regional,andstate levels,withemphasison coordinationandcitizen

par-ticipation.

Key

players in this session included the

Mayor

Pro-Tem,cityand countyengineers.Councilof

Government

officials, and statewide planning engi-neers. All sessions were moderated by representa-tives from city and county government.

As

noted

earlier, these sessionswereopen,

w

ith opportunities forthepublic toraisequestionsconcerningspecificsof variousprojects.

Specialemphasis inthesesessions

was

giventothe presentationmaterials.Allpresentersagreedonusing

computer-generatedpresentation software,and

hand-outsofthecomputer-generatedvisualspro\ ided

par-ticipants with easy reference forquestions and

com-ments. Whilebudgetary expenditureswereminimal, the stafftimeandresourcesinvolved

were

extensive.

The

largest costs were associated with facility and

equipmentrental.Dedicatedstaffsupport

was

consid-eredessentialinthefinalstagesofthisprocessaswell asduring the actual event. Organizational meetings wereessentialforfine-tuning thesolicitationof

exhibi-torsandpublicity.

Analysis

and

Recoinuiendations

This type of event cannot replacethepublicprocess that records statements in a formal

manner

for the general public. It does, however, providea

comple-ment

by providing an informational basis about the

many

varied operationsandproceduresof

transporta-tion.This event servesas ahigh-impact informational

tool for discussion by the public.

As

recognized by

various transportation administrators, themajorreason

that the public has not had a large impact in the planning processissimply becausetheyarenotaware

ofthetotalpicture.

An

eventofthisnaturestimulates

awareness andunderstanding.

A

majorconsiderationforour nextexpoistheneed

toplanearlierforthistypeofevent. Outside agency

participation is highly contingent on requesting an activity ofthis nature on their yearly schedule.

The

dividendsofthissmalltaskshould provideflexibility

duringthe selectionofacti\itiesforpublic

participa-tion. Early organizational meetingswith representa-tives from allphases oftheeventare essential.

Director's

Comments

Richard Atkins, DirectoroftheGreensboro

Depart-ment

ofTransportation,viewedthesepublic participa-tion projects as the trend ofthe future.

The

highly technocratic engineer is

now

being replaced by a

customerrelationsplanner/engineerthatcandealwith

the general public using lawman's terms.

The word

"advocate"isno longeraternuised exclusivelybyland useplanners,but ratherisbeinguseduniversallyinthe

developmentoftransportationsystems.

Transportationistypicallyoneofthelargerplanning functions that does not normally allocate funds or resourcestoeducatethepublic ontheprocess.

Many

citizensdonotunderstandthe

complex

requirements oftransportation planning and usually do not get in-volvedinthe selectionoftransportation projects.

Most

citizens areinvolved in transportation planning only

when

proposalshaveturnedintoa project,and

many

of

them

donot realize themagnitude oftransportation

servicesthatthecommunityreceives,including:street

maintenance,streetcleaning,

snow

removal,leaf

col-lection,drainage,dead animalpickup,signsand

mark-ings,signalmaintenance andconstruction,andpublic transportation.

The

GreensboroDepartment ofTrans-portationstaffdesirestocontinuetodevelopaprocess

thatencouragesthepublictobe

more

involvedinthe

transportation process.Ultimately, citizen

participa-tion willimprovetheprovisionofqualitytransportation. CP

Notes