Increasing Safety – Decreasing delays Marketing/Education Campaign
The Challenge Building two multi-lane roundabouts about one block apart On a highway with over 20,000 ADT In a busy retail area Only a few other single-lane roundabouts recently built in the area Need to coordinate with city and county partners Seniors and truckers were against and/or planning to avoid the popular - but high crash – intersections Retailers very concerned about loss of business
Make Friends & Start Early Partner with all parties involved City County Law enforcement (at every level) Chamber Businesses Media TZD Get inks to websites Videos to cable access TV Articles for newsletters Discussions with TZD Info to drivers ed – young and old Brochures Website Videos
Gather interactive tools A floor mat and table top display let people learn hands-on. These were supplemented with videos running on local access TV, at the mall and in the DVS lobby. Table top display
Tap into existing opportunities A local mall kiosk was a great investment to reach the larger Mankato region and provided educational as well as current construction and detour information. The kiosk was kicked off on a Saturday with a staffed interactive exhibit where over 300 visitors could complain and ask questions. Traffic Engineers staffed a booth at the annual Sr. Expo reaching over 500 concerned drivers. A booth at other local festivals/fairs geared for families reached people who would never have time to attend a meeting.
Make events work Free guided bus tours of other local roundabouts targeted seniors and were so successful a second bus was needed. The city was pleased to partner on this event as it promoted its transit service at the same time. Safety was a key message for the campaign and roundabouts were tied to Toward Zero Deaths effort at Safety Fairs
Broker deals 3 full-page color ads in daily paper 1st one – emphasis on construction dates and detours 2nd one – promote roundabout fair, construction/detour update 3rd one – focus on roundabout driving tips with diagrams 2 radio blitzes 1st one - for bus tour 2nd one – for roundabout fair
Retain a dedicated professional Consulting firm provided full-time staff (intern) to deal with: Hotline Website, Facebook, tweets Weekly business lunches Event details Staff booths at local events (safety fair, county fair, festivals) Speaking requests Stock Kiosks
Get everyone involved in major events The grand finale was a Roundabout Fair with rides, games and food. It required the efforts of many staff and partners – but that may have been part of the huge success, because everyone wanted to come and invited others to attend. Over 500 attended and most rode or drove cart through an exact replica of one of the roundabouts constructed. The popular bus tour was added to the event and the media had fun with live coverage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O63vOyib8YY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCTG3UsTbUU
Celebrate! Affected businesses were invited to remove barricades with the local officials – makes great photo op for media