1. Moving Toward Meaningful public engagement
Addressing Rider 42 Requirements
Tim Lomax, TTI
A Member of The Texas A&M University System

2. Public Engagement Progression
Inform
Consult
Obtain feedback on alternatives
Involve
Work directly with the public to ensure understanding and support
Provide information to assist understanding
Collaborate
Partner in decision-making
Empower
Decision-making in the hands of the voting public
*Adapted from IAP2 Spectrum

3. Rider 42 Goals and intent
Implement best practices to ensure projects and programs provide “best-bang-for-the-buck”
Determine projects with the greatest impact in very congested corridors
Identify possible funding mechanisms
Ensure open and transparent public participation

4. Identified key principles
The report: What we did
Identified key principles
Reviewed best practices
Examined case studies
Described and evaluated regional efforts
Offered recommendations

5. Coordination Efforts TxDOT Public Information Staff
TxDOT Project Development Staff
Transportation Partner Agencies
Houston-Galveston Area Council
San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization
Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
North Central Texas Council of Governments
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
Alamo Regional Mobility Authority
City of Austin
City of San Antonio

6. Initiate public discussion
Recommendations
Increase awareness about transportation challenges
Build consensus on solutions
Illustrate consequences of doing nothing
Initiate public discussion
Implement assertive education campaign
Establish ownership of the campaign - local leaders
Sustain the discussion
For sustain the discussion you can use Loop 49 as an example – For years the local leaders recognized that they couldn’t compete against the large metro areas to get funding for Loop 49. They communicated this message often. It set the stage to talk about other funding mechanisms. You had the chamber talking to the rotary.

7. Monitor public response
Recommendations
Needs and urgency
Targeted corridor solutions
Funding options and impacts, personalize the discussion
Mobility increases economic prosperity
Develop messages
Ensure appropriate messages are reaching the right audiences
Ensure messages are timely
Monitor public response
Monitor public response – use market research to “get a pulse” of the hot button issues. This can be a survey, public comment or blog comments. Identify the issues and craft the message to address them. MinnDOT regularly polls members of their online community on a wide variety of subjects.

8. Find influential partners
Recommendations
Enlist and expand network of community movers and doers
Select the right messenger for the audience
Find influential partners
Design ongoing interaction opportunities
Engage all audiences on their “turf” and time
Develop strategies
Partners – Get beyond the traditional messengers. Use the business community, elected officials, neighborhood leaders, etc. Find out who has credibility with your audience and build from there.
The Imagine Austin case study in the report is an excellent example of on-going interactions through a variety of mechanisms

9. Provide adequate resources
Recommendations
Proportional to overall project budget
Adequate to engage all stakeholders
Utilize project development staff and public information staff as a team
Design, ROW, Environmental, etc.
Provide adequate resources
Reach broader audiences
Offer convenient participation options
React quickly
Expand the use of technology

10. Gaining support will require the public to…
Circumstances
How big is the problem?
Why is this urgent?
Projects
What is needed?
What solution is best?
What’s in it for me?
Funding
Where does my money go now?
Are you using it efficiently?
How much will it cost me?
Can you be trusted with more?
Understand
the….

11. Transportation Planning and Programming Division
Questions?
Bernie Fette Tina Geiselbrecht
TTI – College Station TTI – Austin
Shannon Crum
Transportation Planning and Programming Division
4/15/2019