Memorandum
Date June 19, 2014
To Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
From Certification Activities Group, MPO Staff
Re MPO Public Participation Program and Plan Update
This memorandum has been prepared to inform the MPO of recent MPO staff activity in support of updating the MPO’s Public Participation Program (the Program) and Public Participation Plan (the Plan). The Program comprises activities through which MPO staff engage the public in the transportation-planning process, while the Plan explains the activities in the Program and provides the public with information about how to become involved in the MPO's transportation decision-making process through participation in Program activities.
Attached is a draft of the proposed updated Plan that incorporates the suggested recommendations.
The MPO's current Public Participation Plan, Be Informed, Be Involved, was adopted in 2007, revised in 2010, and updated in 2012. In order to keep the MPO’s Program and Plan current, initiate changes to improve its effectiveness, and incorporate contemporary practices for involving and considering the needs of persons protected by Title VI and other non-discrimination requirements, MPO staff proposed an update of the Program and Plan. The update process was launched after discussion with the MPO in spring 2013.
Below is a discussion of the update process, including:
Staff solicited ideas from the public for improving the public-participation process during outreach for the draft Federal Fiscal Years (FFYs) 2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), draft FFY 2014 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), and the Transportation Equity Program Update. In particular, staff surveyed members of the public to collect input on the existing Program and ideas for the updated Program that would be documented in the Plan. Following this initial survey outreach, staff researched public-participation practices used by five MPOs in regions somewhat comparable in size and characteristics to the Boston Region MPO to learn their approaches.
This section presents a brief overview of the research methods used. See Appendix 3 of the attached draft Plan for a comprehensive review of both the survey process and techniques used by other MPOs, as well as detailed research findings and recommendations.
MPO staff created and administered a survey for members of the public designed to gather information about how the MPO’s current outreach program is working and to solicit ideas about how it might be improved. The survey posed a series of multiple-choice questions, based on current outreach methods, to gather information about:
The survey was made available online, and was distributed through an email notice to the MPO’s email list. In print format, it was distributed at Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) subregion meetings, and MPO outreach events during May and June 2013 (see Appendix A for details).
The survey results confirm that email and the MPO website are important vehicles for public involvement. They also indicate a preference for receiving information in succinct formats and for quick, interactive ways to exchange information (such as surveys).
MPO staff conducted research on public-participation programs and plans in five MPOs of somewhat comparable size and regional characteristics. The purpose of this investigation was to learn about the public-participation methods used by these MPOs and to examine what information they included in their plans and how they presented it. Staff looked for answers to particular questions, including:
Predictably, there is diversity among MPOs and the approaches they use in their public-participation programs and plans. Many of the practices used by other MPO's are similar to ones the Boston Region MPO now uses, and others simply are not a good fit for Boston. However, staff’s research identified some interesting methods and activities that could be adopted here. In particular, the research uncovered additional ways in which the MPO could respond to the needs of minority, low-income, limited English proficient, and other populations protected under federal and state laws and regulations.
Based on information gathered from the survey, research on other MPOs, and current communications best practices, staff identified a number of feasible new initiatives that would improve the MPO’s Public Participation Program and Plan. They include the following, which have been incorporated into the draft Public Participation Plan:
These initiatives would augment the already-extensive endeavors of the MPO to include the broadest cross-section of the public, in keeping with federal and state civil-rights requirements.
After the MPO reviews the attached draft Plan and provides input, staff will implement the following steps to initiate the public outreach process and develop the final Plan, which will be brought back to the MPO in October, 2014 for approval:
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