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Achieving inclusive public participation
- 1. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Southern New England APA Conference (SNEAPA) October 20, 2016
- 2. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Circular 4702.1B requires that the Public Participation Plan (PPP): Identify the proactive strategies that the recipient will use to engage minority and LEP communities. Explicitly describe the procedures that will facilitate the desired inclusive public participation. Describe the desired outcomes that underpin the recipient’s public participation activities. Title VI and Public Participation
- 3. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation WMATA’s service area is home to a very large and diverse population. This includes Title VI populations. • Minority groups • Low-income • Limited English Proficient (LEP) • Persons with disabilities Identifying the Target Audience An estimated 422,000 people speak English less than “very well” in the WMATA service area
- 4. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Metro Customer Demographic Profile 11.5% Limited English Proficient (LEP) • Spanish (60%) • Chinese • Korean • Vietnamese • African Languages • French • Tagalog • Arabic 27% Low Income 58% Minority Household income of $30,000 or less is low income threshold
- 5. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation 11.5% Limited English Proficient (LEP) • Spanish (60%) • Chinese • Korean • Vietnamese • African Languages • French • Tagalog • Arabic WMATA LEP Population Distribution
- 6. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Development of the WMATA PPP Federal Requirements Review Best Practice Review WMATA Staff Interviews Community-Based Organizations (CBO) Outreach Speak Up! It's Your Ride Outreach Campaign
- 7. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Public Participation Plan Goals
- 8. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Speak Up! It’s Your Ride 23 Public Outreach Events Pop-Ups, Community Meetings, Group Interviews 3,513 Survey Responses 68% minority, 28% low-income, 10% LEP Survey was available in Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), Vietnamese, Korean, Amharic, French, and Arabic 15 in-depth focus groups with staff and constituents of Community Based Organizations
- 9. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Go to Where the People Are
- 10. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Tailor Strategies to Impacted Populations Spanish-speaking Chinese-speaking Vietnamese-speaking Recommended Preference Varied Pop-up CBO Meeting Pop-up CBO Meeting CBO Meeting Online Suggested, but not verified Community Meeting Online Public Hearing Community Meeting Focus Group Online Public Hearing Not Recommended Pop-up Community Meeting Focus Group Public Hearing
- 11. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Create Institutional Resources PPP Identified Gaps Organizational • Inconsistent use of public participation strategies and implementation • Lack of coordinated oversight and internal public participation expertise Outreach Practice • Limited, ad-hoc relationships with Community-Based Organizations • Absence of an in-person forum for soliciting general public feedback Performance Measurement • Absence of performance measurement and accountability for public participation outcomes
- 12. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Create Institutional Resources Toolkit Standardized Project Planning Dedicated Staffing
- 13. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Monitor Performance Annual PPP Updates Post Project Evaluations Post Activity Summaries Project-level Performance Measures Agency staff feedback Community Organization Feedback Annual Performance Measure Review
- 14. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Applicable Projects • PLANNING PROJECTS: Long-range strategic planning like Momentum and station area planning projects, short-term planning like bus studies • AMENITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE: Getting rider feedback on fare gates, fare media types, etc. • ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES: Environmental justice impact of a new bus maintenance facility • SERVICE CHANGES: Changing the route or frequency of a Metrobus or Metrorail line • PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN: Temporarily shutting down a Metrorail station or line, detouring a Metrobus route, a station entrance closure, etc. • POLICY ALTERNATIVES: Budget and fare changes Silver Line outreach Budget outreach
- 15. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation 17/18 Lines Metrobus Service Eval.
- 16. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Public Involvement • Designed to garner input from current and potential Metrobus 17 and 18 lines riders • Used diverse outreach tools to capture feedback and integrate it into the service planning recommendations • Was concurrent with the development of the Fairfax County Transportation Development Plan (TDP) and the project’s public involvement
- 17. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Public Involvement The Public Involvement program included: • Rider Survey (March 2015). WMATA received 896 survey responses: 682 online submissions, and 214 mail or in- person submissions • Focus Group (April 2015). • Two Public Meetings (May 2015). • Two Pop Up Events (June 2015). A total of 730 riders responded to a draft service recommendations survey during two Pop Up events at the Pentagon Transit Center
- 18. Achieving Inclusive Public Participation Thank you! SHANA JOHNSON VICE PRESIDENT / PROJECT MANAGER SJOHNSON@FOURSQUAREITP.COM (301) 774-4566 X402 www.wmata.com www.FoursquareITP.com
Editor's Notes
- We sometimes generalize who are target audience is (“customers”), when we have the data that can tell us a little more about them. Knowing the demographics upfront and the people that we need to reach at the beginning of the project can help us shape our communications and outreach strategy.
- PLAN – Kristin
- WMATA serves diverse populations, including some that speak limited English (see Figure 5). Approximately 11.5 percent of the population five years of age and older in the service area is limited English proficient (LEP). Northern Virginia and Montgomery County are home to the highest concentration of LEP populations (calculated as a percentage of households in census tracts).
- 15 CBOs held in-depth focus groups with staff and constituents to provide input for the PPP
- Demonstrate cultural sensitivity. Make it convenient to attend events. Use Community Based Organizations.
- To involve Title VI populations, go where they are. Demonstrate cultural sensitivity. Make it convenient to attend events. Tailor event formats to the preferences of groups whose input is sought. Translate materials and use graphics. Use ethnic media and distribution outlets. Newspaper advertising still works. Include children. Acknowledge and use input. Use Community Based Organizations.
- Bay Area Rapid Transit The Government and Community Relations department is responsible for staffing an advisory committee of community- based organizations and work with Planning Department Project Managers to implement public outreach. Four staff focused on Title VI/Environmental Justice compliance and public outreach. Chicago Transit Authority The Government and Community Relations liaisons with local elected officials and community groups on an ongoing basis. They also organize public participation for every capital project or planning study in a collaborative effort with project management staff from the Service Planning or Capital Projects Departments. Seven to eight full-time staff members Los Angeles WMATA Regional Communications Programs includes four component departments, each of which has individual roles in facilitating relationships with local elected officials, planning public participation, implementing public participation, and safety communications. The Constituent Programs Management department develops all individual study or project public participation plans, including identifying staff with linguistic and cultural skills needed for each study. Metropolitan Council WMATA Transit (the transit authority operated by Metropolitan Council) and the Metropolitan Council each has dedicated public engagement staff, and they also use contractors to provide specific cultural and linguistic expertise and staffing for public participation on an as-needed basis. Three dedicated public involvement staff at WMATA Transit and three dedicated public involvement staff at Metropolitan Council New York City Transit Division of Government and Community staff is responsible for liaising with organized constituencies, neighborhood groups, block associations, and Community Boards. Funding for public outreach is part of the Division’s budget. There is no isolated budget for the development of public participation plans or outreach for specific projects. Twelve staff, a Vice President, and additional administrative and support staff Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) The Public and Government Affairs Division is responsible for devising and implementing public participation activities for all service planning or other planning projects. They work with community-based organizations as needed on a project-by-project basis. Six staff dedicated to public outreach Sound Transit (Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority) The Community Outreach department is responsible for developing and implementing the public outreach. Each project’s outreach strategy is tailored to meet the needs of the affected populations and is designed with input from other departments, including Planning, Environment and Project Development, Government Relations, and Diversity Programs. TriMet The Marketing and Customer Information Division is responsible for the overall Title VI Program coordination and public engagement. Two full-time public engagement staff and a director
- Professional public participation oversight, planning, implementation, and performance measurement for all Metro departments. Quality control, greater transparency and continuous improvement A single, open point of contact for public feedback at Metro Staffing: We now have a Manager of Public Participation Programs (me) and two new Special Project Officers (Yanira & Renee) who are responsible for PPP implementation in the Office of External Relations. We are working with various offices on developing their PCOPs on upcoming projects. We also have a CBO liaison (Dulce) in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity who is responsible for building relationships and communication with local CBOs Successes: We just finished the Metrobus State of Good Operations (SOGO) process using the PPP – it was a lot of work, but the results were worth it. Our Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center project was also huge because of the demographics we had to hit. I’ve attached a recent presentation I gave to the Riders Advisory Council about these projects if you want to use any of it. Happy to talk about them. In Progress: We are still working with our IT department on developing an online PPP toolkit. Phase 1 is complete, but the final product will include an updated system-wide events calendar and venue database (expected early 2016). We are also working on our translation process and the creation of internal language teams to help with quality review of translations and outreach. Staffing: We now have a Manager of Public Participation Programs (me) and two new Special Project Officers (Yanira & Renee) who are responsible for PPP implementation in the Office of External Relations. We are working with various offices on developing their PCOPs on upcoming projects. We also have a CBO liaison (Dulce) in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity who is responsible for building relationships and communication with local CBOs Successes: We just finished the Metrobus State of Good Operations (SOGO) process using the PPP – it was a lot of work, but the results were worth it. Our Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center project was also huge because of the demographics we had to hit. I’ve attached a recent presentation I gave to the Riders Advisory Council about these projects if you want to use any of it. Happy to talk about them. In Progress: We are still working with our IT department on developing an online PPP toolkit. Phase 1 is complete, but the final product will include an updated system-wide events calendar and venue database (expected early 2016). We are also working on our translation process and the creation of internal language teams to help with quality review of translations and outreach.
- WMATA is dedicated to Authority-wide performance monitoring and evaluation, including key performance indicators (KPI) that monitors ongoing and long-term progress towards WMATA’s strategic goals. To reflect WMATA’s commitment to performance measurement and meet it’s requirement to update its Title VI program every three years, a performance measurement framework was developed for both the PPP overall and individual projects. Post-Activity Summaries – different activities, like focus groups or public hearings, may be done based on the agreed PCOP. After each of these, we will track certain information. (listed) What’s new? FEEDBACK FORMS. We will be asking participants of outreach activities to evaluate their experience as well as collect demographic information. This is taking the place of the Title VI comment card. Tailored to the activity and be offered in multiple languages as prescribed in the PCOP. Post-Project Evaluation – at the end of a project, these summaries will be aggregated into a post-project evaluation. Annual Performance Measurement Review – this will be the results of all post-project evaluations and an annual CBO survey. Post-activity summaries and post-project evaluations will be used in the FTA Triennial report, and may be used in Board memos or equity reports when necessary. If there are other reports where this information is needed, EREL is happy to draft if requested by the project manager.
- Projects that are planned.
- The primary purpose of this study was to review capacity, productivity, and reliability service indicators, identify the need for customer facilities, and prepare recommendations to improve service delivery for the Metrobus 17/18 Lines: Routes 17A, 17B, 17F, 17G, 17H, 17K, 17L, 17M Routes 18E, 18F, 18G, 18H, 18J, 18R, 18S, 18P The 17/18 Lines are composed of five different lines that provide direct access to either the Pentagon Transit Center or Franconia-Springfield Metro Station: Kings Park Line (17A-17B-17F-17M) Kings Park Express Line (17G-17H-17K-17L) Springfield Line (18E-18F) Orange Hunt Line (18G-18H-18J) Burke Centre Line (18P-18R-18S)
- Agency Coordination– WMATA worked closely with Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) to determine potential constraints and opportunities for future Metrobus 17 and 18 lines service. The project team also consulted with Metrobus service supervisors and bus operators familiar with the Metrobus 17 and 18 lines at three WMATA Bus Divisions: West Ox, Four Mile Run, and Shepherd Parkway. This study was completed concurrently with the Fairfax Comprehensive Transit Plan (CTP)/County Transit Development Plan (TDP) effort Rider Survey – Over a two day period in March 2015, project staff administered paper surveys with paid postage for mail-in purposes. These surveys were distributed on-board the Metrobus 17 and 18 lines during morning service, and to riders alighting at the lines’ highest boarding bus stops during afternoon service. The survey asked 17 questions about the existing service, and bus stop amenities. The survey also asked respondents to comment on service changes they would like to see implemented, and optional background information for Title VI purposes. Respondents could complete the survey in-person, on-board the vehicle (supported by WMATA extra board operator distributions), by mail with pre-paid postage, or online using the QuestionPro survey tool. The online version of the Rider Survey was available via the project’s website from March 2015 to June 2015. The online survey was developed through WMATA’s QuestionPro Software to support additional languages and meet Title VI requirements. Public Outreach – A variety of public outreach events were held from March 2015 through June 2015, including: a focus group, two open house-style public meetings, two pop-up events, one flyer distribution session, and an online survey. The events were held throughout the Metrobus 17 and 18 lines service area, and feedback forms and/or surveys (mail-in and online) were administered at all the events. For those who could not attend an event, participants were able to provide comments via WMATA’s previously instituted business reply e-mail account, telephone hotline or were directed to the Question Pro online survey (administered in both the first and second phase of the project). A project webpage with general information, upcoming events, timetables and maps was developed and updated throughout the project.