REGIONAL INSTRUCTION

New York State Department of Transportation

Region One RDI 12-03 Public Involvement (PI) and Communication Guidance

Approved by:

/s/ James P. Bridges _____________________________________ James Bridges, Regional Design Engineer

/s/ John E. Grady _____________________________________ John Grady, Regional Construction Engineer

/s/ Michael Johnson _____________________________________ Michael Johnson, Regional Director of Operations

/s/ Mark Kennedy _____________________________________ Mark Kennedy, Regional Traffic Engineer

/s/ Bryan Viggiani _____________________________________ Bryan Viggiani, Regional Public Information Officer

Effective Date: December 21, 2012 Expires: December 21, 2017 Supersedes: RDI 08-10

Purpose

The purpose of this RDI is to refine and improve the public involvement and communication process to better incorporate the “Drivers First” initiatives. This RDI provides new guidance and process improvements, and clearly identifies responsibilities and resources to assist Regional teams with all DOT activities.

Background

The Region has a history of proactively engaging the public and local officials in the course of maintenance activities, bridge inspections which have highway impacts, project design and construction. This RDI builds upon previous successes in the courses of both projects, activities and emergency operations, and reflects knowledge gained from these past efforts. Region 1 has developed the Regional Public Involvement Committee (RPIC) Process as a team approach to PI which engages staff from the functional units of Operations, Traffic, Design and Construction and is fully coordinated with the Regional Public Information Officer (PIO). Beyond these groups, the committee approach provides an inter-disciplinary architecture for PI activities as supported by adjunct members of other functional units, the Transportation Management Center (TMC) and 511NY. The Regional PIO is the central focus of Public Involvement and the sole direct contact to the media. The PIO relies heavily on team members for completion of public involvement-related tasks during each action or phase, and coordinates these efforts to ensure that public involvement is fully integrated into the broader range of communication and consistent message for the Department.

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Most recently the teams of Design and Construction have been formalizing their public involvement roles and incorporating the “Drivers First” initiative into their procedures. Detailed design/construction interactions from collaborative scoping to project completion are presented as the visual on Pages 10 and 11 of this RDI. The Region has developed extensive document shells, draft letters, modifiable samples of public involvement tools such as project informational brochures, “lookup” charts relating suggested PI activities to project types and stages, and an electronic library of local plans and studies available through the Region 1 IntraDOT and references. The Public Involvement action matrix for operations and capital projects is presented as the visual on Page 12 of this RDI.

Policy

The discussions in this section as well as those in the Roles and Responsibilities” section reflect the following established practices, refinements or improvements to the Region’s public involvement and communications practices. • Redefinition and expansion of the Regional Public Involvement Committee (RPIC) Process and

public involvement teams to broaden awareness of and participation in PI activities (Page 9 of this RDI).

• Refinements of activities in PI related to traffic major highway work permits and bridge inspection.

• Establishment of a new Design/Construction Public Involvement and Communication Process - Collaborative Scoping to Construction Completion (Page 10 and 11 of this RDI).

• Introduction of a standard folder for PI to all projects’ ProjectWise folder sets, with this folder for the original and updated Public Involvement Communications and Activities (commonly known as the PIP, and shown on Page 13 of this RDI) forms, letters to local officials, informational brochures/flyers and other outreach material generated over the life of the project from Scoping to Construction.

• Revision of the Public Involvement action matrix for operations and capital projects. • A detailed articulation of the roles and responsibilities of key actors in PI. • Expanded interaction between the public involvement teams and the Regional PIO. • Refinement of the Public Involvement and Communication Plan Activities form and the

requirement that activities, when completed be dated, as a way of enhancing activity tracking. • The requirement that the PIP be attached to the Design Deliverables Review Summary Report

at PS&E. • Formalization of the products to be part of the “Handoff to Construction.” • Requirement that the EIC notify local officials by letter of project award and contractor

selection. • The requirement that a Public Involvement and Communication Meeting be held prior to

construction. • Enhancement of PI materials available through the Region 1 IntraDOT site. • Tasking the Design QA/QC Group with quality assurance for Design project public

involvement and communication.

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• Tasking the Design QA/QC Group with development and maintenance of an Excel-based tool for tracking active projects and expected PI-related activities and milestones.

The Region 1 policies for public involvement and communication are as follow. These discussions reflect an expansion of the Region’s previous outreach process to include five (5) public involvement teams corresponding to five general areas of PI effort: Operations, Traffic Major Highway Work Permits, Bridge Inspection, Project Design and Project Construction. The teams of Traffic Major Highway Work Permits and Bridge Inspection are new additions to the process. Team compositions and responsibilities are presented in the visual on Page 9 of this RDI. Operations The public involvement team of Operations shall consider traffic impacts to the State Highway system in consultation with traffic (WZTC) and, where practical, provide advance notification to the PIO and local officials. Recognizing the unique day-to-day nature of Operations activities, this Instruction does not prescribe notification measures for either emergency or routine work, but rather encourages notification for activities such as contracted paving with longer lead times and major work in sensitive locations such as residential/village settings and environmentally significant areas. Notification in such cases may need to be general with regard to dates of work, as with VPP contracts under which a contractor has several locations to pave over the course of a construction season, such that it may not be possible to provide precise work dates until just before the start of work. Traffic Major Highway Work Permits and Bridge Inspection The public involvement teams of Traffic Major Highway Work Permits and Bridge Inspection shall consider traffic impacts to the State Highway system in consultation with traffic (WZTC) and, where applicable, provide advance notification to the PIO and, in some cases, local officials. Capital Projects in Design and Construction It is NYSDOT policy that Public Involvement (PI) is an integral part of the project development process (Project Development Manual, or PDM). A well-developed Public Involvement and Communication Plan establishes an organized framework to approaching communities, developing relationships, informing constituents and building trust. The level of public involvement is a function of specific conditions of the project, taking into considerations the context of the project, the scope of the project and the communities involved. The plan shall be a “living document” that indicates previous public involvement and communication activities and revisions based on how the project has evolved. While it is stated in the PDM that all projects require a Public Involvement Plan, it should be noted that some maintenance by contract activities are element specific, geographically spread out and provide routine activity that is expected of the Department to complete. Therefore the following element specific projects do not require a PI Plan: bridge washing and cleaning, sign replacements, guiderail replacement, crack sealing, SPDES maintenance, durable pavement markings and small culvert repairs/replacements.

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The PI Plan shall show “No formal outreach needed” for most phases (the most typical exception will be a press release at Construction), filed with the DAD and provided to the EIC as part of the “Handoff to Construction”. For all other projects, a project specific Public Involvement and Communication Plan is required and will be initially presented at the Project Collaborative Scoping Meeting. Roles and Responsibilities Resident Engineer (RE) – Operations 1. Send letters to local officials advising of any paving, herbicide spraying, large culvert work,

significant drainage re-establishment and tree removal work. 2. Work with Traffic WZTC where these activities anticipate major traffic impacts on State

Highway System. 3. Provide advance notification of these activities to the PIO. 4. Send letters to property owners where warranted by anticipated impacts. 5. Provide the Design group with information on key local contacts for capital projects.

Traffic Major Highway Work Permits Engineer (RPE) – Traffic 1. Work with Traffic WZTC where major permits anticipate major traffic impacts on or near the

State Highway System. 2. Notify PIO of major permits issued. 3. Coordinate with construction permits regarding timing of actual construction on the State

Highway System. 4. Send letters to local officials for any major traffic impacts and timing. Bridge Management Engineer (BME) – Bridge Inspection 1. Work with Traffic WZTC where inspections having serious traffic impacts and/or merit

coordination with other projects. 2. Provide advance notice of certain traffic impacted inspection activities to the PIO. 3. In few instances, send a letter to local officials. Public Information Officer (PIO) – Office of Communications 1. Sole media contact. 2. Prepare all press releases. 3. Signs Draft PIP at Scoping. 4. Coordinate with all public involvement team leaders and, as applicable, the TMC. 5. May attend scoping meetings. 6. Determine the appropriateness of project-specific web sites. 7. Review public informational brochures and other PI materials, as needed. 8. May attend public meetings (as applicable) or briefs the PM on responding to media questions.

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9. Review and approve all specific web content. 10. Coordinate media events (as applicable). 11. Signs latest PIP just prior to PS&E signing. 12. Attend public involvement and communication construction meetings. Project Manager (PM) – Design 1. Scoping- Prepare draft Public Involvement and Communication Plan and place in ProjectWise

PI folder. 2. Scoping- Draft stakeholder list. 3. Scoping- Send informational letter to local officials 4. Plan- Fill in dates for completed activities (on-going). 5. Preliminary Design - May attend meeting with local officials (as requested). 6. Preliminary Design – Give PIO advance notice for press release for public meeting or hearing. 7. Preliminary Design – Hold public informational meeting or hearing as appropriate. 8. Make the draft DAD available on-line with assistance from the PIO. 9. Provide technical information for specific web sites. 10. Design Approval – Attach updated PIP to Design Approval Document and place in

ProjectWise PI folder. 11. Final Design – Revise PIP and update stakeholder and emergency service provider lists. 12. PS&E Cover Sheet Signing by the RDE - Attach the latest PIP to Design Deliverables Review

Summary Report. 13. Just after PS&E – Send Memo to the EIC with list of stakeholders and contacts, list of

emergency service providers and latest PIP. Post the latest PIP to ProjectWise PI folder. 14. Attend public involvement and communication construction meeting.

Engineer in Charge (EIC)/Construction Supervisor (CS) – Construction 1. Award - Send letter to local officials advising of award and contractor selection. 2. Host Public Involvement and Communication construction meeting after Pre-Con meeting. 3. Host emergency services meeting. 4. Send letters to local officials prior to the start of actual construction activities. In the case of

multiple contract locations, this will be dependent on the contractor’s schedule. 5. Coordinate VMS messages with PIO, TMC, 511NY and traffic WZTC. 6. Prepare information for site update. 7. Circulate informational brochures (as applicable) 8. Advise PIO of start of construction activities for press release. Media notification, media event

or groundbreaking ceremony. 9. Monitor WZTC conditions and traffic impacts and adjust WZTC plan as needed. 10. (EIC) Immediately notify the RTE, CS, RCE or RD if there is an unanticipated major traffic

delay within the projects limits. 11. Notify businesses, school officials, property owners of traffic impacts (as applicable).

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Work Zone Traffic Control (WZTC) Unit – Traffic Safety and Mobility 1. Scoping - Field-reconnoiter project setting and routes holding potential for use in any necessary

WZTC plans. 2. Develop appropriate WZTC strategy, taking into account road network, setting, land use in

affected areas and other relevant factors. 3. Notify RD when traffic impacts are expected. 4. Advise PM on known special events, potentially affected parties and other stakeholders to be

taken into account in outreach plan. 5. Design and Construction - Advise PM on traffic impacts and review draft public distribution

materials and letters to local officials providing information on delays and on-site or off-site detours.

6. Attend public involvement and communication construction meeting. New Practices/Tools for Public Involvement and Communication

Public Involvement and Communication Plan Activities Form (commonly known as the PIP) 1. New activities (such as “No Public Outreach Planned”) have been added and some activities

have been deleted. 2. As the project progresses through design, the project manager (PM) shall remove the X’s in the

form and replace them with the dates of activities as they are completed. 3. Post the PIP to ProjectWise PI folder. 4. PIP included with the PS&E Design Deliverables Review Report at PS&E cover sheet signing

by RDE. Design Handoff to Construction (At or just after the PS&E) 5. The PM shall complete a Memo to the EIC with copies to the PIO, Construction Supervisor,

Design Supervisor, Traffic WZTC and Resident Engineer. 6. The Memo to the EIC shall include a list of stakeholders and contacts. 7. The Memo to the EIC shall include a list of emergency service providers. 8. The Memo to the EIC shall include the Public Involvement and Communication Plan Activities

Form. Construction Notification to Local Officials of Project Award and Contractor Selection (After award) 9. The EIC shall complete a letter to local officials notifying of the project award and contractor

selection. Public Involvement and Communication Meeting in Construction 10. The EIC shall hold a PI meeting after the pre-construction meeting with the contractor. 11. The EIC shall invite the PIO, Construction Supervisor, Design Project Manager and Traffic

WZTC representative. 12. The EIC shall prepare minutes of the PI construction meeting.

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Design QA/QC Quality Assurance of Design PI To enhance both the role and the effectiveness of PI activities in project development, the Design Services QA/QC Group has established various practices and prepared several tools, including the following: 1. Practice: A Public Involvement Progress Report is used to track project statuses and anticipate

preparation of outreach/public meeting materials. 2. Tool: A Public Involvement Products E-Binder was prepared and placed on the O: drive to

provide PMs with a single-point gateway to informational materials, document shells and other public involvement tools.

Additional tools are developed as needed based on PM requests and emerging needs. In addition to these tools, the references presented below are resources available for compliance with this policy.

References

Keywords: Public Involvement, Regional Public Involvement Committee (RPIC), Memo to the EIC, Project Award

Document/Resource File Location Public Involvement Plans and Materials (portal to various PI resources)

O:\Design\Design Resources\INFO\Public Involvement\Sample PI Documents and Products\Public Involvement Plans and Materials.pdf

Local Documents Library Root Folder (with subfolders for counties, MPOs and Adirondack Park Agency)

O:\Design\Design Resources\INFO\Public Involvement\Local Document Library

Main Office announcement of agencywide PI initiative

O:\Design\Design Resources\INFO\Public Involvement\Miscellaneous\05_EB_PI_INITIATIVE.pdf

Project Development Manual Appendix 2 (Public Involvement Manual)

https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/design/dqab/dqab-repository/pdmapp2.pdf

Region 1 IntraDOT Public Involvement Home page

http://axim22.nysdot.private:7779/portal/page?_pageid=39,1856658&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

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