Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
Southern New England APA Conference (SNEAPA)October 20, 2016
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
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
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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
11.5% Limited English Proficient (LEP)
• Spanish (60%)• Chinese• Korean• Vietnamese• African Languages• French• Tagalog• Arabic
WMATA LEP Population Distribution
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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
Public Participation Plan Goals
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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
Go to Where the People Are
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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
Create Institutional ResourcesPPP 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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
Create Institutional Resources
Toolkit
Standardized Project Planning
Dedicated Staffing
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
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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
17/18 Lines Metrobus Service Eval.
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 program
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
Achieving Inclusive Public Participation
Thank you!
SHANA JOHNSONVICE PRESIDENT / PROJECT MANAGER
[email protected](301) 774-4566 X402
www.wmata.comwww.FoursquareITP.com
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