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PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR TRANSPORTATION DECISION-MAKING

Chapter 1.
INFORMING PEOPLE THROUGH OUTREACH AND ORGANIZATION

C. PROVIDING SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION AND ESTABLISHING METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

Public involvement is a two-way street. In order to participate effectively in transportation project development and planning, people need ways to both get information from an agency and give information back to it.

On the one hand, then, agencies need to provide attractive, eye-catching materials that convey the appropriate "message." Desktop publishing and ever-changing communication technologies offer agencies new, faster, and more varied ways to capture the public’s interest and give them the information they need to understand what is being proposed. This variety allows agencies to tailor public information pieces to specific purposes, media, audiences, projects, or plans and to update them quickly and easily.

On the other hand, agencies need to offer people effective, easy ways to communicate so that the ideas and concerns of the community are heard and attended to.

The following section describes some techniques that help agencies provide information and establish communication with the public:

  • mailing lists;

  • public information materials;

  • key person interviews;

  • briefings;

  • video techniques;

  • telephone techniques;

  • media strategies; and

  • speakers' bureaus and public involvement volunteers.
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