1.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 publics 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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