Title: ENGAGING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to define a public information process that is enriching to the public and provides engineers, planners, and other transportation project analysts the input to produce a better transportation project. Other names for public information are: (1) public participation; (2) context sensitive solutions; (3) informed consent; (4) public consensus building; (5) public acceptance; and (6) stakeholder support. Although there is a federal emphasis on engaging the public in Metropolitan Transportation Planning and environmental clearance of transportation projects, there is an obvious question of why perform public involvement? The United States is a demographic republic where the citizens elect decision makers and the decision makers decide what transportation projects to build. This is complicated in America since transportation decisions are often made by appointed decision makers or decision makers elected at a different geographic level than the election level, for example state transportation commissions or regional councils of government. In addition to decision makers hearing their constituents, engineers and project analysts need to ensure that data and analysis supports perception. Most transportation engineering projects follow four basic steps. An effective public involvement process will build on these four basic analysis steps. The basic steps for analyzing or designing transportation projects include: (1) Problem identification; (2) Alternative identification; (3) Alternative analysis; and (4) Alternative selection/implementation.
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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