01516068

Component

Public involvement methods are often chosen for transportation planning without a framework for determining how relevant the comments received are to the specific plan. A key issue in the design of participation methods is whether and how the location of public comments are included. This study critically assesses existing literature, including the foundations of public involvement and the latest requirements. A rural transportation planning process is evaluated in terms of the geographic specificity of comments received from an open-ended responses on a questionnaire and a facilitated mapping session, and reviews them for relevance to developing a rural transportation plan. Although all input received from the public can be valuable in the process, location-based comments may be more actionable by transportation planners. Qualitative methods are employed to evaluate spatial aspects of public input from a transportation plan in Central Texas, and relative benefits reviewed. This study demonstrates geographic specificity is a valuable concern in the design of public involvement for transportation planning, and offers several techniques for consideration.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADA60 Public Involvement in Transportation.

01503729

14-1221

English

16p

2014

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; Maps; References; Tables

Geography; Mapping; Public participation; Questionnaires; Rural transportation; Transportation planning

Texas

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-1221

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 2:28PM