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PHASE 2 OUTREACH SUMMARY This page is intentionally left blank. PHASE 2 OUTREACH SUMMARY The preparation of this report has been financed in part through grants from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the Metropolitan Planning Program, Section 104(f) of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The MPO does not discriminate in any of its programs or services. Public participation is solicited by the MPO without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, family or religious status. Learn more about our commitment to nondiscrimination and diversity by contacting our Title VI/Nondiscrimination Coordinator, Johnny Wong at (813) 273-3774 ext. 370 or [email protected], or by visiting: www.planhillsborough.org/non-discrimination-commitment Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization 601 E. Kennedy Boulevard, 18th Floor Tampa, FL 33602 (813) 272-5940 www.planhillsborough.org Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Public Outreach ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Summary of Results .................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Purpose ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Approach ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Survey Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Survey Participation ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 Distribution and Promotion ...................................................................................................................... 7 Survey Participation Statistics ................................................................................................................. 20 Survey Results......................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Bus Rapid Transit .................................................................................................................................... 23 Major Investments .................................................................................................................................. 26 Downtown Interchange .......................................................................................................................... 45 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................ 51 Survey Highlights ..................................................................................................................................... 51 Appendices Appendix A: Phase 1 Outreach Report Appendix B: Paper Surveys Appendix C: Media Coverage Appendix D: Comments Received Executive Summary An essential component of long range transportation planning is a public involvement process that maximizes opportunity for the public at large to engage and provide input to the process. The It’s TIME Hillsborough 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan update involved a collaborative effort, between the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Hillsborough Planning Commission to implement a two-phase public engagement process, engaging 5,219 Hillsborough County residents, employees, and visitors in two surveys. Phase 1, It’s TIME Tampa Bay, was a collaboration with neighboring Pinellas and Pasco counties to identify land use preferences and transportation priorities. In Phase 2, the Hillsborough MPO and Planning Commission focused on collecting input on the County’s highest priority transportation projects. Public Outreach MetroQuest was selected as the primary public engagement tool for this two-phase process. The interactive nature of the platform allowed users to rank, rate, and comment on a variety of questions. The survey was hosted on the It’s TIME Tampa Bay website (itstimetampabay.org) during Phase 1 and on the Plan Hillsborough website (http://www.planhillsborough.org/2045lrtp/) during Phase 2. A paper survey and companion PowerPoint presentation were created for use at in-person meetings and events. A variety of methods were used to advertise the survey: • Staff contacted a wide variety of community organizations, homeowners’ associations, chambers of commerce, business groups, civic and environmental organizations, particularly in the MPO’s communities of concern. Many hosted presentations, distributed information to their members, and communicated with e‐blasts to draw attention to the surveys and encourage the public to participate. • Social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, were used to encourage residents to complete the survey. The MPO also utilized paid advertising on social media. A significant portion of the advertising budget was spent targeting Communities of Concern (34% of the visits to the Phase 1 survey website and 44% of the visits to the Phase 2 survey website came from social media). • Interactive displays manned with staff to assist and answer questions were used to attract hundreds of survey-takers at large events such as Florida’s Largest Home Show at the Florida State Fairgrounds and Kid’s Day 2019 at Raymond James Stadium. • Print and broadcast coverage, using both paid and earned media. Publicity included a radio kick- off event, radio cross promotions on both iHeartRadio and Beasley Media, and tie-in radio marketing. • Other marketing channels included a promotional video posted on the It’s TIME Tampa Bay website, an ad in the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, and rack cards in the countywide Property Appraiser’s Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice. The 9,666 participants (at least 4,021 Hillsborough specific) for the tri-county Phase 1 survey set a new MetroQuest record for surveys conducted in the United States. The Hillsborough MPO and Planning Commission staff followed this with more than 5,219 surveys completed in Phase 2. This resulted in at least 4,021 Hillsborough county specific responses from Phase 1 combined with 5219 from Phase 2 for a total of 9,240. 1 | P a g e Summary of Results The first phase of the survey was conducted July 31 to October 1, 2018. It presented three scenarios for future growth that asked citizens how they felt about different investments and accompanying land development strategies, including: 1. New Technologies – Imagine a future where we primarily invest in new technologies and a few roadway projects to manage traffic flow. 2. Expressway Lanes – Imagine a future where we primarily invest in expressway lanes forming an outer loop so traffic does not have to go through the congested center of the region. 3. Transit Focus – Imagine a future where we primarily invest in bus and rail services connecting, revitalizing and filling in the communities that exist today. Nearly 10,000 citizens responded to the online survey, setting a national record for participation for similar MetroQuest online surveys. Elements of each scenario scored favorably including increased transit service and congestion reduction strategies. The image below depicts the priorities that emerged from the phase 1 results. In the second phase, It’s TIME Hillsborough, the MPO collected input on specific projects to achieve the vision from Phase 1. The survey questions focused on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Major Investments, and what to do with the Downtown Interchange. The survey ran in June and July 2019. 2 | P a g e The graph below presents the results of the BRT question. Participants were asked to rank their top five choices for BRT corridors from eight potential routes. The popularity metric is the number of times a route was rated in the top five and the score metric factors in each corridor’s ranking within the top five. For example, US 301 was not in the top five as often as others, but when it was in the top five it was ranked very highly. On the other hand, Dale Mabry was often in the top five, but it was ranked lower within the top five. High Score and high Popularity tend to suggest higher desired routes. US 301 S, Downtown-USF, and Brandon Boulevard were among the top-rated BRT Corridors. Three corridors (Downtown-USF, I-275 Limited Stop, and Dale Mabry Highway) were ranked in the top five of more than half of the survey respondents 10,000 3,000 9,000 8,000 2,500 7,000 2,000 6,000 5,000 1,500 Score 4,000 1,000 3,000 Popularity 2,000 500 1,000 0 0 Participants were also asked to respond yes or no to 15 Major Investments