Appendix a Communications

2030 Guam Transportation Plan Guam Islandwide Program Management Services Appendix A Communications December 19, 2008 Appendix A Communications, Outreach, and Public Involvement Introduction Public involvement is an integral part of transportation planning, project development, implementation and maintenance. It is a basic tenet that transportation projects, plans and policies of almost any scale, and at any level of government, do not reach fruition unless the public has played an active role in their development. In fact, effective public involvement typically strengthens the decision-making process: by incorporating the input of a wide range of stakeholders, there is a much greater likelihood of developing a consensus to implement recommendations. There are many pieces of the puzzle that must fit together to achieve effective public involvement, including: identifying relevant public groups and stakeholders; developing methods of communication, education and participation; timing - public involvement activities; maintaining an open, inclusive and responsive process – one in which the public will want to remain actively involved, and building consensus throughout the process. The Federal Transportation Act, titled Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), prescribes public involvement requirements for statewide planning: CFR 23 § 450.214. Development and content of the long-range statewide transportation plan. (k) In developing and updating the long-range statewide transportation plan, the State shall provide citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of public transportation employees, freight shippers, private providers of transportation, representatives of users of public transportation, representatives of users of pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities, representatives of the disabled, providers of freight transportation services, and other interested parties with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the proposed long-range statewide transportation plan. In carrying out these requirements, the State shall, to the maximum extent practicable, utilize the public involvement process described under §450.210(a). Core requirements for public involvement stem from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Transportation Bills (Federal –aid Highway Act of 1970, Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the acts extending its provisions (TEA21, and SAFETEA-LU). Related law and policies include: Clean Air Act Amendments; Americans with Disabilities Act; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order on A-1 Environmental Justice; Americans with Disabilities Act; Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Age Discrimination Act of 1975; and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. SAFETEA-LU provides specific references to public involvement: • Planning – Reasonable opportunity to comment on proposed plans and programs – A public participation program required – MPO and State • Techniques – Many references to technology –visualization and accessibility via the web • Purpose and need – Involvement in defining the purpose and need of a project • Alternatives – Involvement in defining the range of alternatives SAFETEA-LU makes a series of less-specific references to web access and visualization techniques (the technology references were most pronounced in the pilot projects and grants). Basic Premises The basic premises of the Public Involvement and Community Outreach Program (COP) used for development of the 2030 Guam Transportation Plan included the following: 1. There is a high degree of skepticism as to the ability of the Government of Guam to effectuate any realistic infrastructure planning. Plan after plan has been created by various administrations for everything from education to healthcare to highways with no perceived follow through or progress reporting. Consequently, “planning” has become tied to administrations or legislative initiatives, and plans are shelved or discarded as new administrations or legislatures take the helm. 2. There is a genuine concern as to the impact of the proposed military expansion on Guam’s existing infrastructure. As more information is released relative to the (military) build-up, the anxiety of the general public continues to rise over the island’s ability to meet the demands of a 30 percent increase in population. Recent surveys indicate that 92% of the local population agrees that the build-up will be favorable for Guam. Conversely, 82% of the population also believes that our current infrastructure planning efforts will not be able to support the growth. 3. The general public does not differentiate between federally funded roadways and locally funded roadways. The distinctions between funding sources and associated regulations relative to Guam’s transportation systems have become blurred over the years. This has resulted in perceptions of inequities among villages and residential communities. 4. The public is generally in favor of any improvements to the existing Guam transportation system. Traffic congestion is becoming more difficult, hazardous and expensive to navigate for Guam’s drivers. Traffic fatalities in 2007 were the highest in 5 years. The rising costs of fuel, vehicle maintenance and insurance and a host of A-2 other road and traffic related concerns have increased driver frustration. Road related accidents become front-page news and generally everyone knows the victims or is somehow related to them. Public Involvement and Community Outreach efforts considered prevalent community values to avoid, minimize and/or mitigate perceived impacts, as well as to narrow the field of alternatives for planning purposes. Impacts relative to specific projects (e.g., alignments, right-of-way, easements, etc.) will be addressed through community outreach efforts for each specific project. Some consideration may have to be made for communicating constraints and tradeoffs of the transportation planning and project development process to effectively create support for the transportation needs and purpose. Goals and Objectives The primary goal of the Community Outreach Program (COP) was to provide and distribute information to stakeholders as well as solicit input and feedback to develop the 2030 Guam Transportation Plan and to gain general public support for it. The plan for the Public Involvement and Community Outreach Program was designed to: 1. Develop a public involvement and communications strategy that would provide the means to engage Guam’s community to provide dialogue and input towards the development of the 2030 Guam Transportation Plan. 2. Coordinate the public involvement and outreach strategies to integrate with planning phases and milestones. 3. Conduct communications in accordance with applicable FHWA, SAFETEA-LU and NEPA guidelines. Outreach Methodologies There are a number of outreach techniques that are generally accepted as “standard practices” for public engagement on Guam which were used in the GTP public and stakeholder involvement process. All outreach efforts including presentations, press announcements and meetings were jointly facilitated by the DPW and the consultant team. Specific methodologies that were engaged include the following: 1. Creating public awareness of the plan through the media – this was accomplished through press releases, press conferences, print, radio and television interviews, local talk shows and a limited amount of paid advertising.. 2. Speaker Circuits. - these outreach efforts included speaking engagements at civic and business organization membership meetings such as the Guam Chamber A-3 of Commerce, the Guam Contractors Association, and the Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association,. Generally the larger organization luncheons were covered by the media and highlighted through membership communications. Moreover, the larger civic organization luncheon meetings generally included those businesses with an interest in Guam’s transportation systems such as commercial haulers, contractors, transit companies, commercial property owners and retail/wholesale businesses. Consequently, many of the concerns of these specific users were able to be addressed without additional meetings. 3. User group meetings – these included making presentations and leading discussions at scheduled meetings with specific user groups affected by the program such as tour bus companies, public transit operators, trucking companies, and construction companies among others. Such meetings were conducted on an as needed basis and were primarily used to glean any additional or specific information necessary for the planning effort. In addition, presentations were made at public forums such as the Guam Industry Forum with specific focus on the pending Marine relocation to Guam and its impacts on the existing (roadway) infrastructure systems. 4. Community Group Communications – Social, ethnic, cultural and foreign clubs or associations are valuable assets in building community consensus. Equally important are senior citizens’ associations and organized recreational or sports associations such as cyclists or motorcycle clubs. Outreach to these groups was accomplished through public village meetings in the north, central and southern regions. 5. Public Official Communications – elected or appointed representatives were communicated with directly through letters, phone conferences, round table discussions and briefings. 6. Meetings with Local and Federal Agencies information

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