Annual Public Involvement Report GDOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) FY 2014-2017 Annual Public Involvement Report Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Public Involvement Process .................................................................................................................. 4 3. Public Meeting Summary: FY 2014‐2017 .............................................................................................. 6 3.1 Meeting Materials ......................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Meeting Notification ..................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Summary of Meeting Attendance ................................................................................................. 9 4. Lessons Learned .................................................................................................................................. 11 Figures Figure 1. GDOT District Map ......................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2. FY 2014‐2017 STIP Public Meeting Locations ................................................................................ 7 Tables Table 1. FY 2014‐2017 STIP Public Meeting Schedule .................................................................................. 6 Table 2. STIP Meeting Maps .......................................................................................................................... 8 Table 3. Meeting Attendance (excluding staff) ........................................................................................... 10 Table 4. Public Outreach Issues and Proposed Solutions ........................................................................... 11 Appendices Appendix A: Meeting Materials Appendix B: Meeting Notifications Appendix C: Media Coverage Appendix D: Translated Documents Appendix E: Responses to Comments Letters GDOT STIP FY 2014‐2017 2 Annual Public Involvement Report 1. Introduction The Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, known as the STIP, is developed by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and is Georgia’s four‐year transportation and capital improvements program. The STIP is a listing of federally‐funded transportation projects within the state that are anticipated to be funded during fiscal years 2014 through 2017. Projects include highway, bridge, public transit, bike, pedestrian, railroad, maintenance, and other improvements. The STIP is developed in coordination with the citizens of Georgia, interested stakeholders, and in direct cooperation with local governments. Projects listed in the STIP are identified through GDOT’s ongoing planning processes in keeping with the Governor’s strategic goals for Georgia to provide a lean and responsive state government that allows communities, individuals, and businesses to prosper. These projects are vital to supporting GDOT’s mission in providing a safe, seamless, and sustainable transportation system that supports Georgia’s economy and is sensitive to its citizens and the environment. During STIP development, interested citizens and LaGrange, November 4, 2013 stakeholders are given the opportunity to review and comment on the state’s transportation priorities for the next four years, as set forth in the STIP. The public is given this opportunity through public meetings that are held throughout the state, and through the Department’s website. They are encouraged to provide comments and suggestions on specific projects and on transportation needs for Georgia. The purpose of this Annual Public Involvement Report is to detail the STIP public involvement process undertaken for the FY 2014‐2017 STIP. This report includes documentation of meetings, the comments received from the public, and notification methods undertaken through this process. GDOT STIP FY 2014‐2017 3 Annual Public Involvement Report 2. Public Involvement Process A major component of the public outreach effort for the STIP is public meetings. Meetings are held throughout the state, in each of GDOT’s six rural districts, which includes all areas that are not part of a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). A district map is shown in Figure 1 on page 5 that also includes MPO boundaries. In MPO areas, transportation projects are not included in the STIP, but are rather a part of each MPO’s transportation plan. The purpose of each of these meetings is to present GDOT’s proposed STIP and provide an opportunity for the public to provide input and comment on the stated transportation goals and projects. Meeting locations are selected in coordination with each GDOT district. There are several key elements considered in this selection process: • Meeting location accessibility throughout each District and to Environmental Justice (EJ) communities; • Facility compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines for ease of access; • Public transportation availability; and • Level of success of meeting location, if used in previous years. At public meetings, participants were provided with large scale maps that depicted proposed projects included in the proposed STIP, and copies of the proposed STIP were available for review. Citizens were asked to provide comments and suggestions using a provided comment form that could be submitted to a present staff member or mailed to the District office. GDOT staff were on hand to answer questions from attendees, and they provided responses to comments and suggestions that were given on comment forms. Milledgeville, October 21, 2013 Helen, October 24, 2013 GDOT STIP FY 2014‐2017 4 Annual Public Involvement Report Figure 1. GDOT District Map GDOT STIP FY 2014‐2017 5 Annual Public Involvement Report 3. Public Meeting Summary: FY 2014‐2017 For the development of the FY 2014‐2017 STIP, a total of 11 public meetings were held to obtain input on the proposed document. These meetings were held in each of GDOT’s six rural districts, with two meetings per district. The exception to this was District Four, which held one meeting within District Four and participated in a joint meeting that was held in District Five in Waycross, very close to the District Four boundary. A summary of meeting dates and locations is shown in Table 1, and Figure 2 on page 7 displays the meeting locations on a map. Table 1. FY 2014‐2017 STIP Public Meeting Schedule District Date Time Venue Name City 1 Thursday, October 24 5 to 7 pm City Hall Meeting Room Helen 1 Tuesday, October 29 5 to 7 pm City of Jefferson Clubhouse Jefferson 2 Monday, October 21 5 to 7 pm Milledgeville Mall Milledgeville 2 Tuesday, October 29 5 to 7 pm Dublin Mall Dublin 3 Monday, November 4 5 to 7 pm West Georgia Commons/LaGrange Mall LaGrange South Georgia Technical College 3 Monday, October 28 5 to 7 pm Americus Pope Center Room 111 4 Monday, November 4 5 to 7 pm Tifton Mall Tifton 4/5 Tuesday, October 22 5 to 7 pm Mall at Waycross Waycross Bulloch County Commissioners 5 Thursday, November 7 5 to 7 pm Statesboro Chamber 6 Monday, October 21 5 to 7 pm GDOT District 6 Conference Room Cartersville 6 Thursday, November 7 5 to 7 pm Carrollton Cultural Arts Center Carrollton All meetings were an open house format and held at community venues, such as GDOT district offices, shopping malls, and other community facilities. Attendees were invited to examine maps depicting proposed STIP projects in their area. Copies of the draft STIP were on hand to provide more in‐depth information about each project. GDOT staff assisted attendees in identifying projects and answering questions. Staff at public meetings included: • District Planning and Programming Engineers • District Communications Officers • Additional District staff, such as District Engineers and District Preconstruction Engineers (not at all meetings) • Consultant Staff Waycross, October 22, 2013 GDOT STIP FY 2014‐2017 6 Annual Public Involvement Report Figure 2. FY 2014‐2017 STIP Public Meeting Locations 3.1 Meeting Materials At each meeting, several materials were available for public comment and for general STIP information. These materials included maps of proposed projects, a comment form, a STIP informational handout, the entire draft STIP document, and instructions for locating additional project information online. In districts where significant Spanish‐speaking communities were identified through the Environmental Justice component of the STIP, materials were also available in Spanish. Table 2 on page 8 lists the maps that were provided on display at each meeting. GDOT STIP FY 2014‐2017 7 Annual Public Involvement Report Table 2. STIP Meeting Maps District Map Extents Number Provided District‐wide 2 Athens Area 1 1 Carnesville Area 1 Cleveland Area 1 Gainesville Area 1 District‐wide 2 2 Laurens, Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Treutlen, Wilkinson Counties 1 Baldwin, Hancock, Putnam, Washington, Wilkinson Counties 1 District‐wide 2 3 Americus Area 1 LaGrange Area 1 4 District‐wide 2 5 District‐wide 2 District‐wide 2 6 Bartow County 1 Carroll County 1 Samples of all meeting materials can be found in Appendix A. 3.2 Meeting Notification Several methods were utilized to notify the public of upcoming STIP public meetings: A direct mail postcard, Press releases, Postings on GDOT’s website, Radio