Studio - Public Engagement

NORTH JERSEY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AUTHORITY PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLANNORTH JERSEY TRANSPORTATION

PLANNING AUTHORITY

December 2015

Prepared by: Dan, Yu-Po, Jonathon, NicoleOne Newark Center, 17th Floor

Newark, NJ 07102


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PURPOSE

How can you get involved?There are many ways you can influence the transportation planning decisions that will shape the future.

o Ask to be included on the NJTPA’s mailing list by calling 973-639-8400, faxing 973-639-1953 or by emailing [email protected] to receive newsletters, publications, updates and other information.

o You can sign-up for the NJTPA electronic mailing list or E-List to receive regular updates about events and news, including meeting notices and agendas.

o Follow the NJTPA on Facebook and Twitter.o Attend meetings of your county’s transportation board

or committee. The NJTPA or your county’s planning department can provide you with contact information.

o Visit this web site at njtpa.org to keep abreast of meetings, schedules and public comment periods and to review and download reports and other information

o Attend NJTPA Board meetings (held every other month) and committee meetings (held on alternate months). A calendar is posted in the NJTPA website.

o Request a speaker for a meeting of your community organization, club or school.

o Visit designated State Documents Depository Libraries and other select libraries throughout the region which keep major NJTPA documents on file.

BACKGROUNDOur families are made up of individuals who have different roles; they work, go to school, get groceries, attend leisure events, the list goes on and on. Accomplishing our daily goals would be impossible without

The purpose of this document is to document the target audiences, the strategies, and the evaluation process NJTPA uses in conducting its public participation and outreach.

To prepare this updated Public Participation Plan, the NJTPA has looked to other MPOs to determine best practices in engaging and informing the public and has incorporated many of those techniques into this document. It will periodically monitor best practices in order to maintain a high and effective level of public participation.

Want to learn more?Check out NJTPA’s Citizen Guide

Want to sign-up for our mailing list?Please visit njtpa.org/get-involved/e-list-subscription for more information

Do you have a public comment? Please visit njtpa.org/get-involved/public-comment for more information

Would you like to provide feedback?Email us at [email protected]


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our system of roads, trails, sidewalks, transit and paratransit services, bridges, ports and airports that form our region’s transportation infrastructure. This document addresses the complexity of our transportation network and the importance of involving members of our community like YOU. The following serves a guide for policy-makers, stakeholders, and residents of North and Central Jersey on how they can get involved and help plan for the future transportation needs of the region. We discuss what the role of a Metropolitan Planning Organization and the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is and we describe the various ways you can get involved to influence the transportation planning decisions that will shape the future.

What is an MPO?Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) plan for the transportation needs of regions throughout the country. MPO’s were established and mandated by the federal government in the early 1970’s for areas with populations over 50,000 people in order to centralize and efficiently plan for the complex transportation needs of large regions. An MPO plans transportation improvements, oversees the investment of federal funds in the region and serves as a central forum for stakeholders, policymakers and members of the public to achieve consensus on the various issues that an MPO is tasked with addressing.

The requirements for MPO’s have changed over the years, but critical to the success of regional MPO’s throughout the country is participation from the public and stakeholders from different backgrounds. To that extent, the most recent federal transportation bill, entitled the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) requires MPO’s to continuously update and expand their public participation plans to increase and promote participation of residents and stakeholders throughout a region. Increasing avenues and opportunities for public participation is critical to MPO’s across the nation. Transportation planning considers the movement of travelers; key to the success of planning is input from the travelers themselves!

Who is NJTPA?The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the thirteen (13) counties in northern and central New Jersey. The NJTPA is one of three MPO’s in New Jersey and oversees approximately 1.2 billion dollars a year in federal transportation investments that serve over 6.5 million people living in the region (75% of the population of NJ). The transportation network in the region support’s people traveling millions of miles each day on roads, rail, foot, bike, and ferry throughout the thirteen counties.

The Board of Trustees of the NJTPA is made up of elected officials that represent the thirteen counties and the cities of Newark and Jersey City. These thirteen counties and two cities are referred to as “subregions” of the NJTPA’s region. NJTPA also works closely with the seven (7) Transportation Management Authority’s (TMAs) within


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Northern and Central Jersey in order to identify issues and projects at the local level. Also part of the Board is the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), NJ Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Governor of the State of New Jersey and a Governor-appointed citizens’ representative. Agencies, organizations, and stakeholders throughout the region provide input to the Board on a regular basis and the Board and its standing committees meet regularly at publicized meetings where the public is not only welcome, but also encouraged to attend.

The NJTPA employs a professional staff of planners, economists, programmers and engineers who analyze and understand the complexities of the region on a number of issues – all aspects of transportation, economic development, land use, the environment and air quality. You can learn more about the NJTPA by visiting our website at njtpa.org.

NJTPA’S ROLE IN INVOLVING YOU!NJTPA’s role in involving the public requires using specific outreach strategies in an increasing level of public impact, from informing you about our projects to collaborating with you on certain projects.

Increasing Level of Public Impact

Inform


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NJTPA will provide you with objective information in order to keep you informed of current problems, alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions.

ConsultNJTPA promises to keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns and aspirations, and provide feedback on how your input influences decisions. We will take your feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions.

InvolveNJTPA vow’s a public promise to work with you to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are directly reflected in the alternatives developed and provide feedback on how your input influences decisions. We will directly with you throughout the process to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered.

CollaborateThe NJTPA will look to you for advice and innovation in formulating solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible. We see you as partners in each aspect of the decision process, including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution.

TARGET AUDIENCESStakeholdersStakeholders are organizations and advocacy groups with a specific planning priority. These groups represent interests of various parts of the General Public.

Municipal Officials and State LegislatureConsidering the complexity of our transportation network, it is important to consult local and state elected representatives who have knowledge of on the ground local issues. It is critical to have feedback from these elected officials on local citizen issues and concerns regarding significant projects and programs in their region.

General PublicThe General Public are people like you. Citizens who use any part of the transportation network or infrastructure within NJTPA’s 13-county region. It is important to hear form the general public because they are the eyes and ears of the everyday issues this region faces. They are essential in the decision-making process. Within the general public is a sub-population of those who are traditionally under-represented and deserve special attention during the public participation process. These populations are determined to be under-represented or disadvantaged either because of economic circumstances, language barriers, low literacy, age, disability, or color of skin.

OUTREACH STRATEGIES AND APPROACHES


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Below are specific strategies and approaches NJTPA uses to both disseminate and collect information to and from stakeholders, county and municipal officials, and the general public in order to make successful transportation decisions for the region. Theses strategies include meetings, informal outreach, traditional media, digital media, social media, mailings, speaking engagement, sub-regional meetings, publications, surveys and focus groups, and visualizations.

Summary of Engagement Strategies

Stakeholders Elected Officials

General Public

Meetings

Informal Outreach

Traditional Media

Digital Media

Social Media

Targeted MailingsSpeaking EngagementsSub-Regional Meetings

PublicationsSurveys and Focus Groups

Visualizations

MeetingsPublic meetings are publicized through mailings, paid public notices, media advisories, and the NJTPA website. The schedule and agendas for these meetings are held twice monthly during the day at the NJTPA headquarters in Newark. NJTPA’s Standing Committees will hold one of its two monthly meetings at one of the regional TMAs on a rotating basis. NJTPA will live-stream committee meetings and archive the recordings in a digital library.

Other meetings could include workshops and charrettes.

Informal Outreach


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An effective way to glean information from the public is to have an informal conversation with them. Example strategies include pop-up kiosks, passive social media engagement tools, voluntary crowd-sourcing, and on-the-spot interviews.

Traditional MediaNJTPA is committed to educating the public about relevant NJTPA activities through local newspapers and radio public service announcements in multiple languages where appropriate. The NJTPA will also expand efforts to involve local media in reporting major work programs, sub-regional events, and meetings.

Digital MediaAdvanced media websites like NJ.com are contacted to both educate and inform the public of transportation trends, major projects and work programs for the region.

The NJTPA website, njtpa.org/, is the primary source for data, reports, project summaries, upcoming products and meeting announcements in a user-friendly and interactive format. The website currently allows visitors to sign on to its mailing list, provide feedback and express concerns. Additionally, the NJTPA utilizes video clips, interactive tools to improve household transportation decisions, email and electronic documents to disseminate project information, meeting opportunities, and data about transportation trends in the region.

NJTPA will create and maintain a visual encyclopedia of planning concepts available to the general public and subregional partners. This will include short video clips, interactive maps, and a visual dictionary of planning terms.

The NJTPA will continue to examine how best to use emerging internet technologies to present information and seek comments from the public.

Social MediaEveryday people are using social media sites to socialize and to consume media entertainment and information. Currently, NJTPA is on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. NJTPA will continue to adapt to emerging social media applications in order to remain relevant in today’s digital world and build upon a network for engagement.

Public Meetingsnjtpa.org/get-involved/calendar

NJTPA’s Board of Trustees Planning and Economic

Development Standing Committee Project Prioritization Standing

Committee Freight Initiatives Standing

Committee Regional Transportation Advisory

Committee

Follow us on Twitter @NJTPA

Follow us on Facebook

Watch our videos on YouTube


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In an effort to both educate and gather data, NJTPA will host a monthly “Ask Me Anything” campaign on specific transportation planning themes in the northern and central New Jersey to encourage interaction. NJTPA will also create Instagram and Snapchat accounts in an effort to be inclusive all user types.

Target Mailings, Newsletters and BrochuresA large part of reaching stakeholders, county and municipal officials, and the public is maintaining NJTPA’s mail and e-mail list. NJTPA looks to its partners in its sub-regions and Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) to continually expand its list of contacts. The NJTPA will seek opportunities to utilize its mailing list to disseminate information to community centers, libraries, senior centers and English as a Second Language (ESL) centers, recognizing that there are still many residents without access to internet.

Speaking EngagementsNJTPA Central Staff will coordinate and schedule speaking engagement opportunities for the Board of Trustees, which many include transportation conferences, meetings of interest groups, and other relevant groups on regional transportation and planning issues. Please contact a NJTPA staff member in order to have a member of the Board of Trustees come speak at your event.

Sub-Regional MeetingsMembers of the Board of Trustees are encouraged to actively participate in sub-regional meetings, including regular meetings of Transportation Coordinating Committees and Advisory Boards, as well as meetings for area-specific corridor studies and other project-specific studies. NJTPA will work with communities to decide the best time, day of the week, place and language for meetings to maximize public participation on corridor specific plans. NJTPA will coordinate with TMAs to interact with their communities more effectively through the internet, graphic displays, online surveys and interactive online and in person events. To find out more about sub-regional meetings in your area, please visit your local subregion website for more information.

PublicationsTo accomplish its goal to become the lead technical and informational resource for transportation planning in the region, the NJTPA recognizes its need to use easily understandable language to present information. One such document is NJTPA’s Citizen Guide. NJTPA will continue to translate select documents as appropriate and it will display as much information as possible in simple graphics for ease of understanding. It will also explore innovative methods to distribute its publications to a broader, more inclusive audience, using traditional, digital, and social media.

Visualization

Publicationsnjtpa.org/newsroom/publications-reports

Citizen’s Guide Biennial reports Newsletters Flyers, Brochures and Fact Sheets News Releases and Media

Advisories


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Visualization is a universal language. NJTPA aims to disseminate information and educate viewers through visualization techniques. As appropriate, the NJTPA will incorporate the expanded use of geographic information systems (GIS) mapping techniques into its website and presentations. These maps and map tools will allow the public to better understand the region’s existing transportation network, demographics, and topics of concern. The NJTPA will also examine expanded use of simulation software to demonstrate the impacts of potential future investments and scenarios in a clear, understandable manner.

Surveys and Focus GroupsTo gather updated information on concerns and issues surrounding transportation at a regional or project-level, the NJTPA will continue to perform digital and face-to-face surveys and use focus groups. At every survey opportunity, NJTPA will request respondents’ contact information in order to expand its mail and e-mail lists for future communications.

Traditionally Under-Represented PopulationsOutreach to the general public also includes outreach to traditionally under-represented or disadvantaged populations. These populations warrant special attention due to economic circumstances, language barriers, low literacy, age, disability, or historical biases. The NJTPA will use the following strategies to increase participation with all of these populations, with specific emphasis on Limited English Proficiency and Low Literacy populations, Senior and Disabled Populations, and Low Income and Minority Populations.

All Under-Represented Populations


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The NJTPA will create a Community Outreach Committee to engage with Traditionally Underrepresented Populations. This committee will be made up of members from local advocacy and community organizations and be headed by NJTPA's Citizen's Representative. The Community Outreach Committee will meet once monthly to discuss planning initiatives.

The NJTPA will provide telecommunication access to meetings upon request for citizens who may require special assistance or are otherwise unable to physically attend.

The NJTPA will practice advocacy planning by forecasting the anticipated impacts of transportation decisions on Traditionally Underrepresented Populations. The NJTPA will plan with the intent of maximizing access for these populations while minimizing harmful land-uses. The NJTPA will publish these forecasts with each update of the Transportation Improvement Plan.

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Low LiteracyThe NJTPA will continue to provide selected translated materials to non-English speaking participants, as appropriate, and will use increasingly more graphic and visualization techniques to communicate information more effectively to the low literacy populations. Publications will primarily be translated to Spanish and other languages as appropriate for corridor and area-specific studies. NJTPA will also identify print and broadcast media that reach these populations.

The NJTPA will set aside funds to provide and advertise in-person translation services at meeting with reasonable notice. Reasonable notice will be no less than 1 week (5 business days) prior to the meeting.

The NJTPA will update their website to be compatible with Google Translate in order to reach all constituents within it's planning area online.

Senior and the Disabled PopulationsWhen appropriate, the NJTPA will partner with paratransit providers and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and county-level Offices on Aging to better include the populations in transportation decision-making.

Low-income and Minority PopulationsThe NJTPA has identified a list of minority stakeholder organizations - including agencies andorganizations serving the Hispanic, African-American, and Asian communities. The NJTPA will continue to communicate with identified community leaders and organizations by including them in the Community Outreach Committee.

The NJTPA will continue to identify new stakeholders and media outlets to broaden its reach within low and minority communities.

The NJTPA will create a Community Leadership Institute to educate Low-Income and Minority citizens on how transportation planning decisions are being made and become involved stakeholders in the process. This Institute will focus upon training attendees to be community leaders and touchstones for future planning projects.


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MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLANBased on the below measures of effective pubic outreach and public participation, the NJTPA Public Affairs Staff will record and evaluate the NJTPA public participation effort annually. These evaluations will monitor the overall performance of public participation by the NJTPA, allow for the comparison of like events for insight, and will help contribute in selecting strategies for the future. NJTPA is aware that some techniques are better-suited for some communities and projects than others and must look at expanding the use of effective techniques and adapting those that work less well to better suit the needs of the region. Additionally, NJTPA will partner will the subregions as well as with NJDOT and NJ Transit to share information on outreach techniques for those that have been both successful and not as effective.

NJTPA will measure its public participation effectiveness by looking at the below quantitative and qualitative analytics.

Quantitative Measures NJTPA must measure the effectiveness of achieving successful outreach and public participation and analyze this information in order to further better its outreach. Quantitative measures for social media may include the number of likes, shares, comments, clicks mentions, or website visits the NJTPA receives on its social media networks. Quantitative measures for traditional media and other strategies listed above may include the number of meetings that are held on an annual basis, the number of participants at each meeting, the number of press releases issued, the number of public comments received, the number of speaking engagements Board of Trustee members participate in, the amount of coverage NJTPA receives in the media, and how big and how often those in the mailing list are contacted. NJTPA will utilize web analytics and the aforementioned quantitative measures to create monthly reports for its Board of Trustees.

Qualitative Measures Not everything can be evaluated by simply looking at the

numbers. NJTPA must ask itself important questions regarding public participation and quality concerns:

How valuable are the comments received in informing the specific product or study in question? What direct, identifiable impact does public involvement have on the planning process and

regional transportation decision-making? Has the NJTPA been effective in helping the public understand the planning process?

Likes

Shares or Retweets

Comments

Clicks

Website Visits

Mentions


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What more can/should the NJTPA be doing to further involve the public?


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OUTCOMES The purpose of the NJTPA Public Participation Plan is accomplished through the above listed outreach and participation strategies in order to precipitate the following outcomes.

If you have any questions about the above content, please contact [email protected].

APPENDIXState and Federal RequirementsGeneral RequirementsMeetings with the NJTPA Board of Trustees and its standing committees are open to the public and a schedule of its meetings is distributed in January of each year and is additionally posted to the NJTPA website. A public comment period is provided prior to the meeting date. Materials distributed to the Board of Trustees are available upon request and additional copies are available at the meeting. Meeting minutes are available upon request and are placed on the NJTPA website. In accordance with American with Disabilities Act, NJTPA holds all public meetings in locations that are accessible to the physically

Working Together

The NJTPA Brand

o Broader distribution of NJTPA data and project informationo More public awareness of the NJTPA’s mission and productso Identification of the NJTPA as the source of technical and informational resourceso Heightened awareness of the NJTPA at the sub-regional and local levels

Inform and Engageo A better informed public and a more fully informed Central Staff and Board of Trusteeso More engaged members of the public, elected officials and other stakeholders in the

NJTPA planning processo A Central Staff and Board of Trustees more fully engaged with the publico More understanding by the public of the importance of the NJTPA’s worko More trust and credibility in the transportation decision-making process by the publico A stronger connection between the public and members of the NJTPA Board of Trustees

o Recognition of how input shapes the outcome of products and studieso Consensus around long-term planning direction and project funding choiceso Tracking of enhanced outreach techniques at the regional and sub-regional levelo Opportunities to revisit and refine techniqueso Involvement of the entire Central Staff in promoting effective public participationo The NJTPA serving as a leader in implementing best practices for public participationo A greater degree of public influence on transportation planning and decision-making in

the regiono A better chance to build consensus around tough decisions for the regiono Established an ongoing partnership for working together in the future


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handicapped and that are accessible to public transportation where feasible. In accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of NJTPA board meetings is advertised in regional daily newspapers and notice is also posted on the Secretary of State in Trenton and in the county clerk’s office of the county hosting the meeting.

The NJTPA maintains a library of current and past public documents that can be reviewed by the public during regular working hours. Public documents produced by the NJTPA are available upon request. Reasonable public access is provided to NJTPA data and policy information. Fees to cover costs may be charged for data requests. Applicable Federal and State laws govern access to other files and documents maintained by the NJTPA. Such requests can be made in writing to the NJTPA Executive Director.

Specific federal or NJTPA public participation requirements for NJTPA major works are listed below.

Public Participation in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

o Hold at least one public meeting, workshop or forum.o Institute a 30-day comment period on the draft documents during which written comments can be

submitted.o Place notification in the legal section of the regional daily newspapers. The notification will

include information on how to obtain copies of documents, any public meetings, workshops or forums scheduled, the schedule for the public comment period, how to submit written comments and a Central Staff contact for additional information. Notification will also be placed on the NJTPA website with an option for submitting comments via email.

o Provide notification to a listing of representative interest groups, stakeholders, and agencies in the region.

o Post documents on the agency’s website.o Distribute documents to select State Documents Depository Libraries and other libraries

throughout the region.o A summary of oral and written comments received during the course of the above procedures are

furnished, with responses and Central Staff summaries, to the voting members of the NJTPA Board of Trustees prior to taking action to finalize the work product. The complete comments and staff summaries with responses are made available to the public upon request and posted on the NJTPA website.

o If a final major work product differs significantly from the one made available for public comment by the NJTPA, an additional opportunity for public comment is provided. A summary report including the disposition of significant comments is made part of the final document. This report will include documentation of any direct impact of public comments and other public participation activities on the planning process and the final product.

o All documents are on file and available for public review during regular office hours at the NJTPA offices.

Public Participation procedures for for expedited TIP amendmentso A 10-day public comment period on the proposed TIP amendment.o Notice posted on the NJTPA website and legal notices places in the regional newspapers.


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o A letter stating that the TIP amendment is being considered is mailed to the list of representative agencies and interest groups, prior to consideration by the NJTPA’s Project Prioritization Committee. The letter includes a project description and a copy of the amendment, TIP page, and instructions on how to comment. A summary of comments along with staff responses are provided to NJTPA Board of Trustees prior to their vote on the amendment.

Public Participation for the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and Project Development Work Program (PDWP)

o Distribute the documents to representative groups and stakeholders for review and comment.o Advertise the documents’ availability in the regional newspapers.o Post the documents to the NJTPA website for review and comment.o Distribute the documents to the libraries in the NJTPA region.

Public Participation Plano The Public Participation Plan was drafted in consultation with interested parties. To prepare this

Plan update, interviews were conducted with Central Staff, subregional representatives, and members of the Board of Trustees. AS required by SAFETEA-LU, there was a 45-day comment period for its review from XXXX to XXXX. NJTPA sought input for this Public Participation Plan in the following ways:

o Notice of the Plan’s availability was published in local newspaperso This plan (and its Spanish version) was made available on the agency’s website and at local

librarieso A post card announcing the availability of the draft Plan were made available upon requesto Three stakeholder roundtables were held to obtain input. One stakeholder roundtable was

specific to Hispanic stakeholders.o The final draft plan and comments received were presented to the Planning and Economic

Development Committee, and the final plan, reflecting any additional input from the actions above, was presented to the Board of Trustees for their adoption.

NJTPA Requirements for Public Participation at the Sub-regionsThe NJTPA offers support to the subregions to help them establish and enhance public participation mechanisms. Funding is provided to the subregions to institute procedures for providing opportunities for local public input into transportation planning activities funded through the NJTPA. These subregional public outreach efforts will include regular meetings of groups. The purpose of this funding is to actively foster citizen awareness and encourage citizen input on transportation issues, projects, and programs.