After a decade of public discussion and political debate, the I-394 MnPASS Express Lane, Minnesota’s first HOT lane, opened in May 2005. The MnPASS project was designed to improve the efficiency of I-394 by increasing the person- and vehicle-carrying capabilities of existing HOV lanes; maintaining free flow speeds for transit and carpools; and using electronic toll collection -- tags/transponders and readers -- for dynamic pricing and electronic enforcement. While previous road pricing initiatives in Minnesota, as in other states, have provided opportunity for public feedback, that process tends to be confrontational and less than satisfying for all parties.
Both citizens and politicians often feel comments and concerns are minimized and rarely taken seriously enough to alter project plans. Recognizing this deficiency, MnDOT formed the I-394 Express Lane Community Task Force to help citizens and stakeholders fully understand the project and its goals and to provide a more effective vehicle to give advice and guidance during the development of the project. This Task Force was a broad based group representing legislative, community and groups of special interest. Through this process, the task force members became an informed voice regarding the project and an essential part of an extensive education, outreach and public involvement process that was critical to the success of the I-394 MnPASS project.
In using the public outreach process to build consensus, planners should attempt to anticipate the concerns of specific interest groups. An understanding of what aspects of priced managed lanes projects may be more or less attractive to different groups can be valuable to project sponsors. Certain stakeholders and interest groups with a defined agenda may support or oppose a project depending on their priorities and how their town or county may be affected by the project. When sponsors understand constituents’
concerns, the public outreach process can be tailored to ensure that those issues are addressed and to discuss how those concerns will or could be accommodated within the proposed project.
These objectives, as well as a stakeholder analysis that includes identification of interest groups with a potential specific interest in the project, should be included in initial project planning and outlined in the Communications Plan.
Stakeholders may possess a range of opinions about a project, but consensus on a course of action is more likely if the public has been engaged in discussions of all the issues and if stakeholders agree upon the following:
• A serious congestion problem exists and should be addressed. Conventional solutions like adding additional general-purpose lanes, building transit facilities, or applying short-term or site-specific transportation systems management strategies may not be sufficient.
• Travel-time reliability in the corridor is desirable.
• Given the sponsoring agency’s mission, it is the right entity to address the situation.
• The sponsoring agency’s approach and proposed solution to the problem is reasonable, sensible, responsible, and fair.
• The sponsoring agency listens to and cares about local stakeholders.
4.4.1 Stakeholder Identification
In reaching out to local communities; political groups and organizations; elected officials; and neighboring cities, towns, and counties, project planners should include all potential stakeholders. No segment of a community likes to be left out or surprised, and early efforts at inclusiveness will help to establish channels of communication at the outset of a priced managed lanes project.
Potential Stakeholders
When developing the project’s communications plan, project planners should identify the various
stakeholders who will be impacted by or may have an interest in the project. Local MPOs may be helpful in assembling a logical list of concerned parties. While priced managed lanes themselves have discrete locations, the facilities are part of a regional, multimodal transportation network that may cross multiple jurisdictional boundaries. As with any transportation improvement, coordination and cooperation among neighboring governments and related agencies can ease the planning and implementation of priced managed lanes. The list of stakeholders will vary from project to project, but concerned parties may include the following:
• Local residents
• Neighborhood groups and associations
• Elected officials
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• Neighboring counties, municipalities, or towns
• Associations of governments
• Metropolitan planning organizations
• Area businesses
• Chambers of commerce
• Tourism representatives
• Developers
• Local and state departments of transportation
• Local and regional transportation providers
• Local and regional transit providers (public and private)
• Local and regional tolling authorities
• Rideshare coordinators
• Public agencies (for land use and air quality)
• Emergency service providers
• Environmental groups
• Transit rider groups
• Automobile clubs
• Taxi associations
• Labor interests
• Trucking interests
• Newspaper reporters
• Newspaper editorial boards
• Think tanks
Sharing Information
Keeping the variety of stakeholders well informed during the initial project planning, review, construction, implementation, and operation phases is important for consensus building. Project planners and
spokespeople can use a variety of methods to keep stakeholders involved and informed. These may include the following:
• Advance notice for public meetings
• Public meetings
• Brainstorming sessions/group problem solving
• Email lists and newsletters
• Social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook)
• Telephone information/service lines
• Project websites
• Walk-in office/customer service centers
Stakeholder coordination should continue throughout project implementation. Ensuring that technical work does not outpace constituency building is a prudent approach that keeps state, county and local politicians informed of project activities on a regular basis.
4.4.2 Citizens’ Advisory Committee/Community Task Force
One option for formalizing public participation is through a citizens’ advisory committee. Such committees can be effective outreach tools and they may be particularly useful for priced managed lanes initiatives.
Participants can be drawn from a variety of groups in the early planning stages, and the committee can help guide the public outreach process through later phases of planning and implementation. The group can be an important resource for identifying issues that outreach efforts should address and for connecting project sponsors with area community groups and other organized stakeholders. An advisory committee can also help to identify and recruit political champions.
4.4.3 executive Advisory Committee
Some project sponsors have assembled a network of community leaders, inviting their input at key strategic points in the project progress. An executive-level advisory committee typically includes mayors, agency leaders, and other state and local elected officials. While these types of committees rarely have decision-making authority, their value is in representing their constituents, advising planners, and contributing to regional consensus. These committees may also be valuable in developing or maintaining regional consensus and helping to resolve conflicts between governments and agencies.
Figure 4-1 shows how different stakeholder groups, including an Executive Committee and Citizen Advisory Committee, can work together to help build consensus for a project.
Figure 4-1: Stakeholder engagement Process for the I-405 Project in washington State
Source: Washington State Department of Transportation
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