Public Participation Planning

In the fall of 2006, the TPB will begin the process of developing a “Participation Plan” that will expand upon the TPB's current Public Involvement Process.

SAFETEA-LU, the 2005 federal surface transportation legislation, requires the development of a Participation Plan, which must be developed in consultation with “interested parties.” Among other things, the new law emphasizes that Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) like the TPB should hold public meetings at convenient and accessible times and locations, employ visualization techniques to describe metropolitan transportation plans and TIPs, and make public information available in electronically accessible formats.

The Participation Plan will be developed through a collaborative process, including the involvement of the TPB's Citizens Advisory Committee and the Access for All Advisory Committee . In addition, the Participation Plan will be informed by a forthcoming evaluation of the TPB's public involvement activities, which will be conducted in the fall of 2006. TPB staff will contract with a consultant to perform this assessment, which among other things will provide recommendations on how the requirement of SAFETEA-LU regarding public involvement can be met most effectively.

TPB staff anticipates that a draft version of the new Participation Plan will be released for public comment in the spring of 2007 and will be approved by the TPB before July 2007.