Community Involvement Plan

Transcription

1 Bayview Hunters Point Neighborhood Transportation Plan (NTP) Community Involvement Plan Prepared by Pittman & Associates Prepared for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority June 2009 Pittman & Associates Transportation Land Use Environment

2 Community Involvement Plan 1.0 OVERVIEW 1.1 Objectives The purpose of the (NTP) is to develop a community-based transportation plan for the Bayview-Hunters Point (BVHP) neighborhood of San Francisco. The NTP will: 1) document existing transportation conditions and characterize and identify key community transportation needs and issues; 2) develop and evaluate potential solutions to address identified key community transportation issues; 3) and prioritize cost-effective near-term projects supported by the community to carry forward for funding and implementation. The central element of the study is to include the BVHP community during all phases the planning process and to build local capacity for meaningful involvement in the transportation planning process. Community involvement activities will be designed and conducted to accomplish the following objectives: 1. Build on and develop productive relationships between the Transportation Authority and the BVHP community to ensure that the community takes early and active ownership in the study and its recommendations. 2. Employ non-traditional outreach strategies that focus on small-group interactive techniques conducted at a grassroots, sub-neighborhood, or interest-group level. 3. Effectively involve a broad and diverse base of representative community groups into all phases of the NTP, including traditionally underrepresented constituencies, with a focus on groups that face significant mobility barriers (e.g., youth, seniors, disabled). 4. Build capacity among community groups that increases their ability to conduct community outreach efforts and participate in other transportation planning efforts conducted by the Authority and other public agencies. 5. Identify and document community-based outreach strategies that contribute to a model neighborhood transportation planning process for the Authority and other peer entities. This community involvement plan documents the approach, activities, and schedule for the NTP s elements in each study phase. Given the need to adjust the NTP s goals and process in response to community input over time, the community involvement plan is a living document that will evolve in response to overall NTP workplan modifications. Page 2 of 10

3 1.2 Performance Measures Successful accomplishment of the community outreach objectives will be measured against the following performance measures. Community Outreach Objective 1. Build on and develop productive relationships between the Transportation Authority and BVHP community to ensure that the community takes early and active ownership in the study and its recommendations. 2. Employ non-traditional outreach strategies that focus on small-group interactive techniques conducted at a grassroots, sub-neighborhood or interest-group level and that encourage targeted and direct discussions with the community. 3. Effectively involve a broad and diverse base of representative community groups into all phases of the NTP, including traditionally underrepresented constituencies, with a focus on groups that face significant mobility barriers (e.g., youth, seniors, disabled). 4. Build capacity among community groups that increases their ability to conduct community outreach efforts and participate in transportation planning efforts conducted by the Transportation Authority and other public agencies. 5. Identify community-based outreach strategies that can contribute to a model neighborhood transportation planning process for the Transportation Authority and other peer agencies. Performance Measures 1a. Study focus and goals reflect the goals and objectives defined by the BVHP community 1b. Community endorses or adopts the study goals and objectives during community-led outreach efforts or presentations 2a. Conduct a minimum of ten (10) sub-neighborhood or interest-group level outreach forums, including but not limited to focus groups, stakeholder interviews, attendance at existing community meetings, neighborhood walk-abouts, community led-outreach forums, and charrettes 3a. Conduct community outreach across a broad spectrum of community alliances and interests, including youth, seniors, faith-based institutions, community safety interests, health organizations, environmental organizations, educational and cultural groups, merchants/business owners, major property owners, and employment training and education groups 3b. Conduct targeted outreach to involve groups that face mobility barriers and challenges, including, but not limited to, senior and youth organizations. 4a. Organize and facilitate at least one community-led outreach effort to identify transportation needs and issues, prioritize transportation projects, or develop and evaluate transportation solutions 4b. Involve CBOs and stakeholders in data collection as appropriate 4c. Involve CBO representatives and/or key stakeholders in one or more study team meetings 5a. Track community issues input and incorporate into draft and final NTP with a demonstrated feedback loop 5b. Document and evaluate the effectiveness of outreach strategies in the Community Outreach report Page 3 of 10

4 2.0 STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION AND OUTREACH 2.1 Stakeholder Identification Stakeholder Groups/Organizations The Outreach Coordinator will work with the Transportation Authority to identify a broad base of CBOs and community leaders to participate in the NTP. The Coordinator will develop a pool of CBOs and community members to engage in the study. The list will be developed from the Authority s database, the Outreach Coordinator s database, and recommendations from the community during the course of the study. The list will be updated and refined throughout the course of the study, particularly as key community transportation issues and solutions are prioritized. Elected Officials In addition, the following elected officials, appointed bodies, and advisory committees will be informed of the study and its results through briefings, presentations, or project mailings. Commissioner Sophie Maxwell Bayview-Hunters Point Project Area Committee (PAC) Executive Committee (governing body of the PAC) Land Use, Planning, and Transportation Committee Hunters Point Shipyard Citizens Advisory Committee (HP CAC) BVHP Neighborhood Transportation Plan Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) San Francisco County Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board of Commissioners 2.2 Community Outreach The Outreach Coordinator will schedule and coordinate outreach activities/meetings with CBOs, community groups, institutions, and key community leaders. The Coordinator will also schedule meetings, plan meeting formats, track and document community input, and summarize input from community meetings for the technical study team and to support the final study outreach report. Outreach activities will be scheduled and coordinated to provide critical community feedback at study milestones and decision-making points. Page 4 of 10

5 Initial Outreach Initial community outreach will be conducted with approximately five (5) community organizations or key stakeholders to help define the study focus and to identify priority community transportation issues. The initial outreach will be conducted among a broad base of community interests and advocates. Initial outreach will lay the groundwork for determining the outreach methods and targeting groups that will be engaged in ongoing community during later phases of the study. Ongoing Outreach Following initial community outreach, the Coordinator will refine the list of key community stakeholders that will be engaged to support the following study activities: develop and evaluate project solutions; prioritize transportation projects; and recommend transportation projects that could be supported by the community for funding and implementation. Ongoing outreach will include an additional five to 10 outreach activities, depending on the project schedule requirements and budget constraints. 3.0 PUBLIC OUTREACH STRATEGIES AND TOOLS 3.1 Activities Community outreach strategies will be developed to support a community-based planning process. In contrast to traditional public involvement approaches, which typically rely on inviting the community to public workshops or neighborhood meetings to receive input, the communitybased process for the NTP will be centered on activities that require seeking out opportunities to engage the community in the study process in small-group and community-led settings. Outreach activities will incorporate a broad and diverse array of strategies that typically will be conducted where people live, work, or are involved in community activities such as CBO offices, community facilities, community gardens, churches, or businesses within the study area. Community outreach will involve a combination of activities including, but not limited to, the following outreach tools: Page 5 of 10

6 3.2 Outreach Tools Stakeholder Interviews. One-on-one interviews conducted with key community leaders, decision-makers, business owners, or residents who have a vested interest in the community. Focus Groups. Meetings with a group of approximately ten or more individuals or members of community organizations. Contracting with CBO(s). Hiring CBO(s) to conduct or participate in certain community outreach tasks. The Transportation Authority and Outreach Coordinator will provide training and oversight to CBOs as necessary. Presentations at Community Meetings. Presentations by the Authority and Outreach Coordinator at regularly scheduled community meetings or other types of community outreach forums. Co-Hosting Meetings. Partnering with CBOs to host meetings or attend regularly scheduled community meetings to discuss the BVHP NTP. Community Participation on the (TAC) or Study Team Meetings. Attendance and participation by CBOs and/or key stakeholders at TAC or study team meeting(s) to ensure that transportation issues identified by the community have been effectively integrated into the planning process and technical analyses of the NTP. Attend Community Festivals/Events. Attend and staff a table at a neighborhood or community festival to publicize the NTP and ways to become involved in the study process. These venues can also be used for data collection (i.e., brief intercept survey with a prize drawing for completed surveys, etc.). Neighborhood Walking Tours. Walking tours with community representatives to understand existing conditions and identify transportation issues. Members of the study team and TAC may also be invited. Charrettes. Collaborative sessions with stakeholders that promotes joint ownership of solutions to address transportation issues in the Bayview. Page 6 of 10

7 3.3 Outreach Materials The Outreach Coordinator will assist the Authority in developing the following outreach materials to inform the community about the study and to draw their input. Different types and combinations of outreach materials will be employed, depending on the outreach strategy and the goal of the outreach activity. NTP fact sheets Stakeholder interview questions Visualizations, maps, boards Exercises (cognitive mapping, prioritization charts, tension diagrams) Intercept interviews Existing conditions photographs 4.0 INTEGRATION OF COMMUNTY INVOLVEMENT INTO THE PLANNING PROCESS Implementation of the community involvement plan will be coordinated with, and integrated into, each phase of the planning and technical study process. The tasks shown below refer to the outreach work tasks included in the NTP Work Plan. Community involvement activities for each task of the NTP are outlined below. COORDINATION AND INTEGRATION OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES INTO THE BVHP NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSPORTATION PLAN NTP Work Tasks Task 1 Project Start-Up Task 2 Outreach Plan Coordinated Outreach Activity Review project background materials: NTP Work Plan and other materials related to transportation issues in BVHP to identify potential community issues and data gaps. Prepare a draft Outreach Plan for the NTP. The Community Involvement Plan will include outreach objectives, strategies, performance measures, and schedule. The Outreach Plan will be flexible enough to respond to changes in the overall study workplan. Conduct initial outreach via stakeholder interviews and focus groups. This Task will also be coordinated with Task 3 of the NTP, as appropriate. Initial outreach will consist of approximately five meetings during which community members will be asked to characterize and evaluate existing transportation conditions and identify key transportation issues affecting BVHP. Based on transportation issues expressed by community members, the study focus and goals will be refined to guide the technical analyses. Page 7 of 10

8 COORDINATION AND INTEGRATION OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES INTO THE BVHP NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSPORTATION PLAN NTP Work Tasks Task 3 Existing Conditions and Key Issues Task 4 Solutions Development and Evaluation Task 5 Solutions Refinement and Draft Recommendations Task 6 Implementation Plan and Final Report Coordinated Outreach Activity In partnership with community-based organizations (CBOs), continue ongoing outreach activities to receive community input on high-priority issues and transportation goals in BVHP. Outreach will consist of a variety of techniques and forums as described in section 3.2 Outreach Tools. Prepare a community issues summary based on input received during the first phase of community outreach (NTP Task 2 and Task 3), which will be integrated into the technical existing conditions and needs analysis. Conduct public involvement activities to develop and prioritize potential solutions to address the community s key transportation issues. Outreach efforts will target development and evaluation of potential cost-effective transportation programs, projects, and policies that can be implemented in the short- to mid-term. Prepare a summary of community input for solutions development and prioritization for integration into the evaluation and screening of transportation solutions. Engage community members and key stakeholders to provide input regarding final prioritization and refined design of high-priority transportation solutions that will be prepared for grant readiness. Draft recommendations will be presented to key stakeholders. In addition, briefing presentations will be made to Commissioner Maxwell, the BVHP PAC, Hunters Point CAC, and Transportation Authority committee(s), as appropriate. Prepare a summary of community outreach activities in support of refinement of transportation solutions and presentation of draft recommendations. Prepare a draft and final report documenting the outreach process based on a synthesis of deliverables from previous tasks for inclusion in the NTP final report. The outreach report will include a description of how activities addressed performance measures and demonstrate how the community voice was integrated into each phase of the study analyses and recommendations. 5.0 RECORD KEEPING The Outreach Coordinator will document public involvement activities and provide and retain meeting summaries in a format approved by the Transportation Authority. Record keeping will include organization of public community comments, tracking of meetings and individual briefings, and thank you letters. All outreach documentation and associated materials will be provided to the Authority at the conclusion of the project for record-keeping purposes. Page 8 of 10

9 6.0 PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES Following is a list of community outreach tasks and deliverables with their estimated completion dates. The schedule and deliverables have been developed to coordinate with the key milestones of the BVHP NTP. Task 1 Project Start Up Subtask Deliverables Estimated Completion Date 1.1 Initiate outreach coordination Review of project background materials and identify data gaps Task 2 Outreach Plan and Initial Stakeholder Interviews 2.1 Prepare Community Involvement Plan 2.2 Conduct Initial Stakeholder Interviews Draft and Final Community Involvement Plan List of key stakeholders, including CBOs, community groups, institutions, major property owners and employers Task 3 Existing Conditions and Key Community Issues 3.1 Conduct outreach to support community issues analyses May-June 2009 June 2009 June 2009 Initial stakeholder interviews June-July 2009 Ongoing outreach activities to document community transportation issues July-September Prepare issues memo for incorporation into Existing Summary of community issues memo September 2009 Conditions Report Task 4 Solutions Development and Evaluation 4.1 Develop measures of evaluation Evaluation measures October 2009 that reflect community input 4.2 Conduct outreach to support development and evaluation of potential transportation solutions Ongoing outreach activities to document community input on transportation solutions Summary of community input on solutions development and evaluation Task 5 Project Prioritization and Draft Recommendations 5.1 Conduct outreach to develop community-based prioritization of transportation solutions Task 6 Implementation/Funding Plan and Final Report 6.2 Prepare Draft and Final Community Outreach Report for incorporation into BVHP NTP Ongoing outreach activities to support final prioritization and refinement Draft and Final Community Outreach Report October-November 2009 December 2009 December 2009-January 2010 January-February 2010 Page 9 of 10

10 The is funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and Proposition K San Francisco s local ½-cent sales tax for transportation, which is administered by the Transportation Authority. Page 10 of 10