Public Involvement in Transportation Planning in the Washington,D.C.,Region: Report on an Assessment

In the summer and autumn of 1998, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) sponsored an independent study by a team led by ICF Kaiser (now ICF Consulting) to assess its public involvement program for transportation planning carried out in the Washington, D.C., region. The Washington region’s metropolitan planning organization was one of the first to commission an assessment of its public involvement efforts as required under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. The purpose was to provide an overall assessment of TPB’s public involvement program and recommend options for improvement. The assessment was conducted in three phases. The first phase was to review public involvement efforts in the Washington region and, for comparative purposes, other selected metropolitan regions across the United States. The second phase was to interview knowledgeable stakeholders on public involvement in the Washington region. The final phase was to prepare a report presenting findings and recommendations to the TPB based on the efforts from the first two phases. The final report was organized under the umbrella of four overarching themes: (a) strengthen outreach to stakeholders and the public; (b) enhance access to information; (c) improve the public’s understanding of TPB responsibilities; and (d) either discontinue or enhance the citizens’ advisory committee. Although the first three themes are familiar to strengthening many public involvement programs, the fourth is somewhat new and surprising, especially given the prevalence of such bodies.