An Assessment of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Public Involvement Practices and the Development of a Public Involvement Toolkit
An Assessment of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Public Involvement Practices and the Development of a Public Involvement Toolkit

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13:

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Well-implemented public involvement programs have many potential benefits for transportation agencies including enhanced credibility with the public, decisions reflecting community values, and reduced risks of litigation (O'Connor et al., 2000). The objectives of this study included a broad assessment of the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT's) public involvement practices and the development of a public involvement "toolkit" for use by VDOT staff. The toolkit describes an array of techniques that may be used from the earliest planning stages of transportation projects through their construction, noting advantages, disadvantages, special considerations in the use of each technique, and references and website links for further reading. The assessment of VDOT's current public outreach practices included information gathering from citizens and VDOT staff. A total of 948 citizens attending several types of VDOT meetings and hearings completed written surveys that included questions about how they prefer to be notified about upcoming VDOT meetings, how they prefer to be informed about projects, and how they prefer to be updated on the status of plans or projects. Focus groups and written "self evaluation" surveys provided information on the perceptions of VDOT staff about the effectiveness of VDOT's public involvement approaches and their suggestions for improving communication with the public and public involvement... Study recommendations include the following: VDOT staff should use the toolkit and a soon-to-be released interactive public involvement tool by the Federal Highway Administration to choose effective public involvement approaches; VDOT divisions should collaborate on ways to increase the public's understanding of the planning, project development, and public involvement processes; and as soon as the state budget situation permits, the Outreach Section of VDOT's Office of Public Affairs proposed by the Governor's Commission on Transportation Policy should be staffed to provide greater in-house strategic communications planning and evaluation capability for major projects.

Roadside Design Guide
Roadside Design Guide

Author: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Task Force for Roadside Safety

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13:

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Virginia Department of Transportation Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
Virginia Department of Transportation Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act

Author: Veronica M. Kelly

Publisher:

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13:

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Whenever a highway construction project is federally assisted, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, in effect, requires the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to locate and evaluate historic and prehistoric properties within the project area and to minimize any adverse effects that the project might have on a property determined to be included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The process of complying with Section 106 contributes significantly to both national and state historic preservation efforts, but is time-consuming and costly for the VDOT or any other state agency whose federally assisted projects might impact historic sites. While Section 106 mandates consideration of both standing structures and archeological sites, the focus of this study is on the latter. This study (1) summarizes the theoretical process of compliance with Section 106, (2) summarizes and compares the compliance procedures of several East Coast states' transportation departments to those of the VDOT, and (3) makes several recommendations to expedite the VDOT's compliance process while still maintaining a commitment to historic preservation. These recommendations involve not only the VDOT but also other state agencies involved with cultural resources.

A Review of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Scoping Process and Options for Potential Improvements
A Review of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Scoping Process and Options for Potential Improvements

Author: K. E. Lantz

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 43

ISBN-13:

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Transportation project scoping is a process where the project's purpose and need, budget, schedule, and scope are developed. Interviews conducted with 27 staff representing VDOT, FHWA, and regional planners, coupled with a review of related literature and federal legislation, suggested 10 options for improving Virginia's scoping process. Although implementation of the first 8 options may involve, to varying degrees, both central office and district staff, the decision regarding whether or not to implement them as a matter of policy rests with VDOT's Chief Engineer. Six options regard changes in process that have already been implemented in some VDOT districts or are under consideration: (1) Select a monthly project day statewide; (2) Delineate scoping-day decisions from other activities in the scoping process; (3) Consider initiatives that have already been deployed successfully in one or more VDOT districts such as the use of a risk assessment page; (4) Allow electronic submission of the scoping report; (5) Provide resources to perform scoping prior to programming (and use this information to influence which projects are placed in the transportation program); (6) Support efforts to link planning and programming. Two options regard specific products: (1) develop a single primer that explains to an outside audience how the scoping process influences project development and is designed to improve the quality of the discussion among VDOT, localities, and other agencies regarding project scoping, and (2) consider database enhancements suggested by interviewees. The final two options regard suggestions for further research. The report gives the rationale for each option, detailing interviewees' descriptions of how scoping is done, challenges that arise when scoping specific projects, and enhancements to scoping that have been considered in individual districts.