Public Engagement

Overview of Public Involvement for the Long Range Transportation Plan 2045

The public participation approach for the Orange County Transportation Council (OCTC) Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) update falls into four broad categories:

  1. Public workshops;
  2. Public sector planning partner outreach;
  3. Private sector, non-governmental organizations, and interest groups outreach; and
  4. Supporting and creative public outreach material.

Work within these four categories is described in further detail in Appendix: Public Involvement (PDF). 

Public Workshops

Three formal public workshops were held during the course of this LRTP update. Each workshop was intended to provide information to the public about the LRTP progress and elicit input from stakeholders about critical needs, issues, recommendations, and strategies. A number of visual materials were developed to support the workshops, including relevant maps, posters, presentations materials, handouts, and surveys.

  • Meeting #1 - Newburgh, NY on May 7, 2019
  • Meeting #2 - Middletown, NY on July 24, 2019
  • Meeting #3 - Monroe, NY on November 6, 2019

Photos from Public Meetings

Public Sector Planning Partner Outreach

OCTC includes a number of key public sector agencies and municipalities as both voting and non-voting members.  Input from these members was sought during regularly scheduled OCTC meetings, and members were invited to all workshops. CS project members attended OCTC meetings and provided material to OCTC staff that was used to update members and obtain feedback from these participants. In addition, the OCTC distribution list includes a number of additional public sector planning partners including transportation providers such as fixed route local and commuter buses as well as dial-a-bus, and human service agency transportation providers. These organizations were invited to the workshops and were able to view project material online.

Private Sector, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), and Interest Groups Outreach

Between March and June 2019, the consultant team connected with key private sector, NGO, and interest group stakeholders. These interactions were targeted to gain information on specific topics critical to Orange County. This outreach was conducted by phone and in person via select events, if they had been previously scheduled and occur during the outreach period. For example, the consultant team attended and provided an update on the LRTP project at the Association of Mayors and Supervisors meeting on April 30, 2019. Due to privacy and business concerns, some information may not be attributed to specific businesses or groups.

Virtual Public Involvement and Creative Public Outreach

The consultant team aided OCTC in developing supporting outreach material for use during individual or group stakeholder meetings. This material included PowerPoint presentation highlighting the project and work completed to-date, handouts that can be provided to stakeholders at meetings, and flyers and posters for larger events, among other materials.

In addition, CS explored with OCTC about potentially developing low-cost, innovative outreach solutions that could be used to reach a wide range of people in the County, including:

  • Business cards and posters (on board buses, in park & ride lot shelters, in other public venues, at festivals and farmers markets, etc.) with a QR code link to a brief online survey;
  • Utilize online social media (Facebook, Twitter) to distribute surveys or questionnaires; and
  • Interactive displays and mechanisms to attract attention to OCPD staff attending events who can engage people in conversations about transportation in Orange County.

CS assisted OCTC in setting up a Virtual Public Involvement forum by replicating each public meeting in a survey and posting it on the LRTP website.  This allowed individuals that were unable to make the public meetings to still participate in the public engagement process.