Listen Up!

The intensity of public involvement often can be overwhelming for planners. This article presents three cases that suggest effective ways of managing the planning process for public transportation projects. In the first case, planners in St. Louis launched an aggressive education campaign to convince city and transit officials to approve a light rail system. The project originally faced much public opposition from residents who felt that the system would be too expensive and suffer from low ridership. Support for the project gradually grew, and the line now attracts over 35,000 riders a day. In Atlanta, making key decisions at the community level helped a project to revitalize downtown neighborhoods with transit and parks succeed. Public participation was solicited throughout the project's development through meetings, surveys and focus groups. After a 1997 proposal to finance transit in Denver failed to win public support, planners redesigned the program to address specific neighborhood needs. Planners also made sure that they built alliances and involved the public in environmental studies and preliminary designs.

Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1762461
Authors:
- Springer, Nate
Publication Date: 2007-5

Language

English

Media Info

Media Type: Print
Features: Figures; Photos;
Pagination: pp 30-33
Serial:
- Planning
- Volume: 73
- Issue Number: 5
- Publisher: American Planning Association
- ISSN: 0001-2610
- Serial URL: http://www.planning.org

Subject/Index Terms

TRT Terms: Case studies; Communities; Decision making; Planning and design; Public information programs; Public opinion; Public participation; Public transit; Transportation planning
Geographic Terms: Atlanta (Georgia); Denver (Colorado); Saint Louis (Missouri)
Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

Accession Number: 01050229
Record Type: Publication
Files: TRIS
Created Date: May 27 2007 11:59PM