Having their say

Public Involvement Proves Invaluable On Carbondale Project

By JEAN RICHARDS, Hanson Engineers

"We're not here to tell you where to build the road. Our job here is to help you determine what your needs are and how to meet those needs, even if that means no road is built."

That's what the citizens of Carbondale heard during an advisory group meeting from John Coombe, vice president in charge of transportation engineering with Hanson Engineers.

The city and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) District 9 selected Hanson Engineers to prepare a detailed study of the feasibility of a bypass for Route 13 on the north side of town. The proposed Northside Parkway, five to seven miles in length, will connect Route 13 on the east and west sides of town, relieving congestion and improving safety.

Hanson Engineers' task is to find a solution which best serves all citizens. "Therefore," according to John, who serves as project manager, "one of the most important aspects of this project is public involvement."

Traditionally, John said, public involvement activities would be minimal until a public hearing (required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) was held near the end of the study process. But, there's one big flaw with that approach, John added. "At that point in the process," he explained, "you haven't taken the public's thoughts, ideas and concerns into consideration, because you didn't know what they were. At the same time," he added, "you've missed a great opportunity to learn from the public."

"You can't complete a study without information from people in the community," agreed Jim Moll, project engineer for the location study. "They have lived in the community for a long time; they are aware of the problems and they have ideas for solutions."

Through an effective program that involved the community in the early phases of the project, the Hanson team has "literally won . . . the confidence of the citizens of Carbondale," according to Larry B. Meyer, formerly the district planning engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation. "Their unbiased and professional approach to the engineering and environmental aspects of this project has indicated to area residents that they are independent thinkers, performing their work in the professional manner for which Hanson was hired."

The city agrees. "They have been accessible, well-prepared and articulate in their presentations," according to former Carbondale City Manager Steve Hoffner. "They present their findings in a way that our citizens have been able to understand and follow, and they clearly have earned the respect of the advisory committee that has worked on the Northside Parkway project. They have inspired confidence and trust."

For Carbondale's Northside Parkway project, John expects the study process to take more than two years, involve at least seven meetings with the citizens advisory group, two public informational meetings and a public hearing. During the process, Hanson Engineers will prepare a location design report, environmental impact statement, ecological resources report, socio-economic technical report, geotechnical report and noise report, as well as plan and profile sheets for the proposed highway showing the limits of right of way.

Hanson Engineers will recommend where the road will be built. A "no build" option is also a possibility. But whatever the recommendation is, Jim said, a good recommendation cannot be made without information, and "the advisory group is providing a lot of information."

Early on, the Hanson team suggested that a citizens advisory group be formed. The city and IDOT recommended 15 people to serve on the advisory group. Some members represent various neighborhoods in Carbondale. Representatives from Southern Illinois University, the city, Jackson County, Southern Illinois Airport, the NAACP and the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce also serve on the advisory group.

Members of the advisory group play an important part in the study process, John said. "These people have made what is now a two-year commitment to this project," Jim agreed. "They want to be involved and they're willing to do the work required."

Although the members of the group will not vote to choose an alignment, their input is invaluable during the planning process. "Having that input is important," John said, "but our team, the advisory group and everyone else involved in the project have realized that we aren't going to be able to satisfy everyone and you need to accept that going in. We want the public involved all along, so when the final recommendation is

August 1992 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 13

made, it won't be a big surprise. There will be people who will still disagree with our recommendation, but because they have been involved since the very beginning, we hope that they will understand it."

The public involvement process actually started before Hansen Engineers officially began the project, John said. "We knew that the city likes to involve people in the process and we took some of the ideas we had used on previous projects and suggested that they be used on the Northside Parkway project."

Other recent Hanson Engineers' projects with strong public involvement components include Illinois 336 in Adams and Hancock counties and the West Forrest Hill/Gale Avenue study for the city of Peoria and Peoria County.

Mary Lou Piper, who manages Hansen's environmental studies for the project, views the advisory group meetings and public informational meetings as an "information exchange process. We are there to explain the prospective alignments and the limitations of each, We are there to listen to the group's suggestions and I think people now realize that we're not there to sell them a bill of goods," she said.

By the end of May, the advisory group and the Hanson team had met five times.

"In the very first meeting, we asked the group to tell us what was important to them," Jim said. "If we were going to look at building a road, then we had to determine its purpose and need."

Also in its first contact with the group, the Hanson team provided an overview of the project to explain the "big picture." "Another thing we did was to offer a quick, mini lesson in highway design," Jim said. "We asked the members of the advisory group to design their own highway using maps and overlays of roads we had given them. We wanted to demonstrate that a highway requires more space than what most people think. Later, we explained the environmental issues and highway issues involved."

At subsequent meetings, other people who would be affected by a new parkway were asked to be guest speakers. Guest speakers have included people from the Illinois Central Railroad and various state agencies.

In addition to the advisory group meetings, two public informational meetings were held for the entire community. "Initially, we had seven preliminary alignments," Jim explained. "Then after gathering information, we narrowed the possibilities down to three — a north, south and middle alignment. We had the first public informational meeting and nobody wanted the middle alignment. Nobody thinks their voice counts, but that's how we decided to eliminate that alignment."

In addition to recommending the formation of an advisory group, Hanson Engineers also suggested publishing a newsletter to keep residents up to date on the project and establishing a permanent display area (now in city hall) where citizens could view the possible alignments and also submit comments.

Two alignments are still in the running. The Hanson team is awaiting the results of field investigations being conducted on the proposed southern alignment before it makes a recommendation to the city and IDOT.

Hanson Engineers will make its recommendation at a public hearing, the next step in the public involvement process. At the hearing, comments from citizens will be made part of the official public record. After the hearing, Hanson Engineers will address each concern raised in a final report to the Federal Highway Administration.

"We do expect some minor opposition at the public hearing," John said. "When you're dealing with a large group of people, you can't please everyone. But, because we have explained the process and have involved the public in it from the beginning, we do hope that the dissension will be minimal."

Overall, John said working with the citizens of Carbondale on the Northside Parkway project has been "fun; first, because the process is working so well and then, second, just because they're a great group of people to work with."

Effective public involvement programs share similarities

In establishing an effective public involvement program, the Hanson team always follows several steps:

"One of our goals is to provide as much information up front (before a decision is made) as possible," according to Jim Moll, who serves as the project engineer for the location study on the Northside Parkway project in Carbondale. "You want people to understand all the issues so there aren't any surprises later," Local media can make a positive contribution in this area, according to project manager John Coombe. For example, the Northside Parkway project has received complete coverage from the media in Carbondale. "This helps inform the people who can't attend the meetings," he said.

Second, "Because new issues are always arising throughout the course of the study, we must be flexible," John said. "The study process is an evolving process. We must be able to change gears and be able to address specific issues raised by the advisory group and other members of the community."

Third, "Recognize that advisory group members have their own expertise and draw on that," Jim said.

Fourth, "We try to develop an element of trust," John said. "People see we are listening and that we are addressing their concerns. That's important."

Fifth, take the correct approach. "The right approach," Jim said, "is to say, 'If I were a citizen in this city, how would I want this process to work?'" •

Page 14 / Illinois Municipal Review / August 1992