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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

July 2001
Outreach Brings Thousands Into Process

Thousands of Bay Area residents contributed this spring to the development of the 2001 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) by taking part in an MTC-sponsored opinion poll, completing an interactive survey on the MTC Web site, attending meetings of their county congestion management agencies and/or participating in community workshops. Workshop participant

"We're thrilled by the response to our outreach effort," said MTC's deputy director for policy, Therese McMillan. "We've heard from a real cross-section of the Bay Area's diverse communities who have a vital interest in how transportation dollars are spent." In addition to the 1,600 registered voters who were tapped for the telephone poll (see results), another 1,700 people participated in the virtual RTP open house and survey on the MTC Web site, and 700-plus people turned out at the workshops.

MTC made a particular effort this year to ensure that its outreach involved communities with high percentages of minority and low-income residents. The 17 RTP workshops included meetings co-sponsored by neighborhood and community groups in San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, East Palo Alto in San Mateo County, North Richmond in Contra Costa County and Vallejo in Solano County.

A Richmond woman who attended a May 8 community workshop told the Contra Costa Times, "I'm glad that the MTC came out here to listen to the youth and the seniors and the low-income people."

Interactive displays and public discussions at each workshop highlighted transportation issues such as funding, land use and development patterns, environmental concerns, and social equity. Attendees were encouraged to use sticky dots to "vote" for various alternatives for dealing with these issues. The virtual survey posted on MTC's Web site, dubbed the "RTP Challenge," simulated the nine survey stations at the community workshops.

Even if you didn't take the RTP Challenge, stick your dots on the board at a community workshop or have your evening interrupted by a call from a public opinion pollster, you will have another chance to contribute to the RTP after the draft plan is released in August. The next round of public participation is scheduled for the fall, with the final RTP slated for adoption by the Commission in November 2001.

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