Public Involvement, Communication and Equity Services

Public Involvement, Communication and Equity Services Boston, MA

HNTB QUALIFICATIONS HNTB Corporation provides a broad range of engineering services to departments of transportation and transit authorities/railroads nationwide. Each HNTB office serves the needs of its local communities while drawing upon the organization’s combined experience, facilities and staffing. With more than 6,000 professionals nationwide, including 250 in our Massachusetts offices, HNTB has the depth of resources and ability to complete any engineering assignment on schedule.

IN-HOUSE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TECHNOLOGY “MassDOT has enthusiastically embraced the modernization of the way we interact with the public using virtual public

Public Involvement and Equity Expertise Co-Creation = Community Driven Outcomes

involvement (VPI) tools.

Using Public Involvement

Management Application HNTB’s focus is on people, and Understand (PIMA) we are able to working across disciplines to provide rapidly deploy standardized technical solutions that fit differcomment forms on any ent communities’ unique needs to project, post links to them Envision Learn benefit them long-term. Two of our on our agency webpage innovative approaches to achieving and circulate links via COMMUNITY this outcome are co-creation and email. All of the feedback virtual public involvement. Through we receive from the the co-creation framework, we are public then goes into a putting communities at the center of centralized stakeholder Assess Commit the collaborative process and continmanagement database © 2021 HNTB Corporation uously driving project outcomes, as that can be accessed and ����������� ������������������������� ������������� �������������� 3 N ovem ber 17-18, 2021 opposed to the sporadic participation that typically occurs at different intervals in the deresponded to by those working on the project. This cision process. Co-creation gives community members a role in determining their needs, streamlines our ability to as well as the right “answer” to meet their needs, and encourages technical experts and see comments coming in, transportation professionals to engage and partner with diverse community populations what topics the public is to develop a more comprehensive solution.

most interested in and where

HNTB is also advancing technology solutions to have a broader reach into communities, including those with traditionally underserved populations. In partnership with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), we have developed the Public Involvement Management Application – or PIMA – a virtual stakeholder engagement tool that increases transparency and accountability so that communities can truly be heard and teams can stay nimble to adapt strategies throughout project development. PIMA’s Equity Outreach Dashboard (EOD) is a new tool that merges census and stakeholder engagement data to help teams evaluate the success of their outreach and identify gaps or opportunities for growth. Agencies can identify the unique equity metrics they would like to measure on a project-level basis. This data is then used to inform decisions around future outreach and demonstrate outreach success for environmental and other regulatory compliance.

Early, often and transparent communication helps keep the public and stakeholders informed in a respectful and productive way, minimizing the risk of project delays that can result from substantial public controversy. Our public involvement (PI) team pairs local knowledge and relationships with innovative tools and technologies, bringing unparalleled experience to the stakeholder engagement process.

along the project those interested are located.”

- Michael Trepanier, Project Manager, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Highway Division

U N I Q U E F O U R - A G E N C Y PA R T N E R S H I P C R E AT E S

New Equity Outreach Dashboard The Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS) Team is excited to announce the first release of the Public Involvement Management Application (PIMA) Equity Outreach Dashboard (EOD) This tool was developed in partnership by:

IOWA DOT

MASSACHUSETTS DOT

MAINE DOT

WISCONSIN DOT

The PIMA EOD is an interactive tool that empowers users to track stakeholder engagement through a project lifecycle and dynamically identify where additional or revised outreach strategies may be needed. The EOD integrates engagement data collected in PIMA with data available in HNTB’s Community Intelligence Toolkit (CIT) to support how agencies strategize around public engagement to reach communities, including historically underserved communities.

What is the Equity Outreach Dashboard (EOD) Exactly?

The EOD is a new dashboard in PIMA that compares stakeholder community demographics with the project area to identify gaps in engagement. This analysis allows project teams to make informed decisions on outreach strategies. The dashboard displays demographic metrics that indicate whether stakeholders engaging in the project reflect the impacted community in the project area.

The goal of the PIMA EOD is to help make certain the stakeholders providing feedback on an agency’s project are representative of the community that will be affected by the project. The EOD allows the project team to select a variety of key metrics to assess and monitor throughout the project duration. The EOD can be utilized on any project type and during all project phases, from corridor planning to construction and operation. The tool was developed by a unique fouragency DOT partnership.

PATRICK MARVIN, AICP Section Manager - Planning

Patrick brings significant experience leading major public involvement and community outreach efforts across New England. He is passionate about managing inclusive and comprehensive public engagement throughout the duration of infrastructure projects. His strengths lie in fostering collaboration between subject matter experts (SMEs) and local communities, and facilitating a co-creation model where stakeholders provide meaningful input and feedback. Patrick lives on the North Shore with his wife and their two golden retrievers, Kevin and Beans. He can often be found playing hockey, hiking with his dogs or perfecting his homemade pizza recipe.

ERICA BLONDE, AICP

Associate Vice President - Equity and Engagement Practice Manager Erica is an equity and engagement manager well-versed in federal and state environmental justice (EJ) policies. She has worked as lead and deputy community engagement practitioner on major projects in Northern California and throughout the Northeast. Erica has been instrumental in deploying comprehensive community involvement strategies that leverage grassroots techniques and technology to reach historically underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, sewing, water coloring and bird watching.

She once rode her bike 14 miles to find a Hooded Merganser, a type of duck.

PAIGE SOPHER

Environmental Planner III Paige specializes in evaluating the potential community impacts of transportation projects, identifying ways to minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts and engaging in two-way communication with the public to inform and improve project outcomes for clients. She has a strong working knowledge of federal and state policies relating to historically underserved populations. Paige leverages her experience to author documentation for environmental compliance and lead grant applications to secure federal funding opportunities.

Paige enjoys spending quality time with her husband and two young sons. She gravitates towards outdoor activities, where she can exercise and enjoy nature and wildlife.

BILLY PARENT

Team Leader - Public Engagement and Communications Billy has served as a communications manager for significant transportation projects in Southern California and is engaged with multiple clients in Massachusetts. As a leader of the public engagement and communications team, he prioritizes equitable public engagement and seeks to enhance transportation infrastructure for the public’s benefit. Since returning to the east coast, he is looking for new places to surf and a warmer wetsuit, and can also be found playing his guitar, cheering on Boston sports and enjoying the outdoors.

SARA STOJA Planner I

Sara is a community engagement planner who helps facilitate an equitable and inclusive public outreach process for various transportation projects. This includes researching project areas, composing public involvement plans, developing outreach materials and coordinating public information meetings. By using the Public Information Management Application (PIMA) tool and different ESRI applications, Sara maintains stakeholder databases, creates maps and surveys, and builds out websites for clients. Sara uses this data to refine HNTB’s outreach strategies and keep the communities located in and around project areas accurately represented and engaged. Outside of working on various transportation projects, Sara enjoys spending time with friends and family. She is most fond of word puzzles, cooking, sailing and hiking.

RACHEL GIES

Specialist I - Public Engagement and Communications Rachel is a public engagement and communications specialist who supports large-scale infrastructure projects through inclusive public involvement and outreach efforts. She develops comprehensive plans for public and stakeholder involvement, coordinates public meetings and records notes, contacts community-based organizations, creates outreach materials for in-person events and assists with EJ analyses. Her background is in sustainability science, which gives her a deeper understanding of the complex systems related to climate resiliency in transportation. In her free time, Rachel can be found going to her favorite shows around Boston, snuggling with her furry friends and connecting with the natural world.

EMILY WOOD Planner II

Emily is a community engagement planner who is driven by honesty, integrity and personal excellence. Her background as an engineer at HNTB, brings our public involvement (PI) team a distinctive skillset. In addition to her strong technical skills, Emily can connect with people instantly and her engineering knowledge is helpful in communicating with the public on current projects. She is a dedicated PI team member and effectively provides support for our internal team, as well as program managers, clients and the public to confirm successful outreach, collaboration and communication of various programs. In her spare time, Emily is also a candle maker and wine enthusiast. She has spent years studying the French language and hopes to start learning piano soon.

Cape Cod Bridges Program BOURNE AND SANDWICH, MA

HNTB is providing program management services for the Cape Cod Bridges Program.

This regional program includes the replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges, as well as improvements to the approach roadway networks to address the multimodal deficiencies within the Cape Cod Canal area that were identified as part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Cape Cod Canal Transportation Study and United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Cape Cod Canal Bridges Major Rehabilitation Evaluation Study. HNTB’s scope of services includes program management, data collection, conceptual design, environmental planning, and public involvement. HNTB also supports the extensive state and federal agency coordination that is required as part of program development.

At this stage of the program, HNTB is focused on implementing effective strategies to engage with stakeholders and the public that are meaningful, transparent and allow for substantive feedback. HNTB’s work has centered on developing an equitable outreach process to support the distribution of information to a broad base of geographically and demographically diverse stakeholders across Cape Cod and the region. The team developed a focused Environmental Justice (EJ) report at the beginning of the outreach process to detail specific strategies, challenges and opportunities, to reach impacted communities. Since that time, the team has conducted detailed analyses using stakeholder data from the Public Involvement Management Application (PIMA) to identify gaps in outreach to EJ communities and adapt outreach strategies accordingly. To this end, the team developed and executed a model for an open house with different stations for stakeholders to learn about the program, including one focused on youth engagement.

Outreach strategies include a series of legislative, stakeholder, advisory group and public meetings; a fully accessible program website and virtual comment form; as well as social media, email blasts, phone calls, letters, flyers and press releases. All outreach communications and information are being managed through PIMA, which allows the program team to effectively streamline stakeholder communications, collect and respond to public comments, measure public sentiment, and easily export comment and stakeholder information for environmental documentation purposes. Additionally, the analysis features of PIMA allow for consistent review of engagement methods and results. HNTB can then adjust its outreach accordingly to confirm that it is effectively reaching all applicable stakeholders.

As part of this work, the team has prepared and submitted grant applications to the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program and the Bridge Investment program through the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT).

Additionally, the team drafted the EJ portion of the environmental notification and screening form, required for Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) filings, and is supporting the EJ analysis and outreach required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

CLIENT Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

TIMELINE Public Outreach: 2021 Present

STAFF Patrick Marvin, AICP Erica Blonde, AICP Paige Sopher Billy Parent Sara Stoja Rachel Gies Emily Wood

Summary of Success

HNTB’s public involvement (PI) team has designed and implemented the public engagement strategies, including innovative use of digital data collection tools, for this program from the start.

Mattapan High-Speed Line Transformation Program M AT TA PA N , M I LT O N A N D D O R C H E S T E R , M A

HNTB was selected to lead the program management and design services through 100-percent design and construction for the Mattapan Line Transformation Program.

This project includes station improvements at all stations from Mattapan to Ashmont Station. HNTB’s scope includes track, power and OCS; communications; signals; bridge replacements; civil engineering; public involvement; operation modeling; project controls; and environmental services. As part of program management, HNTB will work with the MBTA to develop a transformation phasing approach that integrates infrastructure improvements coordinated with the transition from Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) vehicles to the Green Line Type 9 vehicles.

Additionally, HNTB is leading community engagement for the MBTA’s Mattapan Line Transformation. As this program is currently in the early stages of design, HNTB is focusing on discovering the key priorities for Mattapan riders and local communities.

The program team is working to create ample opportunities for meaningful and continuous engagement with stakeholders and members of the local communities.

Given that the project area meets and intersects numerous Environmental Justice populations, HNTB has made use of in-person outreach to help provide effective engagement with these communities. This has included attending local community events and hosting drop-in sessions at local MBTA stations, which allow riders and the public to engage directly with the project team. HNTB has also distributed surveys to Mattapan line riders to ascertain their needs and priorities for the transformation project, and distributed flyers to local residents and businesses to inform them of future work and opportunities for engagement.

CLIENT Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

TIMELINE Public Outreach: 2022 Present

STAFF Patrick Marvin, AICP Billy Parent Sara Stoja Rachel Gies

Summary of Success

The input gathered from the public through in-person engagement and community surveying, as well as public and legislative feedback has been critical to the project’s growth. Multiple public involvement meetings and consistent in-person and digital engagement efforts have been key. The public involvement (PI) team will be continuing these efforts, with a focus on in-person engagement in historically underserved communities, as the design progresses.

Chelsea/Route 1 Viaduct Rehabilitation CHELSEA, MA

HNTB was asked to develop the concepts, design and permit the Chelsea/Route 1 Viaduct on an accelerated schedule and successfully delivered these services in one year. The goal was to complete this project on the heavily-traveled Route 1 with minimal impacts to the traveling public.

The multidiscipline design team met the challenging design schedule from the start, providing design services for bridge (accelerated bridge construction [ABC] techniques); highway; traffic analysis and management; drainage; utilities; lighting; environmental permitting; and construction staging. HNTB’s project controls group, which is comprised of former general construction contractors, prepared detailed construction cost estimating using Heavy Bid software and contract time determination schedules using P6. This team worked closely with MassDOT to establish the program costs and contingencies and verified the construction schedule would synch with the Tobin Bridge schedule.

As the lead environmental consultant on the project team, HNTB prepared National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation demonstrating the project qualified for a categorical exclusion (CE) determination. Preparation of this documentation required multidiscipline coordination to demonstrate the absence of significant environmental impact and public controversy. The project area was within an Environmental Justice (EJ) community based on the proportion of minority and low-income populations living in the community. HNTB prepared a comprehensive EJ analysis detailing study area characteristics and assessed potential impacts to the community, including displacements, access and travel patterns, community cohesion, air quality, water quality, noise, and hazardous materials. The analysis provided a detailed overview of the state and federal regulatory context for EJ and proposed mitigation measures.

Using the EJ analysis as a guiding document, HNTB oversaw a robust community outreach program to provide all stakeholders the opportunity to learn and comment on the project. As part of this project, HNTB engaged multiple local advocacy organizations, providing their leadership and members with opportunities to have a dialogue with the project team in their community spaces. HNTB led MassDOT’s first all-Spanish public meeting and assisted with translation services throughout the outreach process. HNTB attended meetings with city officials, special interest groups and the public, and wrote a detailed response on behalf of MassDOT to address concerns of the local EJ organization.

The comprehensive outreach process was then well-documented in the CE prepared

by HNTB to support the assertion that there was an absence of significant public controversy. Without a robust and inclusive engagement process, there would not have been sufficient data to show that a meaningful effort was made to engage stakeholders. The public involvement process itself was essential to demonstrate the absence of significant public controversy.

CLIENT Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

TIMELINE Design: 2021 Public Outreach: 2017 2018

STAFF Erica Blonde, AICP

Summary of Success

HNTB facilitated MassDOT’s first all-Spanish public meeting. As a result of the robust outreach undertaken by the project team, the Chelsea Viaduct was able to meet a highly accelerated design schedule and move the project out to bid.

MBTA Public Engagement — On-Call Support BOSTON, MA

HNTB was retained by the MBTA’s Public Engagement team in August 2022 to support the historic Orange Line Surge. This unprecedented full shutdown required significant public involvement, which included staffing public meetings, assisting with legislative and municipal briefings, developing outreach content and leading translation of materials. HNTB also worked to streamline internal processes and data tracking, optimize outreach and engagement process and produce the agency Title VI Report on completed outreach.

The success of these public involvement efforts has led to a growing and continued partnership with MBTA Public Engagement. HNTB has helped MBTA Public Engagement launch a number of internal and public-facing initiatives, such as a Community Engagement newsletter, weekly internal tracking and reporting, and a number of public outreach efforts for various departments across the agency.

In the Fall of 2023, MBTA Public Engagement called again on HNTB to provide outreach planning and support for the 16-day Ashmont and Mattapan Track upgrades, which included a closure of each line for that full duration. Outreach efforts involved broad-based community and media engagement, and the planning and implementation of multiple in-person and virtual public meetings.

CLIENT Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

TIMELINE Design: Complete Public Outreach: July September 2022

STAFF Patrick Marvin, AICP Erica Blonde, AICP Paige Sopher Billy Parent Rachel Gies Emily Wood

Summary of Success

HNTB’s partnership with MBTA Public Engagement has resulted in successful public communications efforts through multiple major surges, capital programs and service initiatives.

Chelsea Downtown Broadway CHELSEA, MA

HNTB is leading public engagement in coordination with MassDOT, MBTA and the City of Chelsea for proposed improvements along the Broadway Corridor from City Hall to Williams Street (0.543 miles), including the permanent addition of the Downtown Broadway Bus/Bike Lane Pilot, intersection safety improvements and the reconfiguration of the Bellingham Square signalized intersection. The completion of these improvements advances key goals of the 2018 City of Chelsea Re-imagining Broadway Plan, which rethinks the traffic and circulation of the Downtown Chelsea area with the goals of improving access, safety and mobility for the public. Standard safety countermeasures, such as improved signage, lighting, traffic calming streetscape elements, curb extensions, signal upgrades, sidewalks, pavement markings, and bus transit amenities will be included in this project.

HNTB manages a robust community outreach program to provide all stakeholders the opportunity to learn and comment on the project. As part of this project, HNTB engaged multiple local advocacy organizations, forming strong partnerships and providing their leadership and members with opportunities to have a dialogue with the project team in their community spaces.

CLIENT Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), in partnership with City of Chelsea

TIMELINE Design: Anticipated Spring/Summer 2024 Public Outreach: January 2023 - Present

STAFF Patrick Marvin, AICP Erica Blonde, AICP Billy Parent Rachel Gies

Summary of Success

HNTB has used our Public Information Management Application (PIMA) to manage all stakeholder engagement, meeting planning and communications, and ArcGIS to create a dynamic story map for the project. Multiple Design Public Hearings (DPHs) and public involvement meetings have been held for the project, as well as participation in community events and digital stakeholder communication.

Link21 Program — Focus on Equitable Engagement SAN FRANCISCO, CA

The Link21 Program is a transformational effort that will connect urban and intercity rail throughout the Northern California megaregion, as envisioned by the California State Rail Plan. Link21 will result in a more efficient, affordable and sustainable rail network that will improve quality of life for residents and visitors alike. The centerpiece of the program is a new transbay passenger rail crossing between Oakland and San Francisco, California, in addition to the existing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) crossing, one of the most congested corridors in the country.

HNTB is leading outreach efforts in providing a unique and innovative approach to public involvement for the program that is centered around inclusive and equitable opportunities for meaningful engagement. Using a combination of in-person and virtual public involvement strategies, the team has demonstrated the ability to implement robust, project-specific outreach efforts across the 21-county megaregion.

One such effort is Link21’s co-creation model, an engagement technique in which the program team partners connect with community-based organizations (CBOs) to bring underrepresented stakeholders to the table and provides compensation to both CBOs and participants for their time and expertise. It was during this co-creation process that Link21’s priority populations definition was developed. Priority populations are Link21’s geographic designation of census tracts in the program area that experience the highest levels of inequitable outcomes. These census tracts will receive deliberate attention throughout Link21’s planning. Once the definition draft was created, it was brought back to those engaged in co-creation for review and validation. These participants will continue to be meaningfully engaged throughout the planning process.

CLIENT Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)/Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority

TIMELINE Public Outreach: Ongoing

STAFF Erica Blonde, AICP Sara Stoja Rachel Gies

The HNTB Team also introduced its Public Involvement Management Application (PIMA) to enable the program to conduct, manage and evaluate public processes in a centralized location. Using PIMA, the project team can collect and respond to stakeholder feedback, manage stakeholder databases, send large scale project communications, host virtual and in-person public meetings and evaluate outreach efforts through geospatial analytics. This tool helps the project team broaden outreach and make informed decisions considering community needs, concerns and overall sentiment.

In addition, the HNTB Team is driving the deployment of an Engagement and Outreach (E&O) Dashboard to bring robust analytics support to the continuous strategy development of the program’s public outreach. Built as a companion application to PIMA, the dashboard consists of automated processes to combine demographic census data and priority population information with engagement data and stakeholder locations, to provide rich engagement statistics for the program team and client. The goal of the dashboard is to provide transparent, data-driven and up-to-date data to create an effective outreach strategy.

Summary of Success

PIMA has been utilized since the inception of the program to facilitate continuous communication with over 60,000 stakeholders. PIMA has also been leveraged to hold a series of online public meetings with attendees from across the 21-county megaregion.

The E&O Dashboard was developed and implemented to measure success, and will continue to be used to inform future outreach strategies.

HNTB Equity Workshops N AT I O N W I D E

HNTB Equity Workshops are iterative, collaborative sessions designed to support teams in developing a proactive mindset around equity to deepen collective understanding of the communities in which we work. As part of the workshop, attendees explore equity-related challenges and opportunities for their projects and programs at all phases of development.

These sessions are half-day exercises held on-site with interdisciplinary groups.

CLIENT Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT)

STAFF Erica Blonde, AICP

Summary of Success

The HNTB Team held an Equity Workshop with CTDOT staff on the New Mixmaster Program in Waterbury, Connecticut. The workshop resulted in greater awareness of mobility equity risks, both challenges and opportunities, that led to the development and implementation of a Program risk register to track outcomes.

WHY HNTB? The HNTB public involvement team provides community engagement and public involvement services for clients throughout the Commonwealth and nationally. Acknowledging the importance of engaging the public and key stakeholders early and often, the team works proactively to implement meaningful campaigns that foster representation from all impacted communities and populations. HNTB focuses on creating and implementing project-specific outreach plans that are unique, effective, equitable and adaptive, while complying with state and federal Environmental Justice and Title VI requirements.

HNTB delivers every aspect of equity mobility, public involvement and outreach services in infrastructure programs, from the planning, program management, design and design-build (DB) stages through construction engineering, operations and maintenance planning, as well as inspection and recovery services.

We seamlessly integrate our focus on public involvement services into customized, holistic infrastructure solutions to engage and inform the public, as well as stakeholders.