SCRCOG staff, per Transportation Committee guidance, is responsible for continuously seeking to involve organizations and individuals with potential interests in transportation planning efforts. In short, SCRCOG’s goal is to inform and present information on transportation planning products and processes to the public. Proactive outreach must also include timely insight on processes, analyses, and decision points. SCRCOG will provide timely information on its role, technical capacity, relationship to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, annual transportation planning work program development process, triennial transportation plan review process, and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) development/amendment process.

SCRCOG will identify potential communities, add them to the transportation mailing lists, and define methods to engage them in transportation programs and projects. Staff will largely identify potentially underserved communities through maps that depict large proportions of these populations. Also, the New Haven environmental organization, composed of community representatives, will continue to assist in opening the channels of communication. These efforts will be in accordance with Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Minority Populations and Low Income Populations” dated February 11, 1994, and Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency” dated August 11, 2000.

SCRCOG will encourage substantive interchange between:

• Members of the public and staff;
• Members of the public with one another at public meetings, open houses, and other events where any public is present; and
• Members of the public and members of the Transportation Committee, Transportation Technical Committee, and SCRCOG Board.  In addition, SCRCOG will encourage broad public participation in all of these meetings.

The SCRCOG Board will consider public input in its decision making. SCRCOG staff will consider public input as it is drafting and refining documents, plans, and programs. Most importantly, public proposals and viewpoints will be considered in advance of decisions.