Outreach

Our Outreach

As part of weMove Massachusetts (WMM), the next step in the transforming initiative, MassDOT continued to focus on involving its customers in helping set transportation investment priorities. The goal of this outreach effort was to learn more about the transportation experiences and needs of a focused set of stakeholders. In particular, WMM targeted populations who did not fully participate in the original process at the level MassDOT wanted to see. The WMM team focused on outreach to Environmental Justice and Title VI populations. This effort included conversations with leaders of environmental, community, transportation, and public health groups, who work with low English proficiency, low income, elderly, and transit-dependent people. At the same time, MassDOT continued to welcome comments and participation by the public.

The team developed two approaches: conducting interviews with the leaders of specific populations and groups; and developing a questionnaire in multiple languages that was made available on a website and in print. MassDOT used media, social networking, community groups and postings, and outreach to health, transportation, and senior communities.

The team conducted 19 interviews with leaders of stakeholder groups. The WMM interviews identified a consistent set of needs across primarily urban areas around the Commonwealth focused on public transportation and other alternatives to private automobile use, such as walking and bicycling.

1,893 respondents participated in the questionnaire. The results provide valuable themes and topics to be investigated and/or considered as MassDOT begins to implement a system, including public input, for responding to transportation challenges in the Commonwealth.

Data from the interviews and questionnaire responses were organized in a summary report, which is posted on this website (under WHAT'S NEW and Documents). The data affirm the themes developed in the YMM process while providing more specific recommendations for serving targeted stakeholders in Environmental Justice and statewide urban communities.

youMove Massachusetts

The weMove Massachusetts effort grew out of a civic engagement initiative called youMove Massachusetts. Our customers participated in the youMove Massachusetts process to offer their vision for the transportation system of the Commonwealth. The following ten themes summarize the outcome of the youMove Massachusetts process:

	Reliability You want a more reliable transportation system where delays are minimized and travel times are consistent.
	Maintenance Our transportation assets need to be managed to extend their useful life and thereby maximize the benefits of our past investments.
	Design You want our transportation facilities and operations to reflect real-world conditions.
	Shared Use With so many different users competing for space – bicyclists, pedestrians and vehicles - we must find better ways to share our roadways through engineering, education, and enforcement.
	Capacity To meet our future transportation needs, we must expand our transportation capacity by managing existing corridors more efficiently and making new capital investments.
	User Friendly As consumers, you want a more user-friendly transportation system, where information is easier to access, and the travel experience is more comfortable and welcoming.
	Broaden the System We should broaden our transportation network services to serve more and different users in more locations.
	Funding and Equity In an era when our transportation funding falls far below our needs, it is imperative that we identify both new funds and new efficiencies. The burden must be fair and appropriate.
	Environment We need to make our transportation system environmentally sustainable.
	Access We need more and better access to our transportation system.

These ten themes represent the unifying framework – the guiding light – within which the weMove Massachusetts process was developed. The ten themes come directly from the words and ideas of the public, and they inform everything that we do at MassDOT. It is our goal, and our responsibility, to turn the guidance of the public into a set of responsible, long-range transportation investments.

Stakeholder Advisory Group

The advisory group to weMove Massachusetts is composed of internal MassDOT stakeholders, and federal, state and regional partners. The advisory group membership was outlined in the reform legislation and expanded to include other important state and regional partners. The group will meet several times between project initiation and mid 2013 when weMove Massachusetts concludes. You can find meeting materials including presentations and meeting minutes under the Documents tab of this website.

MassDOT - Office of the Secretary; Office of Transportation Planning; Office of Performance Management and Innovation; Office of Civil Rights; Aeronautics Division; Highway Division; Rail and Transit Division; Registry of Motor Vehicles
State Agency Partners - Executive Office of Administration and Finance; Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; Executive Office of Elder Affairs; Executive Office of Health and Human Services; Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development; Massport
Regional Partners - Central Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization; Franklin Region Council of Governments; Steamship Authority; Worcester Regional Transit Authority; MBTA Advisory Board; Cape Cod Commission
Federal Partner - Federal Highway Administration

Outreach

Our Outreach

youMove Massachusetts

Reliability

Maintenance

Design

Shared Use

Capacity

User Friendly

Broaden the System

Funding and Equity

Environment

Access

Stakeholder Advisory Group