Public Involvement Efforts

One of the important efforts of the Route 7 Transportation and Land Use Study will be to continuously involve the public on an ongoing basis and make the study process as transparent as possible.  The objective is to ensure that the final products represent a consensus on how to address corridor issues and take advantage of corridor opportunities. To do this, the study process will include many steps to ensure that all the needs, concerns, and desires of area residents and businesses, SWRPA and HVCEO as well as CTDOT are heard and considered.

Public involvement will take place at three different levels, which together will provide numerous opportunities for broad interactive community involvement and in-depth stakeholder participation. The following describes each level of planned public, committee, and institutional involvement that will contribute to the preparation of the recommended plan.

Public Information Meetings: Three (3) public information meetings will occur at key project milestones.  At these meetings, everyone is welcomed to learn about the project and provide comments or express concerns on the study progress. Please visit Public Meetings for more information and summaries of past meetings.

Technical Advisory Committee Meetings: Five (5) meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will take place over the study period at key project milestones. The project team will be reporting to the TAC on findings and seeking committee members input. All of these meetings are also open to the public.  Please visit TAC Meetings for more information and summaries of past meetings.

Focus Group Meetings: Four focus group meetings will be held to discuss specific topics related to the corridor such as development trends and market potential. Agencies and others with expertise on the subject of each focus group meeting will be invited to attend and brainstorm on issues and solutions related to that topic.

Other Public Outreach Planned:

• Interviews – “Intercept’ interviews will be conducted in the form of an informal questionnaire at various locations within the study corridor. The intent is to gain on-the-ground information about corridor issues. The study team expects to conduct these interviews during one day in October, spending time talking with people who commute, live, shop, and run businesses along Route 7.
• Study flyers/media outreach – several flyers will be developed at key milestones throughout the study. In addition, flyers and project information will be provided to news media outlets, whom will be encouraged to track the study and its progress. Please visit Documents for updates
• Study website – this website will be updated periodically to provide current information and copies of products of the study.  This is also a venue for you to provide input about the study.  Please visit Contact Us and submit a written comment about your views on the study area or to Join Our Contact List and receive email notifications about upcoming public meetings.