REGIONAL PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION DRAFT REPORT

Transcription

1 REGIONAL PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION DRAFT REPORT Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) and TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) Chairs Coordinating Committee (CCC) Measures of Effectiveness Report 2015 TAMPA BAY AREA R E G I O N A L T R A N S I T A U T H O R I T Y ( T B A R T A ) AND TBARTA M E T R O P O L I T A N PL A N N I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N S ( M P O s) C H A I R S C O O R D I N A T I N G COMMITTEE (CCC)

2 Funding for this report may have been financed in part through grant[s] from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the State Planning and Research Program, Section 505 [or Metropolitan Planning Program, Section 104(f)] of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. In Accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other nondiscrimination laws, public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. LEP Executive Order of Title VI - Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation service (free of charge) should contact their local MPO/TPO. For assistance at public meetings, notify the MPO/TPO at least 7 working days in advance. 2 of 68

3 Regional Public Participation Plan Measures of Effectiveness Report TAMPA BAY AREA R E G I O N A L T R A N S P O R T A T I O N A U T H O R I T Y ( T B A R T A ) AND TBARTA M E T R O P O L I T A N PL A N N I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N S ( M P O s) C H A I R S C O O R D I N A T I N G C O M M I T T E E (CCC) I. INTRODUCTION I.A. Federal Requirements for Public Engagement... I.B. State Requirements for Public Engagement.. I.C. What are TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC?... I.D. Merger. I.E. The TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Public Involvement Plans II. REGIONAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITIES II.A. TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Sponsored Activities 7 II.B. Public Involvement Support by Nonvoting Partner Entities 17 II.C. Alliances with Transportation Organizations and Committees II.D. Business and Community Partnerships III. REGIONAL ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL III.A. Types of Public Engagement Activities - by MPO/TPO III.B. Highlights of Public Involvement Activities IV. BEYOND THE REGION.. 22 V. WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA V.A. TBARTA Website and TBARTA MPOs CCC Page 23 V.B. TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Social Media VI. REGIONAL PUBLICATIONS VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS VII.A. Summary. 26 VII.B. Review of Prior Recommendations. 27 VII.C. General Recommendations. 29 VIII. APPENDI of 68

4 Regional Public Participation Measures of Effectiveness Report 2015 TAMPA BAY AREA R E G I O N A L T R A N S P O R T A T I O N A U T H O R I T Y ( T B A R T A ) AND THE T B AR T A METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS (MPOS) CHAIRS COORDINATING COM MITTEE (CCC) I. INTRODUCTION Effective public involvement through all phases of the transportation decision-making process is the key to developing an efficient transportation system where projects move forward smoothly. In addition, it leads to transportation improvements that meet community needs and desires, provides for greater acceptance of projects, engenders a sense of community, and enhances agency credibility. As a process for evaluating and improving, as well as identifying previously unutilized effective public engagement strategies, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) and the TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPOs) Chairs Coordinating Committee conduct a Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) report on a biennial basis. During each evaluation period, the goals and objectives from the previous report are reexamined for relevance to Federal and State public participation requirements, and relevant performance data are collected to determine if those requirements are still being fulfilled, and previous goals met. This evaluation reviews the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) and the TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) Chairs Coordinating Committee (CCC) regional public involvement activities over a 24-month period beginning January 1, 2014 and ending December 31, I.A. Federal Requirements for Public Involvement Public involvement has long been an integral part of federal transportation legislation. The legal process for participation in federally funded transportation planning and projects known today are built from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, its 1998 successor, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and the 2012 MAP-21 (the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act). TEA-21 required states and MPOs to involve constituents and expanded public involvement to include transit and freight. SAFETEA-LU further refined the requirements for the public involvement process, adding that MPOs involve interested parties in the participation plan, and mandated states and MPOs to employ visualization techniques to the maximum extent practicable, utilizing electronic formats, such as the web. It also specified that: 1 of 68

5 Proactive public involvement is required in developing transportation plans; Citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of users of public transportation, representatives of users of pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities, representatives of the disabled and other interested parties must receive reasonable opportunities to comment on the plan; Public meetings must be held at convenient times and locations; Plans must be made available for public review, including electronic format; Visualization techniques must be employed in describing plans. SAFETEA-LU expired on September 30, 2009 and was replaced by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), passed by Congress on June 29, 2012, and signed by President Barak Obama on July 5. The bill does not significantly alter the previous authorization, but it does include many significant reforms directed at the speed of project development, a reduction in bicycle-pedestrian funding, and a national freight policy to be developed. Implications for regional and local, community based MPOs regarding public involvement requirements are still being defined at this time. The current public involvement requirements for state, local, and metropolitan plans and programs established by federal legislation are found in Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts and In accordance with 23 CFR and , a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) is required to engage in a metropolitan planning process that creates opportunities for public involvement, participation, and consultation throughout the development of the Metropolitan Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Under this requirement, MPOs must allow for: Early and continuous public involvement Inclusionary practices in activities and notification Consideration of the needs of the traditionally underserved Collaboration with other agencies, local governments, private sector transportation entities, and non-mpo officials Convenient meeting times and locations Reasonable access to information Timely notice of public involvement activities, including appropriate review and comment periods Acknowledgement and consideration of public comments Federal legislation also requires public involvement in developing and amending metropolitan and rural long-range transportation plans, Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs), the Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and project development. Other frequently cited requirements include: Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA): Requires reasonable efforts to be made to accommodate citizens with disabilities who wish to attend meetings. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act: Prohibits discrimination based upon race, color, and national 2 of 68

6 origin. Specifically, 42 USC 2000d states that No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Executive Order 13166: To clarify Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of It had as its purpose, to ensure accessibility to programs and services to otherwise eligible persons who are not proficient in the English language. Environmental Justice (EJ) Executive Order 12898: Requires Federal agencies to achieve environmental justice by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects, including the interrelated social and economic effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States. I.B. State Requirements for Public Engagement The State of Florida s also has requirements for public participation, which are found in Florida Statutes (FS), Title I, Chapter 163, Section This requires local planning agencies and local governmental units are directed to adopt procedures that provide for broad dissemination of the proposals and alternatives, opportunity for written comments, public hearings as provided herein, provisions for open discussion, communications programs, information services, and consideration of and response to public comments. Other frequently referenced statutes and requirements include: Executive Order 07-01, Section 2 - Plain Language Initiative: Announcements, publications, and other documents provided by state agencies should contain clear and concise information; be free of technical jargon; contain pertinent information, and; use short sentences in an active voice. Additionally, it is suggested that graphic and editorial design of public engagement documents be user friendly. Section , FS, Public Business (Government in the Sunshine): Declares all meetings of any board or commission of any state, county, municipal, or political subdivision, agency, or authority to be public meetings that are open to the public at all times; requires reasonable notice of meetings; minutes be available for public inspection, and; prohibits public meetings from being held at a facility or location that discriminates on the basis of sex, age, race, creed, color, origin, or economic status or that otherwise restricts public access. I.C. What are TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC? The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, (TBARTA), is a regional transportation agency of the U.S. state of Florida which was created on July 1, The purpose of the agency is "to plan, develop, finance, construct, own, purchase, operate, maintain, relocate, equip, repair, and manage multimodal systems in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties." The agency coordinates its efforts with the Florida Department of Transportation Districts 1 and 7, as well as MPOs and transit agencies in its service area to improve transportation in the Tampa Bay region. 3 of 68

7 Structure: The TBARTA service area includes the seven counties listed above, and its enacting legislation requires it to perform specific activities with prescribed deadlines. These requirements include developing a conflict resolution process, establishing committees, and developing a Regional Transportation Master Plan. The Regional Transportation Master Plan for the seven-county Tampa Bay Region was first adopted by the TBARTA Board on May 22, In developing the plan, comprehensive technical analysis and evaluation were required, and valuable input was provided by the TBARTA Transit Management Committee (TMC), the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), the Land Use Working Group (LUWG), as well as multiple government agency partners and the public. Governing Board: The governing Board of TBARTA has 17 members (15 voting members and two non-voting advisors). The voting members consist of seven elected officials appointed by the respective County Commissions from Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties; one member appointed by the TBARTA West Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairs Coordinating Committee (TBARTA MPOs CCC) who must be a chair of one of the five Metropolitan Planning Organizations in the region (Citrus County is a TPO); the Mayors or the Mayor s designee of the respective largest municipalities within the areas served by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) and the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART); the Mayor, or designee, of the largest municipality within Manatee or Sarasota County, providing that the membership rotates every two years; four business-community representatives appointed by the Governor, each of whom must reside in one of the seven counties of TBARTA; and, two non-voting advisors shall be the District Secretaries of the Florida Department of Transportation (Department) within the seven-county area of TBARTA (District's 1 and 7). Committees: There are two mandated committees under TBARTA that participate in guiding decision-making and assist with coordination across the region. These include a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), consisting of 15 residents and business persons from around the region appointed by the TBARTA Board members, and a Transit Management Committee (TMC) made up of the region s seven transit agency directors, plus a representative from Polk County s transit agency, and the FDOT District One Commuter Services of Southwest Florida representative. The West Central Florida MPOs Chairs Coordinating Committee (CCC) was established in 1993 by Florida Statute to coordinate projects deemed regionally significant, review regionally significant land use decisions, review all proposed regionally significant projects affecting more than one MPO, and institute a conflict resolution process throughout the West Central Florida region. On December 13, 2013, the CCC Board voted to merge into and consolidate its transportation planning activities with those of TBARTA, for a streamlined and unified regional planning process. 4 of 68

8 The goal of the TBARTA MPOs CCC is to prioritize and find ways to address the transportation needs of West Central Florida. These goals are achieved through the support and cooperation of its member agencies, partner entities and advisory committees. The TBARTA MPOs CCC develops regional solutions to transportation problems and ensures a consistent regional planning approach among the six-member agencies. In that context, the TBARTA MPOs CCC is responsible for the following activities: Cost Affordable Regional Long-Range Transportation Plan; A Transportation Regional Incentive Program (prioritization of projects); Regional transit planning, in conjunction with TBARTA and local transit agencies; Regional Congestion Management System; Air Quality Management System; Regional Multi-Use Trails Element; Major Investment Studies Coordination; Regional Data Sharing and Mapping; Regional Public Involvement Program; A Regional Conflict Resolution Process; and Structure: The CCC is composed of seven member organizations, six of which have been officially designated as MPOs, including Hernando/Citrus MPO; Hillsborough MPO; Pasco MPO; Pinellas MPO, Polk TPO (Transportation Planning Organization) and the Sarasota/Manatee MPO. In the previous report (2012), Citrus County was a TPO participating in all CCC planning activities, including representation on the Board and Directors Team meetings, chairing a quarter and hosting a meeting of the CCC. The Citrus Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Hernando MPO merged in 2014 with the approval of the Governor and created pursuant to an Interlocal Agreement and Section , Florida Statutes to form the Hernando/Citrus MPO. Governing Board: The TBARTA MPOs CCC Board includes voting members and non-voting members. The six voting members of the TBARTA MPOs CCC Board are the Chairs of the regions five MPOs and one Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), which include Forward Pinellas, Hernando/Citrus MPO, Hillsborough MPO, Pasco County MPO, Polk County TPO, and Sarasota/Manatee MPO. The TBARTA MPOs CCC Board is supported in its efforts, including public involvement efforts, by four, non-voting member affiliates, including Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (which also represents the Central Florida Regional Planning Council and the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council). The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Districts One and Seven Secretaries serve on the CCC Board and Staff Directors Team as Technical Advisors. Committees: Two committees regularly meet under the TBARTA MPOs CCC - The Regional Multi-Use Trails Committee (MUT), a subcommittee composed of MPO and other staff the 5 of 68

9 coordinate on the development of a Regional Multi-Use Trails Element (of the LRTP), and the TRIP Working Group, meets to discuss and prioritize projects for annual TRIP program funding, which are state funds made available to help local governments and others pay for transportation projects that benefit regional travel. I.D. Merger In 2015, TBARTA and the CCC eliminated duplication of efforts for the Master Plan and Regional LRTP Updates by making them one in the same. Subsequently, the CCC and TBARTA have continued to integrate their planning efforts, and effective July 1, 2016, the CCC was merged into TBARTA. The CCC is now referred to as the TBARTA MPOs CCC. On April 11, 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law House Bill 7061 which contained the legislative language merging the CCC into TBARTA. The TBARTA MPOs CCC is has no full-time, dedicated staff or source of funding, but receives financial and staff support for its planning activities through the participation of member MPOs/TPOs. Part time administrative support for scheduling and coordinating meetings, taking minutes, and assisting with plan updates and materials is provided by the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) through an interlocal agreement that outlines tasks, deliverables and funding levels on a year-to-year basis. Figure 1 in the Appendix outlines the structure, responsibilities and supporting agencies for TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC. While coordinated and consolidated in planning efforts, the CCC and TBARTA currently have separate public involvement plans, and are working together on a joint Regional Public Participation Plan (RP3). This effort is funded by the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and TBARTA staff, assisted by Pascoe Planning Services, LLC, is coordinating this task. In addition, a Regional Public Participation Plan (RP3) working group made up of public engagement professionals from member MPOs, TBARTA, and Pascoe Planning Services, was assembled to guide the effort. The TBARTA MPOs CCC RP3 is expected to be complete in December 2017, though for this report, the two public involvement plans will be considered and evaluated separately. I.E. The TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Public Involvement Plans The CCC s Public Involvement Plan was built on the public participation procedures outlined in Metropolitan Planning Rule ( and ). It addressed the requirements set forth in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and the subsequent federal bill, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21). As an agency that receives federal funds through its MPO/TPO member agencies, the TBARTA MPOs CCC complies with Title VI, including LEP and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Requirements in all its activities and interactions with the public. To comply with these requirements, public hearings and other public events are held at ADA accessible locations. Public hearings and other public events are advertised with contact information to be used if 6 of 68

10 special assistance or accommodations are needed. Complaints and requests for assistance may be initiated via telephone, at MPO/TPO offices, mail or . Complaint forms are available on the web, at MPO/TPO offices, and at all TBARTA MPOs CCC public meetings and events. To date there have been no complaints received and no requests for translation services or assistance. Throughout the development and update of the TBARTA Master Plan, TBARTA executed an extensive Public Engagement and Education Program (PEEP) to inform the public about transportation technology choices and incorporate the public s response into a widely-supported plan. The PEEP identifies objectives, methods, potential activities, measures of effectiveness for TBARTA s public engagement process, and program goals that promote a greater awareness of TBARTA and its mission, increase public ownership and support of TBARTA decisions, and ensure that the Master Plan reflects the desires of the community. Through workshops, Speakers Bureau presentations, website, Public Service Announcements, and special events, TBARTA attempts to reach a broader audience not regularly tuned in to community planning issues, as it seeks ways to improve and build upon the regional transportation system. II. REGIONAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITIES TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC work together to function as a foundation for collaboration among its member MPOs/TPOs and Partner Entities. Additionally, both work with local, regional, state and federal entities to identify and promote regional priorities and problems, and to facilitate regionwide compliance with federal requirements. Examples of how this collaboration is accomplished are provided below. II.A. TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Sponsored Activities Following the 2016 merger, the TBARTA MPOs CCC Board, MPO Staff Directors Committee, Regional Multi-Use Trails Committee, and Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Working Group became an integral part of TBARTA and the region s transportation planning efforts. The TBARTA Transit Management Committee (TMC) and Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), along with the TBARTA MPOs CCC Committees, provide the framework and forum for regional transportation planning activities and coordination. Starting in 2013, TBARTA identified 5-year Regional Priority Projects to raise public and private sector awareness of projects in or that support the Master Plan. These projects are intended to serve as incremental steps towards implementing the TBARTA vision of a cohesive and incremental regional transportation system that balances the movement of passengers and freight. In 2015, 10-year Future Priority Projects were identified for the first time. These priorities differ from near-term priorities in that they typically require additional analysis to define costs, technology, alignment, and/or design. Both sets of priorities are crucial for improving mobility, safety, and economic development in the Tampa Bay region, and guide policy when advocating for discretionary funding to build regional transportation projects. 7 of 68

11 Each year, both the Regional Priority and Future Priority Projects are re-examined by the Board and adopted, allowing TBARTA to be responsive to ever changing regional transportation conditions and to reflect changes in regional needs, available funding, and progress toward implementation. Both sets of priorities were adopted by the TBARTA Board in February 2015 and were used to update the TBARTA Master Plan, approved in December The TBARTA MPOs CCC has updated the West Central Florida Regional Roadway Network annually, maintains transportation project priorities for Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) funding, and agrees upon the Regional Multi-Use Trails priority list for local, regional, and Shared-Use Non-motorized (SUN) Trail funding. The CCC developed a regional congestion management process in 2012 and has the framework to collaborate on future air quality planning, should the region be designated as a nonattainment area. The Staff Directors from the region s MPOs/TPO meet monthly to coordinate and implement regional policies, while setting agendas for Board meetings. These priorities highlight projects from Citrus County (north) to Sarasota County (south) and Polk County (east) to Pinellas County (west) encompassing over five million people and eight counties. The regional priority projects and the coordination among the MPOs/TPO are crucial to improving transportation, economic competitiveness, and quality of life for residents and visitors. TBARTA MPOs CCC Board Meetings Board meetings of the TBARTA MPOs CCC are held twice a year, one in the summer and one in the fall. Every year, the Board receives public comment and adopts the West Central Florida Regional Roadway Network, Transportation Regional Incentive Program Priority Projects, and Regional Multi-Use Trail Priority Projects. The Board transmits these priorities to the District 1 & 7 offices of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The Board also makes a yearly recommendation to the TBARTA Board for the TBARTA Regional Priority Projects. Board meetings are open to the public and routinely advertised on the TBARTA MPOs CCC page and MPO websites. The TBARTA MPOs CCC page offers complete agenda packets, including attachments and maps to the meeting site. These meetings also provide a valuable opportunity for staff from member MPOs/TPOs and partner affiliates to receive briefings on regional transportation issues and to coordinate regional planning efforts. Major topics addressed during the past two years have included: Approval of 2040 Regional Projects and Longer Range Needs of the Region, as well as Annual Priority, Multi-Use Trail Priority, and Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priority projects; Consolidation of the CCC Regional Roadway Network with the TBARTA Regional Roadway Network; 8 of 68

12 Development and approval of regional agreements including the Interlocal Agreement for staff services from TBARTA; Review of the UPWP and other regional documents; Coordination on the successful merger into TBARTA; Review and comment on State and Federal legislative issues TBARTA MPOs CCC Staff Directors Meetings Directors and their designees from local MPOs and partner entities meet monthly to coordinate on regional planning activities and to discuss issues that require regional action and coordination. Chairmanship responsibility for these meetings rotates among MPOs quarterly. TRIP Working Group The TRIP program was created through Growth Management Legislation to help improve regionally significant transportation facilities. To be eligible for TRIP funding, projects must be regionally significant, identified on the CCC s Regional Long-Range Transportation Plan, and appear in local governments Capital Improvements Elements (CIE). Also, there must be a commitment for the remaining matching funds. For other public transportation facilities or services not maintained/operated by local governments, specific requirements may apply regarding the verification of matching funds. TBARTA MPOs CCC Regional Multi-Use Trails Committee (MUT) The MUT is a subcommittee composed of MPO and other staff shares responsibility for the development of a Regional Multi-Use Trails Element (of the TBARTA Master Plan), which maps the existing, planned and programmed (funded) multi-use trails in the region. In 2014 and 2015, the committee met to perform an ongoing inventory of regional multi-use trails, to update the plan and to develop follow-up and implementation strategies when needed. The committee also produced an update to the brochure Regional Multi-Use Trails to inform the public about existing regional trails, linkages to local trails, and funding for planned regional trails. This brochure is distributed locally and at regional events, and is included in the Appendix of this report. In 2014 and 2015 the TBARTA MPOs CCC Multi-Use Trails Committee met to perform an ongoing inventory of regional multi-use trails, to update the plan and to develop follow-up and implementation strategies as needed. The committee also produced an update to the brochure Regional Multi-Use Trails to inform the public about existing regional trails, linkages to local trails, and funding for planned regional trails. This brochure is distributed locally and at regional events. Meeting Attendance The TBARTA Board held a total of 15 meetings during the reporting period, and the TBARTA MPOs CCC Board held three. The TBARTA CAC held 17 meetings. Attendance for members and the public between TBARTA Board, the TBARTA MPOs CCC Board, and the TBARTA CAC between 2014 and 2015 are summarized below, and are included in Table 2 in the Appendix. 9 of 68

13 Quorums: TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Board meetings consistently met the requirements for a quorum among its members, with a simple majority of eight out of fifteen needed for the TBARTA Board, and four out of six for the TBARTA MPOs CCC Board. For the TBARTA CAC, a quorum was present for four out of eleven meetings held. Public Attendance and Comments: A total 282 staff and citizens attended TBARTA Board meetings during the reporting period, for an average of 18 per meeting. Participation spiked for public hearing meetings where of annual priorities were reviewed for adoption, as well as the review of the 2015 TBARTA Master Plan update. In the June 2015 meeting, the public hearing section included nine public comments from citizens concerned about the inclusion of the Tampa Bay Express project in the TBARTA Master Plan. The TBARTA MPOs CCC Board saw a total of three public comments, with one occurring per meeting. For CAC meetings, there was a total of five public comments during the two-year review period. Comment cards were collected for each participant in all three meeting forums, and random samples have been included in the Appendix. CAC and JCAC Survey In 2010 and 2012, the CCC sought to measure the quality of support provided to the JCAC. To compare with previous years, a survey of 30 questions within four categories was developed and distributed to both members of the CAC and JCAC. Depending on their preferences, the survey was available electronically or in paper form. Out of 35 possible participants, 24 responded to the survey, 22 of which were members of the TBARTA CCC, and 2 were members of the JCAC. A copy of the questionnaire is included in the appendix, and the results are summarized in the tables below. With a few exceptions, the survey was consistent with the questions presented in the 2012 survey. As a survey intended to measure the individual experiences of committee participants, the data collected is subjective and prone to commons biases, such as leading, acquiescence and social desirability. In effort to avoid these influences and the validity of the survey results, precautions were taken in the design of the instrument, keeping questions short and clear, as well as in the evaluation of responses collected by keeping respondents anonymous and averaging their responses. Overall, the results of the survey suggest participants believe they receive the support they need from TBARTA staff, and that there is opportunity to provide meaningful input on topics presented. Consistent with survey s in previous years, most responses to the questions were concentrated in the Agree Totally and Agree Somewhat categories, with a few deviations, noted below. 10 of 68

14 Agendas are written in easily understandable plain language Agenda packets contain relevant information to meeting topics Agenda items include issues important to my county and/or to my MPO/TPO Agenda items include issues important to the Tampa Bay region Agenda items include issues that are important to me personally I have been provided sufficient training/support to prepare for my CAC roles/responsibilities Meetings start on time, as scheduled Audio visual equipment (overhead, sound) at the main site was adequate. The main site included reasonable accommodations and access for disabled persons wishing to attend and participate and chairs, etc.) Parking at the main site was adequate. teleconference. The number and experience of MPO and TBARTA staff was sufficient to support member requests The meeting room at the main site was comfortable and accessible (enough tables 5 meeting As a teleconference participant, I felt encouraged to participate (vote, ask questions, make comments, etc.) There was adequate, available staff to assist members in accessing meetings by 4. 6 TBARTA or MPO staff responded to my inquiries I had about meeting topics in a timely manner As a teleconference participant, I could hear what was being said at the on-site 4. 3 I feel I was given the opportunity to provide meaningful input on the topics presented TBARTA or MPO staff, as well as CAC and JCAC members were courteous to guests 4. 1 Members demonstrated respect for the opinions of others, even when they disagree Presenters adhered to preset time limits 4. 7 Members approach their decisions from a regional perspective, not just a local one Table 1: * N= 24. Time period is for January 1, 2014 through December 31, Responses for each question were assigned a score: 5 points for Agree Strongly, 4 points for Agree Somewhat, 3 points for Disagree, and 2 points for Strongly Disagree. No points were given for No Opinion. Scores were totaled and averaged, and rounded to the nearest tenth. Averages are displayed in the table above. 11 of 68

15 Current Status as CAC Member 7, 29% 17, 71% Active Table 2 Retired Attended a Meeting In the Past 2 Years Table 3 I've Been/Was a CAC Member Table 4 Yes No Table 5 More than 2 years More than 1 year More than 6 months Less than 6 months Most respondents, or seven out of 24, were from Pinellas County (Table 3). A majority were also active members, with nearly one-third retired (Table 2), and all but one member had attended a meeting over the past two years (Table 4). Over half (58%) of respondents were a member of the CAC for more than two years (Table 5). The mean score for across categories shown in Table 1 is 4.5, with a 5.0 meaning total agreement. Scores under 3.5 suggest where problems may possibly lie. While none of the averaged scores were below 4.1, there were several individual scores as well as comments that could be evaluated as areas of improvement. These are as follows: 12 of 68

16 Section II. Agenda Packets & Distribution The mean score for this section was 4.5, indicating that agendas are being received by members in sufficient time to review the materials, that they are written in language that is easy to understand, and contain relevant topics for both regional and local interests. Most, or 12 respondents, reported that agenda packets arrived 1 week or more prior to the meeting. However, variability in agenda distribution is revealed with other responses, including five reporting they received them 3 to 4 days prior to meetings, as well as one that answered they didn t get one at all. The need for more consistency with releasing agendas earlier is substantiated with the comment I would like to see the meeting pocket on line about a week before the meetings instead of 3 to 4 days before. To correct this issue, TBARTA should evaluate ways to simplify the agenda packets, which could include additional surveys or interviews with CAC members on what elements are more important to them. Both general suggestions could lead to saving time and better predictability with issuing materials one week prior to each meeting. Section III: Questions About the Experience of Attending/Participating in Meetings The mean score in this section was also 4.5, indicating that respondents believed staff to be accommodating and responsive to their requests and needs, and that their time is well spent in meetings. However, like with Section II, there were several respondents that answered that they disagreed with certain statements. Among these were whether members felt they had been given sufficient training and support to prepare members for my CAC roles/responsibilities, to which three answered with Disagree Somewhat. In addition, the statement Members approach their decisions from a regional perspective, not just a local one, had four that answered with Disagree Somewhat. Both issues of sufficient training as and bringing a regional perspective may be resolved or at least improved through an update to the CAC orientation materials, which include the bylaws, a summary of current TBARTA regional projects and programs, with links for more information to important documents such as the TBARTA Master Plan, enabling legislation, and a regional profile including statistics and demographic information for each member county. Providing relevant and understandable information to members is imperative to them making both insightful and meaningful recommendations with a regional focus. Section IV: Questions About Meeting Attendance The mean score for Section IV was 4.4, indicating that most members believe that staff are accommodating and responsive to requests and needs, the meeting site and facilities are accessible and adequate. However, closer examination of responses to the statement As a teleconference participant, I felt encouraged to participate (vote, ask questions, make comments, etc.), two respondents answered, Disagree Somewhat. While such responses could be interpreted as personal preferences of the more introverted, these responses become more revealing of a problem when coupled with the survey comment, It s difficult to participate in the teleconference when there is a visual presentation. I felt left out at times and lost interest at times. Upgrading teleconference technology to make it easier for participants to be involved 13 of 68

17 would help. There is a clear connection between not be able to follow along with a presentation and not feeling encouraged to or confident in participating in meetings, and TBARTA staff should seek opportunities during meetings to encourage members to take a more participatory role in providing their feedback, specifically those that are attending by teleconference, as well as investigate video conferencing for meeting presentations. An added benefit of these services for routinely less vocal members is the ability to submit text-based comments questions through the video application. At the end of the survey, respondents were asked if they have comments or suggestions?, and, do you consider your time spent with the JCAC or CAC worthwhile? Notable responses were as follows: It s imperative to continue CAC meetings as the participants live & work in their prospective county. Their knowledge of what is a priority to roads, safe sidewalks, trails, bike paths and future needs are extremely valuable. I've enjoyed being part of the process. Keep up the good fight for regional solutions. I do not feel the CAC had a meaningful purpose or that my time was well spent. In retrospect I feel there are too many planning [sic]. Overall well done and professional. PSTA management (operations) system; light rail; high speed rail tampa - orlando; regional transit; funneling FTA + DOT $ to transit; Fund TBARTA. Wish there was more citizens could do to move the needle on transit in the Tampa Bay area. Public Hearings During this reporting term, the TBARTA MPOs CCC held public hearings for the following: June 13, FDOT District 1 and District 7 Regional Multi-Use Trails (MUT) Enhancement Program and Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priority Lists. July 10, 2015 Changes to the West Central Florida Regional Road Network, and FDOT District 1 Multi-Use Trails (MUT) and Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priority Lists and Maps. May 15, Additions to the West Central Florida Regional Road Network, the draft Regional Project and Longer-Range Needs of the Region Maps, the Regional Multi-Use Trails (MUT) Element, and Transportation Multi-Use Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) projects. During this reporting term, the TBARTA Board held public hearings for the following: June 12, Reviewed the overall makeup of the Master Plan update, the criteria for TBARTA Priority and Future Priority Projects, highlighted projects added to the Future Priority list and terminology modification throughout the plan, as well as the long-range transportation projects. Also reviewed was input from the extensive stakeholder outreach and public engagement process. July 10, The TBARTA Master Plan update on December 2, 2015 as well. TBARTA held 14 of 68

18 public hearings for the regional priority projects in December of 2014, and approval of the 2015 Master Plan update and regional priority and future regional priority projects in June and December TBARTA promoted these opportunities for public involvement on the website calendar, through paid advertisements in local newspapers, in correspondence, at local meetings, and on social media. Copies of the advertisements are included in the appendix. Citizens who had questions or required language translation or physical assistance were directed to contact their local MPO, with telephone numbers provided. Twenty-six citizens attended the 2014 public hearing for the TRIP and Multi-Use Trail priorities. The May 15, 2015 meeting included two public hearings: one for the TRIP and another for the Multi-Use Trails Enhancement Program, District 1. TBARTA Telephone TownHall Meetings For the TBARTA Master Plan update, the public hearing comment period opened on April 27, 2015, beginning with a series of three Telephone Town Hall events, and closed at the June 12, 2015 TBARTA Board meeting. The Telephone Town Hall meetings were used to engage the public without having to leave the comfort of their own home, giving citizens direct interaction with the decision-makers and providing a unique experience to everyone participating. TBARTA also teamed with the Hillsborough MPO to conduct a joint Master Plan - GO Hillsborough Telephone Town Hall on May 4. Between April 27, 2015 and May 4, 2015, TBARTA called over 170,000 (an average of 42,638 per night) area residents at random and invited them to be part of one of four Telephone Town Hall meetings. (Note: All numbers called belonged to registered voters in the Tampa Bay region.) Interested citizens who wished to join the Telephone Town Hall meeting could call a toll-free number to participate. During the Telephone Town Hall meetings, 19,076 total attendees, averaging 4,769 attendees per evening, participated in the calls. Each meeting started at 7:15pm and was concluded at 8:15pm except for the joint GO Hillsborough session, which started at 7:00pm and ended at 8:00pm. TBARTA solicited comments and questions live on the call and through several outlets including online at Facebook, Twitter, as well as by and over the phone (in addition to the Town Halls). At each Telephone Town Hall meeting, several questions were aired live and answered by the panelists while other questions submitted were unable to be asked live due to time constraints. Questions that were not asked live are also provided in the summaries with answers, arranged by topic. Results from these sessions were as follows: TBARTA Master Plan Update Telephone Townhall #1; Sarasota and Manatee April 27, 2015 Total Participants: 4,382 Peak Participants: 1,526 Average Participation: 6 minutes 15 of 68

19 o Participation 5 to 15 min: 186 o Participation 15 to 30 min: 64 o Participation 30 to 60 min: 87 Total Questions Received: 36 (27 phone, 2 social media, 7 ) Live Questions: 25 (18 from phone, 7 from ) TBARTA Master Plan Update Telephone Townhall #2; Pasco and Pinellas April 28, 2015 Total Participants: 4,802 Peak Participants: 1,332 Average Participation: 6 minutes o Participation 5 to 15 min: 233 o Participation 15 to 30 min: 83 o Participation 30 to 60 min: 107 Total Questions Received: 47 (38 phone, 3 voic s, 6 ) Live Questions: 26 (20 from phone, 6 from ) TBARTA Master Plan Update Telephone Townhall #3; Citrus and Hernando April 29, 2015 Total Participants: 4,016 Peak Participants: 697 Average Participation: 8 minutes o Participation 5 to 15 min: 228 o Participation 15 to 30 min: 51 o Participation 30 to 60 min: 130 Total Questions Received: 43 (35 phone, 3 voic s, 5 ) Live Questions: 30 (25 from phone, 5 from ) II.B. Regional Public Engagement Support by Nonvoting Partner Entities The Florida Department of Transportation (Districts One and Seven), the Regional Planning Councils (Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, and Central Florida Regional Planning Council), Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) serve as non-voting partner entities of the TBARTA MPOs CCC. These members participate and coordinate on planning activities and projects, distribute information about meetings to the public, and provide support with implementation of public involvement goals. FDOT has provided a significant contribution to TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC public involvement efforts by providing a regular venue for Board meetings and committees, and has provided technical support for these meetings as well. FDOT representatives, including field staff, regularly participate in TBARTA MPOs CCC Staff Directors meetings and frequently provide presentations to TBARTA, the TBARTA MPOs CCC, and to the CAC at their respective meetings. There were no notable events or meetings involving support for pubic engagement with the 16 of 68

20 Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, and Central Florida Regional Planning Council, or Florida's Turnpike Enterprise during this reporting period. II.C. Alliances with Transportation Organizations and Committees The TBARTA MPOs CCC engages in information sharing and planning activities with committees and organizations throughout the region, including: Transportation Management Area Leadership Group (TMA) Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) are urbanized areas (UZAs) with populations greater than 200,000 as determined by the 2010 Census. The 2010 urban areas were delineated independent of existing urban boundaries that were derived from the 2000 U.S. Census. In March 2012, the Census Bureau published the list of UZAs with populations exceeding 200,000 in the Federal Register, which included Tampa/St. Petersburg. The TMA Leadership group was formed in 2013 covering Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. The group is comprised of nine voting members, three from each MPO board, and nonvoting advisors from FDOT and TBARTA. The group works as an advisory capacity to each of the three MPOs and to develop regional consensus on project priorities and allocation of federal and state funds for the TMA designated area. Staff support is provided by the three MPOs and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, as needed. Meetings are held bi-monthly and focus on major cross-county transportation markets and traffic movements, and on helping the Tampa Bay metropolitan area speak with one voice in discussions of regional transportation prioritization issues and financial resources. Leadership members are responsible for conveying concerns of their respective MPOs to the TMA group, and for conveying TMA group discussion and recommendations back to the MPOs. FDOT Technical Review Team (TRT) The TRT is a joint effort of the MPOs and FDOT. The TRT provides valuable assistance as a technical forum for developing and routinely maintaining the regional travel demand model used by the FDOT District Seven counties. The TRT is comprised of technical transportation planning staff from FDOT, the MPOs in District 7 (Citrus/Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough), and other government agencies within the region. The TRT group meets regularly, but schedules special meetings when important issues arise. The TRT has also been involved in the prioritization of regional roadway capacity projects for funding requests, and the technical review of various regional studies conducted by FDOT. The TBARTA MPOs CCC participates in the TRT through its member MPOs. FDOT Regional Transportation Analysis Group (RTA) The RTA is a cooperative planning effort between FDOT and the MPOs of Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Citrus/Hernando. The group works to promote transportation planning both within and among the counties that make up the Tampa Bay Region. The RTA provides a forum 17 of 68

21 for the coordination of proposed transportation improvements - both highway and transit - that span multiple jurisdictions. Another important function of the RTA is that it provides for the development of a powerful, regional travel demand-forecasting model, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Model (TBRPM). II.D. Business and Community Partnerships Creating a regional transportation system has been identified as a critical element in designing livable communities and promoting economic development in the region. To that end, TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC member agencies have partnered on an ad-hoc basis with various community organizations that focus on regional goals and draw their members from a diverse base of private and public leaders. These include: Tampa Bay Partnership, a regional group focused on economic growth and development for the Tampa Bay area. The creation of an efficient regional public transportation system is one of The Partnership s top priorities. TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC also participate with Floridians for Better Transportation (FBT), a statewide business and transportation association dedicated to making transportation safer and more efficient in Florida. Additionally, there is regular coordination between TBARTA, the MPOs and FDOT, as well as City Governments, with the Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs) in the region on commuter assistance projects and programs, corridor studies, transit projects, and other initiatives such as Complete Streets. The TMOs include the Westshore Alliance, the Tampa Downtown Partnership, St. Pete Downtown Partnership, and the New North Transportation Alliance. These groups serve as the liaison between their respective business communities and the overarching organizations that plan transportation for and around them. MPO and TBARTA staff regularly attend the transportation committee meetings of each TMO, which occur monthly, and provide input into current planning efforts and topics as well as support, as needed. III. REGIONAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT CONDUCTED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL III.A. Types of Public Engagement Activities - by MPO/TPO There is a local element to every regional project, and TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC engage in a wide variety of activities at the local level to achieve public involvement. The table below represents the results of an audit of each organization to determine the specific types of activities used by individual MPOs/TPOs. 18 of 68

22 TBARTA Citrus/Hernando MPO Public Hearings Community Workshops Activity Type Hillsborough MPO Pasco MPO Pinellas MPO Focus Groups Display Events/Open Houses Media Outreach (Newspaper, Radio, TV) Sarasota/Manatee MPO Polk TPO Newsletter/Publication Newspaper Advertisements Brochures/Guides Surveys/Polling Mailing List Direct Mail Bus Advertisements Hotline/Telephone Info Tracking Systems Web Site/Pages Government/Public Access TV Information Kiosks/Tables Speakers Bureau Interviews/Panel Discussions Teleconferencing Non-CAC Public Involvement Committees Town Hall Meetings Facebook Twitter Social Media Instagram Blog III.B. Highlights of Public Involvement Activities The following are highlights of MPO/TPO programs that provided public information about regional transportation issues. Additional information can be found in individual MPO/TPO Public Participation Evaluations. There is considerable variation among MPOs/TPOs in terms of availability of staff and funding for public activities, as well as differences in local interests, perceptions and priorities of citizens. Consequently, the menu of strategies for promoting public involvement varies accordingly. It should be noted that all MPOs/TPOs participate in distributing announcements about TBARTA Board and TBARTA MPOs CCC Board, TRIP, and Multi-Use Trails hearings in their local newspapers. Citrus / Hernando MPO In development of their 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan, the Hernando/Citrus MPO sought out new and innovative ways in which to make the community aware of the MPO s activities, and to keep the public well-informed of the transportation planning process. Among the efforts as included in their Public Participation Plan was use of a newsletter, Transportation Talk, which provided updates on the plan development process and identified potential improvements. The newsletter was distributed to the MPO list and immediately posted to the MPO s website. A separate project website was also maintained to facilitate continuous community involvement at 19 of 68

23 Pasco County MPO In late 2013, the Pasco County MPO began the process of updated its long-range transportation plan, Mobility 2040, which included a focus on studying potential highway and transit improvements on the S.R. 54/56 corridor from U.S. 19 to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The study took a citizens-based task force approach to obtain input and direction regarding vision for transportation within the SR 54/56 corridor, and included several focus groups and workshop sessions to inform the public about the project and gather feedback on topics such as population growth, economic development, land use, environmental justice, and the type of transportation system needed to best serve the citizens of Pasco County through A dedicated website was created to monitor progress and provide project development information. In addition, an informational brochure was developed early in the process to educate the community about the project, provide general information about MOBILITY 2040, illustrate the overall project schedule, and provide highlights of where information can be found and how the community can be involved as the project progresses. The brochure was updated at key points during the plan s development to provide the latest information to the public. Both printed and digital ( and online) copies of the brochure were made available. Forward Pinellas In 2015, Forward Pinellas conducted series of listening sessions for its Strategic Planning & Operations Topics initiative, or SPOTLight Pinellas. Three emphasis areas, US 19, Beach Access, and the Gateway/Mid-County area, were identified as areas of focus for a two-year period, with the goal of identifying strategic short-term actions within the framework of long-term land use, redevelopment and transportation vision. A major goal of the initiative was to leverage partnerships with the public and private sector and to increase opportunities for results-based public engagement. The listening sessions for US 19 led to increased cooperation among jurisdictions, particularly in the unincorporated northern areas and in the Skyway Marina District in southern St. Petersburg. The Beach Access listening sessions led to initiatives on waterborne transportation, including the Waterborne Transportation Technical Forum and an upcoming model ordinance. An additional noteworthy effort included the development of a web-based engagement tool called TellUsPinellas to obtain input throughout the process of updating the 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan. The tool was lauded by DOT during the MPO certification process, and the focus groups that resulted allowed Forward Pinellas to reach diverse and random segments of the population. Hillsborough County MPO For its Imagine 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan, the Hillsborough County MPO conducted a two-step public engagement process that included interactive surveys. During Part 1, an online interactive survey hosted by MetroQuest was used to engage over 3,500 people on long-range 20 of 68

24 growth strategies, with implications to development and transportation. It was made available at as well as directly through the main landing page for the agency wide website at This online community engagement platform allowed the public to select future growth strategies as well as choose their preferred future transportation infrastructure program investment levels and major projects they want for Hillsborough County. After participants selected their transportation preferences, they could see how their preferences compared with others. To help the public with developing a better understanding of the planning process, their preferred program investments and projects were weighed against available levels of funding. In circumstances where costs exceeded their budget, users were given the opportunity to either balance it by changing the projects and investment levels, or leave it unbalanced and assume that a new funding source, such as new taxes or fees may be explored. In total, approximately 91,500 opinions, priorities and preferences were collected, and after soliciting comments and feedback from nearly 6,000 participants, the Hillsborough MPO adopted its Imagine 2040 Plan on November 12, Having gained much recognition for setting an agency record with the number of participants the plan won four state and regional awards for public engagement in The MPO continues to build upon those efforts by expanding its social media presence. As a result, at the end of 2015, the MPO had 5,000 twitter followers which is still the largest MPO following in the nation. Sarasota / Manatee MPO For their regional Strategic Mobility Plan update, the Sarasota/Manatee MPO utilized a substantial public involvement effort to engage residents on how to improve the region s transportation system through several forums including monthly Steering Committee meetings, a public workshop, 21 focus group meetings, and an online public engagement website hosted through MindMixer. The MindMixer website is an online crowdsourcing platform open to the public that posed questions to participants on a range of issues, including transportation preferences, major issues, ways to improve transportation, and project prioritization. The questions were updated every month from January 2015 to November 2015, and came in different formats, such as openended, surveys, and map-related questions. Using this technology was beneficial in reaching people who may not be able to attend meetings or workshops in person, and proved effective in supplementing in-person public engagement opportunities by allowing people to contribute their ideas and weigh in regardless of time and location. The Sarasota/Manatee region is very large and this website allowed those residents living far away from meetings or unable to attend meetings to participate online and have their opinions be heard. Several elected officials and members of the MPO Board participated in the website through the Who s Listening page in which they reviewed residents responses and residents could directly contact their elected officials. 21 of 68

25 Polk County TPO In contrast to a typical Citizens Advisory Committee, the Polk TPO established an alternative model of engagement called an Adviser Network to serve as their mechanism for citizen involvement. The primary objective of this effort is to increase public involvement, especially by members of traditionally underserved areas/households. The Adviser Network s structure is less formal and more extensive for soliciting public participation and comment. Members can participate in the TPO planning process through various options, such as social media and the viewing of videos to attendance at quarterly community forums. There are currently 262 members of the Adviser Network and recruitment continues as there is no limit on membership. The Adviser Network holds community forums on a quarterly basis to solicit public comments on the TPO s work products and issues of current interest. People can attend in person or participate online via an interactive webcast. As part of this process, staff prepares a recap of the forum to document public comments and to share the comments and recommendations with the TAC and TPO Board. The recaps provide a record of participation (in-person, online and ) and represents another way that public involvement is documented and evaluated. Some topics of forums held to date include: Priority Transportation Projects Transit and Aging in Place FDOT Draft Work Program Passenger Rail Service Multi-Use Trails Freight Mobility Automated Vehicles The 2040 Plan Update Senior Mobility IV. BEYOND THE REGION TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC achieve their statewide and interregional public involvement goals by participating in planning meetings and events with other transportation related organizations, including those listed below. Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council, (MPOAC) is a statewide transportation planning and policy organization, the MPOAC assists MPOs in carrying out the urbanized area transportation planning process by serving as the principal forum for collective policy discussion. The organization is made up of a Governing Board (26 members) consisting of locally elected officials from each of the MPOs and a Staff Directors Advisory Committee consisting of the staff directors from each of its member MPOs. The Policy and Technical Subcommittee annually prepares legislative policy positions and develops initiatives to be advanced during Florida's legislative session. Members of the CCC participate in MPOAC meetings and use this process to promote regional transportation interests, as well as their local MPO interests. 22 of 68

26 Florida Legislature TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC also communicates directly with the Florida Legislature, including periodic briefings via mail and . This type of correspondence routinely occurs when a new, regional LRTP, TBARTA Master Plan, or Future Priority Projects have been updated and approved. Both also participate in annual Bay Area Legislative Delegation (BALD) meetings. The BALD is made up of 38 state legislators representing the eight-county Tampa Bay region, comprising nearly 25 percent of the Florida Legislature, and serves as a formidable voting bloc on critical regional issues and priorities. Central Florida MPO Alliance (CFMPOA) The Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Alliance (CFMPOA) is a coalition of transportation and government organizations committed to addressing transportation challenges in the larger Central Florida area. The Alliance has a policy board of 18 members, three from each of its six member organizations, including Metroplan Orlando, Polk County TPO, Ocala/Marion TPO, River to Sea TPO, Space Coast TPO, the Lake-Sumter MPO, and FDOT. The group meets quarterly and operates on consensus. The Central Florida MPO Alliance maintains a regional transportation plan and pursues opportunities to plan and fund projects that benefit the region. The Alliance is a forum for information on projects of regional significance, and it establishes legislative priorities to address the region s transportation needs. Acknowledging that many of these needs are shared across regional boundaries, the TBARTA MPOs CCC meets with the Alliance annually to conduct a joint meeting where common issues are discussed potential solutions suggested. In 2014, the annual combined meeting was held on Friday, June 13. Issues discussed included an update on the Update on the Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center (CFILC), SunRail, an update on the Florida 511 System, and a discussion on legislative issues and funding for the Coast-to-Coast Trail Connector. The 2015 joint meeting was held on July 10, and meetings topics included updates on the Coast-to-Coast Connector and Heart of Florida Loop; Tampa Bay Express Lanes and Express Bus in Tampa Bay Express Lanes; TBARTA Master Plan Update; and, the East Central Florida Corridor Task Force Study. Discussion also included an acknowledgement of complete for the first phase of SunRail, and a general update on the I-4 Ultimate Expansion Project. V. WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA V.A. TBARTA Website and TBARTA MPOs CCC Page When compared to traditional, print media, the trend towards the use of new communication technologies is making the task of two-way communication with the public cheaper, faster and targeted to the specific interests of individuals or groups. Communication technology is broad category, and may include the use of dedicated websites, s, blogs, social media, text 23 of 68

27 messaging, and web videoconferencing, to name a few. All the member MPOs/TPOs have websites, and use them to support regional public involvement with links to the TBARTA website and TBARTA MPOs CCC page, as well as including public hearings on their respective calendars, with links to the applicable project information webpage on the TBARTA website. Previously, the standalone site was used as the landing for CCC related activities, meetings and products. With the merger, a page for the TBARTA MPOs CCC was consolidated into the TBARTA site, and is routinely maintained under the staff services agreement. Specific functions of the TBARTA website and the TBARTA MPOs CCC webpage include: Links to member agencies and partners; Immediate access to a library of plan documents and maps; Immediate access to information about meetings, and regional transportation events. Archived agendas and minutes from previous meetings; An link for more information about TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC; Instructions and forms for citizens who want to submit Title VI and LEP requests for assistance or complaints Several recent trends in online community engagement have emerged since the last Measures of Effectiveness report in 2012, which looked at performance in terms of search queries, referring sites, and most requested pages. Among these are the advancement of and reliance on mobile device technologies and social media as a rising platform for consumption of content. Many studies have shown that mobile phones account for about half of all search traffic. In response, the Google search engine favors websites that are optimized for mobile use. The current qualifying criteria to meet this designation is for the site or page to load in four seconds or less1. Various developer tools are available free of charge, such as Google s PageSpeed Insights, that will analyze the content of a web page and generates suggestions to make that page faster. PageSpeed Insights measures the performance of a page for mobile and desktop devices. It fetches the URL twice, once with a mobile user-agent, and once with a desktop user-agent. The application checks to see if a page has applied common performance best practices on speed and usability rules, such as avoiding landing page redirects, prioritizing visible content, and using legible font sizes, and provides a score ranging from 0 to 100 points. According to a test conducted for the TBARTA.com website with this tool, the desktop site load time was 44/100, and the mobile site load time was 36/100. Both scores indicate the site is not optimized, and provides a slow user experience. A list of possible optimizations to increase this score, and thus the quality of accessibility of content, is included in the Appendix of this report. 1 5 Tips to Navigating the Constantly Moving Social Market, February of 68

28 Overall, users are engaging with the TBARTA site and the TBARTA MPOs CCC webpage, with an average of 2 minutes and 45 seconds spent on the TBARTA site, looking at over 3 pages. During the reporting period, over 64% of site visits were new meaning they've never been to the TBARTA website before. A summary of findings for web use between 2014 and 2015 are included below. Overall Top Three Viewed Pages: 1. About TBARTA (mobile) (over 4,000 views) 2. Master Plan Overview (over 3,500 views) 3. Regional School Commute Program (over 3,000 views) 4. TBARTA Calendar (over 2,900 views) 5. TBARTA myride page (over 2,300 views) 6. Note: In 2012, the top pages on the CCC page (regionaltransportation.org) in order were Meetings, Fast Find, About the CCC, Contact, and Spanish. TBARTA MPOs CCC Page It was the 9th most viewed page with 1,759 visits. Users spent about 1 minute and 35 seconds on the page, indicating they read through it. About 53% of users continued to another page. Also important is how users landed on the CCC page: 41% or 722 visits came from search results; 38% or 677 visits came from another site with the link in it; 20% or 358 visits came to the site via a direct link; 0.68% or 12 visits came from social media; 0.11% or 2 visits came from an referrals. Use of Search Engines In the previous report, it was noted that Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome had surpassed Internet Explorer (IE) as the search engine of choice by Internet users. Since that time, Firefox has been replaced by Safari (Apple web browser), and Chrome still leads ahead of Explorer as the browser of choice, but only be 3%. This outcome suggests that websites need to be tested to ensure compatibility with all three of these search engines. Chrome 38%; IE 35%; Safari 15% V.B. TBARTA and TBARTA MPOs CCC Social Media Social signals are also emerging as ranking factors as search engines determine how to leverage our social interaction and behavior. Social media as a source of traffic is growing across most industries, as shown by the difference in social traffic trends in at only 0.6%, and those from 2015, at 2.43% of all web acquisition. 25 of 68

29 Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, LinkedIn, Google+, and other social media applications are routinely being used to support regional public involvement efforts by TBARTA and the MPOs. A survey of agencies using various platforms revealed that use of the Facebook and Twitter are consistently being used by the Hernando/Citrus MPO, Hillsborough MPO, Pinellas MPO, Polk TPO, and TBARTA. Missing from Facebook are the Pasco MPO and Sarasota/Manatee MPO. Forward Pinellas uses WordPress with blog posts on various transportation and land use topics twice per month. These posts read as information articles and allow for comments by readers, responses from staff, and sharing of information on social media sites. A full analysis of social media traffic trends is found in the BigSea analysis in the Appendix of this report. VI. REGIONAL PUBLICATIONS TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC produced several regional publications during the reporting period. TBARTA developed and adopted its 2015 Master Plan, which was distributed electronically to each MPO/TPO, as well as the CEO s of Tampa International Airport, Port Tampa Bay, the Tampa Bay Partnership, and members of the Florida Legislature. In 2014 and 2015, TBARTA also completed a comprehensive report on its operations and budget, acquisition of property, management of revenue and bond proceeds, and compliance with applicable laws and generally accepted accounting principles for the Florida Transportation Commission Oversight report, to ensure it is meeting its respective responsibilities to its customers and the public. While this document does not require input from the public, it does serve as a general information source about the agency, its structure, capabilities and progress on its projects. Each week, TBARTA assembles and distributes an electronic newsletter containing Tampa Bay transportation related stories. The publication is hosted through MailChimp, and reaches around 2,000 subscribers. Links to sign-up for distribution are found throughout the TBARTA website, and are shared regularly on social media. The CCC developed and distributed its Multi-Use Trails Brochures in 2014 and 2015, printing and distributing 2,500 over a two-year period by MPOs/TPOs at their offices and at local events, as well as by TBARTA. The CCC also updated the Regional Road Network map in Both of these documents were made available for viewing online. VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This evaluation reviewed the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) and the TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) Chairs Coordinating Committee (CCC) regional public involvement activities over a 24-month period beginning January 1, 2014 and 26 of 68

30 ending December 31, VII.A. Summary TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC has continued to meet its public participation requirements, primarily with technology and participation of member MPOs/TPOs. This piggyback approach providing regional transportation information within the context of local and vice-versa - appeals to public interest, encourages local participation, and produces more opportunities to participate through local speaker s bureaus and other activities. The networking that has occurred among member MPOs/TPOs and their Partner Entities has provided a process for bringing the issues that concern local citizens to the regional table, and has enhanced the cooperative spirit for problem solving and prioritization. Cross-border road, transit and trail issues have been addressed through both the planning process, and through the involvement of the affected MPOs/TPOs. The website has continued to be an effective tool for making documents, maps and other work products and information easily and quickly available both regionwide and outside the region. Additionally, the website has proven to be an effective tool for maintaining and updating lists for MPO/TPO staff who are engaged in regional transportation planning, and for keeping contact information current. However, improvement in optimizing the TBARTA site and TBARTA MPOs CCC Page for mobile use are needed to continue engaging the public effectively in the future. This issue will only increase in importance as technology becomes even more mobile and accessibly, and vertically integrated into wearable devices and transportation itself. TBARTA has been successful ensuring a quorum at its CAC meetings only one-third of the time. While efforts to increase participation through the use of teleconference and webinar technologies have been considered, members must be present, according to bylaws, in order to count toward a quorum. TBARTA staff has solicited comments on how meetings can be improved to increase participation, which include making agenda packets available three to five days in advance of the meeting, ensuring topics are relevant to members, and feedback during meetings is accounted for and staff follows up on all member requests in a timely manner. In past year, the TBARTA MPOs CCC renewed its contract with TBARTA to provide one, part-time administrative staff person. This support has continued to be effective in establishing consistency between meetings, as responsibility for planning and hosting meetings alternates among member MPOs/TPOs each quarter. Responsibilities of the TBARTA coordinator include producing minutes and agenda packets, and coordinating meetings of the TBARTA MPOs CCC Board, the TRIP Working Group, and the Multi-Use Trails Committee. VII.B. Review of Previous Recommendations The evaluation performed in 2012 recommended improvements to the regional public 27 of 68

31 engagement process using communication technologies, continued support for citizen member committees, as well as maintaining existing and facilitating new partnerships to enhance communication with citizens. The activities described in the previous sections address many of these recommendations, but some specific comments are addressed below: Communication Technology The previous report recognized the capability of technology to minimize obstacles to engagement presented by distance, increase awareness of regional issues, and make outreach efforts more cost efficient. It also correctly predicted that by the next report, existing technologies would be simplified, cheaper, more commonly used, and improvements or new applications would provide additional opportunities to involve individuals and groups throughout the region in transportation issues. However, despite advances in and access to technology, coordinated participation between local MPOs/TPOs and TBARTA will be essential in providing regional transportation information and soliciting feedback from the public. Supplementing the efforts of TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC with a regional newsletter, a strategy once utilized, as well as a dedicated TBARTA MPOs CCC social media program would be a first step. A Social Media Policy was developed from the previous effort and could be updated through a coordinated effort of the RP3 Working Group. Citizens Advisory Committee Efforts to maintain a quorum and to improve attendance of the Joint Citizens Advisory Committee (JCAC) was also a priority in the previous evaluation, and that effort continues with the TBARTA Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). TBARTA has allowed members to attend from their homes or at work either through teleconferencing or online meeting applications, such as WebEx, but members are still encouraged to attend in-person, if possible. Results of the previous JCAC members survey also suggested that the CCC should enforce time limits for presentations, and that presenters should be instructed to explain during their presentations why their issue is important to citizens and to their MPO/TPO. The current CAC survey reflects either changes in perception of these issues, or, their resolve. Reductions in Available Funding It has been determined from experience that regional events can be more successful and cost affordable if they are done in partnership with other agencies and if they are located where the public typically congregates. Partnerships with individuals and among MPOs/TPOs, agencies, transit authorities and governments have continued to be one of the most important functions in executing its public engagement goals, and accessibility as well as price have been primary considerations in selecting sites for public meetings. 28 of 68

32 Partnerships TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC have continued to utilize its partner agencies to act as a conduit for communication with citizens. Partnering for economic growth, environmental protection, and growth management have been effective in identifying mutually shared goals and public participation opportunities, and will continue to be a critical part of the public engagement and planning processes. VII.C. General Recommendations Building on the previous recommendations in 2012, the following are considerations for improving the regional public engagement process and meeting the goals of the TBARTA MPOs CCC Public Participation Plan. Community and Business Partnerships While TBARTA and the TBARTA MPOs CCC have both been effective in collaborating with each other, additional efforts to build working relationships with public and private sector are highly likely to increase opportunities for results-based public engagement. A more holistic approach, including residents, merchants, property owners, city agencies, planners, architects, and developers, as well as community and faith-based organizations, can demonstrate that through partnerships, they can bring together the traditional safety and mobility goals of transportation agencies and the livability goals of communities. Concerns about livability are shared by every type of community whether a rural area, small town, inner city neighborhood, suburb. Website and Social Media As covered in the report, social media is a growing source of traffic in most industries, including transportation planning. A well-executed social media strategy can increase traffic and search visibility, and thus overall engagement. Social ads have been shown to be effective in drawing attention to specific pages a web site, and could be well utilized for public hearings and workshops. With the increasing trends of user engagement in news and events through social media, primarily Facebook, it is recommended that the Pasco County MPO and Sarasota/Manatee MPO create a Facebook page dedicated to updating their respective populations on their activities. Trends in social media use also show that under engagement is moving away from text based communication to the use of images and videos as the preferred medium for obtaining information. Creating more visually appealing materials as well as videos explaining projects, plans, or processes should be considered by TBARTA and members of the TBARTA MPOs CCC. Considering the trends noted above, either incorporating the TBARTA MPOs CCC into the TBARTA Facebook page, or creating a stand-alone account should be investigated as a coordinated regional social media network strategy. Clearly placed icons should also be placed on the TBARTA website and TBARTA MPOs CCC page that link to the respective social media 29 of 68

33 accounts of each member organization. Optimizing your meta tags, titles, and descriptions will help the TBARTA site and TBARTA MPOs CCC page rank higher on search engines. The higher the site ranks, the more the organic traffic. Currently, the TBARTA site is not linked to Google Search Console, which provides more keywords than Google Analytics. This should be rectified as part of a revised web engagement strategy. As covered in the report, according to Google PageSpeed Insights, the TBARTA desktop site load time is 44/100, and the mobile site load time is 36/100, which translates into a poorquality user experience. It is imperative that the TBARTA site and TBARTA MPOs CCC page be mobile responsive. It is recommended that additional Google PageSpeed Insights and Google Mobile-Friendly tests be conducted with the TBARTA site, and provided fixes be implemented. Additional recommendations on design and User Interface (UI) are found in the analytics report provided by BigSea, found in the Appendix. These should be implemented as time and resources become available. Citizens Advisory Committee TBARTA should evaluate ways to simplify the agenda packets to facilitate more consistent distribution, at least one week in advance of the meetings, and additional feedback through surveys or interviews with CAC members on what elements are more important to them may provide clear direction. The CAC orientation materials, which include the bylaws, a summary of current TBARTA regional projects and programs and links for more information, should be reviewed and updated to ensure information is useful for decision making and participation in meetings, as well as relevant and in understandable language. Upgrading teleconferencing capabilities to include video should be investigated to make it easier for participants to follow along with presentations. TBARTA staff should seek opportunities after each presentation to encourage members to provide their feedback, specifically those attending by teleconference. 30 of 68

34 VIII. APPENDI 31 of 68

35 Period reviewed: January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2015 A review of available web data provides information about why people visit the website and what types of information they are seeking. Areas of improvement have also been determined based on the findings. IBISWorld Industry Report: Public Transportation in the US says that a key success factor is the ability to attract local support/patronage. Urban transit systems that are able to gain the support of people in the local area are more likely to achieve high ridership rates (and therefore healthy fare revenue) and continued public sector support. Glossary of Terms Session: A group of interactions that take place on your website within in a given time frame by one user. Also known as a visit or traffic. User: A visitor who has initiated at least one session to your website. Includes new and returning. Pageviews: Total number of pages viewed. Includes repeated views. Pages/Session: How many pages a user views during one session. Avg. Session Duration: The average amount of time a user spends on your site during one session. Bounce Rate: The percentage of users who leave your site after one page, without any interactions on that page (clicks, form submissions, etc.). % New Sessions: An estimate of the percentage of first time visits. Organic traffic: Users coming from search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.), finding your website through various keywords. The higher your site is ranked for keywords your target audience is searching for, the more organic traffic you ll receive. Organic traffic is mostly likely to convert into customers, leads, etc. Direct traffic: Users coming to your site by directly typing in your domain (saw it on a print piece, repeat visitors who already know your domain, employees, etc.) Referral traffic: Users coming to your site through third-party links. Google tends to favor sites with a lot of quality third-party links. Social traffic: Users coming from all social media outlets. Social signals (traffic from social media and links from social media) are now a ranking factor for Google. Source: The origin of your traffic, such as a specific search engine or social platform Medium: The general category of the source, for example organic or social Source/Medium: A dimension that combines the two. Ex: google/organic Mobile Responsive: An approach to website design aimed at providing an optimal user experience on mobile devices, as well as desktop computers. 32 of 68

36 Analytics data was lost between July 9, 2014 and August 5, 2014 Google Analytics is receiving data from redundant hostnames. The redundant hostnames are tbarta.com and The non-www version should be 301 redirected to the other. Redundant hostnames are counted as separate rows in reports, so hits that are going to the same page on your site from different hostnames will be split into multiple rows. This will show specific page traffic to be lower than it actually is. There is no industry category set for your website on Google Analytics. Setting the category will enable richer features and enhance the robustness of your data. Google Search Console shows 188 URL errors. These pages are showing a 404 error, which means the page is not found. This leads to a poor user experience. To correct this problem, use 301 redirects from the old page to the new page. There has been no ML sitemap submitted to Google. Sitemaps are like roadmaps that tell search engines the flow of your website. The easier search engines find your pages, the better your chances of ranking. Not all images have alt-tags. These tags tell search engines what the image contains, and provides visitors using screen-readers a higher level of accessibility. Traffic needs filtered by IP address, so your employees don t count as visitors. It also needs spam filters in place. There are websites that will show up as referral sites to draw attention, in hopes of being noticed. 33 of 68

37 The numbers below represent all of the website traffic for during the period of January 1, December 31, This gives an idea of how many people are visiting the site, as well as how they are engaging with the site. Of the 24,144 total users, 35.6% were new and had never previously been to the site. Overall, users are engaging with your site, spending 2 minutes and 45 seconds each time they visit and viewing over 3 pages. Bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave your site after the first page they land on, without viewing any other pages. Your bounce rate is roughly average. While it s good to know users are engaged, we need to dive deeper to see exactly which pages users are interested in, as well as the opposite - which pages are users not reaching, and how can this be improved upon? 34 of 68

38 The graph below represents all of the website traffic for during the period of January 1, December 31, 2015, broken down by month. This gives an idea of how many sessions are occurring each month, to see if there are any noticeable trends or seasonality. During the review period, the most popular months were February and June 2014, April, June and August The other months received a fairly consistent flow of traffic. Analytics data was lost between July 9, 2014 and August 5, 2014, which explains the significant dip in sessions. There were only 36 sessions during that 2014 time frame, and over 1,500 in the same time frame during We can attribute this to the site redesign period when everything was being transferred. Continual monitoring of your Analytics account will prevent loss in data, as issues will be addressed immediately or prevented completely. 35 of 68

39 The data below shows how the traffic for during the period of January 1, 2014 December 31, 2015 came to the site. This provides information on how users are finding the website and gives an idea of how to optimize for each acquisition type. Organic traffic consists of users coming from search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) and finding your website through various keywords. Direct traffic represents users coming to your site by typing in your domain directly (saw it on a print piece, repeat visitors who already know your domain, etc.) Referral traffic consists of users coming to your site through third-party links. Social traffic includes traffic from all social media outlets, with Facebook being your number 1 source. Organic users are always the best source of traffic for any industry. These users are actively looking for something and they re finding you at the moment they need you. 36 of 68

40 The data below shows the breakdown social traffic for during the period of January 1, December 31, This tells which social media platforms are bringing the most traffic and gives an idea of which platforms should be optimized and utilized. Social signals are emerging as ranking factors as search engines determine how to leverage our social interaction and behavior. Facebook traffic drastically peaked in June 2015, bringing in 555 sessions and 501 new users from one published link: The 2015 Master Plan Overview. Social media as a source of traffic is growing across most industries, as we can see through your social traffic trends : Total social traffic 0.6% Facebook 67%; Twitter 18%; WordPress blogs 10%; LinkedIn 4% : Total social traffic 2.43% Facebook 89%; Twitter 8%; WordPress blogs 2%; LinkedIn 0.4% : Total social traffic 2.38% Facebook 92%; Twitter 6%; LinkedIn 2% Social media is a growing source of traffic in most industries, including yours. A well-executed social media strategy can increase your traffic and search visibility. Social ads could be worth looking into to draw extra attention to specific pages on your site. 37 of 68

41 The data below shows the origin and category of all traffic to during the period of January 1, December 31, Source/Medium data tells us the specific places users are coming and what category of traffic it is (organic, referral, social, etc.). This gives an idea of how to optimize content for specific search engines, attain more links from sites similar to referring domains, etc. While Google brings in the majority of your traffic, Bing accounts for 4% and Yahoo accounts for about 2%. This is useful to know when considered ad placement. As noted above, tbarta.com is considered a referral. This normally wouldn t count as an individual line item. If it was redirected correctly, the traffic would show up under the source it actually came from. There are a couple referral sites on there that are spammy and should be filtered out (semalt.com and buttons-for-website.com). Legitimate referral sites are tampabayrideshare.org and m.facebook.com (the mobile version of Facebook). It s imperative to redirect the non-www version of your site. IP addresses from your location and spammy referral traffic need filtered from your Analytics account to give accurate results. 38 of 68

42 The data below is for the MPOs CCC page during the period of January 1, December 31, Knowing how users are engaging with the page helps determine where to add more valuable content, broken up text for ease of reading, a contact form, etc. Even though this page was introduced to the website in August, 2014, it was still the 9t h most viewed page during the review period. It s also important to know how users landed on this page. 41% (or 722 visits) came from organic search results 38% (or 677 visits) came from another site with a link in it 20% (or 358 visits) came to the site via a direct link. Perhaps they bookmarked the page, or copy and pasted the link into the browser. 0.68% (or 12 visits) came from social media 0.11% (or 2 visits) came from an referral link In order to get this page in front of more people, utilize a strategic link-building approach. 39 of 68

43 The data below shows the most viewed pages, by category, on during the period of January 1, December 31, Knowing which categories are most viewed helps to determine what types of content users find most valuable. Knowing this helps determine where to add more valuable content, more contact forms, etc. In this case, it also tells how many times each language version of the site was viewed. Note: Most of these categories changed in July 2014, when the site was redesigned. The pages are still in use, but categorized differently. The majority of users engaged with the English homepage, but over 500 users engaged with the Spanish homepage. The content category was only used until July 2014, when the site was redesigned, yet it was still the 2nd most viewed category. It included pages like About (32% of views) and Commuter Services (13% of views). The pages are still on your site, but they were not categorized the same after July Meetings was another highly viewed category, with users viewing years 2014, 2013, 2012 and Users viewed the calendar and upcoming meetings. In the Press Room category, the Media Alerts was by far the most viewed. These pages should be looked at from a U/UI standpoint to see how the user s experience can be improved. Now that you know what your users are most interested in, you can cater your content to that. 40 of 68

44 The data below shows the overall most viewed pages on during the period of January 1, December 31, Knowing which pages are most viewed helps to determine what information users are looking for. This gives an idea of how to provide even more valuable content, whether expanding upon these top pages, or creating new pages to provide supporting information for the current pages. Aside from the homepage, users are viewing the About page, the Master Plan, School Program, My Ride, MPOs CCC, and calendar/events pages the most. Making this information easily accessible on the homepage is important when creating a good user experience. 41 of 68

45 The data below shows the overall least viewed pages on during the period of January 1, December 31, Knowing which pages are least viewed helps to determine what users either aren t finding or don t need. Knowing this helps determine if the site needs more links to these pages, more valuable content added to these pages, potentially combining some of these pages, etc. It shows where the site needs improved. Users are not seeing or engaging with these pages. This could be because they are uninterested, or because they are unable to easily find them Some of these pages might have been live for a short time, might have test pages, or might have been combined into other pages. Unfortunately, this information doesn t give us a lot of insight as to which pages are actually viewed the least. However, after looking into the Top 100 least viewed pages, the majority are very old Press pages, like Media Alerts, Newsletters, etc. from 2010 and older. Redirecting the non-www version of the site will help minimize the number of pages that have only 1 visit. Going through your site and combining pages with thin content will also help minimize low visits by bringing more people looking for similar things to the same page. 42 of 68

46 The data below shows the keywords users searched for to find during the period of January 1, December 31, This tells which keywords are most relevant to your target audience, and gives an idea of how to optimize current and create new content. These are terms that users are typing into search engines to find your website. The (not provided) keywords are hidden by Google. When a search is made on a secure Google webpage (https) and the result is clicked, Google returns a (not provided) keyword. Optimizing your meta tags, titles, and descriptions will help your site rank higher on search engines. The higher your site ranks on search engines, the more organic traffic you ll have. Unfortunately, your site was not linked to Google Search Console. Usually, Search Console provides more keywords than Google Analytics. 43 of 68

47 The data below shows the top sites that link and bring traffic to during the period of January 1, December 31, Knowing which sites your target audience is frequenting, helps to understand the path users take to get to your site. It helps to determine similar sites to get links from, possibly advertise on, or generally focus on to bring in more traffic. As noted above, spammy traffic needs filtered out for a more accurate representation of your traffic. Over 12% of traffic is spammy or fake, and this only shows the Top 10 Referring Sites. This information is helpful when deciding ad placement, partnerships, guest posting, etc. PRweb.com brought over 200 visits to your site. This tells us that press releases sent to PR Web are successful. Filtering out traffic and redirecting tbarta.com will give us more accurate referral statistics. Crafting a link-building strategy can help build your referral site profile. 44 of 68

48 The data below shows the top pages on that third-party sites are sending users to during the period of January 1, December 31, Knowing which pages are most linked to helps to determine which pages should be optimized, expanded and gives an idea of the category of content that other sites find valuable. Providing value is the main priority of the website. Google favors valuable content. The previous chart showed us the Top 10 Referring Sites. This chart shows us which pages those sites are sending people to. Almost half of the links are taking users to the homepage. The remaining pages are also found on the Top 10 Pages Viewed list. Clearly, these pages are most useful to your visitors. A link building campaign consisting of press releases, guest posts, social links, etc. would be a great way to gain even more links to your site. 45 of 68

49 The data below shows users, broken down by TBARTA counties, that visited during the period of January 1, December 31, 2015 compared to all users that visited the site. This helps determine which counties find the information valuable and gives an idea of ways to optimize for those users. It also helps determine which counties view the site the least, giving an idea of where to add or improve content. Polk County Polk County didn t account for any users during this period. Hillsborough County v. All Users The data below compares users in Hillsborough County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Hillsborough County and how they behave. Hillsborough County accounts for 33% of all sessions. The most of any other county, by far. Users in Hillsborough County are highly engaged with your site, viewing more pages than average of all users, and spending almost a minute more per session on average. 46 of 68

50 The data below compares users in Pinellas County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Pinellas County and how they behave. Pinellas County accounts for 6% of all sessions. Users in Pinellas County are engaged with your site, but a little less than the average of all users. However, 73% of sessions from Pinellas were new. Pasco County v. All Users The data below compares users in Pasco County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Pasco County and how they behave. Pasco County accounts for 4% of all sessions. Users in Pasco County are engaged with your site, right on par with the average of all users. 47 of 68

51 The data below compares users in Hernando County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Hernando County and how they behave. Hernando County accounts for only 2% of all sessions. Users in Hernando County are engaged with your site, right on par with the average of all users. Most of Hernando s users were repeat visitors. Citrus County v. All Users The data below compares users in Citrus County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Hernando County and how they behave. Citrus County accounts for less than 1% of all sessions. Users in Citrus County are engaged with your site, viewing about 30 seconds longer and half a page more per session. Half of Citrus County users were repeat visitors. 48 of 68

52 The data below compares users in Manatee County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Manatee County and how they behave. Manatee County accounts for only 1% of all sessions. Users in Manatee County are engaged with your site, right on par with the average of all users. A little less than half of Manatee s users were repeat visitors. Sarasota County v. All Users The data below compares users in Sarasota County to all users on your site, helping you understand how much of your traffic comes from Sarasota County and how they behave. Sarasota County accounts for only 2% of all sessions. Users in Sarasota County are engaged with your site, right on par with the average of all users. Most of Sarasota s users were first-timers. About 29% had previously been to your site. 49 of 68

53 Top 10 Cities in Florida Viewing Website The data below shows the top cities in Florida that users are located in when visiting during the period of January 1, December 31, This helps determine which cities find the information valuable and gives an idea of ways to optimize for those users. This information is interesting to know because you re getting almost as many visitors from Tallahassee as you are from Orlando and Bartow. Knowing this helps you talk to your users. You can provide more relevant information to users in cities you may not have known were frequenting your site. 50 of 68

54 Devices Used to View Site (by Category) The data below shows the breakdown of devices used to view during the period of January 1, December 31, This tells which devices the site needs to be optimized for and tested on. Websites render differently on different devices. Google favors mobile responsive sites (sites that are optimized for mobile devices). Many studies have shown that mobile phones account for about half of all search traffic. We re seeing a trend of increasing mobile usage: : 7.68% : 14.79% : 20.98% 2016: 24.07% It s imperative to make sure the site is mobile responsive. But it can t just be responsive. Your site also has to load in 4 seconds or faster for Google to favor it. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Google Mobile-Friendly test to see how your site measures up. According to PageSpeed Insights, your desktop site load time is 44/100, which is bad. Your mobile site load time is 36/100 (very bad). According to the Mobile-Friendly Test, your site is not mobile responsive. Slow load times and non-mobile friendly sites guarantee a poor user experience. 51 of 68

55 The data below shows the breakdown of web browsers used to view during the period of January 1, December 31, This tells which web browsers the site needs to be optimized for and tested on. Websites can render differently on different browsers. Internet Explorer used to be the top browser used to viewed websites, but with the emergence of Chrome and Safari, IE usage is slowly being replaced: : IE 49%; Chrome 22%; Safari 13% : Chrome 38%; IE 35%; Safari 15% : Chrome 44%; IE 28%; Safari 16% 2016: Chrome 46%; IE 26%; Safari 17% Testing the site in all browsers on the desktop and mobile versions is important to provide users with a good experience. 52 of 68

56 MobilePhoneBehaviorFlow The data below shows the flow mobile phone users took, page-by-page, starting at the landing page, through during the period of January 1, December 31, This tells which content is most important to mobile users and which content it not so important. It gives us an idea of which pages are most important to make mobile responsive. NewUserBehaviorFlow The data below shows the flow new phone users took, page-by-page, through during the period of January 1, December 31, It s broken down by Source, which gives an idea of the flow organic users take, the flow direct traffic takes, the flow social traffic takes, etc. This tells gives insight to which pages new users are most interested in, giving an idea of which content needs optimized or expanded. 53 of 68

57 UI / U Improvements With the data above that outlines your top 10 most-visited pages, we were able to then review the user experience and provide both general and page-specific improvements and revisions that would assist users in finding what they need more quickly, as well as improving and leveraging your existing website s design strengths. Homepage Based on the data found, we think that the homepage can be heavily streamlined and simplified, while still retaining its usefulness. Bringing TBARTA s services such as myride and mycommute into the mix in a meaningful way, will help drive users to the things they need quicker, and eliminate confusion and reduce site abandonment. Here are some things that would immediately make the homepage more useful and accessible the user: to myride and mycommute, as well as TBARTA s commuter services as a whole, are among the most visited pages. Currently, they are both confined within a carousel and have no clear call to action: a. We can revise both of those CTAs to have clear buttons and actionable items b. The carousel is currently too fast and does not allow for any real user interaction c. Add controls and make the carousel bullets clear The Trip Planner and Vanpool Finder forms can be restructured to be side-by-side in a horizontal form below the carousel The carousel currently contains a slide about the new office location. To reduce the number of items in the carousel, this could be move into a new alert style element that spans the top of the page below the main navigation, or shifted into a call to action that contains notifications and news of that nature 54 of 68

58 Below is a general mockup that outlines how we can streamline things: We can keep the carousel intact but better utilize it by making it the full width of the website. This coupled with better-designed CTAs and buttons will help drive users to pages more quickly and reduce the amount of time they may spend scanning the page for what they need. The benefit to this layout aside from simplicity, is that we can give the important, most-visited pages prominence at the top, and add tiers further down below the fold for other things. For example, the I Want To section can be converted into a horizontal icon-driven navigation, or made much smaller and the choices be put into a select menu. Adding Uniformity The homepage requires a lot of reading and scanning to figure out what things are and where to go. Reducing these CTAs down and giving them better uniformity and clarity will assist with this. 55 of 68

59 Search The search function on any website is crucial to improving the user experience. Currently, this is reduced to a small field in the corner of the header. With the amount of space available in the header, this could be made larger and given more visibility. Mailing List Form We can immediately reduce the number of clicks by removing the mailing list button from the header, and breaking it out into a standalone form on the homepage. This can potentially drive more users to keep up to date with TBARTA and keep that relation going even when they are not on your website. On internal pages that have utilized sidebars, the form can also be present and easily accessible multiple locations. in General Improvements and Fixes Overall page titles would benefit from a design overhaul that revises color, weight and size. On pages like About TBARTA, this would provide the user with a better understanding of visual hierarchy and flow. Before: 56 of 68

60 After: Some additional design and functionality improvements: Give lists on pages style revisions that indicate they are lists and make them discernible from paragraph content Make all titles stand out more and styled in a way that leverages the colors within TBARTA s branding Assign appropriate icons to all links that navigate to file downloads (ZIP, PDF, etc.) as opposed to pages. It can be jarring for the user to click a link and expect to be brought to a page, but instead end up downloading a file. This can be especially problematic for mobile users that are not connected to WiFi There are a lot of pages that have a sidebar that either contains very minimal amounts of content or no content at all. These pages would benefit from being full-width There are some script errors on the site globally that prevent custom fonts from loading. This is detrimental to your site s brand, as well as the user experience. Not only does the site not appear as intended, this issue can also cause text shifting, unintended line breaks on navigation items and other issues. This is referred to as a CORS issue which is defined as Cross-Origin Resource Sharing. In the context of the TBARTA site s issue, this occurs because the URL the fonts themselves are being referenced from, is not an exact match to the site s URL. Superfluous Effects The content area fade-in effect may be detrimental to user experience and offers no benefit other than visual appeal. An example use case: a user that is navigating the website quickly in order to gather information, may grow tired of it slowing their experience down and abandon the site. Breadcrumbs The breadcrumbs are crucial to providing clarity on whereabouts you are on the website. Improving their design would help to improve navigation clarity and design uniformity. 57 of 68

61 Links and Their Accessibility Giving content links an underline and perhaps making them bold, would assist with the user experience by making them easier to locate in page content when the user is scanning through. This is also helpful for accessibility. Other Page-Specific Improvements About TBARTA For links that navigate to files like PDFs, it would be beneficial on this page, and in general, to attach file type icons to the links themselves. This would indicate to the user that they are going to download (or open) a file as opposed to navigating to a page. Master Plan The user experience with the orange bar on this page feels disconnected. Bringing the tabs down above the image that changes would make more sense and in some cases where a user is on a laptop or other small screen, they may not be aware that the image is changing when they hover or tap the buttons in the orange bar since the changing image would be below the fold. 58 of 68

62 myride Making this page full-width would allow for more content arrangement options, and would help bring the important content above the fold, or at least closer to it. The aforementioned change would also allow for better search form arrangement options, including making the advanced search fields entirely horizontal. Below is an example of a revised advanced search form that would take advantage of the extra room that would be available upon making this page full width: School Program This is another page that would benefit from being full width. The 2 items in the sidebar could be moved into the content area in a horizontal format, and this would reduce the amount of scrolling, as well as bring more of the content above the fold. Below is an example of how we can indicate to the user that when these links are clicked, they will download PDF files: 59 of 68

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64 2015 Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Survey I. Questions about you, as a CAC member 2. active; retired. I ve been/was a member: more than 2 years; more than 1 year; more than 6 months; less than 6 months 3. I have attended a meeting of the CAC within the past two years (in Tampa or by teleconference). 4. (If no, go to the last question on the next page.) My county is: Citrus; Hernando; Hillsborough; Manatee; Pasco; Pinellas; Polk; Sarasota 1. My current status as a CAC member is: Yes No II. Questions about the agenda packet and its distribution process 1. I receive my agenda packet (approximately) 1 week or more prior; 4-6 days prior; 3-4 days prior; 1-2 days prior; 2. I don t get one at all. Agendas are written in easily understandable, plain language (not too technical, easy-to-read type, etc.). Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 3. Agenda packets contain relevant information to meeting topics (neither too little nor too much information). Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 4. Agenda items include issues that are important to my county and/or to my MPO/TPO. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 5. Agenda items include issues that are important to the Tampa Bay region. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 6. Agenda items include issues that are important to me, personally. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion III. Questions about the experience of attending meetings 1. TBARTA provides sufficient training and support to prepare members for their CAC roles/responsibilities. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 61 of 68

65 2. Meetings start on time, as scheduled. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 3. Members approach their decisions from a regional perspective, not just a local one. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 4. Members demonstrate respect for the opinions of others, even when they disagree. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 5. Presenters adhere to preset time limits. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 6. I feel I am provided the opportunity to provide meaningful input on topics presented in meetings Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 7. TBARTA staff and CAC members are courteous to guests (citizens who are not CAC members) at meetings. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 8. TBARTA staff responds to any inquiries I have about meeting topics in a timely manner. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion IV. Questions about CAC meeting attendance When answering the following questions, please remember that main site refers to meetings you attended at the TBARTA Office in Tampa; while teleconference refers to meetings you attended by phone from another location) 1. I participated in at least one CAC meeting by teleconference. Yes; No (If no, Please go to question 2 below) A As a teleconference participant, it is possible to hear what is being said at the main site (in Tampa).. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion B As a teleconference participant, I feel encouraged to participate (vote, ask questions, make comments, etc.).. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 62 of 68

66 C There is adequate, available staff to assist members in accessing the CAC meeting by teleconference.. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion 2. I participated in at least one meeting at the main site (TBARTA office in Tampa) Yes; No (If no, go to Section V.) A The number and expertise of TBARTA staff at the main site is sufficient to support CAC members needs.. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion B The meeting room at the main site is comfortable and accessible (enough tables and chairs, etc.). Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion C Parking at the main site is adequate.. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion D Audio visual equipment (overhead, sound) at the main site is adequate.. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion The main site includes reasonable accommodations and access (including restrooms and parking) for disabled E persons wishing to attend and participate. Agree totally; Agree somewhat; Disagree somewhat; Disagree totally; No opinion V. What topics would you like to see included in future CAC agendas? Do you have comments or suggestions? Do you consider your time spent with the CAC worthwhile? Write below, or on a separate sheet. In Accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other nondiscrimination laws, public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. LEP Executive Order of Title VI: Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation service (free of charge) should contact their local MPO/TPO. 63 of 68

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69 West Central Florida MPOs Chairs Coordinating Committee CCC BOARD MEETING June 13, 2014 I. PUBLIC HEARING 2014 FDOT District 1 and FDOT District 7 Multi-Use Trails (MUT) Element and Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priorities Notice is hereby given that the West Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organizations Chairs Coordinating Committee (CCC), which includes the counties of Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota will conduct a Public Hearing on Friday, June 13, 2014 at 10:00 am in Room Location is the Polk State College, Advanced Technology Center, 310 Technology Drive, Bartow, FL Persons wishing to address the Board are requested to complete a Comment Card and will be limited to three (3) minutes. Please see staff prior to the meeting. Presenters Hugh Pascoe, PPS LLC Michael Howe, Sarasota/Manatee MPO Summary Each year the West Central Florida MPOs Chairs Coordinating Committee (CCC) updates its list of regional project priorities. At its June 13, 2014 meeting, the CCC Board will consider updates to the priorities and accompanying mapping for the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP). Regional Multi-Use Trails (MUT) Element Each year the CCC updates its list of Regional Priorities for its Multi-Use Trails Element. A list of the Multi-Use Trail and Enhancement Projects for the MPOs/TPOs in FDOT Districts 1 and 7 are attached, along with a map depicting the locations of the priority projects. Priority recommendations were initially developed by the Multi-Use Trails Committee and reviewed by the MPO Staff Directors. An extensive set of criteria were used to select and rank regional project priorities. The priority list is used to guide the allocation of new funds intended for the construction of regional trails and enhancement projects. Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Annually the CCC updates is list of eligible projects for the Transportation Regional Incentives Program (TRIP). As seen on the attached spreadsheet, TRIP funding requests are prioritized for the MPOs/TPOs in both FDOT Districts 1 and 7. The TRIP program was created through Growth Management Legislation to help improve regionally significant transportation facilities. By means of the TRIP program, 66 of 68

70 State funds are made available to help local governments and others pay for transportation projects that benefit regional travel. To be eligible for TRIP funding, projects must be regionally significant, identified on the CCC s Regional Long Range Transportation Plan, and appear in local governments Capital Improvements Elements (CIE). Also, there must be a commitment for the remaining matching funds. For other public transportation facilities or services not maintained/operated by local governments, specific requirements may apply regarding the verification of matching funds. The attached spreadsheet was developed in accordance with the requirements for TRIP fund eligibility. As required for TRIP funding, the projects have been placed into relative priority order. Separate rankings were developed for project submittals in FDOT Districts 1 and 7 since TRIP project selection does not compete across district boundaries. The following criteria were applied when developing project rankings: - Congestion - Constrained Facility - Encourages/Supports Growth in Desired Area - Trip Length/Transit Desire Lines - Supports Facilities that Serve National, Statewide, or Regional Function - Functional/Service Classification - Continuation of previously TRIP Funded Project - Local match Additionally, the CCC TRIP Submittals Map depicts the location of each of the TRIP funded projects. Recommended Action The CCC Board recommends approval of the 2014 FDOT District 1 and FDOT District 7 MultiUse Trails (MUT) and Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priorities. Attachments 2014 Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priorities List-FDOT Districts 1 & Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) Priorities Map-FDOT Districts 1 & Multi-Use Trails (MUT) Priorities List -FDOT Districts 1 & Multi-Use Trails (MUT) Priorities Map-FDOT Districts 1 & 7 67 of 68

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