Contents --- 1. Introduction --- 2. Roadway System
3a. I- 84 --- 3b. RT 7 South --- 3c. RT 7 North

4. Projects by Municipality --- 5. Bus Plan --- 6. Rail Plan
Other Elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e --- 8. Resource Center

INTRODUCTION TO
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
For its transportation planning, the HVCEO maintains an official relationship with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (Conn DOT) in regard to all aspects of planning activities.

Federal transportation planning rules require that HVCEO maintain this written public participation plan. As detailed below, this plan details the process for collecting public input on HVCEO's transportation documents.

Concerned citizens will be interested in influencing the two main documents produced by the HVCEO regional transportation planning program. These are first the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), a statement of future transportation projects.

And second the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a statement of more immediate and actual projects that Conn DOT intends to fund using federal dollars for construction in the near future.

Citizen access is facilitated by the fact that HVCEO by federal law makes the RTP and the TIP available to citizens and take into consideration any comments they may make before a decision to amend or adopt these key documents is reached.

Further, armed with knowledge from the RTP and TIP as to what is being proposed for transportation changes in their community, citizens work outside of the HVCEO process to lobby state representatives or other parties with influence over transportation decisions. Details as to HVCEO citizen participation policies follow below.

PUBLIC INPUT TO DRAFT POLICY
DOCUMENTS BEFORE COUNCL MEETINGS
Access to draft transportation documents and all other transportation program components is the right of every citizen. Below are methods to facilitate this access:

Legal Notice in News Times. Concerning pending adoption of HVCEO's Regional Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program, to alert citizens and advocacy groups in advance, a legal notice regarding upcoming adoption of these documents will be placed in the area's major newspaper in Danbury, the News Times.

Citizens groups commonly review notices in this newspaper in order to alert themselves to growth, transportation and development issues. The notice will be written in clear and welcoming language.

Direct Mailing List to Citizens. Interested public agencies, private providers of transportation, and other parties may elect to receive the Regional Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program directly by mail. A mailing list for this outreach process is maintained at HVCEO.

Any interested citizen can be added to this list. The list meets federal Environmental Justice rules by including minority membership organizations and institutions serving low income populations.

Public Access to Documents. Public access to documents is available can be at the HVCEO office 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday thru Friday, evenings by appointment, or through direct mail from HVCEO. Internet access is also available.

Length of Comment Periods. Mailing and notice dates will be scheduled such that the public comment period will be at least 30 days for the Regional Transportation Plan and at least 30 days for the TIP and major TIP amendments.

Source: brookfield.patch.com
Scene from HVCEO meeting of June 17, 2010

TIP and Plan Public Information Meetings. For the draft TIP and draft Plan, in addition to the other participation mechanisms HVCEO will hold public information meetings. The HVCEO will advertise the public information meetings as legal notices in the News Times at least 30 days in advance of the information meeting.

Changes to Documents After Draft Reviewed. Also, if the final RTP or TIP either differs significantly from the ones which were first made available for public comment, or if they raise new material issues which interested parties could not reasonably have foreseen, an additional opportunity for public comment on the revised draft RTP or draft TIP will be made available.

Summary of Comments. When written or oral comments are received on the draft RTP or TIP as a result of the public involvement process, a summary, analysis, and report on the disposition of each comment shall be made part of the final RTP and TIP.

Direct Inquiries. All comments regarding HVCEO transportation planning should be directed to HVCEO Executive Director Jonathan Chew at HVCEO, 162 Whisconier Road, Old Town Hall, Route 25, Brookfield, CT 06804, 203-775-2656, or email him atjchew@hvceo.org.

NOTIFICATION OF HVCEO MEETINGS
DEALING WITH TRANSPORTATION ISSUES
The following procedures shall apply:

General Transportation Planning Other Than the RTP and TIP. There is more to the transportation planning process than just the Regional Transportation Plan (a statement of future improvement projects), and the Transportation Improvement Program (the more immediate list of projects by Conn DOT soon to be implemented).

Major transportation studies, transportation policies and status reports on projects are also discussed by the chief elected officials of HVCEO on a regular basis.

For persons wishing to shape transportation investments, it is often wise to make their views known early and often, before the periodic RTP and TIP updated are even formulated. Thus all HVCEO meetings are open to the public.

No advance notice is needed; a public comment period is provided for citizens at each meeting and visitors are made to feel comfortable.

Posting of Meeting Agendas. To facilitate opportunities for public input, advance notice of all HVCEO meetings is provided to city and town clerks where the meeting agendas are publicly posted. Agendas and minutes are internet posted.

Transportation planning related agenda items are clearly described in these notices. This meeting notification process is designed to be in full compliance with Connecticut's Freedom of Information laws, as well as the rules for openness guiding the federal transportation planning process.

Agendas to Media. Meeting notices are provided to the media to stimulate coverage. This mailing will include the New Times as the regional daily newspaper.

Citizens on Mailing List. All citizens wishing to be on the HVCEO meeting notice distribution list are accommodated at no charge. This will include parties interested in or affected by transportation plans and projects.

HVCEO Web Site. Transportation projects will also be listed on the HVCEO web site at hvceo.org. Access will be from the main home page of the site. This Public Participation Plan is also available on the HVCEO web site. Comment on the public participation policies themselves is invited.

FURTHER IMPROVING THE
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN
The HVCEO Public Participation Plan will be reviewed periodically to assure full and open access to all. Such revisions can be made at any time.

However, at a minimum, these policies will be reviewed every time the Regional Transportation Plan is updated, that schedule determined by federal rules. As the Public Participation Plan is itself part of the Regional Transportation Plan, a coordinated update process will not be inadvertently omitted.

In addition, for every Regional Transportation Plan update minority membership organizations and institutions serving low income populations will receive notifications by mail.

A Power Point presentation on the transportation planning process and area transportation issues is maintained. It is colorful, understandable by the layman, entertaining and about 45 minutes in length. This show is available to civic and citizen groups.

The HVCEO will consider as public input to HVCEO all CT Public Transportation Commission hearing testimony made by the Region's residents.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS AS
PUBLIC HEARING REQUIREMENT FOR FTA
In October of 1996 the Federal Transit Administration issued revised Circular C9030.1B for the Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula Program (the former Section 9 Program).

This streamlined the public hearing requirements for FTA Section 5307 grants by permitting the grantee, in our area the Housatonic Area Regional Transit District, or HART, in cooperation with HVCEO to satisfy the “afford an opportunity for a public hearing” requirement through the HVCEO citizen participation process, rather than HART duplicating it.

Therefore the HVCEO public involvement process will satisfy the opportunity for the public hearing requirement for most routine, traditional Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 grants, including the provision for public notice and the time established for public review and comment.

However, use of the HVCEO process will only satisfy the hearing requirement for routine projects. Projects requiring an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement will require additional public involvement, in accordance with joint Federal Highway Administration/Federal Transit Administration regulations, 23 Code of Federal Regulations, part 771.

FTA projects that do not normally require an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement include operating assistance, purchase and rehabilitation of replacement bus or rail vehicles resulting in no or only minor expansion of the fleet, equipment for existing facilities, reconstruction and rehabilitation of transit buildings, rehabilitation of rail track, etc.

HVCEO and HART coordinate to ensure that the public is aware that the TIP development process satisfies the above participation requirements, by including this item in these policies, by having draft TIP items to HVCEO forwarded to HART, and having all draft HART TIP items forwarded to HVCEO.

PUBLIC ACCESS VIA WEB BASED
PLAN VERSUS PAPER COPY OF PLAN
Throughout the web based Regional Transportation Plan links to related resources are provided. The web based Plan is then copied to become the paper copy Plan, as it would be wasteful to update and maintain two identical copies in different formats. It is understood that only persons who have access to the Internet will be able to view those links.

How to keep this process fair? There are no HVCEO policies available via links in the electronically plan; all HVCEO policies are included in the paper copy of the plan.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE POLICY

POLICY OVERVIEW
The HVCEO’s Regional Transportation Plan, TIP and Public Participation Plan as described above must also comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 1994 Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, and the U.S. DOT Order to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low Income Populations.

Those interested in the details of Environmental Justice policy may contact HVCEO and/or access the federal Environmental Justice web site.

Spanish language information on this topic is also available; Una Perspectiva sobre la Transportacion y la Justicia Ambiental.

In its planning and project development, HVCEO is committed to FHWA guidance on this matter:

To avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects, including social and economic effects, on minority populations and low-income populations, to ensure the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision-making process, and to prevent the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits by minority and low income populations.

Specifically concerning the Regional Transportation Plan, Environmental Justice mandates will be met by requiring that HVCEO studies determine impacts and benefits upon the population groups of concern.

It must be ascertained that they will benefit from a project in the same manner as will the general population, rather than be singled out for receipt of negative impacts of proposed projects.

IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET POPULATIONS
For a spatial mapping methodology to determine an “Environmental Justice Evaluation Area”, data from the latest census regarding 1) Black population, 2) Hispanic and Latino population, and 3) median household income by census tract is used. These are the primary data sets traditionally used for identifying lower income and minority populations.

The Black and Hispanic and Latino populations are calculated as a percentage of total persons in the area. The median household income for census tracts (subsets of the municipality) are calculated as a percentage of statewide median household income.

A threshold level of minority percentage is needed in order to determine “concentration.” For the minority populations, the regional averages are used. Similarly, A threshold level for median household income is needed in order to determine “concentration.” The statewide average is used, a broader measure than regional average as incomes are relatively high in this area.

Continuing with use of the income figures, a threshold level of 80% of median is used to determine low and moderate income, as this is the same percentage used for many years by state housing programs in Connecticut.

Income patterns vary throughout the Danbury metropolitan
area. HART bus routes serve all of the lower income areas.
Source: Bus routes superimposed over a regional income map.

The resulting calculations set the geographic boundaries for an “Environmental Justice Evaluation Area.” Federally funded transportation projects within this area are then subject to review for Environmental Justice considerations.

In this way the HVCEO’s Regional Transportation Plan, TIP and Public Participation Plan will comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 1994 Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice and related U.S. DOT orders.

As noted above, for the Housatonic Valley Planning Region, the demographic data sets described above show that the review area is a large part of the City of Danbury. Thus as Danbury transportation projects are developed, in cooperation with the Conn DOT, special attention will be paid to determine if there are any adverse impacts to the defined populations.

POLICY ON BENEFITS AND BURDENS
OF TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS
Specifically concerning Environmental Justice and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Environmental Justice mandates will be met by determining that the population groups of concern will benefit from a project in the same manner as will the general population, rather than be singled out for inadvertent receipt of negative impacts of a proposed project.

Methods for these determinations can be project specific. If homes are removed for a transportation project the determination as to this being “good” or “bad” could be complex. And then some planned projects are still in the conceptual stage and until property impacts are estimated, there is not definitive delineation of the project right of way to review against census criteria.

It is prudent to leave room for Environmental Justice evaluation methods to remain flexible such that they can evolve in consultation with the community and officials if and when a transportation idea is flushed out enough such that possible benefits and burdens can be discussed.

SPANISH LANGUAGE ACCESS TO
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
As agreed between HVCEO, FHWA and Conn DOT, Spanish is the appropriate alternative language for this MPO to focus its energies on as access by persons with “limited English proficiency” is enhanced.

There are several ways HVCEO proposed to address the needs of persons who speak Spanish and not English.

As agreed HVCEO developed a Spanish language page on the hvceo.org web site. This will indicate some basics about the transportation planning program and how Spanish speaking persons can contract HVCEO in their own language.

This is linked from the main transportation related pages, where a short Spanish text will appear as a hyperlink to this main Spanish language page. The web page can be printed and used as a paper copy to insert in other transportation documents.

While it is not practical for an agency this small to begin to produce detailed transportation planning documents in Spanish text, below is a practical alternative for access.

The web page above will give a phone number to a bilingual person who is familiar with the MPO program. A Spanish speaking only person can call that number and make comments about transportation needs that will be summarized in English and provided to the MPO staff Director.

The above may work to successfully respond to some calls but be insufficient for other more complex ones. Some callers may need discussion. What is a caller did not focus on a specific transportation need, but instead inquired as to what the MPO transportation program was all about?

In these instances, the translator and the MPO Director will offer to meet with callers at a location convenient to them. Any resulting input to the program will then be handled in accordance with the regular public participation rules. The time expended, second meetings, additional persons, etc., will be relative to the complexity of the issues raised.

Further, if inquires reach the point of a meeting with the translator and the MPO Director, and the inquiring party wishes to personally address the MPO in Spanish, then the MPO should fund the translator to attend the MPO meeting and make this possible, the most aggressive Environmental Justice strategy practicable given the limited HVCEO transportation planning budget.

The practicality of this translation service arrangement will be enhanced by the fact that the translator will be an employee of the Housatonic Area Regional Transit District, a nearby organization which has a permanent long term relationship with the MPO. HART will invoice HVCEO for these services. HVCEO funded HART for the provision of this service which commenced on 7/1/2004.

Transportation Plan Sections 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6- 7- 8