Public Engagement and Outreach for the Oregon Toll Program
The Challenge
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) needed help reaching and incorporating the perspectives of community members into a regional tolling program.
ODOT’s Regional Mobility Pricing Project was a first-of-its-kind to evaluate congestion pricing on all lanes of I-5 and I-205 in the Portland metro region and included developing a toll discount program for people with low incomes.
Over several years, ODOT worked with community members and regional partners to develop a toll program that would raise funds for transportation improvements, keep drivers moving with less bumper-to-bumper traffic, and minimize traffic on nearby streets caused by drivers avoiding a toll. ODOT developed options and analyzed how well they would meet traveler and regional needs. As part of that process, ODOT invited partner agencies, advisory committees, and community members to provide input. The project also included a rulemaking process to update Oregon Administrative Rules around tolling.
Our Role
Kearns & West led comprehensive public engagement for the project. Our task was to ensure diverse community perspectives helped shape the project design and a toll discount program, addressing community concerns about diversion, and informing other ways to make the program work for people living and working in the region. We developed public engagement and communications plans, implemented engagement activities, and reported results to the project team, agency leadership, agency and organization representatives, and the public.
Key Contributions:
- Coordinated with community-based organizations to reach underserved communities.
- Reached over 4,500 people across 28 tabling events.
- Garnered over 100,000 impressions through advertising and social media campaigns.
Services Provided:
Outcome & Impact
Through our communications and engagement efforts, we reached thousands of people in the Portland metro region across five different languages.
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