City of Milton Transportation Plan Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)

							City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
Table of Contents
Study Area Overview                                2

Public Involvement Objectives                      2

Public Involvement Techniques                      3

   Stakeholder Advisory Committee                  3
   Public Meetings                                 4
   Small Group Meetings                            4
   Community Event                                 4
   City Council Meetings                           5
   Telephone Survey                                5
   Collateral Materials                            5
   Notification                                    6
   Website Content                                 6
   Documentation                                   6

Anticipated Schedule                               7




Sycamore Consulting, Inc.            Page 1 of 7
City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
STUDY AREA OVERVIEW
Milton has a population of approximately 25,000 persons and covers slightly more than 25,000 acres.
The area is double the physical size of Alpharetta with half its population. Milton includes the northwest
portion of Fulton County and is bordered by Cherokee County to the north and west; Forsyth County to
the east; Roswell city limits to the southwest (west of Arnold Mill Road); and Alpharetta to the south and
southeast. Several state facilities run adjacent or though the City including Georgia SR 400, State
Highways 9, 140, and 372. The majority of the roadway network is local streets with both paved and
dirt surfaces.

The City’s location on Metropolitan Atlanta’s northern side with proximity to Georgia 400 and other
desirable locations combined with the rolling topography, scenic roadway corridors, scenic nature, and
rural equestrian lifestyle of the City make it a sought after location for developers and home buyers.
Businesses that cater to these economic generators are mostly located along the major highways near
significant intersections. The great majority of the City of Milton does not have sewer services and is
developed with septic tanks providing wastewater treatment. The development of low density
residential land uses with no plans for extending sewer services is intentional to maintain rural and low
density residential character.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OBJECTIVES
The stakeholder and public involvement plan implementation is integral to the success of the City of
Milton Transportation Plan and will occur throughout all phases of the project. A successful outreach
component is particularly underscored in a new city to bring the community together, create identity and
build consensus. This PIP is designed to identify the public as participants and outline ways in which
they may provide meaningful input to project processes and outcomes. The plan strives to establish
new forums for information exchange while also taking advantage of existing groups and organizations.
Outreach efforts will educate, inform and involve the public as to the purpose and progress of the
project by highlighting local issues, technical considerations, and potential impacts. Outreach
techniques are designed to encourage participation in the public process and to generate meaningful
feedback. The PIP provides tools for both disseminating project-related information and gathering
public input that reflects community concerns and interests.

The public involvement process includes educating stakeholders to ensure full understanding of the
project. Generating public awareness and creating partnerships with residents, elected officials, local
agencies, businesses, educational organizations and civic associations is critical to the success of the
City of Milton Transportation Plan.

The primary goals of the public involvement for this project are:



Sycamore Consulting, Inc.                                                               Page 2 of 7
City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
          To engage and involve a broad, diverse group of user constituents. The planning process
          must be inclusive and ensure perspectives are heard from all members of the community.
          Formats, locations, and timing of outreach techniques will be designed to attract and
          accommodate such groups as pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians, commuters, retirees, young
          families, minorities, low income households, non-English speaking populations, persons with
          disabilities, and others.


          To consult with community stakeholders and gather their ideas for solutions to improve
          and update the current transportation system. This process is an opportunity for the
          community to voice their concerns and opinions about the current transportation system, the
          future of Milton, and how recommendations resulting from the plan can foster positive change.
          Input gathering techniques will be numerous and varied to allow multiple opportunities for City
          residents to provide invaluable insight to this process.

          To inform and involve the public throughout the process. This plan intends to: 1) educate,
          2) listen to, and 3) learn from the public early and often throughout the project. The success of
          this planning process depends on the cooperation and support of the public. It is our goal to
          ensure that those potentially impacted, influenced, inconvenienced or enhanced by this project
          are well aware of the goals, timelines and available information throughout the project’s
          duration.


PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TECHNIQUES
The City of Milton Transportation Plan will provide ongoing input gathering and information
dissemination by way of a multi-faceted approach involving a project steering committee, general public
meetings, small group meetings, a community event and a statistically valid survey. This PIP also
includes the development of collateral materials and web-based communication as complementary
means of outreach. A summary of planned public involvement techniques are described in the
following paragraphs.

Stakeholder Advisory Committee
The City of Milton City Council will appoint members to a Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) and
may include existing committees as well as neighborhood and community groups, bicycle and
pedestrian advocacy groups, equestrian groups, social agencies, business associations, and
educational institutions. The SAC will assist the project team in identifying issues, challenges, and
opportunities, preparing materials for public meetings and workshops, and conveying information about
the study to the larger community. Up to six SAC meetings are planned.


Sycamore Consulting, Inc.                                                                 Page 3 of 7
City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
Public Meetings
Three public meetings are planned: a kickoff to present the project, a presentation of the draft Needs
Assessment Report with a hands-on charrette style public meeting, and a presentation of the draft
Recommendations Report.

In order to build excitement for and interest in the plan, the project kick-off will be held in conjunction
with a Rural by Design Workshop. Led by Randall Arendt, author of Rural by Design, this will offer
the community the opportunity to develop a strategy for insuring that the transportation plan and its
program of improvements support the City of Milton’s desired rural community nature. This workshop
will be conducted in a 4-9 pm format to maximize attendance.

The hands-on charrette will feature exercises to solicit citizen input on roadway, transit, bicycle,
pedestrian and equestrian facility improvements. At the final public meeting, the draft Final
Recommendations Report will be presented for comment.


Small Group Meetings
Between the public meetings, the project team will hold up to four small group meetings with specific
stakeholder groups. These small meetings will be tailored to the specific interests and concerns of
groups such as the equestrian community, homeowners associations such as Crooked Creek, Fulton
County Schools and private educational institutions, and special interest groups such as the Alpharetta
Historical Society (which encompasses all of the City), Birmingham Hopewell Alliance, the Milton
Gardening Club or others deemed by the project team. These small meetings will facilitate a more
detailed discussion and input gathering. In general the team’s objectives will be to inform the
participants about the CTP process and goals, engage them in the planning efforts, and ask for their
input and ideas. These meetings will be held at varied locations and times convenient to the specific
audience.

Community Event
Often, to accommodate citizens’ demanding schedules, a project must go where the people are rather
than wait for citizens to come to it - at places like ballparks, PTA meetings, senior centers, farmers
markets, festivals and bike paths – to insure a broad range of input and consensus building. To that
end, the project team will staff a project kiosk at a community event such as a fair, Milton Nights, or
similar activity to engage the public in a non-traditional way. The team will work with City to identify the
appropriate existing event. Alternately, the project team will assist the City in planning a project
sponsored event, such as a Taste of Milton, with refreshments from local restaurants and farms and
interactive project displays.




Sycamore Consulting, Inc.                                                                Page 4 of 7
City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
City Council Meetings
The project team will make project updates or presentations to the City Council at key technical
milestones to ensure that elected officials are involved and informed as the project progresses. Up to
four meetings are anticipated.

Telephone Survey
For the City of Milton’s transportation planning efforts, a scientific survey will bring a firm understanding
of residential stakeholders’ opinions on key issues. The project team will work with project leaders at
the onset to identify needed information from the public and how the opinion survey will be formulated
to best fit into the planning process.

A scientific telephone survey methodology will be utilized to collect the data, producing a representative
cross section of individuals by geography, demographics, and other important factors. A random
sample of 200 residents is suggested to produce a margin of sampling error of ±5.5%. The survey will
be administered by a professional call center, ensuring the highest quality local telephone survey data
collected by seasoned survey researchers.

Potential issue to address in the survey include:
          How do residents feel about different prospective transportation changes in Milton?
          What types of changes excite stakeholders, and which cause concern?
          What value do taxpayers see in different transportation solutions?
          Which specific communities or geographic areas most strongly support different aspects of the
          project, and how can each be engaged adequately?
          What strategies will develop stakeholder consensus?
The actual survey questions will be developed with project leaders, and will be specific to the issues
being discussed in the planning process. The survey can also be expanded to include questions that
will support additional planning efforts outside of the transportation plan, such as access management
planning. The survey results will be summarized in an easy-to-understand report with detailed analysis.


Collateral Materials
Developing a marketing campaign and materials that are interesting, eye-catching and engaging is
paramount. The project team will draw upon our extensive experience and graphics capabilities to
create strategy and material that not only educate, but encourage active public involvement. A brand
and logo will be developed based on the transportation vision for the community to make documents
and deliverables easily recognizable and identifiable to the public. Materials will be prepared in a
format that is cost effective and easy for the City or other stakeholders to distribute and reproduce.


Sycamore Consulting, Inc.                                                                 Page 5 of 7
City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
Notification
The project team will develop outreach notices, flyers, comment forms, and staff information sheets in
preparation for all meetings. This includes press releases and/or display ad content for appropriate
newspapers. All meeting notification materials will be prepared by the project team for distribution by
City staff.

Website Content
The PI Team will assist in developing project related content, educational materials and information,
calendar items, and outreach materials for inclusion the City’s website, to be uploaded by the
webmaster on a regular basis. The webmaster will develop a page specifically for the transportation
plan, and all project related meeting materials, such as agendas, meeting summaries, and
presentations will be provided to the webmaster for posting to the website. Agendas for each meeting
or event will be provided to the webmaster at least 3 days prior to each meeting or event. Meeting
summaries and presentations will be provided to the webmaster the day they are approved as final by
the City. All content to be uploaded to the Transportation Plan page will be approved by City staff.

Documentation
Documentation of the input and public involvement activities is a key component to the public
involvement plan. A standard format for this documentation will be developed and will summarize the
activity’s purpose, venue, participation numbers, and key issues heard. After all comments are
recorded, the frequency of responses can be determined and conclusions can be drawn from the
public’s feedback. Summaries of public meetings will be available within five (5) business days after
the date of the event.




Sycamore Consulting, Inc.                                                            Page 6 of 7
City of Milton Transportation Plan
Public Involvement Plan (DRAFT)
ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE

A comprehensive team calendar of public involvement activities relative to the technical tasks of the
project is included below. This calendar is based on a 15 month schedule.

                      ACTIVITY                             DATE                    VENUE
   Project Kickoff/Rural by Design                   January 22, 2009          Milton City Hall
   Stakeholder Advisory Committee #1                 January 22 2009           Milton City Hall
   City Council Meeting #1                               April 2009            Milton City Hall
   Stakeholder Advisory Committee #2                     April 2009            Milton City Hall
   City Council Meeting #2                             August 2009             Milton City Hall
   Stakeholder Advisory Committee #3                  June 18, 2009            Milton City Hall
   Stakeholder Advisory Committee #4                 July/August 2009          Milton City Hall
   Small Group Meeting #1                            September 2009                 TBD
   Small Group Meeting #2                            September 2009                 TBD
   Small Group Meeting #3                            September 2009                 TBD
   Small Group Meeting #4                            September 2009                 TBD
   Stakeholder Advisory Committee #5                September 17, 2010         Milton City Hall
   Telephone Survey                                    October 2009                  N/A
                                     nd
   Community Event (Milton Roundup, 2 Public Mtg)    October 17, 2009               TBD
                                rd
   Presentation of Draft Recs (3 Public Meeting)    November/Dec 2009          Milton City Hall
   City Council Meeting #3                          December 21, 2009          Milton City Hall
   Stakeholder Advisory Committee #6                 January 14, 2009          Milton City Hall
   City Council Meeting #4                            February 2010            Milton City Hall




Sycamore Consulting, Inc.                                                           Page 7 of 7