Public Outreach Support-State Transporation Commission (STC)
McCormick Taylor has partnered with PennDOT and the STC since 2013 to modernize public outreach for the 12-Year Program (TYP).
The Challenge
McCormick Taylor has collaborated with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the State Transportation Commission (STC) since 2013 to modernize their approach to the 12-Year Program (TYP) public outreach, which takes place every two years. Traditionally, input on the TYP, Pennsylvania’s mid-range planning tool which lists statewide planned projects and funding assigned over a 12-year period, was gathered through hearings where few members of the public participated. In fact, during the 2011 TYP update, only six members of the public testified at the hearings. Public participation has always been a critical component of the TYP update process, but it was widely recognized that past efforts to involve the public were not effective.
How We Helped
McCormick Taylor developed a plan to harness new technology and innovation to provide a more convenient and accessible method to participate in transportation planning on a statewide basis. The plan continues to evolve with each cycle, and currently includes the following innovative communications tools and techniques: a dynamic, modernized website; a customized, interactive Transportation Survey (web and print); a live, Online Public Forum (OPF) with live ASL interpretation and translation, as well as a call-in option; and animated educational infographics, web maps, and a collaborative plan that brought together all the key stakeholders in the process. After engaging McCormick Taylor in 2013, public participation has continually increased each cycle. Beginning in the form of six members of the public testifying at public hearings, the biennial TYP Public Outreach Campaign now reaches thousands each cycle – over 10,000 in 2023; over 9,000 in 2025 – who participate in the statewide Transportation Survey, in addition to a record 8,000 OPF participants in 2025.
Results
These efforts have been recognized multiple times on local, state, and national levels as effecting, meaningful, and sustainable by measurable results.
www.TalkPATransportation.com
