Community Outreach

Overview

The objective of the community outreach program is to solicit input through an open, dynamic process that includes as many of the residents, businesses, property owners, agencies, stakeholders, and community groups within the study area as possible. The process has been structured to involve people early and often, and to share information as it becomes available.

Community outreach for the I-70 East EIS has used a variety of techniques, including:

• Hiring residents from the neighborhoods to help share project information
  
• Conducting and requiring extensive training for anyone that will be interacting with the public
  
• Using flyers to notify residences and businesses of meetings
  
• Conducting door-to-door outreach as a first contact in many neighborhoods
  
• Holding block meetings within neighborhoods
  
• Attending neighborhood association meetings and business meetings
  
• Conducting neighborhood meetings and larger corridor-wide meetings
  
• Providing translation, child care, and meals at meetings
  
• Establishing working groups to address specific issues
  
• Involving the media in a proactive manner
  
• Meeting frequently with local and state elected officials

Community Outreach Techniques

We have used a variety of techniques to ensure meaningful involvement from the community. The outreach process was designed to be personal and extensive. It began at a one-on-one level and expanded to bring together the many interests in the corridor. A variety of opportunities have been made available for the community to get involved and stay informed about the project. These include:

Newsletters and Mailings

Newsletters and mailings are being used to provide project status updates and information. They are mailed to the people on the project mailing list at critical points during the project. I-70 East EIS newsletters and mailings are English and Spanish publications.

	Join the I-70 East EIS Mailing List to receive the mailings.
	Read the I-70 East EIS Newsletter online: Newsletters

Advertising

Advertisements are placed in weekly newspapers, Denver daily newspapers, and other relevant local publications to announce meetings and other important study information. Look for ads in the Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News, El Seminario, El Hispano, Denver Urban Spectrum, Denver Weekly News, La Voz, and other local publications.

Website

The project website is being used to disseminate information and provide a schedule of events. The site includes English and Spanish options and includes features such as an on-line feedback form, an automatic update email distribution for when new information is posted, a location for media information, and technical documents or reports. The website is updated on a regular basis with the intent of providing real-time project information.

Meetings

Corridor-wide and Neighborhood-Specific Meetings

Corridor-wide and neighborhood meetings have been conducted at major project milestones or for specific topics and provide opportunities for the community to interact with the project team and discuss project issues and recommendations.

	Check Meeting Notices for the next Corridor-wide Meeting dates & times.
	View meeting materials from past meetings: Meeting Minutes

Community Leaders Meetings

The project team holds informal meetings monthly at locations in the corridor to answer questions and provide updates. Walk-ins are welcome at any time to talk to project team members, ask questions, express concerns, and provide comments. These meetings are held as open discussions and there are no presentations.

	Check Meeting Notices for the next Community Leaders Meeting date & time.
	View meeting materials from past meetings: Meeting Minutes

Telephone Town Hall

The I-70 East EIS project team utilizes an innovative outreach technique to reach out to a large number of community members at comfort of their home. The telephone town hall technology allows the project team to contact thousands of phone numbers within the project area to invite them to listen to a live presentation on the project and ask questions from the project team members live or leave a voicemail to talk to them offline. Polling questions can also be designed and asked by the presenter to solicit input from the public on various issues by asking them to choose the best answer by pressing a number on their phone.

	Check the Meeting Notices for the next Telephone Town Hall date & time.
	Town Hall Meeting info & audio recordings can be found on: Meeting Minutes

The PACT Process

Due to a lack of strong support for any of the 2008 DEIS alternatives, CDOT and FHWA initiated a collaborative process to identify a preferred alternative. The Preferred Alternative Collaborative Team (PACT) was formed in July 2010 made up of a group of stakeholders representing federal and state agencies, local governments, and community and business interests. After extensive deliberations – including two corridor-wide meetings – the PACT was unable to reach consensus on a preferred alternative. After the conclusion of the PACT process, the City and County of Denver initiated an outreach effort with several community work groups, with more than 90 participants. This outreach developed a list of neighborhood goals and expectations, to be integrated in CDOT’s environment evaluation.

ARCHIVE: More information on the PACT is available in the PACT Archives

Working Group

The Highway Working Group included members of all of the highway-related working groups (community impacts, interchanges, alternate routes, bike/pedestrian/open space, economic development, trucking/motor carriers) from the I-70 East Corridor project. The group discussed issues and approaches to various project concerns and was open to the public.

ARCHIVE: View meeting materials from WG Meetings: Meeting Minutes Archive

Committee Meetings

Various agency committees had been meeting throughout the project prior to the 2008 Draft EIS to discuss issues and develop recommendations. Forums were provided at these committee meetings to hear community input.

Stakeholder Meetings

Stakeholder meetings have been held on an as-needed basis and typically include property or business owners, business or homeowners associations, special interest groups, religious organizations, neighborhood associations, police/fire personnel, and others as appropriate. These are typically a presentation at the group’s regularly scheduled meeting, but can be specially-arranged meetings.

Contact Us if you are interested in having an I-70 East EIS representative at your next meeting.

Scoping is a formal coordination process used to gain input on the extent of the project and the major issues that need to be addressed.

In the scoping portion of the study, which is now complete, the project team met with the community, stakeholders, and numerous government agencies to identify issues in over 50 scoping meetings. Through these meetings participants offered numerous ideas about transportation-related issues in the corridor. Major topic areas identified in scoping included:

• Need to consider multi-modal alternatives (bicycle, pedestrian, transit, automobile)
  
• Health concerns
  
• Availability of funding for construction
  
• Toll road concerns
  
• Safety concerns
  
• Noise
  
• Congestion
  
• Alternate route suggestions
  
• Construction timing and effects to businesses and the community
  
• Interchange locations
  
• Accommodation of growth and local plans
  
• Drainage on the highway and existing bridges

Issues unrelated to the EIS that were brought up during the scoping process have been passed on to appropriate agencies. A summary of the community outreach and scoping process has been documented in a Scoping Report, available for review at the project office.

Community Resources

Right of Way & Relocation

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are required to follow specific policies and procedures established by federal law when buying residential and business properties for projects. These links provide specific information on these processes, and the rights of residential and business owners involved:

FHWA guide to real estate: www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/realprop/index.html

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Brochures:

Right of Way Property Acquisition Information Brochure

Relocation Assistance Program for Residential Properties Brochure

Relocation Assistance Program for Businesses, Farms, and Non-Profit Organizations Brochure

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