The Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO), the forum for regional comprehensive, continuing, and cooperative transportation planning, is committed to engaging all area citizens in its planning and programming activities. It is FAMPO’s policy to manage a collaborative process that is proactive and ensures timely public notice, complete information, a wide range of opportunities for submitting comments and full public access to key decisions.
The purpose of the Public Participation Plan (PPP) is to serve as a guide to encourage public involvement in the regional transportation planning process. Through this PPP, FAMPO formalizes its intent to provide open access to the transportation planning process to all stakeholders. Because transportation has a substantial impact on an area, public involvement is vital to the planning process and special effort is made to ensure the inclusion of those affected by that planning and those traditionally underserved, such as seniors, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups and low income populations. Effective transportation planning recognizes the critical link between transportation and other societal goals.
Transportation systems can shape an area’s growth patterns, economic vitality and quality of life. The region’s transportation system provides for the mobility of people and goods, and influences patterns of growth and economic activity through accessibility to land. Furthermore, the performance of this system affects such public policy concerns as air quality, environmental resource consumption, social equity, “smart growth,” economic development, safety and security.
FAMPO seeks public input through a variety of techniques, including public notices, workshops, public hearings, comment periods, website, email, surveys, media relations, and the use of committees and work groups, with citizen representatives as appointed. The specific public outreach techniques employed by FAMPO will vary by the individual planning tasks.
FAMPO’s PPP is consistent with the following federal requirements (detailed legislation and requirements can be found in the History of Regulations Appendix).
- Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA)
- TEA-21 and successful federal legislation, including SAFETEA-LU
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
- FTA/FHWA Guidance on Public Participation
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