e
SPR 716

MARCH 2014

Evaluation of the ADOT
Small Area Transportation Studies
and Planning Assistance for Rural
Areas Programs

Arizona Department of Transportation Research Center

Evaluation of the ADOT
Small Area Transportation Studies and
Planning Assistance for Rural Areas
Programs
Final Report 716
March 2014

Prepared by:
Elizabeth Wemple, PE
Daniel Wu, AICP
Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
555 12th Street, Suite 1600
Oakland, California 94607
Prepared for:
Arizona Department of Transportation
206 South 17th Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
in cooperation with
US Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

This report was funded in part through grants from the Federal Highway Administration, U.S.
Department of Transportation. The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are
responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data, and for the use or adaptation of previously
published material, presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or
policies of the Arizona Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S.
Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
Trade or manufacturers’ names that may appear herein are cited only because they are considered
essential to the objectives of the report. The U.S. government and the State of Arizona do not endorse
products or manufacturers.

ii

Technical Report Documentation Page
1. Report No.

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient's Catalog No.

FHWA‐AZ‐14‐716
4. Title and Subtitle

5. Report Date

Evaluation of the ADOT Small Area Transportation Studies and Planning
Assistance for Rural Areas Programs

March 2014
6. Performing Organization Code

7. Authors

8. Performing Organization Report No.

Elizabeth Wemple, PE, and Daniel Wu, AICP
9. Performing Organization Name and Address

10. Work Unit No.

Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
555 12th Street, Suite 1600
Oakland, CA 94607
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

11. Contract or Grant No.

SPR 000‐1(181) 716

Arizona Department of Transportation
206 S. 17th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85007

13. Type of Report & Period Covered

Final (1/12‐12/13)
15. Supplementary Notes

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal
Highway Administration
16. Abstract

The Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) program, sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation’s
(ADOT) Multimodal Planning Division (MPD), dedicates funding and staff to conduct multimodal transportation planning
studies for local jurisdictions. This research study’s goal was to evaluate and refine ADOT’s PARA program to better meet
the goals of both ADOT and its local jurisdictional partners. This study had four phases: database development and
evaluation of PARA studies from 2002 to 2012, peer state interviews and assessment of similar programs, in‐state surveys
and interviews with key stakeholders, and PARA program evaluation and recommendations. The study found that overall,
PARA stakeholders were satisfied with the PARA program. Stakeholders stated that PARA programs provided resources for
identifying needs and addressing issues that were not otherwise readily available to small communities with budget
constraints. Based on the stakeholder assessment, this study made recommendations to strengthen ADOT’s ability to
address diverse transportation planning issues, streamline the PARA study process, and improve MPD’s interaction with
PARA stakeholders.

17. Key Words
PARA, SATS, rural transportation planning, tribal
transportation planning, multimodal planning,
Arizona, database development, stakeholder
assessment, state interviews, online survey
19. Security Classification 20. Security Classification
Unclassified

18. Distribution Statement
Document is available to the US
public through the National
Technical Information Service,
Springfield, Virginia, 22161
21. No. of Pages
22. Price

Unclassified

153

iii

23. Registrant's Seal

iv

Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 1
RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS .................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 3
CHAPTER 2. EXISTING PARA PROGRAM ................................................................................................ 5
BACKGROUND............................................................................................................................................ 5
INVENTORY DATABASE .............................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 3. REVIEW OF PEER STATE PROGRAMS ............................................................................... 21
IDENTIFYING AND INTERVIEWING PEER STATE PROGRAMS ................................................................... 21
PEER STATE INTERVIEW FINDINGS .......................................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 4. STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................... 37
ONLINE SURVEYS ..................................................................................................................................... 37
TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS ......................................................................................................................... 38
IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMELINE OF SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS ........................................................ 40
SYNTHESIS OF OPINIONS ......................................................................................................................... 41
PARTICIPANT PARA EXPERIENCE ............................................................................................................. 42
ELIGIBLE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING TOPICS...................................................................................... 42
STATE HIGHWAY NEEDS .......................................................................................................................... 43
HELPING JURISDICTIONS AND TRIBES UNDERSTAND THEIR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS ......................... 44
ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE TOPICS AND COMMUNITIES ................................................................................ 44
PARA EFFECTIVENESS IN ADDRESSING DIFFERENT TOPICS ..................................................................... 45
RESPONDENTS AND THE PUBLIC’S EXPECTATIONS FOR PARA ............................................................... 47
PARA PLANNING HORIZON YEAR ............................................................................................................. 47
WHAT MAKES THE PARA PROGRAM VALUABLE? .................................................................................... 48
HOW COULD PARA STUDIES BE IMPROVED? .......................................................................................... 48
PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.................................................................... 49
PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS FOR PARA ........................................................................................................... 49
LOCAL JURISDICTIONS’ EXPECTATIONS FOR PARA TECHNICAL ANALYSES ............................................. 50
ADOT MPD’S UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AGENCIES’ TRANSPORTATION NEEDS
AND PRIORITIES ................................................................................................................................. 50
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PROGRAMS ............................................................................................... 50
IMPACT OF TECHNICAL ANALYSES ON OTHER LOCAL PLANNING EFFORTS ............................................ 51
OTHER AGENCY (NON‐ADOT) INFORMATION ........................................................................................ 51
IMPACT ON PROGRAMMING DECISIONS ................................................................................................ 51
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION .................................................................................................................. 51
PARA PROJECT FUNDING ......................................................................................................................... 53
PARA APPLICATION PROCESS .................................................................................................................. 56
CONSULTANT SELECTION ........................................................................................................................ 58
RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................. 58
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ............................................................................................................................ 61
EFFECTIVENESS OF OUTREACH EVENTS .................................................................................................. 61

v

ELEMENTS OF THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS TO IMPROVE ........................................................ 62
INCORPORATING OUTREACH INPUT INTO PARA STUDIES ...................................................................... 62
OUTREACH EVENTS AND NOTIFICATION TECHNIQUES ........................................................................... 62
FACILITATING THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS IN LOCAL JURISDICTIONS ..................................... 63
CHAPTER 5. STUDY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................. 65
STUDY FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................................... 65
RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 66
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................... 73
APPENDIX A: PARA AND SATS INVENTORY OF STUDIES, 2002‐2012 .................................................... 75
APPENDIX B: METADATA OF INVENTORY DATABASE TABLES ............................................................. 77
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR PEER STATE REVIEW ................................................................. 83
APPENDIX D: ONLINE SURVEY INTRODUCTION AND QUESTIONS........................................................ 85
APPENDIX E: LOCAL JURISDICTION COMMENTS REGARDING PARA AND SATS.................................... 95
APPENDIX F: IN‐PERSON INTERVIEW INTRODUCTION AND QUESTIONS ............................................. 97
APPENDIX G: INTERVIEW SUMMARY MATRIX .................................................................................. 101
APPENDIX H: PARA PROGRAM NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR CORRIDORS OUTLINE ............................... 143
APPENDIX I: ONLINE SURVEY RESULTS BY SURVEY GROUP ............................................................... 145

vi

List of Figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.
Figure 10.
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
Figure 13.
Figure 14.
Figure 15.
Figure 16.
Figure 17.
Figure 18.
Figure 19.
Figure 20.
Figure 21.
Figure 22.
Figure 23.
Figure 24.
Figure 25.
Figure 26.
Figure 27.
Figure 28.
Figure 29.
Figure 30.

Inventory Database Methodology............................................................................................... 7
PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution (2002 to Early 2012) .......................................... 10
PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution by County .......................................................... 11
PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution by COG or MPO ................................................. 11
PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution by Engineering District ...................................... 12
PARA or SATS Study Recommendation Share by County .......................................................... 12
PARA or SATS Study Recommendation Share by MPO or COG ................................................. 13
PARA or SATS Study Recommendation Share by Engineering District ...................................... 13
Average PARA or SATS Study Budget by County ....................................................................... 14
Average PARA or SATS Study Budget by COG or MPO .............................................................. 14
Average PARA or SATS Study Budget by Engineering District ................................................... 15
Inventory Database Table Relationships ................................................................................... 16
Sample Query 1: Average Project Duration and Budget by County ......................................... 17
Results of Sample Query 1: Average Project Duration and Budget by County ........................ 18
Sample Query 2: Recommendation Implementation Status by Local Jurisdiction .................. 18
Results of Sample Query 2: Recommendation Implementation Status by
Local Jurisdiction ....................................................................................................................... 19
Filtered Results of Sample Query 2: Recommendation Implementation
Status by Local Jurisdiction ........................................................................................................ 19
SATS/PARA Online Survey Stakeholder Groups Assignments ................................................... 39
Support for Eligible PARA Study Topics by Percentage of Survey Group Respondents ............ 43
Word Cloud of Responses to What Makes the PARA Program Valuable .................................. 48
Most Effective Way for ADOT to Provide Administrative Support on
the PARA Study Process............................................................................................................. 52
Most Effective Way for ADOT to Provide Additional Education on the
PARA Study Process ................................................................................................................... 53
Effect of a Local Match Requirement on the PARA Process...................................................... 54
Local Match Funding Level ........................................................................................................ 55
nvolving Other ADOT Employees in PARA Study Applications Review ..................................... 56
Other ADOT Employees to Include in PARA Application Review .............................................. 57
Steps Taken by Local Jurisdiction to Promote the Implementation of
Recommended Projects and Policies ........................................................................................ 59
Percentage of Study Project Recommendations Implemented Locally
Over the Long Term ................................................................................................................... 59
Difficulties Implementing Recommendations ........................................................................... 60
Word Cloud of Definition of Successful Public Involvement ..................................................... 61

vii

List of Tables
Table 1.
Table 2.
Table 3.
Table 4.
Table 5.
Table 6.
Table 7.
Table 8.
Table 9.
Table 10.
Table 11.
Table 12.
Table 13.
Table 14.
Table 15.
Table 16.
Table 17.

Summary of PARA and SATS Documents .................................................................................. 8
Summary of Peer Case Studies ................................................................................................ 23
SATS/PARA In‐Person Interview Stakeholder Role Assignments by Question ........................ 40
Participant Survey Completion Status by Survey Group ......................................................... 40
Interview Group and Number of Interviewees ....................................................................... 41
Number of Survey Participant by Role .................................................................................... 42
Perception of PARA Effectiveness by Topic ............................................................................. 45
“General_Info” Database Table .............................................................................................. 79
“Technical_Tools” Database Table .......................................................................................... 80
“Recommendations” Database Table ..................................................................................... 81
“Public Outreach” Database Table .......................................................................................... 82
“Engineering_District” Database Table ................................................................................... 82
“COG_MPO” Database Table .................................................................................................. 83
“County” Database Table ........................................................................................................ 83
“Planning_Tools” Database Table ........................................................................................... 83
“Public_Outreach_Methods” Database Table ........................................................................ 83
SATS/PARA In‐Person Interview Stakeholder Role Assignments by Question ........................ 97

viii

Acronyms and Abbreviations
ADOT ............................. Arizona Department of Transportation
CAG ............................... Central Arizona Governments
Caltrans ......................... California Department of Transportation
CBTP .............................. Community‐Based Transportation Program
COG ............................... Council of Governments
CTSP .............................. Community Transportation Safety Plan
CYMPO .......................... Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization
DOT ............................... department of transportation
EIS .................................. environmental impact statement
EJ ................................... Environmental Justice grant program
FHWA ............................ Federal Highway Administration
FMPO ............................ Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization
FTA ................................ Federal Transit Administration
FY ................................... fiscal year
GDOT ............................. Georgia Department of Transportation
JPA ................................. joint project agreement
LPA ................................ Local Public Agency section
MAG .............................. Maricopa Association of Governments
MAP‐21 ......................... Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
MDT ............................... Montana Department of Transportation
MEPA ............................. Montana Environmental Policy Act
MPD............................... Multimodal Planning Division
MPO .............................. Metropolitan Planning Organization
NACOG .......................... Northern Arizona Council of Governments
NEPA.............................. National Environmental Policy Act
PAG................................ Pima Association of Governments
PARA.............................. Planning Assistance for Rural Areas
PIP ................................. public involvement plans
PP .................................. Partnership Planning grant program
RC .................................. regional commission
RPO................................ Rural Planning Organization
RSUTPS .......................... Rural or Small Urban Transit Planning Studies Program
RTP ................................ regional transportation plan
SATS............................... Small Area Transportation Study
SEAGO ........................... Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization
SPR ................................ State Planning and Research
SRTS ............................... Safe Routes to Schools
STIP................................ State Transportation Improvement Program
SUTPP ............................ Statewide and Urban Transit Planning Program
TAC ................................ technical advisory committee

ix

TIP ................................. Transportation Improvement Program
TMA ............................... Transportation Management Area
UDOT ............................. Utah Department of Transportation
WACOG ......................... Western Arizona Council of Governments
WisDOT ......................... Wisconsin Department of Transportation
YMPO ............................ Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization

x

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) program, sponsored by the Arizona Department of
Transportation’s (ADOT) Multimodal Planning Division (MPD), dedicates funding and staff to conduct
multimodal transportation planning studies for local jurisdictions. Eligible jurisdictions are cities, towns,
counties, and tribes located outside the urbanized areas of Phoenix and Tucson, as determined by the
U.S. Census Bureau. ADOT established the PARA program in 2008 as a reorganization of its previous local
and tribal transportation planning program, the Small Area Transportation Study program. Through an
annual competitive process, ADOT selects communities for which it studies local transportation issues
and develops recommendations for future implementation. The maximum PARA study budget is
$250,000; the Federal Highway Administration’s State Planning and Research program provides the
funds. The community is not required to contribute local matching funds to the project.
The goal of this study was to evaluate and offer recommendations to refine ADOT’s PARA program to
better meet the goals of both ADOT and its local jurisdictional partners. This study had four phases:
database development and evaluation, peer state interviews and assessments, in‐state surveys and
interviews with key stakeholders, and evaluation and recommendations. The recommendations are
designed to strengthen ADOT’s ability to address diverse transportation planning issues, streamline the
PARA study process, and improve MPD’s interaction with PARA study stakeholders.
Overall, the stakeholders, who included ADOT staff, private sector consultants, and representatives of
councils of governments and local jurisdictions, were satisfied with the PARA program and study
process. Local jurisdictions and tribal stakeholders found PARA project managers to be responsive and
knowledgeable. Furthermore, the PARA program provided resources for identifying needs and
addressing issues that were not readily available to small communities with budget constraints. For
example, PARA provided local jurisdictions and tribes with access to project managers and consultants
who brought planning expertise, a statewide perspective, and experience from other communities to
the study process.
While the PARA program’s primary objective is to help jurisdictions identify future needs and prioritize
projects for implementation when funding becomes available, stakeholders noted other benefits. PARA
studies provide opportunities for stakeholders to collaborate on local issues. For example, ADOT staff
learns about local issues and builds relationships with local planning staff through conducting PARA
studies. Similarly, PARA studies allow communities to participate in cross‐jurisdictional planning to
tackle common transportation issues. Local and tribal communities have used technical analyses from
PARA studies in other local planning efforts, such as by creating local roadway design standards.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS
While stakeholders have been satisfied overall with the PARA program, they recommend specific
program enhancements that ADOT can implement in the short and long term based on the degree to
which the recommendation is currently implemented, the level of effort required to implement the

1

recommendation, and the recommendation’s potential additional value. Among the recommendations
are the following.
Near‐Term Recommendations
 Add safety and catastrophe prevention as an eligible PARA study topic.


Add needs assessment as an eligible PARA study topic to assist communities in understanding
existing and future transportation needs.



Consider adding the impacts of transportation on health as a component of a PARA study.



Involve ADOT Local Public Agency section staff in the PARA process to help advance
recommendations to the implementation stage.



Incorporate comments from ADOT technical experts in the application review and consultant
selection process.



Clarify the role of ADOT’s transit program in the PARA process. MPD planners will continue to
work with the transit program to clearly define how transit planning can be addressed.

Midterm Recommendations
 Conduct a follow‐up survey at the end of each PARA study to understand whether the process
met the goals and needs of the local communities. Follow up at future intervals to monitor the
implementation of recommendations.


Change the public involvement budget amount from a set percentage of the total study
budget to an amount based on the type and frequency of public involvement tasks specific to
each study.



Take advantage of the A‐Plan geographic information system as a platform for sharing
information and data developed from PARA studies.

Long‐Term Recommendations
 Expedite the PARA application process by allowing applicants to submit materials and reviewers
to evaluate them online.


Conduct a peer review study to identify best practices for targeted public outreach that can be
applied to the PARA process.

2

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
The Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) program, sponsored by the Arizona Department of
Transportation’s (ADOT) Multimodal Planning Division (MPD), dedicates funding and staff to conduct
multimodal transportation planning studies for local jurisdictions. Eligible jurisdictions are cities, towns,
counties, and tribes located outside the urbanized areas of Phoenix and Tucson, as determined by the
U.S. Census Bureau. ADOT established the PARA program in 2008 as a reorganization of its local and
tribal transportation planning program, the Small Area Transportation Study (SATS) program. In an
annual competitive process, ADOT selects communities for which it studies community transportation
issues and develops recommendations for future implementation. ADOT funds each PARA project 100
percent up to a budget of $250,000 with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) State Planning and
Research (SPR) funds. Each PARA study has needs, stakeholders, and goals unique to its respective
community.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate and make recommendations to refine ADOT’s PARA program
to better meet the goals of both the agency and its local jurisdictional partners (counties, cities, towns,
and tribes). The main objectives of this study were to:
 Understand the degree to which the PARA program is meeting intended objectives


Assess how local agency planning needs are being met



Review relevant procedures and examples from similar programs in peer states



Identify options for modifying the PARA program structure, requirements, and
application process

Chapter 2 of this report describes the existing PARA program and the methodology used to create an
inventory database of all SATS and PARA studies completed from 2002 through 2012. The chapter also
evaluates PARA and SATS studies in the database (such as geographic distribution and percentage of
implemented recommendations). Chapter 3 details the peer state review methodology and findings.
Chapter 4 presents the PARA stakeholder assessment, which included an online survey and a series of
telephone interviews. ADOT, local, and consultant stakeholders participated in these surveys. Chapter 5
synthesizes this study’s findings and provides recommendations.

3

4

CHAPTER 2. EXISTING PARA PROGRAM
BACKGROUND
ADOT’s PARA program funds multimodal transportation planning studies for nonmetropolitan
communities. The program is administered by the ADOT MPD, which is involved in transportation
planning for various modes at the local, regional, and state levels. PARA program funds can be used to
study issues related to roadway, transit, and nonmotorized transportation modes, such as:
 Roadway operations and facilities planning


Transit operations and facilities planning



Feasibility review of public transit with intent of seeking funding



Development of the circulation element of a local jurisdiction’s general plan



Bike and pedestrian planning



Trail planning as a part of a multimodal system

PARA funds may not be used to design or build roads and other transportation facilities or for activities
related to environmental clearances.
The PARA program was established in 2008 when ADOT reorganized its SATS program. Before 2008, the
SATS program’s objective was to develop long‐range transportation plans for cities, towns, counties, or
Native American tribes outside of the state’s Transportation Management Areas, namely the Phoenix
and Tucson urbanized boundaries, based on a comprehensive transportation study prototype. In
contrast, the PARA program allows communities to tailor the scope of a transportation study based on
local needs. Additional comparisons between the two programs are:
 The PARA program is funded by ADOT through the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA)
Statewide Planning and Research (SPR) program. Typically, SPR funds require a 20 percent
match of nonfederal funds. In the PARA program, this requirement is met through in‐kind
contributions by ADOT; therefore, the PARA program does not require matching funds from
local communities. In contrast, the SATS program required the participating local jurisdiction to
contribute the required 20 percent with matching funds.


Unlike the SATS program, PARA funds are not limited to improving local roads. State highways
within the boundaries of local communities can be included in the scope of a PARA study.



The PARA program instituted a formal application process. In the SATS program, projects were
funded based on an informal request for funding.



The SATS program allowed studies and contracts to be managed by local jurisdictions. Under
PARA, the projects are managed by ADOT MPD staff. This ensures compliance with federal

5

regulations (in cases where jurisdictions are not self‐certified) and allows communities that lack
the resources to manage a planning study to benefit from the program.


In contrast to SATS, PARA studies are not limited by jurisdictional boundaries. ADOT encourages
partnership among communities when applying for the PARA program, with a lead agency
identified for project management purpose.

Cities, towns, and counties located outside of the urban boundary of a Transportation Management
Area (TMA), namely the Phoenix and Tucson urbanized boundaries, are eligible to apply for a PARA
study. Jurisdictions that are members of both a TMA and an adjacent Council of Governments (COG)
have been considered for eligibility on a case‐by‐case basis. Tribal governments and their subunits are
also eligible. The application cycle is annual. A selection committee of ADOT MPD staff members who
serve as PARA project managers reviews the applications based on each proposed study’s background;
purpose; need and goals; incorporation of planning elements; demonstration of community support;
and benefits to the state, region, and community. Local jurisdictions awarded PARA projects in the past
remain eligible to submit applications.
Once a community is selected to receive a PARA study, the study is guided by a technical advisory
committee (TAC) of key stakeholders, including representatives of the appropriate local jurisdiction,
neighboring jurisdictions, COG or Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), FHWA, other federal
agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. National Park Service, and other state
agencies such as Arizona State Parks or Arizona Game and Fish. Relevant ADOT sections, such as the
MPD Public Transit Programs and Grants Section (Transit), Environmental Planning, and Engineering
Districts, are typically invited to participate. TAC members assist the PARA project manager and local
jurisdiction by meeting regularly to review and offer input to all study documents and by providing data
and other information relevant to the study process.
The ADOT PARA project manager provides overall project management, oversees consultant selection,
schedules TAC meetings, reviews and approves deliverables, and administers consultant services
payment. A committee of PARA project managers selects project consultants, with consideration of
input from relevant local jurisdictions. Throughout the PARA study, the local jurisdiction also provides
guidance and local perspectives, reviews and approves deliverables, and assists the PARA project
manager with developing public involvement materials and securing meeting space.
INVENTORY DATABASE
To understand the performance and effectiveness of the existing PARA program, the researchers
developed an inventory database that contains information about PARA and SATS projects completed
from 2002 through 2012. (A list of these projects is provided in Appendix A.) The database includes a
synthesis and current status of all project recommendations, the project’s recommended time frame
(long term versus short term), public involvement techniques and outcomes, project duration and
budget, and key participant contact information.

6

PARA program stakeholders and planning staff can access the database information by running queries
for individual projects or geographic regions (statewide, county, MPO, COG, or local jurisdiction). For
example, stakeholders may request a comparison of average proposed and actual study duration for all
studies conducted in a particular COG, PARA recommendation implementation status across the state,
the average total budget for all studies conducted in a local jurisdiction, or the average public outreach
budget for all studies conducted in a particular county.
Methodology
To create the project inventory database, the study team first identified four information categories:
general information, technical tools, recommendations, and public outreach (Figure 1). Then they
defined specific variables and characteristics of those variables, including data type, data description,
and variable definitions, as explained in the metadata tables in Appendix B.

Identify information to be included
in database inventory

Define database variables to be collected
for each PARA/SATS

Organize variables into
database tables

Gather key PARA/SATS documents –
work plans, PIP, and final reports

Extract PARA/SATS final
report recommendations
into spreadsheet for each
local jurisdiction

Structured review of documents to
extract basic information
ADOT MPD provides
budgetary and actual
PARA/SATS time duration
information

Organize collected information into
MS Excel® spreadsheet tables

Send recommendation
spreadsheets to local
contacts for implementation
status update

Upload spreadsheet tables into
MS Access® and link with key variable

Create sample reports using
MS Access® query function

Document database structure
and metadata

Figure 1. Inventory Database Methodology

7

The study team assembled electronic and hardcopy versions of PARA and SATS work plans, final reports,
and public involvement plans (PIPs) for 68 projects conducted between 2002 and early 2012 (Table 1).
Documents were collected from the MPD, the ADOT Research Center online library, and various local
jurisdiction websites. All project documentation was available for 23 of the 68 studies; for the remaining
45 projects, a mix of project documentation was gathered. The metadata tables in Appendix B specify
the documents from which the researchers extracted information.

Table 1. Summary of PARA and SATS Documents
Total
68
23
1
10
12
4
14
2
2

2002‐2012 Projects
Complete documentation available
Final report and PIP available
Work plan and PIP available
Work plan and final report available
PIP available
Final report available
Work plan available
No documentation available

Complete
56
23
1
3
12
1
14
0
2

Underway
12
0
0
7
0
3
0
2
0

When possible, the research team assembled recommendations from each project’s final report into a
single spreadsheet and separated the recommendations into two categories:
 Policy recommendations, such as development of an access management plan or pedestrian
safety education program


Infrastructure recommendation, such as intersection improvements or roadway reconstruction

Researchers contacted local agencies for the 50 PARA or SATS projects for which a final report was
available. The agencies were asked to confirm the recommendations, update the implementation status
for each recommendation, and comment about their experience with PARA or SATS programs.
The researchers organized available information from local contacts, ADOT MPD, and PARA and SATS
documents into individual spreadsheet tables (Appendix B). The researchers imported these tables into
a Microsoft Access® database, with all tables linked by the “localjurisdiction_projectyear” field that
represented local jurisdiction name and project initiation year. The team conducted quality control
checks to assure that the entered information was accurate and complete. The researchers used the
Microsoft Access query function to create two sample reports that demonstrate reporting functionalities
on different jurisdictional levels.
PARA and SATS Database Evaluation
Figure 2 shows the geographic distribution of PARA and SATS studies by three study types: town or city,
tribal, and county. Figures 3 through 5 summarize the geographic distribution of PARA and SATS studies

8

by county, COG or MPO, and engineering district, respectively. Between 2002 and 2012, jurisdictions in
Pinal County conducted the most PARA studies at the county level, while Graham, Greenlee, and La Paz
counties conducted the fewest studies (Figure 3). Central Arizona Governments (CAG), the COG in which
Pinal County is located, conducted the most studies among COG or MPO projects, and Flagstaff MPO
(FMPO) and Central Yavapai MPO (CYMPO) conducted the least (Figure 4). By engineering district,
jurisdictions within the Tucson district, which encompasses most of Pinal County, conducted the most
PARA or SATS studies, and Holbrook the fewest (Figure 5).
Figures 6 through 8 show the breakdown of PARA and SATS recommendation types—infrastructure and
policy—by county, COG or MPO, and engineering district. On the county level, most PARA and SATS
studies made infrastructure recommendations with the exception of Apache County studies (Figure 6).
Recommendations of Apache County studies are approximately 60 percent policy and 40 percent
infrastructure. PARA and SATS study recommendations organized by COG or MPO (Figure 7) and
engineering district (Figure 8) are mostly infrastructure recommendations.
Proposed and actual study duration was available for 32 of the 68 PARA and SATS studies. Of these 32
studies, eight studies were completed on schedule, six studies were completed ahead of schedule, and
18 took longer to complete than proposed.
Figures 9 through 11 show the average PARA or SATS study budget for three geographic levels: county,
MPO or COG, and engineering district. The average study budget across all geographic levels was
$160,122. Studies conducted in Apache County jurisdictions had the highest average budget, while
those conducted in Pima and Graham County jurisdictions had the lowest average study budget. Studies
for jurisdictions that were Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) members—but outside MAG’s
planning area or also a member of an adjacent COG—had the highest average project budget among
COG or MPO projects, and FMPO had the lowest average study budget. Among engineering districts,
studies conducted within the Holbrook District had the highest average study budget.
Further discussion about the results of the database analysis, including implementation of PARA and
SATS recommendations, is included in Chapter 5.

9

Figure 2. PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution (2002 to Early 2012)

10

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Figure 3. PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution by County

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
CAG

CYMPO

FMPO

MAG

NACOG

PAG

SEAGO

WACOG

Figure 4. PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution by COG or MPO

11

YMPO

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Flagstaff
District

Globe
District

Holbrook
District

Kingman
District

Phoenix
District

Prescott
District

Safford
District

Tucson
District

Figure 5. PARA or SATS Study Geographic Distribution by Engineering District

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Infrastructure

Policy

Figure 6. PARA or SATS Study Recommendation Share by County

12

Yuma
District

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
CAG

CYMPO

FMPO

MAG

NACOG

Infrastructure

PAG

SEAGO

WACOG

YMPO

Policy

Figure 7. PARA or SATS Study Recommendation Share by MPO or COG

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Infrastructure

Policy

Figure 8. PARA or SATS Study Recommendation Share by Engineering District

13

Combined

$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0

Figure 9. Average PARA or SATS Study Budget by County

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

$100,000

$50,000

$‐
CAG

CYMPO

FMPO

MAG

NACOG

PAG

SEAGO

WACOG

Figure 10. Average PARA or SATS Study Budget by COG or MPO

14

YMPO

$300,000

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

$100,000

$50,000

$0
Flagstaff
District

Globe
District

Holbrook Kingman
District
District

Phoenix
District

Prescott
District

Safford
District

Tucson
District

Yuma
District

Figure 11. Average PARA or SATS Study Budget by Engineering District

Description of the Inventory Database and Sample Reports
The inventory database has nine interconnected tables; the relationship of these tables is illustrated in
Figure 12. The first three tables contain one record for each of the 68 PARA and SATS projects:
 General_Info contains basic information, such as project identification number, project initiation
year, ADOT project manager, local jurisdiction contact, proposed project schedule, actual
project schedule, and project budget.


Technical_Tools contains information relevant to the technical aspects of PARA and SATS
projects, such as project geographic scope; project type (e.g., long range transportation plan,
corridor or multimodal study); technical consultants; and technical consultant budget.



Public_Outreach contains information regarding public outreach consultants, events, and
event attendance.

15

Figure 12. Inventory Database Table Relationships

The research team developed six other tables with potentially more than one record for each PARA or
SATS project. The first table, Recommendations, contains final report recommendations, adoption of
PARA or SATS recommendations into the circulation element of the local general or comprehensive
plan, recommendation implementation time frame, and recommendation implementation stage.
The five remaining tables—Engineering_District, COG_MPO, County, Planning_Tools, and
Public_Outreach_Methods—address project location, the types of planning tools, and public outreach
used for PARA or SATS projects.
For all numeric fields in the database tables, a blank indicates that the information is not available.

16

Inventory Sample Reports
The research team created two sample queries to demonstrate database reporting at different
jurisdictional levels. The first sample query calculates the average project duration and budget by
county. As shown in Figure 13, this query requires two tables, General_Info and County, to be linked by
the unique key localjurisdiction_projectyear. The Total row in the query allows users to group query
results by county while calculating average values for the other three fields. The query results, as shown
in Figure 14, allow users to compare project budget as well as proposed and actual project schedule
across the counties.
The second sample query examines project recommendation implementation in a local jurisdiction. This
query also requires two tables, General_Info and Recommendations, to be linked by the unique key
localjurisdiction_projectyear (Figure 15). The query’s Total row allows users to group query results by
local jurisdiction name, recommendation type, and implementation stage. Figure 16 shows the results of
this query. A drop‐down menu allows users to select a specific local jurisdiction. Figure 17 shows the
filtered results for the City of Douglas.

Figure 13. Sample Query 1:
Average Project Duration and Budget by County

17

Figure 14. Results of Sample Query 1:
Average Project Duration and Budget by County

Figure 15. Sample Query 2:
Recommendation Implementation Status by Local Jurisdiction

18

Figure 16. Results of Sample Query 2:
Recommendation Implementation Status by Local Jurisdiction

Figure 17. Filtered Results of Sample Query 2:
Recommendation Implementation Status by Local Jurisdiction

19

These sample queries demonstrate how PARA planning staff and stakeholders can use information from
the inventory database to assess performance at various geographic levels or for select PARA studies.
ADOT could develop similar queries for internal and external needs, such as monitoring the PARA
program or to track recommendation implementation in jurisdictions. The information shared externally
would be a subset of the information specific to the jurisdiction or tribe, as demonstrated in the City of
Douglas sample query.

20

CHAPTER 3. REVIEW OF PEER STATE PROGRAMS
Numerous state departments of transportation (DOTs) operate transportation planning programs that
address multimodal needs in rural areas. The research team in this study identified and interviewed
peer states with programs that are similar to PARA. The findings, presented in this chapter, can inform
possible modifications or recommendations to the ADOT PARA program.
IDENTIFYING AND INTERVIEWING PEER STATE PROGRAMS
The research team conducted a peer review to identify best practices of similar state‐led rural
transportation programs and gain insight into potential practices that might be emulated in the PARA
program. The research team identified peer review candidates based on its prior rural transportation
planning work at the national and state level. The team focused on states with significant rural land
area, as well as on states with similar transportation planning or governance conditions as Arizona.
States on the preliminary candidate interview list were California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The team reviewed online materials for each preliminary candidate to locate information about rural
transportation programs or application processes. Researchers conducted preliminary screening
interviews with the most promising candidates to assess their programs’ similarities to PARA. This
preliminary screening reduced the candidate list to five states: California, Georgia, Montana, Utah, and
Wisconsin. These states were selected based on noteworthy practices, including multiple years of
experience in managing a program for rural transportation planning (California), programs that explicitly
fund multimodal transportation planning (Georgia), formally structured programs with defined
objectives (Utah), and management of multiple programs to fund local transportation planning (Utah
and California).
Next, the research team developed interview questions about a program’s administrative format,
including funding amounts, sources, application processes, and number of studies conducted annually.
Additional questions addressed topics of key relevance to the PARA program, such as local match,
program satisfaction, how program interest is generated from local jurisdictions, how land use and
environmental issues are addressed, and the relationship of rural planning products to other statewide
planning activities. The complete interview guide is presented in Appendix C.
Researchers then interviewed representatives from all five states by telephone and wrote case studies
for four of the five states. During the interview with Wisconsin representatives, the researchers
determined that the state’s rural planning programs were actually dissimilar to ADOT’s PARA program.
Therefore, in lieu of full documentation, a brief summary was prepared about Wisconsin programs.

21

PEER STATE INTERVIEW FINDINGS
The peer state interviews provided insight into how similar state‐led transportation programs develop
and maintain interest in local transportation planning and facilitate communications with communities.
Table 2 summarizes the interview results. Key findings follow:


Clearly define program and process. To drive interest in local transportation planning grants,
California has a clearly defined program and application process with support and guidance for
applicants. As part of its comprehensive process, California provides feedback to all applicants,
which has led to continuous improvement in application quality.



Collaborate with communities that might need support. The Utah and Montana DOTs monitor
communities on an ongoing basis and listen for indications of “growing pains” that demonstrate
a need for proactive planning. The DOTs support communities that do not have a planning staff
to actively plan for changing conditions. For example, Utah helps emerging areas conduct initial
visioning about their transportation needs.



Specify potential study outcomes. DOTs must clearly communicate to communities what
transportation plans will yield. Transportation planning is a process for developing an
understanding of needs and providing potential solutions, but not necessarily for funding
projects. Georgia DOT promotes the benefits of rural transportation planning by presenting the
results of communities’ plans to municipal leaders via statewide associations.



Support early implementation of results. Utah DOT has found it is critical to implement some
plan elements so that communities can see results from the fairly significant local effort
involved in developing transportation studies. If no results ever come out of the plans,
communities will be less willing to undertake them.

Detailed summaries of the interviews with Georgia, Montana, Utah, and California follow Table 2.

22

Table 2. Summary of Peer State Case Studies
Types of
Programs

Funding
Availability

Georgia
● County and local transportation plans
● Regional commission (RC)
transportation planning assistance

Montana
● Local transportation plans
● Community transportation
safety plans
● Corridor planning studies

Utah
● Emerging area planning
program
● Rural Planning Organization
(RPO) Program

● County and local transportation
plans: GDOT funds or combined
GDOT and local funds (on a case‐
specific basis)
● RC Transportation planning
assistance: $1.5 million in SPR funds

● Local transportation plans: State ● Emerging area planning
share funded through SPR
program: Approximately
funds; most studies under
$60,000 to $80,000 per plan,
$200,000
with approximately $100,000 in
● Community transportation
UDOT funds per year
safety plans: SPR funds; about
● RPO Program: $110,000 in SPR
$75,000
funds over 5 years
● Corridor planning studies: SPR
funds; generally under $200,000

California
● Community‐Based
Transportation Program (CBTP)
● Environmental Justice (EJ) grant
program
● Partnership Planning (PP) grant
program
● Statewide or Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program
● Rural or Small Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program
● CBTP & EJ: Each program funded
at $3 million per year using state
highway funds; maximum grant
size: $300,000 (CBTP) and
$250,000 (EJ)
● PP: $1.2 million annually,
funded by SPR; individual grants
may not exceed $300,000
● Statewide or Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
$1.5 million annually, with
Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) Section 5304 funds; a cap
of $300,000 per study
● Rural or Small Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
$1 million annually with FTA
Section 5304 funds; individual
grant limit: $100,000 per study

Table 2. Summary of Peer State Case Studies (Continued)
Funding
Match

Program
Topics

Georgia
● County and local transportation
plans: varies by case
● RC transportation planning
assistance: RCs provide 20% match
required of SPR funds

Montana
● Local transportation plans: No
local match required; requests
50% local match
● Community transportation
safety plans: Fully funded by
SPR; no local match required
● Corridor planning studies: Fully
funded by SPR

Utah
● Emerging area Planning
Program: UDOT funds 100% of
program
● RPO Program: No matching
required

● County and local transportation
plans: Multimodal, both state and
local roadways (Most
recommendations are highway
projects.)
● RC transportation planning
assistance: Bicycle and pedestrian
planning, scenic byways, Safe Routes
to School, and identification and
mapping of historic sites

● Local transportation plans:
Comprehensive multimodal
transportation plans with state
and local roads
● Community transportation
safety plans: Implement state’s
Strategic Highway Safety Plan
● Corridor planning studies:
Corridor‐specific issues,
especially environmental
impacts related

● Emerging area planning
program: Community vision
with a primary focus on
transportation planning topics
● RPO Program: Multimodal,
addressing both local and state
routes; bicycle/pedestrian
planning desired, but not
required

California
● CBTP and EJ: At least a 10% local
match; 75% percent cash,
25% in‐kind
● PP: At least a 20% match from
applicants
● Statewide or Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
11.47% match from applicant
● Rural or Small Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
No matching required
● CBTP: All transportation modes
eligible; state and local
roadways
● EJ: Improved mobility, access,
and safety while promoting
economic opportunity, equity,
environmental protection, and
affordable housing for low‐
income, minority, and Native
American communities
● PP: Multiregional and statewide
projects, in partnership with
Caltrans
● Statewide or Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
Transit issues with statewide or
multiregional significance to
reduce congestion
● Rural or Small Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
Public transportation planning
studies in rural or small urban
areas

Table 2. Summary of Peer State Case Studies (Continued)
Program
Application
Process

Program
Eligibility

Georgia
● County and local transportation
plans: No formal process
● RC transportation planning
assistance: Annual contracts with
11 RCs

● County and Local transportation
plans: Local jurisdictions eligible, but
focus on county or multicounty areas
outside of MPOs where significant
growth is occurring
● RC transportation planning
assistance: Jurisdictions outside of
MPO planning areas

Montana
● Local transportation plans: No
formal process
● Community transportation
safety plans: No formal process
● Corridor planning studies:
Federal, state, regional, and
local agencies solicited for
recommendations. MDT
evaluates corridors on
controversy of solutions,
corridor preservation for
transportation improvements,
or environmental constraints.
● Local transportation plans: Any
local government entity
● Community transportation
safety plans: None
● Corridor planning studies: None

Utah
● Emerging area planning
program: No formal process
● RPO Program: No formal
process

California
● Formal annual submission
process includes application,
scope of work, project timeline,
local resolution (EJ and CBTP
only), third‐party in‐kind
valuation plan (if applicable),
and project area map; formal
application review process

● Emerging area planning
program: None; generally, a
one‐ or two‐county region that
experienced a high growth or
spike in traffic
● RPO Program: None; RPOs
encouraged to plan for
transportation needs for
possible transitions to MPOs

● CBTP: MPOs and regional
transportation planning
agencies, cities, counties, transit
agencies, and Native American
tribal governments
● EJ: Same as CBTP program
● PP: None
● Statewide or Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
MPOs and regional
transportation planning
agencies holding a current
Master Fund Transfer
Agreement with Office of
Regional and Interagency
Planning
● Rural or Small Urban Transit
Planning Studies grant program:
Rural or small urban areas of
(transit service area population:
100,000 or less)

Georgia’s Rural Transportation Planning Programs
Contact: Georgia Department of Transportation staff, interviewed April 13, 2012.
Outside the federally designated MPO areas, state law mandates that the Georgia Department of
Transportation (GDOT) lead federally funded transportation planning activities, which include county
and local transportation planning in cooperation with local governments and regional commissions
(RCs). GDOT has an annual standing contract with its RCs to fund planning for the state’s rural
transportation needs, particularly bicycle and pedestrian planning. This program receives $1.5 million in
SPR funds annually in addition to the 20 percent match from RCs that is required of these federal funds.
Specific local governments and multiple county and local jurisdictions can also request that GDOT
complete transportation plans with 100 percent GDOT funds (or a combination of GDOT and local funds
on a case‐specific basis). Local governments frequently request updates to plans previously completed
by GDOT. If local governments have not requested a plan completion or update, GDOT may proactively
contact the local government to initiate plan development, particularly when a plan does not exist and
the area is experiencing above‐average growth, has been recently chosen as a new commercial or
manufacturing facility site, or has significant population but is still below the population threshold for
MPO designation. These efforts allow GDOT planners to communicate the value of transportation
planning with local officials.
When a project originates from a local plan, a background analysis of the project’s value usually has
been conducted. While this analysis assists with project development, it does not necessarily assign a
higher weight in the state’s prioritization and funding processes.
Regional Commission Transportation Planning Assistance
GDOT annually contracts with the 11 RCs to provide ongoing transportation planning support and
coordination to jurisdictions outside of MPO planning areas. The RCs assist local governments in
meeting the Georgia Planning Act’s requirement of developing and adopting land‐use‐focused local
comprehensive plans that include a transportation element. In most cases, the transportation element is
more of an inventory than a formal transportation plan. However, this work provides value to GDOT by
focusing on a set list of transportation planning topics defined by the state each year and ensures that
GDOT’s topics of interest are also studied at the local level. These topics can include bicycle and
pedestrian planning (comprising up to 50 percent of the work); scenic byways; Safe Routes to School
(SRTS), a federal program funded in 2005 through 2012 that promoted safe bicycling and pedestrian
practices to and from schools; and preliminary identification of historic resources and mapping of
potential historic sites, especially those adjacent to roadways.
Each RC contract ranges from $50,000 to $250,000, depending on the work GDOT determines the area
needs yearly. GDOT’s total annual budget of all RC contracts is $1.5 million, which is funded annually by
SPR; RCs provide the required 20 percent match. RC planners, not consultants, manage these studies.
Projects typically have standard topics, but if specific activities are needed beyond the standard topics,
GDOT will define additional tasks and work with the RC to estimate the additional cost. For example,

26

when an auto manufacturing plant was constructed, which necessitated more robust planning to
address its impact on the community, a larger RC contract of $250,000 was developed for one year.
Further partnership occurs when GDOT uses comprehensive plans that state law requires each local
jurisdiction to develop and which are coordinated through the RCs. GDOT uses the comprehensive
plans’ current and future land use assumptions, forecasted population growth, and land use changes as
inputs to its transportation planning activities outside the MPO areas.
Direct Local Transportation Planning Coordination
GDOT also funds local jurisdictions’ transportation planning activities directly with SPR funds. There is no
formal application process, and all local jurisdictions are eligible. Most studies focus on county or
multicounty areas outside of MPO regions where significant growth is occurring. GDOT or the county
may identify a need for conducting a comprehensive transportation study or updating a previously
completed study.
These multimodal studies typically address existing conditions, projected travel demand, project and
policy recommendations, and funding options. Jurisdictions requesting a plan or update are usually
asked to provide a local match, which ranges from 30 percent to more than 50 percent of study costs,
with the intent of ensuring that the local jurisdiction is engaged in the process. GDOT and the
jurisdictions jointly discuss the study issues, including both state and nonstate facilities; however, when
developing task orders, GDOT takes the lead in procuring and managing the consultant. County studies
do not have a cost ceiling.
On average, GDOT receives two requests for local planning studies each year. Generally, GDOT does not
decline study requests and will work with the requesting entity to begin work in a fiscal year (FY),
provided the entity has the fiscal capacity.
The state gas tax is constitutionally limited to uses related to roads and bridges. Therefore, no studies
using state gas tax funding can exclusively focus on nonhighway modes, and most recommended studies
are highway projects. However, local match can be used for the required nonfederal match to avoid this
limitation. Policy recommendations may include nonhighway modes; for example, the studies could
recommend demand‐response (nonfixed‐route) transit services available outside the MPO planning
areas. Generally, bicycle and pedestrian needs are handled through RC contracts, which have produced
regional bike plans that can be incorporated into the local plans by reference.
Development of Needs/Recommendations into Projects
While no formal evaluations have been conducted, GDOT is satisfied with the county and local
transportation plan program and the resulting products. Discussing the county and local transportation
plan program with local officials allows GDOT to educate them about the value of transportation
planning. In one instance, GDOT and local officials co‐presented county transportation plans at the state
American Planning Association conference to showcase the value of the local planning process.

27

Federal regulations require each state to develop a State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) at
least once every four years. A STIP contains a list of statewide transportation capital improvements. As
part of GDOT’s consultation requirement with local officials, GDOT engineering district staff meets at
least annually, but often more frequently, with local officials in non‐MPO areas to discuss the progress
of ongoing and programmed STIP projects as well as other planning issues and development updates.
GDOT has started implementing innovative public involvement strategies outside of traditional public
meetings and static websites for local planning studies. For example, GDOT distributed a travel study
questionnaire to students of a particular school district to share with their parents. GDOT did not
provide information about whether responses were greater than seen in previous surveys. GDOT is also
considering expanding social media as public outreach tools in the planning process.
Montana’s State‐Supported Transportation Planning
Contacts: Montana Department of Transportation staff, interviewed April 26, 2012.
Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) funds transportation planning outside its MPO areas
through local transportation plans, Community Transportation Safety Plans (CTSPs), and corridor
studies. Through these programs, MDT highlights the benefits of proactive planning, particularly to small
communities that are experiencing growth but lack the staff needed to conduct planning. MDT provides
modified planning program guidelines to allow communities more customization and flexibility.
Approximately $600,000 is available each year for these three programs, representing 10 percent of
Montana’s SPR funds. On average, two studies in each of the three programs are completed each year.
The local and corridor planning processes give communities the opportunity to prioritize and document
their transportation needs, which can prove valuable when pursuing funding for implementing projects.
Some communities use the local transportation plans as intended and implement their
recommendations, but others do not. MDT stated that a key lesson learned is the need to clearly explain
what the planning studies are intended to yield and that they will not necessarily result in funded
projects.
While no formal evaluations have been conducted on local or corridor transportation plans, MDT staff
stated that communities have reacted positively to the process and products.
Local Transportation Plan Grant Program
The need for a local transportation plan is usually identified by communities that experience growth and
increased development. MDT district staff who work closely with local jurisdictions may become aware
of emerging transportation needs and suggest that a community consider a local transportation plan
with MDT’s support.
The Local Transportation Plan Program has no formal application process, and any local government
entity may apply for funding. Local officials request support for a local transportation plan in writing,
indicating the proposed local contribution. While there is no local match requirement, MDT seeks a
50 percent local match to ensure community commitment. (The local share may be less than 50 percent

28

in smaller communities.) The state share is funded by SPR. The local applicant procures a consultant and
manages the local transportation plan with oversight by MDT, which reimburses the consultant’s costs.
While there is established budget limit, most are under $200,000.
Most communities that apply for local transportation plans pursue comprehensive multimodal
transportation plans that consider both state and local roads. While population and employment
forecasts are developed as inputs to the travel demand forecasts, significant land use planning is usually
not conducted. Also, stand‐alone bicycle or pedestrian plans are rarely funded through this program,
largely because much of the bicycle use occurs on recreational trails and not as a primary means of
transportation. Plan recommendations typically include both policies and projects. However, including a
project in the plan recommendations does not give it priority over competing projects considered in the
STIP. Tracking the implementation of plan recommendations largely falls to local government
employees, who determine what has been completed or advanced when they update the plan.
Community Transportation Safety Plan Grant Program
MDT has recently begun a program to fund CTSPs as a way to implement the state Strategic Highway
Safety Plan in urban areas. No formal application process exists; communities simply communicate to
MDT their interest in developing a safety plan. These plans are substantially different from local
transportation plans as they focus only on safety and generate policy and process recommendations,
rather than recommendations for infrastructure projects. In addition, they are heavily driven by
stakeholder input.
Safety studies are fully funded by MDT with SPR, requiring no local match. MDT hires and oversees the
consultant. Since the program’s inception in 2010, two studies have been completed and two are
underway. MDT actively promotes this program to communities; however, to date a smaller number of
communities have sought CTSP funding than expected.
Implementation of the plans can begin immediately after plan completion because an appropriate
committee structure is established during plan development and significant additional funding is not
required for several of the types of recommendations made by these plans. MDT closely monitors
implementation by requiring communities to report implementation progress annually. CTSPs are
generally funded at about $75,000.
Corridor Planning Studies
MDT manages corridor planning studies funded by SPR. These studies link MDT’s planning and project
development processes. To initiate this linkage, MDT asks federal, state, regional, and local agencies to
recommend corridors that would benefit from a planning study. MDT selects from these recommended
corridors based on one or more of the following characteristics: the transportation problems’ solutions
are considered controversial by the community; the corridor has been identified by the community for
future transportation improvements; or corridor environmental constraints might lead to an
environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment. (Note: The National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) requires agencies using federal funds to consider the environmental impacts of the

29

proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions through a series of prescribed steps. To
meet NEPA requirements, agencies must prepare a detailed EIS. Montana established additional
environmental requirements unique to the state through the Montana Environmental Policy Act, or
MEPA.) MDT may also select a corridor for its planned projects. MDT tends to select corridors with
regionally significant or high‐cost projects, and projects with many alternatives or alternatives that are
not well defined.
Upon selecting to study a corridor, MDT staff forms a team of local representatives; MDT planning,
environmental, and engineering staff; FHWA division office staff; and federal and/or state resource
agencies with interests in the corridor (MDOT 2009). MDT’s corridor planning team adapts the process
that is documented in Montana Business Process to Link Planning Studies and NEPA/MEPA Reviews
(FHWA 2011) to the corridor’s unique issues. Generally, a corridor study costs under $200,000, and
approximately two studies are conducted per year.
Project development and planning in earlier corridor planning processes occurred separately and was
less efficient. Engineering staff responsible for project development would identify an engineering
deficiency, advance a preliminary design concept, and develop an environmental document in
compliance with NEPA without considering planning level efforts or funding constraints. Environmental
review of regionally significant projects would often result in a costly EIS.
Because project development and planning were conducted separately, environmental staff often
repeated the data collection and analysis performed during the planning process. In addition, neither
process seriously considered non‐construction alternatives, such as operational improvements and
enhanced maintenance plans. Consequently, the environmental review process often recommended
alternatives that were not feasible and ultimately inhibited MDT from implementing solutions to the
underlying transportation problems. To link the planning and environmental review processes and
address transportation needs more efficiently and comprehensively, MDT’s Rail, Transit, and Planning
Division worked with the FHWA’s Montana Division Office to develop the current, more streamlined
corridor planning study process.
Even if a local community is not on a corridor study team, it can still be involved in the structured public
involvement process. Local communities benefit by being given a voice early in the corridor study
process and having full awareness of the process. A corridor study team may identify short‐term
improvements as well as major projects, so local agencies may see some proposed improvements that
can be implemented relatively quickly.
MDT is currently reviewing its process for tracking implementation. Periodically, when there is a need to
catalog progress, staff manually develops a list of constructed corridor projects. MDT is interested in
automating this process.

30

Utah’s State Support of Rural Transportation Planning
Contacts: Utah Department of Transportation staff, interviewed May 16, 2012.
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) operates two programs that provide transportation
planning support to non‐MPO areas: the Emerging Area Planning Program and the Rural Planning
Organization (RPO) Program.
Emerging Area Planning Program
A community develops a vision plan to better understand transportation planning issues (such as
alignments and funding). UDOT generates an emerging area plan when an area experiences high growth
or a spike in traffic. The agency manages the program in‐house using a consultant. UDOT funds 100
percent of the program and has led one to two plans per year for the past four years. Each plan costs
approximately $60,000 to $80,000, with UDOT spending approximately $100,000 annually.
Generally, the study area is a one‐ to two‐county region. Previously, UDOT conducted the program at
the small city level with approximately five studies per year over four years. However, when the agency
realized that conducting such planning at the regional level was more effective, it moved to a regional
model.
While the community’s vision for its future may focus on topics beyond transportation, such as housing,
UDOT tries to ensure a primary transportation focus. If study topics become too numerous, UDOT will
recommend a master plan. When appropriate, UDOT helps guide the community into the next step, a
formal transportation plan.
Public and stakeholder involvement is key to a visioning plan, which documents commonalities and
differences, and identifies issues that will require considerable effort to reach a compromise. A
significant benefit of the emerging area planning program is that local stakeholders can document what
they want their transportation system to look like. The program also offers an opportunity for regional
cooperation: Stakeholders from multiple jurisdictions across a region address common issues and map
out the region’s future. When local stakeholders work cooperatively to identify needs and envision their
transportation future, local jurisdictions start to identify the benefits of operating regionally, rather than
as individual entities. According to UDOT, using a consultant as a neutral party for facilitating discussions
enhances these visioning efforts.
While no formal evaluation has been conducted, UDOT is very satisfied with this program. The
department is considering extending the visioning program to address all modes.

31

Rural Planning Organization Program
In Utah, RPOs are generally formed in areas where populations are expected to reach or exceed 50,000
in the next 10 to 20 years—the level required for the formation of an MPO. UDOT encourages RPOs to
plan for transportation needs for possible transitions to MPOs. The agency provides $110,000 in SPR
funds to develop a transportation plan that is required when an RPO becomes an MPO. Funding levels
are $40,000 in Year 1; $30,000 in Year 2; $20,000 in Year 3; and $10,000 each in Years 4 and 5.
Concurrently, a local match of $10,000 per year ($50,000 total) is required.
UDOT’s overall program objective is to gain insight into the needs and desires of local jurisdictions in
regard to the state transportation system. UDOT is able to use this information to plan and preserve
right of way for potential future needs. The transportation element of a study produced under the RPO
Program is multimodal (as appropriate) and includes both local and state routes. Generally, up to three
RPO plans are underway at various stages along a five‐year continuum at any given time. UDOT initiates
an average of one new plan per year.
The RPO Program does not have a formal application process; historically, when an RPO population has
approached 50,000, the RPO has contacted UDOT to inquire about opportunities for transportation
planning. In most cases, a municipality or county within the RPO procures a consultant to develop the
plan.
Transportation planning at the RPO level is tied to Utah’s statewide long‐range plan, which identifies
transportation needs over a specified time frame and recommends projects to meet those needs. The
state updates its long‐range plan every four years, and projects identified in RPO and MPO plans are
considered for inclusion. If an RPO project is ultimately included in the state long‐range plan, a
municipality or county in the RPO must sponsor the project and participate in its implementation.
RPO planning is also linked to NEPA, and supports the environmental review process by incorporating
UDOT’s planning analysis. For example, UDOT develops maps that identify statewide environmental
issues as part of the long‐range planning process. These maps help local governments understand the
environmental concerns that may need to be considered in future project decisions. This streamlining of
the environmental review process aligns with the federal transportation funding and highway
authorization enacted in 2012—Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP‐21).
Although RPOs are more experienced at operating as regions than are emerging areas, the benefits of
RPO transportation plans are similar to those of the regional visioning plans. An objective of the RPO
program is to help regions understand the land use component of a transportation request and the need
to preserve right of way for future transportation uses. For example, if transit is addressed at the local
level, UDOT helps stakeholders understand that land use must be given major consideration during
transit planning.
UDOT staff believes that expediency in implementing plan results is key to keeping local governments
engaged in planning efforts. To help local jurisdictions begin implementing projects, UDOT operates a
local government assistance program through which local jurisdictions can apply for project funding. To

32

be considered for funding, a jurisdiction must document that the project has been recommended and
included in an approved plan. In this way, UDOT emphasizes the connection between planning and
project implementation.
California’s State‐Supported Local and Regional Transportation Planning Program
Contacts: California Department of Transportation staff, interviewed May 7, 2012.
For more than a decade, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has had active grant
programs supporting local and regional transportation planning, which staff described as highly
oversubscribed. These programs are structured, with a formal application and review process and
detailed guidance for applicants, including webinars on how to apply. Caltrans provides application
feedback to every program applicant, which staff stated has resulted in continuous improvement in
application quality. Applications are reviewed by evaluation teams composed of Caltrans subject matter
experts and other agency partners, which results in a diverse set of grantees. Authority to award the
grants is delegated to the lowest possible level within the agency, which has significantly reduced grant
award response time.
Caltrans funds community transportation planning through several grant programs, including the
Community‐Based Transportation Program (CBTP), Environmental Justice (EJ) grant program,
Partnership Planning (PP) grant program, Statewide or Urban Transit Planning Studies grant program,
and Rural or Small Urban Transit Planning Studies grant program.
Community‐Based Transportation Program
CBTP grants are designed to support livability and sustainability projects with a transportation or
mobility objective. All transportation modes are eligible, and a significant number of applications for
bicycles and pedestrian projects are received. Studies address both state and local roadways. CBTP
grants are funded at $3 million annually using state highway funds, with a maximum grant size of
$300,000. Eligible applicants are MPOs and regional transportation planning agencies, cities, counties,
transit agencies, and Native American tribal governments. Subapplicants may include universities;
community colleges; community‐based organizations; nonprofit organizations; and public entities such
as state agencies, public authorities, political subdivisions, or public corporations. At least a 10 percent
local match is required, of which 75 percent must be cash and 25 percent may be in‐kind.
Environmental Justice Grant Program
The EJ grant program is designed to cultivate community involvement in planning for improved mobility,
access and safety, while promoting economic opportunity, equity, environmental protection, and
affordable housing for low‐income, minority, and Native American communities. These studies include
both state and local roadways.
EJ grants are funded at $3 million per year using state highway funds, with a maximum grant of
$250,000. Eligible applicants for EJ grants are the same as for CBTP grants. At least a 10 percent local
match is required, of which 75 percent must be cash and 25 percent may be in‐kind.

33

Caltrans receives approximately 170 applications for the CBTP and EJ grants each year, with 15 to 18
grants awarded annually. Based on the need and strength of applications, funds can be shifted between
the two programs in a given year.
Partnership Planning Grant Program
The PP grant program funds transportation planning studies of multiregional and statewide significance.
Projects must be jointly performed with Caltrans, which often means that Caltrans is represented on the
technical committee. The annual budget for PP grants is $1.2 million, which is funded by SPR. Individual
grants may not exceed $300,000. Applicants must provide a 20 percent match, which may be composed
entirely of in‐kind contributions, although they are encouraged to provide a higher match. Caltrans is
able to fund approximately five grants of the 15 to 20 applications received annually.
Statewide or Urban Transit Planning Studies Grant Program
The Statewide or Urban Transit Planning Studies grant program funds studies on transit issues with
statewide or multiregional significance that assist in reducing congestion. Eligible agency applicants are
MPOs and regional transportation planning agencies holding a current Master Fund Transfer Agreement
with the Office of Regional and Interagency Planning. This agreement is between California and a city,
county, or other local public agency. The agreement defines the general terms and conditions that must
be met to receive funds for the Federal‐aid Highway Program or for projects funded only by the state.
Other agencies may be subapplicants, except in San Francisco, where transit agencies, cities, counties,
and Native American groups may apply directly. The annual budget for Statewide or Urban Transit
Planning Studies grants is $1.5 million and is funded through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Section 5304, with a cap of $300,000 per study. The applicant must provide an 11.47 percent match,
which may be an in‐kind contribution. Annually, Caltrans is able to fund five to eight grants, which is
about half of the applications received.
Rural or Small Urban Transit Planning Studies Grant Program
The Rural or Small Urban Transit Planning Studies grant program funds public transportation planning
studies in rural or small urban areas with a transit service area population of 100,000 or less. Funded at
$1 million annually with FTA Section 5304 funds, the program limits individual grants to $100,000. About
one‐half of the applicants receive grants, with 10 to 15 grants awarded annually. Eligible applicant
agencies and match are the same as those for the Statewide or Urban Transit Planning Studies grant
program.
Grant Application Process
A formal annual application process has been established for all the grant programs described. Each
applicant must submit the following:
 Application including identification of relevant state transportation planning goals, project
description, project justification, public participation planned, and final project deliverables


Scope of work

34



Project timeline



Local resolution (EJ and CBTP grants only)



Third Party In‐Kind Valuation Plan, if applicable (required for EJ and CBTP grants)



Map of project area that clearly identifies the boundaries of the project area and defines the
project’s local context

Caltrans provides a comprehensive Grant Application Guide, including detailed guidance and samples, as
well as a worksheet to help communities determine required match and a sample scope of work.
Additional guidance for communities is offered through video and slide presentations about specific
programs. All information is available on the Caltrans Transportation Planning Grant Program website at
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grants.html. Consultant support is procured and managed by the
grantees, with costs reimbursed by Caltrans.
Project needs are generated at the regional level, and community plans must be coordinated with
regional plans and priorities. For PP and Transit grants, for which an MPO must be the applicant, when a
grant is awarded, the MPO is required to include it in its Unified Planning Work Program, a federally
mandated report in which MPOs document planning activities, as a stand‐alone work element. It would
then be expected that projects resulting from state‐funded studies would be programmed into MPO
Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs) and ultimately included in the STIP.
Integration of environmental concerns into these programs is challenging because of limitations on how
long the funding can be used. The studies generally develop conceptual designs and conclusions that are
helpful in justifying a project’s advancement to the next phase of study. Transit programs have the
environmental goal of reducing congestion and providing alternatives to driving with only one occupant.
The CBTP grants often address issues such as jobs and housing balance and transit‐oriented
development with the goals of reducing demand on the transportation system and greenhouse gases.
Caltrans has not established a centralized system to track implementation of projects developed
through the grant programs. During the course of a project, however, the state documents
implementation through quarterly reports. If an agency seeks a second grant, its history of project
implementation is evaluated.
All grant applications are formally reviewed. For example, applications submitted for EJ and CBTP grants
undergo review by the Caltrans districts, the Caltrans Office of Community Planning, and a
multidisciplinary review committee. District staff review all applications for content, proper
documentation, consistency between the project timeline and scope of work, and overall relationship to
local and regional planning efforts. For CBTP and EJ grants, 60 percent of evaluators are Caltrans subject
matter experts and 40 percent are representatives of external partners, such as the governor’s office,
department of education, or community development office.
Lessons Learned

35

An evaluation study of the EJ grant program and the CBTP analyzed a random sample of grants funded
from program inception in FY 2001 through FY 2007. While the evaluation was very positive, staff
currently overseeing the grant programs believes a better indicator of success is the oversubscription to
all of the Caltrans planning grant programs,i.e., requests far exceed available funds. While some large
MPOs have similar funding programs, they are at a much smaller scale and are available only to
communities within their planning areas.
Caltrans staff stated that, over time, the agency has significantly improved the application process.
Webinars help prospective applicants understand the application process, and staff continuously
improves application guidance. Previously, multiple hard copies of applications and CDs were required;
today, all submissions are received by e‐mail. Applications are processed in three to four months.
Caltrans also has delegated grant awarding authority to the lowest possible level within an agency, the
division chief.
Caltrans is committed to providing feedback by teleconference to applicants—those who receive grants
and those who do not—following grant award notification. Staff stated that this practice continuously
improves application quality. In the future, program administrators would like to enable applicants to
submit applications online, evaluators to review applications and comment online, and grantees to
report on project progress online. This would allow real‐time reporting of successes and setbacks, and
would enable Caltrans to resolve problems quickly, if needed.
Wisconsin’s Support of Community Transportation Planning
Contacts: Wisconsin Department of Transportation staff, interviewed May 2, 2012.
Between 2001 and 2010, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) had in place a state
comprehensive planning law that required all communities to develop a comprehensive plan by 2010 as
a prerequisite of zoning or subdivision ordinance. WisDOT provided grants to fund the transportation
component of these plans. This program ended in 2010, and the law has since been rescinded.
Wisconsin has nine Regional Planning Commissions that receive SPR funds for transportation planning.
These planning commissions develop annual work programs that are submitted to WisDOT for
endorsement. They may also fund community transportation plans.
WisDOT operates a $4 million corridor‐planning program that began in 2007 in its current form. The
state made a conscious effort to centralize corridor planning to ensure consistency in study definitions
and products.

36

CHAPTER 4. STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT
PARA and SATS programs have historically addressed a diverse range of transportation planning issues
for various local communities and tribes. Completing a PARA study also requires integrating perspectives
from stakeholders with varying goals and objectives and developing transportation system
recommendations suitable to the local context. This chapter summarizes the assessment of stakeholder
experience with PARA through two sources:
 Online surveys were designed and conducted to understand and evaluate the experience of a
broad audience ranging from ADOT and local agency staff to consultants. These surveys
included open‐ended and multiple‐choice questions. Stakeholders answered the questions
relevant to their experience.


Telephone interviews were designed and conducted to solicit in‐depth feedback and detailed
comments from a select group of SATS and PARA stakeholders. These questions gathered
insights into individual experience with the PARA program.

This chapter documents the survey and interview designs, the research team’s method of
implementation, and the survey and interview results. Survey and interview responses are combined
according to topic areas. This synthesis of opinions informs the recommendations in Chapter 5.
ONLINE SURVEYS
The research team designed an online survey to assess the experience and document the perspective of
SATS and PARA program stakeholders: ADOT Multimodal Planning Division (MPD) staff (those serving as
project managers for PARA studies), ADOT Engineering District staff, ADOT Predesign staff, ADOT SRTS
management, ADOT Transportation Enhancements management, ADOT Environmental Planning staff,
ADOT Programming staff, ADOT Communications staff, ADOT Contracts Administration staff, public
involvement consultants, local jurisdiction staff, COG and MPO staff, and technical consultants.
The research questions were also organized into five categories or question blocks:
 Core: Questions address the overarching objectives of the SATS and PARA programs.


Technical and planning: Questions assess the transportation planning and policy issues
addressed by the SATS and PARA studies.



Program interaction: Questions evaluate the degree to which the SATS and PARA studies have
both informed and been informed by other state, regional, and local transportation planning,
programming, and engineering activities.



Public involvement: Questions examine ADOT’s and the sponsoring jurisdiction’s level of
outreach and engagement with the public and agency stakeholders.



Program administrations: Questions assess the SATS and PARA program level of funding, quality
of application materials and processes, and project and program recommendations for
implementation and tracking.

37

The research team assigned each stakeholder group to respond to specific question blocks relevant to
their SATS and PARA study involvement and participation. While all stakeholder groups responded to
the core questions, the survey design allowed for groups to also focus on those question blocks that
pertain to their experiences. For example, the ADOT Contracts Administration staff did not respond to
the technical and planning questions because these questions did not pertain to their experiences in
administering the SATS and PARA studies.
As a result, there were seven versions of the survey with different mixes of question blocks. Figure 18
shows the seven versions of the survey, the question blocks, and their relevant respondents; Appendix D
provides the online survey and Appendix E provides the comments given by survey respondents as part
of the survey. The complete survey results are contained in Appendix I, which is available as a separate
PDF document upon request from the ADOT Research Center.
TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS
The research team designed and conducted telephone interviews with key stakeholders identified by
ADOT. In addition to evaluating user experience, the interview questions prompted respondents to
identify opportunities to enhance the existing PARA process. The key stakeholders were organized into
different roles (Table 3). The number of questions each respondent answered varied from two to six;
correspondingly, each interview lasted 30 to 60 minutes. Appendix F provides the complete list of
interview questions.

38

39
Figure 18. SATS/PARA Online Survey Stakeholder Groups Assignments

Table 3. SATS/PARA In‐Person Interview Stakeholder
Role Assignments by Question
Stakeholder Role
MPD management
PARA project managers
Technical consultants
ADOT Transit
Public involvement (ADOT and consultants)
ADOT districts
COG and MPO staff
Tribal representatives
Local jurisdictions

Questions
1 through 6
1 through 6
1 through 6
1 through 6
1, 3, 4, 5, and 6
1 and 6
1 through 6
1 through 6
1 through 6

IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMELINE OF SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS
The research team distributed the online survey to 252 participants; 50 respondents completed the
surveys (Table 4). Each survey version rested on a unique website accessible only to respondents from
that stakeholder group. The research team also identified and interviewed 21 stakeholders in nine
different interviews (Table 5). Because the sample sizes of completed surveys and interviews are small
compared to the number of PARA program stakeholders, these results are considered an anecdotal
assessment of the PARA program’s effectiveness and are not statistically significant.

Table 4. Participant Survey Completion Status by Survey Group

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3

Survey Group
ADOT Planning, COG or MPO, and
technical consultants
ADOT Engineering District staff

Group 4

ADOT Predesign, SRTS,
Transportation Enhancements,
Environmental Planning, and
Programming staff
ADOT Communications staff

Group 5

Contracts administrator

Group 6

Public involvement consultants

Group 7

Local jurisdictions

Total

Survey
Invitations
Sent
59

Began Survey,
but Did Not
Fill in Any
Response
5

Did Not
Complete
Surveys
6

Completed
Surveys
17

18

0

2

6

20

6

2

5

14

0

0

4

1

1

0

0

14

1

0

3

126

4

8

15

252

17

18

50

40

Table 5. Interview Group and Number of Interviewees
Interview Group
ADOT Transit
MPO or COG
ADOT Planning
Local jurisdictions
Technical consultants
ADOT MPD Management
Public involvement
Tribal
ADOT Engineering

Interview
Invitations Sent
3
4
7
11
4
2
3
3
5

Number of Interviewees
2
2
5
5
2
1
1
1
2

SYNTHESIS OF OPINIONS
The remainder of this chapter presents the interview and survey results for the following topics:
 Participant PARA experience (online surveys)


Eligible transportation planning (online surveys and interviews)



Respondents and the public’s expectation for PARA (online surveys and interviews)



PARA interactions with other programs (online surveys and interviews)



Program administration (online surveys and interviews)



Public involvement (online surveys and interviews)

For some topics, interview and survey results are combined to present the perceptions or opinions of
both survey and interview respondents in one topic area; for other topics, information from one group
only is presented. The parenthesis at the end of each line indicates whether the results presented are
from the surveys, the interviews, or both processes. Also, for each topic, this report specifies the
interview and survey questions that generated the results for each topic are also presented. Complete
survey and interview questions are given in Appendices D and F, respectively. Appendices G and I
provide the actual interview and survey responses, respectively, organized by respondent group.
Appendix I is available as a separate document upon request from the ADOT Research Center.

41

PARTICIPANT PARA EXPERIENCE
The online surveys asked respondents how many PARA studies they have been involved with in various
roles (see Appendix D, CQ3 and CQ4). As shown in Table 6, Groups 1 and 7 respondents have the most
varied number of PARA‐related project roles. Groups 1 and 4 have participated in the highest number of
PARA studies, and Groups 3 and 7 have participated in the lowest number of PARA studies.
Table 6. Number of Survey Participants by Role

Consultant

TAC
Member

ADOT/Local
Project
Manager

Other Role

Average
Number
of PARA
Studies in
Each Role

8

4

6

3

8.4

0

5

0

2

4.1

0

1

4

1

0.5

0

0

4

0

10.8

3

0

0

0

7.3

2

10

5

3

1.6

PARA‐Related Project Role

Survey Group
Group 1: ADOT Planning, COG or
MPO, and technical consultants
Group 2: ADOT Engineering staff
Group 3: ADOT Predesign, SRTS,
Transportation Enhancements,
Environmental Planning, and
Programming staff
Group 4: ADOT Communications
staff
Group 6: Public involvement
consultants
Group 7: Local jurisdictions

ELIGIBLE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING TOPICS
The online surveys asked all respondents to identify which of the following topics should be eligible for
PARA funding (see Appendix D, CQ2): community‐wide planning, specific corridor planning, local
roadway operations and facilities planning, state roadway operations and facilities planning, transit
services and operations and facilities planning, transportation and land use plans (e.g., regional
transportation plans (RTPs) and comprehensive plan—transportation element), bicycle facilities
planning and cyclists training, pedestrian planning, transportation safety planning, and multiuse trail
planning.
Figure 19 shows the percentage of respondents who selected the optional eligible topics. Among ADOT
survey respondents (Groups 1 through 4), specific corridor planning was the most selected eligible topic.
Local roadway operations and facilities were also one of the most selected eligible topics in all groups,
with the exception of Group 4. Among all groups, the respondents of Groups 1 and 2 were the most
likely to select the same topics—needs assessment, specific corridor planning, transit services and
operations and facilities planning, transportation and land use plans, bicycle facilities planning, and
pedestrian planning. Group 6 was the only group with all respondents selecting community‐wide
planning. Group 3 was the only group with all respondents selecting state roadway operations and
facilities planning.

42

Among AD
DOT survey re
espondents (G
Groups 1 thro
ough 4), com munitywide p
planning was one of the leeast
selected topics.
t
With the exceptions of Groups 1 and 6, multiiuse trail plan
nning was onee of the least
selected topics
t
among all survey gro
oups. State ro
oadway operaations and fa cilities was th
he least seleccted
topic for local jurisdictions (Group 7).
7

Figgure 19. Supp
port for Eligib
ble PARA Stud
dy Topics by Percentage
of Survey Group
G
Respon
ndents
Grou
up 1: ADOT Plan
nning, COG, MPO,
M
and techn
nical consultantts; Group 2: AD
DOT Engineering District stafff;
Grou
up 3: ADOT Pre
edesign, SRTS, Transportation
n Enhancemennts, Environmeental Planning, and Programm
ming
staff; Group 4: ADO
OT Communicaations staff; Grroup 6: public iinvolvement co
onsultants; and Group 7: loccal
jurisd
diction staff.

STATE HIG
GHWAY NEED
DS
Interview respondentss were asked to what exten
nt PARA stud ies should ad
ddress state h
highways
by PARA studiies
(Appendixx F, 2c). Mostt intervieweess agreed thatt state highwaays should bee addressed b
since state highways are often a part or all of a rural
r
communnity’s main sttreet and a paart of the locaal
n
Und
derstandably,, local stakeho
olders would have an inteerest in the functionality off
roadway network.
these statte routes. How
wever, ADOTT Transit and tribal
t
intervieew participants thought th
hat PARA coveerage

43

of state highways should be limited. In particular, PARA should not just become a corridor study focused
on state highway, because the program would duplicate other evaluations of state highways performed
by ADOT. Technical consultants and ADOT Planning suggested that state highway design and policy
guidelines be established for PARA studies to ensure that locally preferred state highway improvements
are consistent with ADOT’s intentions. ADOT Planning respondents noted that state highways can be
transferred to local ownership and management if all relevant stakeholders agree to the transfer. ADOT
has developed a potential route screening and transfer process in the ADOT Route Transfer Handbook
(ADOT 2012a).
HELPING JURISDICTIONS AND TRIBES UNDERSTAND THEIR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS
Interview respondents were asked if PARA studies should help jurisdictions and tribes understand broad
transportation needs or specific improvements in their communities (Appendix F, 2d). Most
interviewees agreed that a useful PARA topic would be helping jurisdictions and tribes understand their
transportation needs. Only the ADOT Transit respondents disagreed and thought that local jurisdictions
should be able to internally identify needs prior to applying for PARA funds. They also added that, in
many instances, needs were established during the scoping of a PARA study; they believe it is
unnecessary to have a separate study dedicated to understanding transportation needs.
ADOT Planning participants indicated that helping jurisdictions and tribes understand their
transportation needs (e.g., connectivity, mobility, access management, visioning or goal setting) may be
considered as a PARA topic in the next PARA application cycle. Local jurisdiction and technical
consultants suggested a small funding program (with individual study budgets ranging from $3000 to
$10,000) for conducting needs assessment. Of the Planning participants, MPD management suggested a
checklist of planning topics for local jurisdictions to consider.
ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE TOPICS AND COMMUNITIES
Interview respondents were also asked to suggest other PARA topics (Appendix F, 2a). Most participants
agreed that the existing list of topics is comprehensive. Two respondent groups—MPD management and
technical consultants—expressed approval of the wider array of possible project topics that became
eligible over the last two to three years. Below are suggestions for additional PARA topics:
 Mobility: how to efficiently move people (ADOT Transit)


Regionwide studies at the COG level (COG)



Airport interconnectivity (ADOT Planning)



Freight planning, as required by MAP‐21 (ADOT Planning)



Rail planning (ADOT Planning)

44

In addition, technical consultants suggested PARA funding be available to areas within the MAG and the
Pima Association of Governments (PAG) urban boundaries and adjacent to rural communities.
Transportation improvements in these areas would benefit travel in the surrounding rural communities.
PARA EFFECTIVENESS IN ADDRESSING DIFFERENT TOPICS
Survey respondents in Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants), Group 2 (ADOT
Engineering District staff), and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) were asked how they perceived PARA
studies’ effectiveness in addressing a variety of topics [Appendix D, TP4(A) to TP4(F)]. Table 7
summarizes the respondents’ perceptions. The subsequent sections present additional details about
perceived effectiveness of PARA in each topic.

Table 7. Perception of PARA Effectiveness by Topic
Topic Area
Group 1
Group 2
Environmental benefits and impact
Neutral
Neutral
Mobility and accessibility for people
Effective
Effective
Mobility and accessibility for freight
Responses varied1
Neutral
Multimodal transportation
Effective
Effective
alternatives
Economic competitiveness
Effective
Effective
System performance and preservation
Effective/neutral
Neutral
1
Responses were roughly divided among not relevant, ineffective, neutral, and effective.
2
Responses were roughly divided among not relevant, neutral, and effective.

Group 7
Effective
Effective
Neutral/not relevant
Effective
Responses varied2
Effective/neutral

Environmental Benefits and Impact
Online survey respondents were asked how effective PARA studies were in addressing environmental
benefits and impact [Appendix D, TP4(A)]. The majority of respondents from Group 1 (ADOT Planning,
COG, MPO, and technical consultants) and Group 2 (ADOT Engineering District staff) selected neutral as
their perception of how well PARA addressed environmental benefits and impact. Among respondents
in Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff), effective was the highest rating (40 percent); however, many
respondents also selected not relevant or neutral. Several respondents indicated that environmental
studies have been overviews and not in‐depth evaluations, although some respondents in Groups 1 and
7 noticed that environmental work has taken more prominence recently, especially with the
introduction of the Planning and Environment Linkages process.
Mobility and Accessibility for People
Survey respondents were asked about the effectiveness of PARA studies in addressing mobility and
accessibility for people [Appendix D, TP4(B)]. The majority of respondents (70 to 82 percent) rated the
studies effective or very effective in addressing this topic. In general, these respondents thought that
PARA studies adequately addressed linkages between modes of transportation and benefited the public.
However, 20 percent of local jurisdiction staff (three out of 15 respondents) rated the studies as very

45

ineffective or ineffective. They said PARA studies should more thoroughly address pedestrian and
accessibility issues and offer solutions for congested areas.
Mobility and Accessibility for Freight
When online survey respondents were asked about PARA studies’ effectiveness in addressing mobility
and accessibility for freight [Appendix D, TP4(C)], most Group 2 participants selected neutral. Roughly
the same number from Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) selected neutral or not relevant. Among Group 1
participants (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants), responses varied with roughly the
same number of respondents selecting not relevant, ineffective, neutral, and effective. For many
respondents, especially in Group 7, freight mobility and accessibility are not local issues and need not be
addressed in their PARA studies. As one respondent said, “Freight is usually a regional and national issue
with localities primarily interested if they have a large manufacturing sector.”
Multimodal Transportation Alternatives
The majority of survey respondents said PARA studies were effective or very effective in addressing
multimodal transportation alternatives [Appendix D, TP4(D)]. In Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO,
and technical consultants) and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff), 20 to 36 percent of respondents
selected neutral. One‐third of the respondents in Group 2 (ADOT Engineering District staff) selected
ineffective. Two Group 2 respondents said PARA studies were not good at capturing data, planning,
funding, or constructing for multimodal needs, particularly bicyclists and pedestrian needs, in rural
areas. A Group 1 respondent said that the existing PARA program had three typical alternatives available
to communities: fixed route transit, sidewalks, and bike paths; communities might not consider
multimodal alternatives if they perceive that none of these alternatives is suitable for them. Group 1
and 7 respondents said some communities do not consider multimodal alternatives because of the rural
nature of their area.
Economic Competitiveness
Online survey respondents were asked how effective PARA studies were in addressing economic
competitiveness [Appendix D, TP4(E)]. One‐half of respondents from Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG,
MPO, and technical consultants) and Group 2 (ADOT Engineering District staff) said the economic
competitiveness was addressed effectively or very effectively. The other respondents in these two
groups were evenly distributed among ratings of not relevant, ineffective, and neutral. Responses from
Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) were evenly distributed among not relevant, neutral, and effective.
While some respondents in these three particular groups thought the extent to which PARA studies
addressed economic competitiveness was adequate for their needs, others thought that land use
elements and the relationships between economic centers and transportation could be explored
further. A Group 1 respondent noted that the FTA grant program, Job Access Reverse Commute, has
added a new element of commuter planning within the multimodal planning process, and recent PARA
studies have started to focus more energy on commuter planning.

46

System Performance and Preservation
Survey respondents were asked how they perceived PARA studies’ effectiveness in addressing system
performance and preservation [Appendix D, TP4(F)]. Most of Group 2 respondents (ADOT Engineering
District staff) selected neutral. Roughly 40 percent of Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical
consultants) and 20 percent of Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) chose effective and neutral. Roughly
one‐quarter of Group 7 respondents chose not relevant. Groups 2 and 7 expressed a general sentiment
that the existing studies only lightly touched on the topic and suggested this subject be more
comprehensively included in a study scope. Group 1 respondents expressed a similar sentiment, noting
that in the past this topic has not been a focus for small area communitywide studies.
RESPONDENTS AND THE PUBLIC’S EXPECTATIONS FOR PARA
The surveys asked Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants), Group 2 (ADOT
Engineering District staff), and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) about their affiliated organizations’
expectations for the PARA program (Appendix D, TP1). All three groups expected that PARA would
produce usable and targeted results for other related processes. Respondents said that PARA
documents can:
 Help communities set priorities and serve as the basis for future budget planning


Be used to apply for grant funding



Devise targeted solutions that can be implemented



Assist with zoning and general plan update

Groups 1 and 7 expected a flexible process with a range of eligible topics addressing local needs. Two
respondents indicated the desire for local entities to take a more prominent role in leading the project.
Most respondents from Groups 1, 2, and 7 agreed that the PARA program has met their organization’s
expectations. Among all three groups, roughly 70 to 80 percent of respondents agreed that the program
has met their expectations. PARA identified future needs and helped with local entities’ and tribes’ long‐
range transportation plans. Only one respondent said PARA did not meet expectations.
PARA PLANNING HORIZON YEAR
Survey respondents were asked about the appropriate planning horizon year for PARA studies
(Appendix D, CQ1). Midterm (six to 10 years) was consistently selected as the desired project horizon
except Group 6 (public involvement consultants), whose respondents had no opinion about the time
frame. Long term (11 to 20 years) is the second most‐selected time frame, except for Group 3 (ADOT
Predesign, SRTS, Transportation Enhancements, Environmental Planning, and Programming staff), and
Group 4 (ADOT Communications staff).

47

WHAT MAKES THE PARA PROGRAM VALUABLE?
Figure 20 is a word cloud based on interviewees’ responses to what makes the PARA program valuable
(Appendix F, 1a). A bigger font size in the word cloud indicates a particular word’s greater frequency in
the interviewees’ responses.

Figure 20. Word Cloud of Responses to What Makes the PARA Program Valuable

Interviewees said that the PARA program gave local jurisdictions and tribes access to planning expertise
and project managers that bring a statewide perspective. The program is valuable because it helps
identify needs and address issues unique to communities that often do not have the resources to
conduct transportation planning. In these communities, a single engineer or planner often fills multiple
roles.
ADOT Planning and Engineering District staff saw PARA studies as opportunities to learn about local
issues and build relationships with local planning staff. ADOT Engineering District staff also valued the
cross‐jurisdictional planning that previously did not exist under the SATS program, incorporating
planning on state highways and across multiple entities.
HOW COULD PARA STUDIES BE IMPROVED?
To improve PARA (Appendix F, 1b), ADOT Planning and Engineering District staff as well as local
jurisdiction interview respondents cited opportunities to educate communities about the PARA
program. ADOT can help these staff and their communities understand how PARA can be integrated into
other processes, such as the RTP, the STIP, and the five‐year program. Engineering District respondents
suggested that education can come in the form of a high‐level planning primer for local staff and

48

agencies; they also said ADOT can educate local jurisdictions in identifying and prioritizing project
funding.1 ADOT MPD planners noted that it is currently standard practice to help local jurisdictions
identify and prioritize project funding.
ADOT Planning, technical consultants, and Engineering District staff saw opportunities in engaging local
jurisdictions in the PARA process. Engagement could be achieved through a local matching fee. ADOT
Engineering District staff also said that focusing on short‐term improvements and funding would ensure
jurisdictions do not lose sight of the solutions that PARA can offer. This group believes jurisdictions are
more engaged when PARA studies identify and devise solutions for problems that impact them daily.
COG planners suggested greater participation in the application process to ensure local planning efforts
are consistent with the region’s vision and that the COG is aware of what locals want to study and the
application’s quality. Currently, ADOT asks for a COG letter of support for PARA studies. Greater COG
awareness could be as simple as a signature line for PARA documents throughout the study. ADOT MPD
planners noted that COGs currently are represented on TACs for each study and that they routinely
review working papers. Transit planners have also said that PARA studies should allow more scope
flexibility to make them more unique to jurisdictions.
PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
The online surveys asked respondents about their perception of the public’s expectations for
transportation planning (Appendix D, TP3). Respondents from Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and
technical consultants), Group 2 (ADOT Engineering District staff), and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff)
think that the public does not have a holistic understanding of the typical long‐term focus of planning
projects. Rather, they believe that the public would like transportation planning to solve immediate,
local issues that affect them daily. For instance, many Group 2 respondents said that the public often
wants to minimize the planning process and move into project implementation as soon as possible.
There is a general misconception that the local government will build any improvement that is being
studied. Groups 1 and 7 said the public only wants a cost‐effective, efficient, and transparent process for
local government to address immediate issues. Respondents also mentioned the following
transportation planning expectations: safety, congestion relief, regional connectivity, and quality
highway and transit system.
PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS FOR PARA
The online survey also asked local jurisdiction respondents whether PARA met their public’s
expectations [Appendix D, TP3(A)]. Of the 15 local jurisdiction respondents, 11 selected yes and 4 chose
no opinion.

1

ADOT has produced two new manuals for educating communities: Local Public Agency Manual,
produced by the Local Public Agency Section (2012b) within the Intermodal Transportation Division, and
MPO and COG Guidelines and Procedures Manual, produced by MPD (2014).

49

LOCAL JURISDICTIONS’ EXPECTATIONS FOR PARA TECHNICAL ANALYSES
Survey respondents were asked if the technical analyses conducted for PARA studies met local
jurisdictions’ expectations (Appendix D, TP5). Most respondents in all three survey groups responded
that PARA technical analyses met local jurisdictions’ expectations. Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) had
the highest number of respondents who selected yes (13 out of 15 respondents). Whereas, in Group 1
(ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants) 10 out of 17 respondents selected yes, and the
remaining respondents split almost evenly among no, no opinion, and other comments. Group 1
respondents commented that PARA studies should ensure that the local jurisdictions and tribes get what
they want out of the studies. Most communities include their objectives in their applications, and PARA
are often used to verify a need or justify a project.
ADOT MPD’S UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AGENCIES’ TRANSPORTATION
NEEDS AND PRIORITIES
The online surveys asked respondents whether ADOT MPD understands local and regional agencies’
transportation needs and project priorities (Appendix D, AI4). About two‐thirds of all respondents
indicated that ADOT MPD understood local and regional transportation needs and priorities, with the
exception of Group 3 (ADOT Predesign, SRTS, Transportation Enhancements, Environmental Planning,
and Programming staff). Three of five Group 3 respondents selected no opinion, while the other Group 3
respondents selected yes. One Group 3 respondent said that other non‐MPD ADOT expertise, such as
Transit or Engineering, should be involved in the process for identifying local needs. ADOT MPD planners
noted that ADOT Transit and Engineering representatives are routinely invited to participate on the TACs
for PARA studies and to offer input into the study process and products.
Respondents in Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants) and Group 2 (ADOT
Engineering District staff) suggested more non‐MPD involvement to understand local needs. One
Group 1 respondent said that MPD currently does not understand local needs and, thus, local
jurisdictions should be the lead agency directly managing the study process consultant. One Group 6
respondent selected no and said that it is not the role of MPD to understand local needs, particularly
outside of the state transportation network. Two respondents from Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) said
MPD’s level of understanding varied between different individual staff member and projects.
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PROGRAMS
Survey respondents were asked how well PARA results are integrated with other ADOT (non‐MPD)
sections’ activities (Appendix D, AI1). Group 2 (ADOT Engineering District staff) and Group 7 (local
jurisdiction staff) most frequently selected effective integration with other ADOT sections (47 to
67 percent). A smaller number of respondents selected neutral or ineffective. Group 7 acknowledged
that efforts are made to coordinate PARA results with other non‐MPD studies; however, integration
between these studies is not always clear. Respondents in Group 6 (public involvement consultants)
selected neutral. These respondents said they were unaware of good examples of integration with other
activities, in particular, PARA’s alignment with ADOT policies. Responses from Group 1 (ADOT Planning,
COG, MPO, and technical consultants) and Group 3 (ADOT Predesign, SRTS, Transportation

50

Enhancements, Environmental Planning, and Programming staff) varied on how effective PARA studies
integrate with other ADOT studies. Many Group 1 respondents acknowledged that ADOT district staff
often participate and offer local insights.
IMPACT OF TECHNICAL ANALYSES ON OTHER LOCAL PLANNING EFFORTS
Local jurisdictions, ADOT planning, and tribal interviewees agreed that technical analyses have been
helpful in other planning efforts (Appendix F, 2b). For example, tribal interviewees said other planning
efforts could use the recommendations in the transportation plan to complete their section on zoning
ordinance or design standards (i.e., roadway lengths, landscaping, sight view triangles). ADOT Transit
and COG respondents thought that technical analyses have not been as helpful. COG respondents
stressed that COG participation could help local jurisdictions follow through with PARA results and
identify project funding.
OTHER AGENCY (NON‐ADOT) INFORMATION
The majority of respondents in all survey groups, except for Group 3 (ADOT Predesign, SRTS,
Transportation Enhancements, Environmental Planning, and Programming staff), acknowledged that
PARA studies effectively involve broad‐based stakeholder participation and include information from all
stakeholder activities. Group 3 respondents were roughly split between neutral and effective.
IMPACT ON PROGRAMMING DECISIONS
The online surveys asked respondents how well PARA studies help ADOT Engineering Districts make
programming decisions. Responses from Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical
consultants), Group 2 (ADOT Engineering District staff), and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) were varied.
Some were unaware of how PARA recommendations are used by district staff, while other respondents
commended PARA studies for providing guidance on using limited funds. Some Group 2 respondents
cited the lack of resources or funding that could allow the districts to make decisions on project
implementation. Group 3 (ADOT Predesign, SRTS, Transportation Enhancements, Environmental
Planning, and Programming staff) and Group 6 (public involvement consultants) mostly selected neutral.
Many respondents were unaware of PARA’s influence in ADOT district decision‐making.
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
Overall, respondents believed that PARA projects were well‐managed and that ADOT staff were
effective in program administration (Appendix F, 3a). The MPO and COG respondents expressed a desire
for more interaction with the program. Survey respondents were similarly asked about the most
effective way for ADOT to provide administrative support on the PARA study process [Appendix D,
PA4(A)]. Respondents expressed an interest in more comprehensive investigation and analysis to help
local jurisdictions identify and secure implementation funds (Figure 21). When asked about the most
effective way for ADOT to provide additional education on the PARA study process [Appendix D, PA4(B)],
online survey respondents suggested an enhanced website and in‐person workshops (Figure 22).

51

Figure 21.
2 Most Effecctive Way forr ADOT to Pro
ovide Adminiistrative Support
on the PA
ARA Study Pro
ocess (Group 1: ADOT Plannning, COG, M
MPO, and technical
consultants; Gro
oup 4: ADOT Communicatio
C
ons staff; Gro
oup 6: public
involvemen
nt consultantss; Group 7: loocal jurisdictio
on staff)

52

A
to Proviide Additionaal Education on the
Figure 22. Most Effectivve Way for ADOT
A
Planninng, COG, MPO
O, and techniccal
PARA Study Processs (Group 1: ADOT
conssultants; Group 4: ADOT Communicati
C
ons staff; Gro
oup 6: publicc
nt consultantss; Group 7: loocal jurisdictio
on staff)
involvemen

PARA PRO
OJECT FUNDING
Currently,, the PARA prrogram requirres no funding match from
m local jurisdictions. Survey respondentts
were aske
ed about their perception of how a locaal match requuirement wou
uld affect the PARA processs and
whether the
t current po
olicy should be
b altered (Ap
ppendix D, PA
A2). Respondents from Group 7 (local
jurisdictio
on staff) were
e most likely to
t believe thaat no local maatch is a valuaable part of th
he program
(Figure 23
3).
The online
e surveys askked respondents about the
eir opinion of local fundingg that should be considereed if
PARA required a local match (Appendix D, PA3). As shown in Figure 24, mo
ost survey resspondents wo
ould
consider a local match of less than 20
2 percent if PARA requirees a local mattch. Respondents were alsso
asked whether it would be approprriate to requirre a higher m atching requirement, if, as a result, a lo
ocal
on could have
e more say in PARA programs administrration (Appen
ndix F, 3b). Th
he responden
nts
jurisdictio
perceived
d that the locaal jurisdiction
ns have ample
e opportunityy for contributing to the PA
ARA project in
n
their community and that
t
consultan
nt selection was
w not a facttor in whetheer or not locall staff was acttively
i the projectt.
engaged in

53

o a Local Maatch Requirem
ment on the P
PARA Process
Figurre 23. Effect of
(G
Group 1: ADOTT Planning, CO
OG, MPO, an d technical co
onsultants;
Gro
oup 4: ADOT Communicatio
C
ons staff; Grooup 6: public involvement
consu
ultants; Group 7: local juriisdiction stafff)

54

Fiigure 24. Locaal Match Fun
nding Level
(G
Group 1: ADOTT Planning, CO
OG, MPO, an d technical co
onsultants;
Group 4: ADOT
A
Commu
unications staaff; Group 6: public
involvemen
nt consultantss; Group 7: lo cal jurisdictio
on staff)

While respondents see
e a need for more
m
local age
ency engagem
ment in the p
projects, they did not supp
port
requiring a local match
h. Different grroups recognized differentt challenges o
of the local m
match, includin
ng
the drawn
n‐out processs of establishing a joint pro
oject agreemeent (JPA) (AD
DOT Planning) and the
availabilitty of funds (te
echnical consultants, MPO
O and COG, annd local jurisd
dictions).
Interview respondentss were asked whether therre should be a stated limitt to funding PARA studies
eed that there
e should be a limit to the aamount of fun
(Appendixx F, 3b). Respondents agre
nding that the
PARA program contributes for any project.
p
There
e was generaal agreement that $250,00
00was the
appropriaate amount. Iff a study need
ds more than
n $250,000, innterview resp
pondents geneerally agreed that
the opporrtunity should
d exist for the
e local jurisdicction to proviide the additiional funding. ADOT MPD
managem
ment stated th
hat more than
n this amountt of funding m
might suggestt the study’s ffocus is regional,
i.e., refleccts a larger ge
eographic study area or broader array oof concerns th
han those add
dressed by a
communitty‐based stud
dy. Also, the MPO
M and COG
G respondentts suggested tthat local juriisdictions may
need assisstance in iden
ntifying the amount of fun
nding needed for a projectt.

55

PARA APP
PLICATION PR
ROCESS
Currently,, ADOT planning staff is responsible forr reviewing PA
ARA applicatiions. Survey aand interview
w
respondents were aske
ed if other AD
DOT employees should be involved in the application review
(Appendixx D, PA1; App
pendix F, 3c). ADOT MPD, COG,
C
ADOT TTransit, techniical consultan
nts, and local
jurisdictio
ons suggested
d district engineers be invo
olved in the PPARA applicattions review p
process (Figurre 25
and Figure
e 26). Others also suggested that if a prroject includees a particular specialty, th
hen ADOT

her ADOT Em
mployees in PPARA Study A
Applications R
Review
Figure 25. Involving Oth
ng, COG, MPO
O, and techniical consultan
nts; Group 4: ADOT
(Group 1: ADOT Plannin
ns staff; Grou
up 6: public in
nvolvement cconsultants;
Communication
Group 7: local jurisdictioon staff)

56

2 Other AD
DOT Employee
es to Include in PARA App
plication Reviiew
Figure 26.
(G
Group 1: ADOTT Planning, CO
OG, MPO, an d technical co
onsultants;
Gro
oup 4: ADOT Communicatio
C
ons staff; Grooup 6: public involvement
consu
ultants; Group 7: local juriisdiction stafff)

representtatives of thatt specialty should be included in the revview processs. Respondentts also suggessted
that some
e sort of appliication review
w rotation be set up to incclude other sttakeholders, ssuch as
representtatives from the
t appropriaate MPOs and
d COGs as welll.
The reseaarch team also
o asked intervview respond
dents if the cuurrent applicaation selection process is eeasy
to undersstand or if it could be clariffied (Appendiix F, 3c). Interrview respond
dent’ opinion
ns varied. Thee
tribal inte
erviewees said
d the processs is very easy to
t understan d, while otheer groups felt it was moderately
transpare
ent (ADOT Planning) to nott at all transparent (MPO aand COG).
Interview respondentss were also assked whetherr the existing criteria for PA
ARA applicatiions are
e was no conssensus on thiss question. So
ome interview
w participants felt
appropriaate (Appendixx F, 3c). There
the criteriia were fine while
w
others thought
t
the criteria
c
shouldd emphasize llocal commun
nity support. One
respondent suggested that linkage to the approp
priate RTP coould be a new
w criterion. An
nother said
p
consid
derations” critteria were un
nclear and as such may be overweighteed.
“overall project
When askked whether PARA
P
applicattions should be focused o n a different transportatio
on planning th
heme
each yearr, such as safe
ety or sustainability (Appen
ndix F, 3c), m
most interview
w respondents said no. Som
me
reasons given: a low likkelihood thatt the PARA theme and the community n
need are the same at the ssame
o the local co
ommunities tto anticipate aand plan for tthe PARA theeme.
time, and the additional challenge of

57

The research team asked interviewees what would attract new applicants to the PARA program
(Appendix F, 3c). Respondents recommended continued and expanded outreach and education to
attract new applicants to the PARA program; involving MPOs and COGs in outreach to local jurisdictions
because of the regional organizations’ knowledge of local issues; and periodic (every other year) PARA
summits or conferences where local and ADOT staff could share concerns, successes, and lessons
learned.
Interview respondents were asked if they thought past implementation status should factor into the
PARA application review process (Appendix F, 3c). Most of the interview respondents said past
implementation status could be a very important piece of information if not an evaluation factor. The
respondents did, however, also recognize that implementation is sensitive to funding availability, project
priority within the community, MPO, or COG, or product timeline (e.g., a general plan update will have a
long timeline for implementation).
CONSULTANT SELECTION
The research team asked interviewees whether consultants selected by ADOT have been effective in
understanding communities’ needs and in developing project recommendations (Appendix F, 4a). The
interviewees expressed mixed responses and acknowledged that one challenge was in selecting
consultants with appropriate experience or other preparation for working in the rural context,
particularly when considering the role of stakeholder and public outreach. The respondents also said
one project was challenged by having the scope finalized before the consultant was on board, so it was
difficult to manage the project once was underway. Interviewees from local jurisdictions also said they
had sufficient access to consultants during the PARA study process (Appendix F, 4b), but that it is equally
important for the consultants to have access to the local jurisdiction staff.
RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENTATION
Survey respondents in Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) were asked about steps taken by a local
jurisdiction to promote implementation of PARA recommended projects and policies (Appendix D, PA5).
As shown in Figure 27, the majority of local respondents have applied for grant funding and accepted
projects into the long‐range plan, the capital improvement program, and an MPO’s TIP. Survey
respondents were also asked about the percentage of implemented study project recommendations
(Appendix D, PA6). The majority of these respondents indicated having implemented greater than
25 percent of PARA study recommendations over the long term (Figure 28).

58

Figure 27. Ste
eps Taken byy Local Jurisdiiction to Prom
mote the
Implementtation of Reco
ommended PProjects and P
Policies

Figure 28. Pe
ercentage of Study Projecct Recommen
ndations
Imp
plemented Lo
ocally Over th
he Long Term

59

The majority of online survey respo
ondents indicaated funding and staffing rresources as the top challeenges
menting recom
mmendationss (Appendix D,
D PA7) (Figuree 29). Some rrespondents aalso indicated
d that
to implem
securing public
p
and ele
ected official support was challenging.

Figure 29. Difficulties
D
Im
mplementingg Recommend
dations

The surve
eys asked locaal jurisdiction respondentss to describe hhow their jurisdiction tracks project
recommendation implementation after
a
study co
ompletion (Apppendix D, PA
A8). Most survvey local
jurisdictio
on respondents (Group 7) indicated
i
that the project results are in
ntegrated into
o the approprriate
capital im
mprovement program
p
(CIP or TIP) and im
mplemented w
when possible. One respo
ondent indicatted
that, once
e constructed
d, the projectss are integratted into the a sset management system.
The reseaarch team also
o asked intervviewees if it would
w
be valuuable to trackk the status of the
implemen
ntation of PAR
RA recommen
ndations at lo
ocal jurisdictioons (Appendiix D, PA7‐8). M
Many intervieew
respondents said it wo
ould be a good
d idea, althou
ugh they susppected it mayy it involve additional and
potentially complex wo
ork for ADOT. One respondent suggest ed that follow
w‐up interviews with locall
jurisdictio
ons could be useful
u
in learn
ning detailed information about opporttunities and b
barriers assocciated
with implementing the
e results of th
he PARA proje
ect.

60

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
When the research team asked survey respondents from Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and
technical consultants), Group 4 (ADOT Communications staff), Group 6 (public involvement consultants),
and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) to define successful public involvement (Appendix D, PI6),
respondents said successful public involvement engages the public and gets quality feedback from
different segments of the community to shape study results that addresses the community’s needs
(Figure 30). Public involvement should be a continuous and consistent process that provides usable
information at public meetings. Group 1 respondents said each PARA study should have its unique
outreach methods dependent on the project context and the community’s needs. Public involvement
should build support for the project and create relationships that can be carried into future studies.

Figure 30. Word Cloud of Definition of Successful Public Involvement

EFFECTIVENESS OF OUTREACH EVENTS
The majority of survey respondents from Groups 1, 6, and 7 said outreach events were effective or very
effective in obtaining public and stakeholder input for PARA (see Appendix D, PI1). Many respondents
from Groups 1 and 7 also selected neutral. The majority of Group 4 survey respondents (ADOT
Communications staff) selected neutral.
Interview respondents were also asked about the effectiveness of outreach events in gathering input for
PARA (Appendix F, 6a). Among the interviewees, the tribal and Transit respondents said the public
outreach process is effective in gathering local inputs. ADOT MPD management and staff interviewees

61

emphasized the importance of customizing outreach to the target audience. Technical consultants were
confused about recent changes in ADOT’s process for public involvement. COG interviewees said public
outreach has been weak.
ELEMENTS OF THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS TO IMPROVE
The research team asked interviewees which element of the public involvement process could be
improved (Appendix F, 6b). Interview respondents said the public involvement process could increase
engagement through targeted notifications and interesting questions on issues that affects the public
daily, instead of issues on a “40‐year horizon.” ADOT MPD planners noted that the role of PARA is not to
address issues on a 40‐year horizon. This process should also give the public more context on how
federal mandates interact with local‐, regional‐, and state‐level planning. Respondents also indicated
that the process should provide feedback to the public about how their concerns were addressed.
Interviewees also thought that the public involvement budget should not be based on a straight
10 percent formula of the technical budget, but should vary by the number of rounds of public
involvement. Technical consultants suggested a more creative public outreach approach (e.g., roving
event bus at a grocery store) instead of traditional public meetings.
INCORPORATING OUTREACH INPUT INTO PARA STUDIES
The majority of survey respondents from Group 1 (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical
consultants), Group 6 (public involvement consultants), and Group 7 (local jurisdiction staff) said
outreach input has been incorporated into PARA studies (Appendix D, PI4). A Group 1 respondent said
public comments might at times conflict with each other and that in these cases, comments should
simply be documented. Group 4 respondents (ADOT Communications staff) were divided between yes
and no opinion.
Interviewees were also asked whether outreach input was incorporated into PARA studies (Appendix F,
6c). Among the interviewees, ADOT Transit, ADOT Planning staff, technical consultants, and tribal
respondents said feedback was reflected in PARA studies. ADOT district engineers said the public often
does not get the bigger planning picture or take a stance for its self‐interest. When reviewing public
comments, it is necessary to consider these biases. The district engineers and the ADOT public
involvement staff stressed that it is important to acknowledge public input. The public involvement staff
pointed out that jurisdictions might still go ahead with a project even if the public voiced opposition.
OUTREACH EVENTS AND NOTIFICATION TECHNIQUES
When asked to choose the most effective outreach event (Appendix D, PI2), Group 1 survey respondents
(ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants) said focus groups and Group 7 survey
respondents said open houses. Survey respondents from Groups 4 and 6 did not show a strong
preference for a particular event type.
Interviewees were also asked about effective outreach events (Appendix F, 6d). Among interviewees,
there was a general concern that outreach events should vary and cater to the local context and target

62

audience. For example, COG and tribal interviewees suggested combining PARA outreach events with
existing community, council, or tribal elder meetings to harness existing civic participation. Interviewees
from local jurisdictions suggested taking a more innovative outreach approach. One jurisdiction
mentioned an event where participants moved around a scaled intersection and interacted with model
vehicles simulating turn movements in the intersection.
When asked about the most effective types of notification techniques (Appendix D, PI3), survey
respondents from Groups 7 and 4 said press releases and inserts/mailers, respectively. Group 6
suggested direct mailers or notifications targeted toward a particular audience. Group 1 did not show a
strong preference for any technique.
The research team also asked survey respondents if there are other strategies they would like to see
applied in the public involvement outreach process (Appendix D, PI5). The majority of Group 1
respondents (ADOT Planning, COG, MPO, and technical consultants) selected more customization of
outreach activities to each study. Group 7 respondents (local jurisdiction staff) selected no opinion or
more customization of outreach activities to each study. Group 4 (ADOT Communications staff) and
Group 6 (public involvement consultants) did not show a strong preference for other strategies.
FACILITATING THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS IN LOCAL JURISDICTIONS
The interview respondents were asked how public outreach consultants have facilitated the public
involvement process for local jurisdictions (Appendix F, 6e). According to interviewees, consultants set
up the public meetings (including securing rental space and providing insurance), distribute meeting
notifications, and maintain stakeholder outreach through surveys and websites.
Many interviewees also stressed the importance of the public outreach consultants being context‐
sensitive. For example, in a tribal setting it has been useful for the consultant to find a local
representative who the Native American community trusts; this representative would serve as the
community’s liaison in the public involvement process. In some cases, consultants might need to bring
in staff with skills that cater to a jurisdiction’s needs. For example, the public outreach consultant in a
Flagstaff PARA study partnered with a subconsultant who specialized in a decision theater technique.

63

64

CHAPTER 5. STUDY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for the PARA program were based on the key PARA program strengths and areas of
opportunities identified through the online surveys and interviews, and on the successful practices of
peer states. The recommendations are organized by three implementation time frames: near term,
midterm, and long term.
STUDY FINDINGS
The stakeholder assessment in Chapter 4 identified the following PARA program strengths:
 Local jurisdictions and tribal stakeholders find PARA program managers to be responsive and
knowledgeable.


The PARA program provides resources for identifying needs and addressing issues that were not
readily available to small communities with budget constraints.



The PARA program gives local jurisdictions and tribes access to planning expertise and project
managers that bring a statewide perspective.



ADOT staff learns about local issues and builds relationships with local planning staff through
conducting PARA studies.



PARA studies allow communities to participate in cross‐jurisdictional planning to tackle common
transportation issues.



The PARA program helps jurisdictions identify future needs and prioritize projects for
implementation when funding becomes available.



Local and tribal communities apply technical analyses from PARA studies in other local planning
efforts, such as when creating local roadway design standards.

The stakeholder assessment also identified the following PARA program opportunities and weaknesses:
 ADOT MPD has provided limited education to local jurisdictions about completing a PARA
application, identifying funding for projects, or implementing policy recommendations.


At the time of this study, a program to link long‐range and environmental planning was not fully
established.



Topic areas eligible for PARA funds are limited.



Public involvement budgets have been based on set percentages of overall study budgets rather
than tied to specific outreach tasks customized for any particular study.



The role of transit in PARA studies has not been fully considered and established.

65

RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings and key PARA program strengths, this study has identified specific
recommendations that ADOT can implemented to enhance the program. The following sections describe
each recommendation in detail and present the positive and negative effects of implementation.
Near‐Term Recommendations
The following top‐tier recommendations are partially or currently underway, or require minimal
coordination and few structural changes to the PARA program.
 Add safety and catastrophe prevention as an eligible PARA study topic. An additional eligible
study topic for local jurisdictions is safety and catastrophe prevention. Catastrophe planning
does not have to be a separate PARA topic, but it can be incorporated in a comprehensive local
safety plan. Presenting a catastrophe planning element in the context of other local
transportation topics could be beneficial. For example, corridor alignment options and roadway
design could include wildfire evacuation routes as a consideration in alternatives development
or selection. Catastrophe planning is a specialized field that would likely require specific subject
experts on the PARA project teams.
Safety can be integrated into transportation planning either through studies focused primarily
on safety, such as a pedestrian or bicycle safety plan, or by making safety a criterion for project
recommendation in a more general transportation plan. In either case, many tools and methods
are available for analyzing existing and future safety conditions, including road safety audits,
crash modification factors or the predictive methods from the Highway Safety Manual (AASHTO
2010). Note that a PARA study should not be considered a replacement for a road safety audit
but a means for integrating safety considerations into the planning process.


Continue conducting PARA studies that address freight planning. These studies can address
freight traffic on the local level and are beneficial to communities that experience high freight
traffic volume to and through the community. Freight studies do not need to stand alone but
could be part of an overall corridor study. Currently, ADOT has conducted corridor studies that
examine the proportion of truck traffic or the need for freight access to business, such as the
business corridor study for the Town of Camp Verde; that study considered accessibility to
businesses by trucks, in addition to an analysis of the effect that proposed roundabouts may
have on large truck movements at key intersections (ADOT 2013b). While freight has not been a
major component of the PARA program to date, PARA studies should continue to incorporate
freight planning, such that they are aligned with the MAP‐21 freight emphasis and state‐ and
national‐level freight plans.



Add needs assessment as an eligible PARA study topic to help communities understand
existing and future transportation needs. Needs assessment studies could help local
jurisdictions understand their planning goals and project needs without preparing a full PARA

66

study. While conducting a needs assessment, local communities could identify additional topics
they want to investigate through a separate PARA study. ADOT has developed a draft corridor
needs assessment outline that is under consideration for near‐term implementation (Appendix
H). This outline helps communities identify planning goals and project needs for the corridor,
and develop proposed actions and their intended purpose. As with any new topic added to the
PARA program, ADOT planning staff would need to balance internal resources to ensure the
program’s success is not diluted with needs assessment studies.


Consider adding the impacts of transportation on health as a component of PARA study. This
topic can help communities evaluate the link between transportation planning and health in a
community. For example, in a health impact assessment, communities identify and evaluate the
health impacts of transportation decision‐making to determine solutions that mitigate these
impacts.



Involve ADOT Local Public Agency section (LPA) staff in the PARA process to advance
recommendations to the implementation stage. ADOT LPA staff can work with ADOT MPD and
local jurisdictions to ensure that federally funded projects on local roads are implemented in the
year they are assigned in the STIP. Involving LPA staff in the PARA program, either as technical
advisory committee members on PARA studies or in a different capacity, could enable ADOT to
better educate and guide local jurisdictions as they consider implementing projects
recommended by PARA studies.



Incorporate comments from ADOT technical experts in the application review and consultant
selection process. ADOT internal subject area (such as safety and environmental) experts can
offer their technical perspectives to strengthen the application review and consultant selection
process. PARA program planners can solicit application comments and feedback from the
appropriate subject area experts before ADOT Planning staff score and select winning
applications. Depending on the number of additional comments solicited, this could potentially
extend the application review period and consultant selection process.



Encourage jurisdictions to seek COG and MPO review of their applications before submitting
to ADOT. This review can enhance collaboration and coordination between local communities
and COGs or MPOs. The COG or MPO could provide input to enhance the application, guidance
based on experience with other communities in the region, or recommendations for project
funding opportunities after the study is complete.



Continue conducting and improving the public involvement process for PARA studies;
whenever possible, tie outreach to local scheduled events. While all PARA projects include
public outreach and stakeholder involvement, the perception remains that the outreach is
somehow not fully connected or integrated within the local context. PARA can leverage local
community events that are already widely attended by community members as venues to
discuss PARA study progress and address questions and concerns. PARA outreach at these

67

events can be a brief presentation integrated with other event activities, or project team
members could staff a table and provide project information during the event.


Encourage ADOT staff members who work directly or indirectly with tribes in conducting
PARA studies to complete the online course, “ADOT Tribal Transportation Consulting
Training.” Offered on ADOT’s intranet site, this five‐part course provides an overview of tribal
demographics, setting the foundation for intergovernmental relations with tribal governments,
effective tribal consultation and coordination, and ADOT tribal coordination and other tribal‐
focused organizations.



Continue documenting and providing feedback to the public about concerns addressed during
the public outreach process. Documenting public comments and providing feedback to the
public is already being implemented in studies such as the corridor study done for the City of
Prescott (ADOT 2013a). During that study, ADOT documented all comments received in writing,
orally, and via e‐mail as part of the public meeting summary. While ADOT did not immediately
respond to each individual comment, this documentation acknowledged the public’s feedback.
To make the PARA process even more transparent to stakeholders, ADOT can explain at
outreach events (and in the final PARA report) how previous public comments were
incorporated in the study. Information about how public feedback is addressed could also be
kept in a PARA inventory database. In some cases, ADOT might not be able to address all the
issues or public comments, and might simply have to acknowledge the feedback without
proposing further actions.



Enhance the ADOT’s PARA program website to guide applicants through the PARA application
process. Maintain and enhance the PARA website to include example project scopes of work
and project costs or possible study topics. This practice could help streamline the application
process by helping local jurisdictions determine the appropriate funding amount and ensuring
that the application focuses on eligible topics. However, guidance and examples should be
applicable to multiple jurisdictions and topic types.



Continue to present information about the PARA program at the Arizona Rural Transportation
Summit to highlight recent PARA studies and educate potential applicants about the PARA
process. PARA project managers can present program information, project examples, and/or
best practices periodically at state and regional conferences. ADOT can add a PARA program
track at the Arizona Rural Transportation Summit, the annual statewide rural planning
conference. These activities remind local jurisdictions about the PARA process, showcase the
value of the local planning process, and may help to attract conference attendees.



Clarify transit’s role in the PARA process. The role of transit in the PARA process has not been
fully developed in the past. ADOT MPD planners will continue to work with ADOT Transit to set a
clear role of how transit planning can be addressed.

68

Midterm Recommendations
The recommendations in this section require a moderate level of stakeholder coordination or few
changes to the PARA program’s structure.
 Organize a conference dedicated to the PARA program to generate the interest of potential
applicants. ADOT can host an annual PARA conference for stakeholders and potential applicants
with varying levels of knowledge and participation in the PARA program. Conference sessions
could introduce potential applicants to the PARA process, provide PARA best practices, and
present recent studies and success stories. Other conference sessions could explore specific
study topics with experienced jurisdictions and encourage them to share their implementation
experience as well as funding opportunities and barriers.


To further encourage alignment of regional and local priorities, revise the PARA application
process by adding an evaluation criterion that considers the potential study’s linkage to the
appropriate Regional Transportation Plan RTP. The PARA program can add an additional
criterion that scores applications on the extent to which they reflect the objectives of the
appropriate RTP. Currently, COGs are not required to develop RTPs in Arizona, so this criterion
would be limited to jurisdictions that are members of the MPOs. ADOT Planning staff has
reiterated to COGs that PARA funds may be used to conduct RTPs, as long as a local jurisdiction,
and not the COG itself, submits the PARA application.



Conduct a follow‐up survey at the end of each PARA study to understand whether the process
met the goals and needs of the local communities. ADOT could conduct a follow‐up survey
after the completion of a PARA study to evaluate whether it has met the satisfaction and needs
of the local jurisdiction. Local jurisdictions could provide ADOT information about planned
implementation strategies. ADOT staff could follow up with information about potential
implementation, funding opportunities, and constraints. Conducting the survey would involve
ADOT resources to develop, implement, and evaluate results. ADOT will also have to carefully
select jurisdictions to include agencies with positive and negative experiences.



Change the public involvement budget amount from a set percentage of the total study
budget to an amount based on the type and frequency of public involvement tasks specific to
each study. Currently, public involvement budgets are set at 10 and 15 percent of the total
study budget for local and tribal projects, respectively. Removing the set budget would allow
public involvement to vary by project needs, study type, and location. One potential drawback is
that removing this set budget could potentially extend the public involvement effort beyond
what is deemed reasonable, if it is perceived that there are no budgetary constraints. ADOT
would need to work with local jurisdictions to determine the appropriate budget amount at the
beginning of each PARA study.



Take advantage of the GIS‐based A‐Plan as a platform for sharing information and data
developed from PARA studies. The A‐Plan is an information site developed by ADOT that allows

69

staff to view spatial datasets. Information developed from PARA studies can also be stored in A‐
Plan, giving ADOT practitioners access to the most recent information.


Implement the PARA Study Database to document PARA‐related information. The PARA
database described in Chapter 2 should be deployed and enhanced over time. The database
currently contains information such as study duration, cost, and recommendations. To remain
useful, it requires periodic updating, particularly recommendation implementation status.
Information could be shared internally for ADOT’s monitoring of the program, or externally for
jurisdictions to track recommendation implementation. The information shared externally
would be jurisdiction‐specific only. Enhancing the database would allow for ease of use and
maintenance by staff without extensive database experience.

Long‐Term Recommendations
The following recommendations require a high level of stakeholder coordination or substantial changes
to the PARA program’s structure.
 Identify and share analysis, data, and issues between PARA studies and related National
Environmental Policy Act NEPA processes as appropriate. Environmental issues identified as
part of a PARA study can inform the NEPA environmental scoping and review process. Similarly,
typical NEPA environmental considerations should be considered and documented in PARA
projects. This effort could require more staffing resources and coordination to support active
PARA studies.


Expedite the PARA application process by allowing applicants to submit materials and
reviewers to evaluate applications online. Currently, applicants are required to submit an
electronic version of the PARA application by email. ADOT should consider developing an online
application process. With an online system, applicants would be able to load their application
and supporting documents to a PARA application web page on ADOT’s website. Application
reviewers would also be able to review, comment, and communicate any necessary edits with
applicants via the website. This would expedite the PARA application review process and if
properly structured, information could also directly feed into the PARA inventory database.
Resources, including skilled staff, would be needed to create and maintain this web page. ADOT
would need to accommodate applicants who are not able to submit applications electronically.



Educate local jurisdictions on how the PARA process relates to the COG, MPO, federal, and
state planning and programming processes to provide them with more context on how their
studies relate to other planning processes and eventual implementation. ADOT should place
more emphasis on relating typical PARA studies to the COG, MPO, state, and federal processes.
For example, ADOT can help local jurisdictions understand the process of how PARA study
recommendations can be programmed in a COG’s regional TIP or different funding programs
within the DOT that might fund project recommendations. This allows potential applicants and
communities with existing PARA studies to understand how they can align their studies with
regional, state, and federal transportation goals. Information could be provided in a high‐level,

70

simple, general context guide with external links to more specific information for those
interested. A seminar at the Arizona Rural Transportation Summit could also educate
communities on these relationships.


Periodically evaluate certain communities, such as those that are growing in population
and/or land area and/or are located near the borders of planning regions, about their
geographic eligibility to participate in the PARA program. Currently, geographic eligibility for
PARA funding is based on FHWA’s urbanized boundaries, which are adjusted every 10 years
according to U.S. Census information. Any community not within the Phoenix or Tucson
urbanized boundaries can apply for a PARA study. In areas with rapid population increases or
decreases, ADOT could conduct an interim boundary review to evaluate whether a community
qualifies for the PARA program. In these cases, ADOT will have to determine the intermittent
intervals of evaluating eligibility and appropriate criteria. Planning staff will have to
communicate these criteria to potential applicants.



Conduct a peer review study to identify best practices for targeted public outreach that can be
applied to the PARA process. ADOT could conduct a study of best rural and tribal planning
outreach strategies. This study would review strategies implemented by Arizona state agencies
or peer state DOTs. This could be a comprehensive research study, or ADOT could conduct a
simple survey of existing practice by working with the FHWA’s Rural and Small Community
Planning staff to identify contacts at peer DOTs. A research project would require partnership
with the ADOT Research Center and the Communications Division to establish project scope,
potential strategies to evaluate, and strategy implementation feasibility.

71

72

REFERENCES
AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials). Highway Safety Manual.
2010. Washington, D.C.: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. ADOT
(Arizona Department of Transportation). 2012a. ADOT Route Transfer Procedures Study: Route
Transfer Handbook. Phoenix: Arizona Department of Transportation.
http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/ref/collection/statepubs/id/19864
ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation). 2012b. Local Public Agency Manual. Phoenix: Arizona
Department of Transportation.
ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation). 2013a. City of Prescott Sundog Connector Corridor Study.
Phoenix: Arizona Department of Transportation.
http://www.azdot.gov/planning/CurrentStudies/PARAStudies/city‐of‐prescott‐sundog‐connector‐
corridor‐study
ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation). 2013b. Town of Camp Verde Business Corridor Study:
Finnie Flat Road: SR 260 to Main Street. Phoenix: Arizona Department of Transportation.
http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/ref/collection/statepubs/id/23149
ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation). 2014. MPO and COG Guidelines and Procedures Manual.
Phoenix: Arizona Department of Transportation.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration ). April 2011. “Montana Links Planning and NEPA through
Corridor Planning Studies.” Successes in Stewardship. Washington, D.C.: Federal Highway
Administration.
http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/newsletters/apr11nl.asp.
MDOT (Montana Department of Transportation). 2009. Montana Business Process to Link Planning
Studies and NEPA/MEPA Reviews. Helena: Montana Department of Transportation.
http://www.mdt.mt.gov/publications/docs/brochures/corridor_study_process.pdf.

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74

APPENDIX A: PARA AND SATS INVENTORY OF STUDIES, 2002‐2012

Local Jurisdiction
City of Prescott
Yuma County
Intergovernmental Public
Transportation Authority
Town of Dewey‐
Humboldt
Navajo Nation

Project
Initiation
Year
Study Name
2012
City of Prescott: Sundog Connector Corridor Study
2011
Yuma Regional Transit Study

Study
Budget
$150,000
$250,000

2011

Town of Dewey‐Humboldt PARA Transportation Study

$200,000

2011

$250,000

$199,998
$175,000
$65,000
$200,000
$143,000
$100,000
$80,000

City of Coolidge

2011

City of Prescott
City of Tombstone
City of Globe
Fort McDowell Yavapai
Nation
Town of Queen Creek
Kayenta Township
Town of Sahuarita
Town of Wickenburg
Yuma County

2011
2011
2011
2011

City of Kingman
Town of Wellton
City of Sierra Vista
Coconino County
City of Nogales
San Carlos Apache Tribe
Town of Snowflake/
Taylor
City of Bisbee
Colorado City
Ak‐Chin Indian
City of Apache Junction
City of Winslow
Towns of Eagar and
Springerville
Tohono O’odham Nation
Cochise County
Bullhead City
Town of Clarkdale
Coconino County
La Paz County

2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010

Chinle‐Many Farms and St. Michaels‐Window Rock‐Fort
Defiance Multimodal Long Range Transportation Study
City of Coolidge Comprehensive Transportation Feasibility
Study
Willow Creek Road Realignment
City of Tombstone State Route 80 Alternate Route Study
Cobre Valley Comprehensive Transportation Planning Study
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Multimodal Long Range
Transportation Study
Germann Road Corridor Improvement Study
Kayenta Township 2012 Multimodal Transportation Study
Town of Sahuarita El Toro Road Corridor Study
Wickenburg Trails Connectivity and Transportation Study
Transportation Needs for the Foothills and Mesa Del Sol
Areas
Kingman Area Transportation Study Update
Wellton Transportation Long‐Range PARA Study
2010 Safe Bicycle and Pedestrian Routes Plan
2010 Doney Park Multi‐modal Transportation Plan
City of Nogales PARA Pedestrian Circulation at Port of Entries
San Carlos Tribe Transit Feasibility Study
Snowflake/Taylor Multijurisdictional Transportation Plan

2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010

City of Bisbee Comprehensive Transportation Plan
Town of Colorado City Transportation Study
Ak‐Chin Indian Community Transit and Nonmotorized Study
Apache Junction Comprehensive Transportation Study
City of Winslow North‐South Transportation Study
Round Valley Multimodal Transportation Study

$200,000
$147,700
$100,000
$200,000
$200,000
$185,000

2010
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009

Tohono O’odham School Bus Routes Transportation Study
Northwest Coshise County Transportation Plan
Bullhead City Transportation Study
Clarkdale Transportation Study
Kachina Village Multimodal Transportation Study
La Paz Transportation Planning Study

$150,000
$160,000
$200,000
$125,000
$75,000
$160,000

2011
2011
2011
2011
2011

75

N/A
$150,000
$175,000
$250,000
$165,000
$224,600
$187,000
$250,000
$200,000
$200,000

Local Jurisdiction
Town of Payson
San Xavier District
Lake Havasu City
City of Nogales/
Santa Cruz County
Salt River Pima‐Maricopa
Indian Community
(SRPMIC)
Town of Pinetop‐Lakeside

Project
Initiation
Year
2009
2009
2009
2009

Study Name
Payson Transportation Study
San Xavier Pedestrian Access and Safety Study
North Havasu Area Transportation Study
Unified Nogales Santa Cruz County Transportation Plan

Study
Budget
$175,000
$100,000
$150,000
$180,000

2009

Transportation Planning Study Work Plan

$199,490

2009

Pinetop‐Lakeside Pedestrian Safety and Transportation
Study
Southern Greenlee County Small Area Transportation Study

Southern Greenlee
County
Town of Sahuarita
Graham County

2009
2009

Navajo County
Town of Superior
City of Coolidge
Town of Florence
San Carlos Apache Tribe
Navajo Nation
City of Benson
City of Casa Grande
Pima County
City of San Luis
Pasqua Yaqui Tribe
Chino Valley
City of Douglas
City of Page
Town of Queen Creek
City of Nogales
City of Eloy
Gila County
Pinal County
City of Somerton
Lake Havasu City
City of Maricopa
City of Apache Junction

2009
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2006
2006
2006
2006
2005
2005
2004

City of Kingman
City of Sierra Vista
City of Cottonwood
N/A = Not available

2009

2004
2003
2002

Town of Sahuarita, Arizona Small Area Transportation Study
Graham County/Safford/Thatcher/Pima Small Area
Transportation Study
Navajo County Regional Transportation Study
Town of Superior Small Area Transportation Study (SATS)
Coolidge‐Florence Regional Transportation Plan
Coolidge‐Florence Regional Transportation Plan
San Carlos Long Range Transportation Planning Study
2009 Navajo Nation Long Range Transportation Plan Update
City of Benson Small Area Transportation Study
City of Casa Grande Small Area Transportation Study
I‐19 Frontage Roads Study
City of San Luis Small Area Transportation Study
Pasqua Yaqui Tribe Small Area Transportation Study
Town of Chino Valley Small Area Transportation Study
City of Douglas Small Area Transportation Study
City of Page Small Area Transportation Study
Queen Creek Small Area Transportation Study
Nogales Railroad Small Area Transportation Study
City of Eloy Small Area Transportation Study
Gila County Small Area Transportation Study
Pinal County Small Area Transportation Study
City of Somerton Small Area Transportation Study
Lake Havasu City Small Area Transportation Study Update
City of Maricopa Small Area Transportation Study
City of Apache Junction, Arizona Small Area Transportation
Study
Kingman Area Transportation Study
Sierra Vista Small Area Transportation Study
Cottonwood Area Transportation Plan

76

$85,000
$165,997
$200,000
$132,856
$373,990
$122,031
$250,000
$149,994
$138,532
N/A
$129,125
$156,250
$4,939
$156,250
$62,286
$149,799
$156,250
$122,842
$137,660
N/A
$156,250
$93,430
$312,500
$102,135
$84,125
$107,705
$96,000
$120,000
N/A
N/A

APPENDIX B: METADATA OF INVENTORY DATABASE TABLES
Table 8. “General_Info” Database Table
Field Name
localjurisdiction_projectyear

project_ID
localjurisdiction
project_year
project_name
adot_manager

local_project_manager

Data Type
Text

Text
Text
Number
Text
Text

Text

proposed_study_schedule

Number

actual_study_schedule

Number

project_budget

Number

Field Description
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for
linking between different tables)
Project identification
Local jurisdiction name
Year of project initiation
Full name of project/study
Last name and first name of ADOT
manager delimited by underscore
(i.e., Doe_John)
Last name and first name of local
manager delimited by underscore
(i.e., Doe_John)
Study duration in months per project
schedule or work plan; blank
indicates information is unavailable
Actual study duration in months;
blank indicates information is
unavailable
Project budget in dollars; blank
indicates information is unavailable

77

Source of Information
Work plan and final report

Work plan and final report
Work plan and final report
Work plan and final report
Work plan and final report
Work plan and final report

Work plan and final report

Schedule/work plan

ADOT MPD

ADOT

Table 9. “Technical_Tools” Database Table
Field Name
localjurisdiction_projectyear

Data
Type
Text

Field Description
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
project_geo_scope
Text
Geographic scope of project:
1. Municipal
2. Multiple cities or subcounty area
3. County
4. Multiple counties
5. Tribal
project_type
Number Type of project/study:
1. Area transportation plan
2. Corridor study
3. Transit
4. Pedestrian or bikes
5. Long‐range transportation plan
6. Multimodal study
7. Other type
tech_consultant
Text
Name of technical consultant firm
tech_consultant_proj_manager
Text
Last name and first name of technical
consultant project manager delimited
by underscore(i.e., Doe_John)
technical_ consultant_budget
Number Technical consultant budget

78

Source of Information
Work plan and final report

Work plan and final report

Work plan and final report

Work plan and final report
Work plan and final report

ADOT

Table 10. “Recommendations” Database Table
Field Name
localjurisdiction_projectyear

Data
Type
Text

Recommendations
recommendation_type

Text
Text

recommendation_stage

Text

Text

circulation_element

Text

Field Description
Local jurisdiction name and year of project
initiation (unique key for linking between
different tables)
Project recommendations per final report
Type of recommendation:
1. Infrastructure
2. Policy
Stage of recommendation implementation
(verified by local jurisdictions):
Infrastructure recommendations:
A. Project open to traffic
B. Under construction
C. ROW and/or PS&E completed
D. Added to CIP, but no other action
E. Funding request made, but not granted to
date
F. No action
G. Other (local agency specified details on
other implementation stage)
N. No recommendations
I. Recommendation status not provided by
local agency, or project still in progress
Policy recommendations:
A Fully implemented (municipality adopted
ordinance; guidance document developed,
etc.)
B Implementation underway, and currently
active (policy analysis and/or deliberation
has formally begun and is currently in
process)
C. Implementation underway, but no longer
active (policy was analyzed/deliberated and
is still being considered, but no further
action is underway or on schedule)
D Implementation started, but policy no
longer being considered (policy was
analyzed/deliberated, but formally dropped
from further consideration)
E. No action has been taken
F. Other (local agency specified details on
other implementation stage)
N. No recommendations
I. Recommendation status not provided by
local agency, or project still in progress
Status of recommendation incorporation into
general plan or comprehensive plan

79

Source of
Information
Work plan and final
report
Final report
Final report

Local jurisdiction

Local jurisdiction

Local jurisdiction

Table 10. “Recommendations” Database Table (Continued)
Data
Type
Text

Field Name
recommendation_timeframe

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Field Description
Short term (projects to be implemented
between 0‐5 years)
Midterm (projects to be implemented
between 5‐10 years)
Long term (projects to be implemented
beyond 10 years)
No time frame indicated by report
Study is in progress

Source of
Information
Final report

Table 11. “Public Outreach” Database Table
Field Name
localjurisdiction_projectyear

p_i_consultant
p_i_consultant_specialist

pub_outreach_events
meeting_attendees

electronic_participants

number_outreach_comments

pub_outreach_costs

Data Type
Field Description
Text
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
Text
Name of public involvement consultant
firm
Number Last name and first name of public
involvement consultant specialist
delimited by underscore (i.e., Doe_John)
Number Number of public outreach events; blank
indicates information is unavailable
Number Number of meeting attendees (for all
open house and public meetings); blank
indicates information is unavailable
Number Number of electronic participants (for
online outreach methods); blank
indicates information is unavailable
Number Number of comments (for all outreach
methods); blank indicates information is
unavailable
Number Project public outreach costs; blank
indicates information is unavailable

Source of Information
Work plan and final
report
Public involvement
report
Public involvement
report
Public involvement plan
Public involvement
report
Public involvement
report
Public involvement
report
ADOT

Table 12. “Engineering_District” Database Table
Field
localjurisdiction_projectyear

engineering_district

Data Type
Text

Text

Field Description
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
ADOT Engineering District where project
is located

80

Source of Information
Work plan and final
report
Work plan and final
report

Table 13. “COG_MPO” Database Table
Field
localjurisdiction_projectyear

cog_mpo

Data Type
Text

Text

Field Description
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
Arizona COG or MPO where project is
located

Source of Information
Work plan and final
report
Work plan and final
report

Table 14. “County” Database Table
Field
localjurisdiction_projectyear

county

Data Type
Text

Text

Field Description
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
Arizona county where project is located

Source of Information
Work plan and final
report
Work plan and final
report

Table 15. “Planning_Tools” Database Table
Field
localjurisdiction_projectyear

planning_ tools

Data Type
Field Description
Text
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
Text
Types of technical planning tools
deployed for study:
1. Travel demand model
2. Travel survey
3. GIS/mapping
4. Traffic counts
5. PEL questionnaire

Source of Information
Work plan and final
report
Work plan and final
report

Table 16. “Public_Outreach_Methods” Database Table
Field
localjurisdiction_projectyear

pub_outreach_methods

Data Type
Field Description
Text
Local jurisdiction name and year of
project initiation (unique key for linking
between different tables)
Text
Types of public outreach method:
1. Open house/public meeting
2. Survey
3. E‐mail outreach
4. Press release
5. Media broadcast
6. Inserts/mailers
7. Online community/user participation
8. All other types of outreach

81

Source of Information
Work plan and final
report
Work plan and final
report

82

APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR PEER STATE REVIEW
Program Administration Questions


Please briefly describe your program for providing support to regional/local agencies or
governments for transportation planning.



What are the state’s objectives for the program?



What agencies are eligible to apply for planning funding?



Does your agency draw a line on funding eligibility somewhere within the “urban” or MPO
category? Arizona Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) are not eligible, but other MPOs
are; rural towns that are members of TMAs but not within the TMAs planning area are eligible.



Is there a way for other agencies to have a study funded (e.g., pass thru from an eligible agency;
partner with an eligible agency)?



What is the application process?



Does the DOT directly manage the studies? (Alternatively, does the DOT make grants to the
recipients?)



What funding source(s) does the DOT use for this program?



Is a local match required? If so, how much?



What is the annual amount of funding available for the program?



Is there a funding limit for individual studies?



How many study funding requests are received annually?



How many studies are funded annually?

Study Administration Questions


What type of projects/studies can be funded through the program? (Are studies of transit,
bicycle, pedestrian, and/or other modes eligible for inclusion in your program [as part of a
multimodal plan or as stand‐alone studies]?)



How do you track recommendations from each study? (Is there a tracking mechanism to
determine project implementation after study completion?)



How do these studies interact with your statewide planning process?

83

o

Are regional transportation plans conducted outside of MPOs (either by the DOT or a
regional entity)? If so, do the needs identified in the regional plan become the basis for the
studies funded through this program?

o

In what other ways are study topics determined? (Is this left up to the local jurisdiction, or is
it more top‐down, from the state?)

o

Do these studies address only nonstate facilities, or do they also make recommendations on
state facilities within the study area?

o

Is your statewide plan project specific?

o

Do study recommendations get preference for inclusion in the statewide plan, STIP, or
construction work program?



Describe how your program addresses integration of environmental concerns into
transportation planning.



Describe how your program addresses integration of land use and transportation planning.

Program Effectiveness Questions


Have any evaluations been conducted of the program? If “yes,” what were the major findings?



Have any changes been made to the program in the past five years?



What changes were made?



Why were the changes made?



Have the changes achieved the desired outcome?



What benefits do communities receive from participating in the program?



Are they satisfied with this program and the products that result from it?



Is the overall program meeting the DOT’s objectives?



What are the most successful aspects of your program?



What would you like to improve?

84

APPENDIX D: ONLINE SURVEY INTRODUCTION AND QUESTIONS
For more than 20 years, ADOT has partnered with Arizona cities, towns, tribes, and counties to conduct
transportation planning studies through its Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) and, formerly,
Small Area Transportation Studies (SATS) programs. These programs have been used by ADOT to fund
transportation planning studies that have identified multimodal transportation needs, defined local and
regional project recommendations, and provided input into statewide transportation programming.
The purpose of this online survey is to solicit and obtain critical stakeholder feedback that supports
ADOT’s research goals and objectives, and to assess how well the SATS and PARA programs have met
the objectives of ADOT and your local or regional agency. The results of this survey will be used in
combination with other research tasks to refine ADOT’s PARA program.
You have been selected to participate in this survey due to your previous involvement with SATS and/or
PARA program. Your opinions are highly valued by ADOT. Your responses will be kept confidential and
will be used to develop recommendations to enhance the current program. It is anticipated that this
survey will take 20 minutes of your time to complete and submit. Please follow the online directions to
complete this survey. Thank you.
Core Questions (CQ) – Part I. The first part of the Core questions is designed to address the overarching
objectives of the SATS and PARA programs. Part II of the Core questions is provided in the last section of
this survey. All stakeholder groups should respond to the Core questions in Parts I and II.
CQ1. PARA studies are developed to analyze existing transportation conditions and have been used to
assess a wide variety of future conditions. On which future horizon year should PARA studies focus?
(Select all that apply.)
Short term (1 ‐ 5 years)
Midterm (6 ‐ 10 years)
Long term (11 ‐ 20 years)
Longer term (> 20 years)
No opinion
Other topics (Please specify.) _______________________________________
CQ2. Of the broad range of transportation planning topics addressed by PARA, which of the following
should be eligible for funding? (Select all that apply.)
Community‐wide planning
Needs assessment
Specific corridor planning
Local roadway operations and facilities planning
State roadway operations and facilities planning
Transit services and operations and facilities planning
Transportation and land use plans (e.g., regional transportation plans and comprehensive plan—
transportation element)

85

Bicycle facilities planning and cyclists training
Pedestrian planning
Multiuse trail planning
Transportation safety planning
Other topics (Please specify.) _______________________________________
Technical/Planning (TP). The Technical/Planning questions are designed to assess the transportation
planning and policy issues addressed by the SATS and PARA studies. The ADOT Planning staff, ADOT
Engineering Districts, local jurisdiction staff, COG or MPO staff, and technical consultants stakeholder
groups should respond to the Technical/Planning questions.
TP1. What expectations does your organization have for PARA program? (Please specify.)
__________________________________________________________________
TP2. Has the PARA program met your organization’s expectations? (Select one.)
Yes
No
No opinion
Other comments (Please specify.) _________________________________________
[For respondents who selected “yes” or “no”] Additional comments (if desired):

TP3. What expectations do you believe the public has for transportation planning? (Please specify.)
__________________________________________________________________
TP3(A). [Survey Version 7] For jurisdictions that have conducted a PARA study: Did the PARA study meet
your public’s expectations? (Select one.)
Yes
No
No opinion
Other comments (Please specify.) _________________________________________
[For respondents who selected “yes” or “no”] Additional comments (if desired):

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TP4. How well have the PARA studies you have been involved with addressed the following
transportation planning topics:
TP4(A). Environmental benefits and impacts (e.g., wildlife crossings, cultural resources)? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
TP4(B). Mobility and accessibility for people? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
TP4(C). Mobility and accessibility for freight? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
TP4(D). Multimodal transportation alternatives (e.g., nonmotorized, transit, trails)? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________

87

TP4(E). Economic competitiveness (e.g., transportation access to employment centers, jobs)? (Select
one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
TP4(F). System performance and preservation (e.g., pavement quality, bridge ratings)? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
TP5. Are the technical analyses conducted for PARA studies meeting expectations of the local
jurisdiction? (Select one.)
Yes
No
No opinion
Other comments (Please specify.) _________________________________________
[For respondents who selected “yes” or “no”] Additional comments (if desired):

88

Program Interaction (AI). Program Interaction questions are designed to evaluate the degree to which
the SATS and PARA programs and associated studies have both informed and been informed by other
state, regional, and local transportation planning, programming, and engineering activities. The ADOT
Planning staff (PARA project manager), ADOT Engineering Districts, ADOT Predesign staff, (ADOT) Safe
Routes to Schools manager, (ADOT) Transportation Enhancements manager, (ADOT) Environmental
Planning staff, ADOT Programming staff, local jurisdiction staff, COG or MPO staff, and technical
consultants stakeholder groups should respond to the Program Interaction questions.
AI1. How well do the results of PARA studies integrate with other ADOT sections’ (beyond the
Multimodal Planning Division) activities? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
AI2. How well is information from other agencies’ (not ADOT) activities incorporated into PARA studies?
(Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
AI3. How well do PARA studies help ADOT districts make programming decisions? (Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
Not relevant
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________

89

AI4. Does ADOT MPD understand local and regional agencies’ transportation needs and project
priorities? (Select one.)
Yes
No
No opinion
Other comments (please specify) _________________________________________
[For respondents who selected “yes” or “no”] Additional comments (if desired):

Public Involvement (PI). Public Involvement questions are designed to examine ADOT’s and the sponsor
jurisdiction’s level of outreach and engagement with the public and agency stakeholders. The ADOT
Planning staff, ADOT Communications staff, public involvement consultants, local jurisdiction staff, COG
or MPO staff, and technical consultants stakeholder groups should respond to the Public Involvement
questions.
PI1. How effective are outreach events in obtaining public and stakeholder input for PARA studies?
(Select one.)
Very effective
Effective
Neutral
Ineffective
Very ineffective
PI2. What type of outreach events offer the most effective opportunities for obtaining public and
stakeholder input for PARA studies? (Select one.)
Open houses
Regional forums
Focus groups
Media broadcasts
Online community/user participation (e.g., surveys)
Other types of outreach (Please specify.) ____________________________________
PI3. What type of outreach notification techniques are most effective opportunities for obtaining public
and stakeholder input for PARA studies? (Select one.)
E‐mail
Press releases
Insets/mailers (e.g., newspaper or mail)
Social media
Other types of outreach notification techniques (Please specify.) __________________________

90

PI4. Is the feedback obtained from public outreach activities reflected and used effectively in the
development of project recommendations in the PARA studies? (Select one.)
Yes
No
No opinion
Other comments (Please specify.) ___________________________________________
[For respondents who selected “yes” or “no”] Additional comments (if desired):

PI5. Are there other strategies you would like to see applied in the public outreach process for the PARA
studies? (Select one.)
More customization of outreach activities for each study
Define how public input will be incorporated into PARA recommendations
Conduct visioning and goal‐setting activities at the beginning of the study
Conduct outreach at community events
Newsletters or media summarizing outcomes of public events
No opinion
Other strategies (Please specify.) ______________________________________
Explain your answer (optional): _______________________________________
PI6. How do you define successful public involvement? (Please specify.)
______________________________________

91

Program Administration (PA). Program Administration questions are designed to assess the SATS and
PARA program level of funding, quality of application materials and processes, and project and program
recommendations for implementation and tracking. The ADOT Planning staff, ADOT Communications
staff, Contracts administrators, public involvement consultants, local jurisdiction staff, COG or MPO
staff, and technical consultants stakeholder groups should respond to the Program Administration
questions.
PA1. Currently, ADOT Planning staff are responsible for reviewing PARA applications. How important
would it be to involve other ADOT employees in PARA study application reviews? (Select one.)
Very important
Important
Neutral
Unimportant
Very unimportant
PA1(A). [For respondents who selected very important or important to PA2] If other ADOT employees
should be involved in reviewing PARA applications, who are they? (Select all that apply.)
Traffic and Safety staff
Communications staff
Environmental staff
Engineering Districts staff
Other (Please specify.) _____________________________________________
PA2. Currently, the PARA program requires no funding match from local jurisdictions. How do you think
a local match requirement would affect the PARA process? (Select the most important.)
Generate stronger local participation in the process
Make funds available for other PARA studies
Allow for a larger study budget
Other comments (Please specify.) _______________________________________
No local match should be required
PA3. If PARA requires local match, what level of local funding match for PARA studies should be
considered? (Select one.)
0%
Greater than 0% to 10%
Greater than 10% to 20%
Greater than 20% to 40%
Greater than 40%

92

PA4(A). What is the most effective way for ADOT to provide additional education on the PARA study
process? (Select up to two.)
In‐person workshops or meetings
Webinars
Printed material
Enhanced website
Other ______________________________________
PA4(B). What is the most effective way for ADOT to provide administrative support on the PARA study
process? (Select one.)
Assistance completing PARA applications
Providing feedback on PARA applications and the selection process
Help local jurisdictions identify possible project funding sources
Track implementation of projects recommended by PARA studies
Other _______________________________________
PA5. Following the completion of a PARA study, what steps does a local jurisdiction take to promote the
implementation of recommended projects and policies? (Check all that apply.)
Accept projects into a capital improvement program
Accept projects into a long‐range plan
Accept projects into an MPO Transportation Improvement Program
Apply for grant funding (e.g., MAP‐21 Transportation Alternatives Fund)
Other_______________________________________
PA6. What is the overall percentage of PARA study project recommendations that are implemented
locally over the long term?
0%
Greater than 0% to 10%
Greater than 10% to 25%
Greater than 25%
PA7. Have you experienced any of the following issues in implementing PARA study project
recommendations? (Check all that apply.)
Inadequate funding
Lack of staff
Need for guidance
Lack of local consensus
Other issues_________________________________
No issues in implementing recommendations
PA8. [Survey Version 7] Describe how your agency/jurisdiction tracks the implementation of project
recommendations after PARA study completion. (Please specify.) ________________________________

93

Core Questions (CQ) ‐ Part II. The second part of the Core questions is designed to address the
overarching objectives of the SATS and PARA programs. All stakeholder groups should respond to the
Core questions in Part II.
CQ3. What is your current organization? (Select one.)
ADOT (Please specify department) ___________________________________
Other Arizona state agency
Transportation planning consultant
Public involvement consultant
County
City/town
MPO
COG
Native American tribe
Other local jurisdiction (Please specify.) ___________________________________
CQ4. How many PARA and/or SATS studies have you been involved with as consultant, TAC member,
project sponsor, or ADOT/local project manager? (Select all that apply.)
Consultant [Please specify number of studies: ____________________________]
TAC member [Please specify number of studies: ___________________________]
ADOT/local project manager [Please specify number of studies: ___________]
Other role (Please specify.)___________________________
[Please specify number of studies: ___________]

94

APPENDIX E: LOCAL JURISDICTION COMMENTS REGARDING PARA AND SATS
Note: These comments are transcribed verbatim from the online surveys collected between May 15,
2013, and May 25, 2013.
Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA), Yuma Regional Transit
Study (2011)
Attached are my responses. If you want to call me to discuss YCIPTA’s opinion of the document, I am
happy to share. To say the least, we are not pleased with the way it was developed and the
recommendations proposed. We believe that the consultant was not a team player or collaborator in
developing a plan that made sense for this area nor taking into account operational issues. It was also
difficult to provide insight into the plan under the project manager’s guidance since the project manager
generally sided with the consultant.
The end result—only 25 percent of the plan was implemented. We had to make serious modifications to
gear towards the riding demographic of the community.
Cochise County, Northwest Cochise County Transportation Plan (2009)
We had two PARA studies at the same time; the other one was for setting up a countywide
transportation model. That particular study, although it did not have specific action items like the
Northwest Area Plan, has been of immense help and has been used multiple times since it was
developed. It was used, in fact, for the Northwest Area study, and in several PARA studies since that
time as well as in the ongoing DCR project for the I‐10/I19 to SR90 study. I do want to acknowledge that
PARA study’s value to us, and I think to the state as well, as a highly technical base of work that we have
been able to use in multiple ways.
One of those ways is the development of the first Cochise County Long‐Range Transportation Plan. I
refer to this several times in my comments. We also pulled over information, recommendations, and
strategies developed with the Northwest Area Plan into the long‐range planning effort. The county has
not had a specific, detailed circulation plan developed and adopted. The closest to that has been a
narrative nod to circulation policies and strategies in the comprehensive plan, in need of updating as the
last version was in 2006 prior to the Census 2010 results that triggered the next level of elements to be
included. The intent of the county is to take the results of the Northwest Area plan forward in three
distinct ways: one, is a Northwest Area Alternative Route Map, which has been drafted and through
upper management review but now pending results from the more robust DCR for that area to be
finalized; second, through inclusion and expansion into a full Cochise County Long‐Range Transportation
Plan, which is about 80 percent completed with draft mapping, strategies, and recommendations under
staff review; and third, those two documents then brought into an adopted comprehensive plan with an
expanded circulation element incorporating longer‐range recommendations. It is anticipated that
priorities will be established for projects as funding then becomes available.

95

A final note: Since the completion of the Northwest Plan (besides the unanticipated disaster of the
J‐Six/Mescal Bridge burning down and having to grab this plan to attempt to figure out the traffic
implications for detours and any possible alternative routes) the county has done some repaving on J‐Six
Mescal Road and on surrounding neighborhood roads and have worked specifically with several
developers out in the area to identify their possible roadway connections in line with the Northwest
Area Plan results. We have also had discussions with property owners about potential future right‐of‐
way needs related to the “frontage” road alignment on the north side of the Interstate. We have one
pathway project in the St. David area, referenced in this plan, going to construction, we hope, this
summer.
Studies, without implementation funding, can be hard to analyze as to their ultimate impact. We have
kept both the two PARA studies I have worked with directly (the modeling grant, which was formally a
SATS grant, and the Northwest Plan) active in our work activities. Neither one is a shelved document.
Although the lack of implementation funding can be frustrating, it is not as frustrating as a lack of any
plan in the first place leaving a rural jurisdiction with no priorities to be able to pull out when a funding
opportunity does show up.
City of Coolidge, Coolidge SATS, 2008
On another note, while I applaud the decision to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, I’m not sure
that these are the right (or, more accurately, sufficient) questions. Concerns I have heard raised about
SATS and PARA have more to do with the process, especially the consultant selection process. There
seems to be a general feeling that municipalities do not necessarily get the greatest possible return on
investment, with only the select cadre of ADOT anointed consultants guaranteed to get these contracts.
There are other transp consulting firms, some with a much better grasp of the specific issues facing our
communities that don’t seem to have much a shot in the process. To be fair, it is ADOT’s investment
much more than the local community’s but, nevertheless, I’d like to see the selection process opened
up. It’s not that I’m casting aspersions on the quality of specific consultant firms we have worked with (I
have been very impressed with Wilson’s work in the current PARA study, for example), I’d just like to
see a more players at the table.
Lake Havasu City, Lake Havasu City SATS (2005)
[Lake Havasu City (LHC)] has found the PARA/SATS process/program to be an awesome resource for the
community. We have utilized SATS on many occasions, beginning with the 1991 SATS study for Lake
Havasu City. Due to our growth and transportation needs, we also did updates in 1997 and 2005. We
then participated in the first PARA group with the North Havasu Area Study. The change to allowing for
more specific areas was also a benefit which we are also taking advantage with the current study.
The 2005 study was included in the LHC general plan. The North Havasu study was not incorporated
officially yet in the update which was due in 2012 but due to budgetary concerns, has been postponed
as allowed by state law.

96

APPENDIX F: IN‐PERSON INTERVIEW INTRODUCTION AND QUESTIONS
This research project evaluates the effectiveness of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT)
PARA and SATS Programs. Cambridge Systematics is conducting two surveys to gather information from
PARA/SATS stakeholders. As you are aware, one of the surveys is a comprehensive online survey and the
second survey is this in‐person interview.
The purpose of this interview is to discuss your experience with and perspectives about the SATS and
PARA programs, including such topics as the application process, study process, public involvement, and
coordination with other planning activities. We are interviewing you to understand your experience as a
(customize to stakeholder role shown in Table 17).
We assume you are familiar with the PARA and SATS program; do you want us to provide you with a
brief description? (If respondent requests for a description, use the description below.)
ADOT PARA and SATS Description
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA)
program provides funds for ADOT to conduct transportation planning for nonmetropolitan
communities. The program is administered by the ADOT Multimodal Planning Division (MPD). PARA
program funds can be used to study issues related to roadway, transit, and nonmotorized
transportation modes. PARA funds may not be used for the design and construction of
transportation facilities. The PARA program was established in 2008 as a reorganization of the Small
Area Transportation Study (SATS) program.

We have xx questions and do not anticipate this to take more than an hour of your time. (The number of
questions would vary by stakeholder. See Table 17.)

Table 17. SATS/PARA In‐Person Interview Stakeholder Role Assignments by Question
Stakeholder Role
MPD management
PARA project managers and Thor Anderson
Technical consultants
ADOT Transit
Public involvement (ADOT and consultants)
ADOT districts
COG and MPO staff
Tribal representatives
Local jurisdictions

Questions
1 through 6
1 through 6
1 through 6
1 through 6
1, 3, 4, 5, and 6
1 and 6
1 through 6
1 through 6
1 through 6

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1) General questions. These questions are designed to examine overall PARA program goals and
stakeholder understanding of ADOT’s transportation policies and vision. All interviewees answer
these questions.
a) In your opinion, what makes the PARA program valuable?
i) Prompt if necessary: What type of PARA project analyses seem particularly valuable: those
on local roads? Those that identify specific infrastructure or policy outcomes?
b) Do you see ways that PARA studies could be improved?
i) Prompts if necessary: Administration, implementation, schedule improvements, scope of
work, and local ownership (buy‐in).
2) Technical/planning. These questions provide insights into the breadth of transportation planning
topics and the applicability of technical analyses to other planning efforts. MPD management, PARA
project managers, ADOT Transit, local jurisdiction staff, tribal representatives, COG or MPO staff,
and technical consultants answer these questions.
a) Are PARA studies addressing all the transportation planning topics of interest for your
community? If not, what other topic areas would you suggest?
b) Have the technical analyses conducted for PARA been helpful in other local planning efforts? If
so, describe.
i) Prompt if necessary: Prioritize planning needs and projects for the communities, create an
opportunity for dialogue about planning needs, incorporation of projects into the circulation
element of a comprehensive plan.
c) The PARA program is intended to address local needs. To what extent should state highways be
addressed by PARA studies?
d) Currently, PARA applications ask local jurisdictions to identify needs that a planning study could
address. Would it be helpful for needs assessment to be an eligible topic for a PARA study?
3) Project administration. These questions evaluate the PARA application process and possible PARA
funding schemes. MPD management, PARA project managers, ADOT Transit, local jurisdiction staff,
tribal representatives, COG or MPO staff, public involvement and technical consultants answer these
questions.
a) How satisfied are you with project management provided by ADOT?
b) Funding—In the online survey, we asked you about local match requirement and offered a
range of match requirement options:
i) Do you think that the current policy of no local match should be altered? If so, do you have a
suggestion? Why?
(1) Prompt if necessary: For example, a sliding scale (first PARA is free, second one requires
a certain local matching requirement).
ii) If a local jurisdiction could have more say in PARA programs administration (i.e., consultant
selection, project funding) but would also be required to have a higher matching
requirement, would that be appropriate?
(1) If so, what do you think is the appropriate level of matching?
iii) Currently, there’s a $250,000 limit to PARA project funding. Do you think there should be a
stated limit? If so, what is a reasonable limit to PARA project funding?

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iv) If the cost of a PARA study is greater than the $250,000, should a local match be considered
to fill in the gap?
c) Application review—Currently, ADOT PARA project managers are on the PARA application
selection committee:
i) Should other ADOT staff be involved in the application selection? If so, who are they?
ii) Is the current application selection process easy to understand? If not, how could it be
clarified?
iii) The existing criteria for PARA applications are:
 Overall project considerations: 0‐20 points
 Demonstration of need for study: 0‐25 points
 Incorporation of planning elements: 0‐15 points
 Demonstration of community support: 0‐15 points
 Benefits the state, region, and/or community: 0‐25 points
In your opinion, are these criteria appropriate? Would you rank/weigh these criteria
differently? Would you add or remove evaluation criteria?
iv) Do you think past implementation status should factor into the PARA application review
process?
v) Should PARA applications be focused on a different transportation planning theme each
year; for example, setting aside a percentage for sustainability or safety, etc.?
vi) In your opinion, what would attract new applicants to apply for the PARA program?
(1) Prompt if necessary: additional information about the PARA program and greater
participation in the consultant selection process?
4) Consultant selection. These questions examine the consultant selection process and local
jurisdictions’ experience and interaction with consultants. MPD management, PARA project
managers, ADOT Transit, local jurisdiction staff, tribal representatives, COG or MPO staff, and
technical consultants answer these questions.
a) (For local jurisdictions) Have the consultants selected by ADOT been effective in understanding
your community’s needs and in developing project recommendations?
i) Prompt if necessary: Have consultants conducted analyses that you feel are helpful to the
community?
b) (For local jurisdictions) Do you have access to the consultants during the period of the PARA
study?
5) Recommendations implementation. These questions are designed to examine recommendation
implementation and prompt suggestions for tracking implementation. MPD management, PARA
project managers, ADOT Transit, local jurisdiction staff, tribal representatives, COG or MPO staff,
and technical consultants answer these questions.
a) What are some difficulties to implementing recommendations?
b) Would it be useful for ADOT to track the status of local jurisdictions’ recommendation
implementation? If so, how could the information be useful?

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6) Public involvement. These questions examine the effectiveness of the existing public outreach
process and prompt respondents for public involvement suggestions. All interviewees answer these
questions.
a) How does the public outreach process contribute to the ADOT PARA studies?
i) Prompt if necessary: greater understanding of local needs, and identify possible alternatives.
b) Which elements of the process could be improved?
c) In your opinion, is outreach input appropriately incorporated into PARA studies? If not, what
could help improve this?
d) Which types of public outreach events are effective? Which types of public outreach events are
not effective?
e) How have public outreach consultants facilitated the public involvement process for local
jurisdictions?
f) Before we conclude the interview, do you have any questions or final thoughts?

100

APPENDIX G: INTERVIEW SUMMARY MATRIX

These interview responses are transcribed verbatim from interviews conducted between March 19,
2013, and April 1, 2013.

101

102

Topic: General Question
Question: a) In your opinion, what makes the PARA program valuable?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

The program’s focus is on rural areas. Planning is the first phase of local programs, it’s
important that ADOT be able to provide this initial planning effort. This is important for local
agencies that might not necessarily have access to some of the planning expertise. PARA
provides access to program managers who have statewide perspectives, and this improves the
professionalism for planning in the state.

MPO/COG

Identifying specific areas of need rather than assumptions. For instance, sometimes local gov’t
are in their crisis mode and really need to do something this intersections. While they assume,
the overall study identify the needs of the program. Many of our smaller communities don’t
have the abilities and the resources to address these issues.
A lot of the local jurisdictions don’t have the general funds that they wouldn’t be able to fund
otherwise. PARA studies examine a wide variety of subject areas, and are it’s flexible to local
needs. Pretty good deal, 100 percent funded by ADOT. Regional planner keeps the process
moving, make sure the process is moving along and quality of work acceptable. Part of their role
is to give us the insight they have because we’re located in phoenix. We walk them through the
process and help them identify projects to program/fund at the different time period (5‐10
years, 20 years).

ADOT Planning

•In smaller jurisdictions, one person is working as the city manager and planning, often time
don’t have the internal resources to implement a planning study like this. Very important that
we hire these technical experts that otherwise they wouldn’t have access to. Caliber of
consultant on‐call list deliver very high quality product.
•Tribes have limited funding. They’re limited to $25,000 on planning and this is supplemental to
what they have available.
•Similar to local jurisdiction, it’s our role to consult and converse with tribes. We’re able to
establish relationships and learn about each other’s cultures and organizations.

Local
Jurisdictions

Make planning available to small communities and help support the money that’s been
programmed from the YMPO.

Technical
Consultants

Provides a local dialogue on regional matters of importance. Rural areas don’t often have the
opportunity to bring in expertise and explore special topics that might not be the highest
priorities due to limited budgets, transportation, bike pad issues, advance specialized projects.

ADOT MPD
Management

To me one of the most valuable part is providing transportation planning services to rural
Arizona. In tough economic times, a lot of communities don’t have funding to invest in
Transportation planning. They’re reacting to whatever pops up. They might not be using
planning as a tool to help the local and regions out. PARA/SATS are the only tools. To me, it’s
been very beneficial to hear back that we’re able to help them. My goal is to continuously
improve all the programs, making sure that we put together a product that meets our
customers’ needs.

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Topic: General Question
Question: a) In your opinion, what makes the PARA program valuable?
ADOT Public
Involvement

Provide municipalities the option to do the study if they don’t have the resource

Tribal

Small communities, rural don’t have funds available to do a long range transportation planning,
or transportation planning study. ADOT is really good about letting us voice our needs while
giving us directions and guidance. They didn’t force any of their agenda, it is whatever we
needed.

ADOT Division
Staff

From the two teams that I’ve sat on, it’s been valuable to me, I interacted with the local staff
that I haven’t interacted before. I usually deal with public work directors and get to know the
communities very well. This is better than the old SATS study, PARA is more adapt at dealing
with traffic issues across multiple jurisdictions. In terms of the PARA recipients, the results and
the process of getting together, let them talk about issues that overlap, identifying relationship,
forming synergy/joint activities. Find that very refreshing.
I’m recalling that SATS was geared towards serving a single agency and operations of the state
system. They did not take into account very well the operations of the local roadways/streets.
The public doesn’t care who operates the roadways.

104

Topic: General Question
Question: b) Do you see ways that PARA studies could be improved?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

The PARA studies are pretty formulaic. Scope seems to follow the same formula. A lot of the
program managers are following the same planning methodology. We should have some scope
options, steps that you can omit and add to a scope.
• Having all PARA apps go through the COGs as a requirement. This will ensure that the
transportation planning throughout the region is consistent with the TACs vision. It will also help
the COG/MPO planner understand their region better.

MPO/COG

• PARA applications should go through the COG. One of our tribes went through without COG
and it was poorly put together (thereby setting a precedent for poor applications). Without the
technical assistance, it will not be funded, got it. It’s important for COG planners to know who’s
going on, and know which communities applied for what. It should be a requirement.
Application should at least go through the COG signature line or at least during the PARA
process. More regional input issues plays out on a regional basis.
• They do have limited staff internally. I find it difficult to keep our locals engaged. This is their
study and not an ADOT study. They understand that we need their participation throughout the
study. I have to keep reminding them about reviews and drafts. This is tiring for me as a project
manager. Maybe if there’s a fee, a match, so they have some skin in the game. That’s a double
edge sword in itself.
•How studies can be integrated into the other processes such as the 5 yrs. construction program
and the STIP process.

ADOT Planning

• Even participation with local COG and MPOs, you’re not always working with the technical
advisory person of the region. Making sure there’s an education component as to what are your
next steps.
• Some jurisdictions have done their studies over and over again. Also new consultants, I had to
go through and help them understand what’s expected to come out of the study. Maybe
consultant training to streamline the process.
• We have a lot of problems releasing out RFP and assignments with one person who gets
bogged very quickly. We don’t have enough procurement staff get studies wrapped out 9‐12
months ideally. We might want to get additional staff.
•Educate the PARA recipients on the product and what opportunities the program can provide.

Local
Jurisdictions

•Economic development is a focus. If there’s a way (i.e., freight study, that can show roadway
linking port of entries and industries).
•The RTP is a more global product, PARA is something more focused. We don’t have the funding
to implement recommendations, PARA could help us identify funding.

105

Topic: General Question
Question: b) Do you see ways that PARA studies could be improved?
• Some issues that you don’t get a lot of attention. If a local jurisdiction wins the PARA grant,
local support might not be great, public works might be asking why? There is no broad‐based
commitment to the study. If during the project selection process, there is a way to gauge their
broad‐based engagement. Help us get their data, and produce better end products.
Technical
Consultants

Small jurisdictions are so focused on everything (Many times, the planner is also the town
architect, and public works director), there is no staff dedicated to getting data.
•Perception that it’s free money, they might not have bought into the money. Jurisdictions
might try to hide behind ADOT if it’s a somewhat controversial issue. How do we get the locals
to become more engaged. Speak up, take ownership. The local jurisdictions have no skin in the
game.

ADOT MPD
Management

Listening to our customers’ needs, so we don’t miss them. Sometimes people ask stuff that we
can’t deliver. We have requests in the past that came in for capital purchasing and equipment,
the intention of transportation planning isn’t to meet these needs. We rarely turn down
applications.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I don’t have enough experience with entire process from an evaluation or selection process
standpoint.

Tribal

I didn’t have anything. No

ADOT Division
Staff

ADOT and county/city staff find the process useful, but local agencies and officials don’t know
what to do with it. When findings are presented to local agency staff, some agencies are better
than that others at using as a planning tool. Especially when multiple local agencies are
collaborating on a product, the elected officials do not know what’s going on (a lot of the times
staff is spread thin) with smaller communities when they get pulled into the study. It might be
the town clerk who does everything and there’s no safety engineer. It might by the city
superintendents who might not know certain knowledge. Expect to do a little bit of
handholding, and perhaps a primer on basic transportation planning should be part of the
presentation of findings. So that elected officials know what’s being presented.
Some of the issues that were identified were not as realistic. Ideas that are way out in the future
or will never happen. Maybe we shouldn’t go so far out that we lose public interest; focus more
on the short term improvements. Maybe identify some funding sources and prioritize these
strategies.

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Topic: Technical/Planning
Question: a) Are PARA studies addressing all the transportation planning topics of interest for your community?
If not, what other topic areas would you suggest?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

They cover most and almost all of the planning topics. The biggest issue is to involve the district
in the writing of study scope because they would include things that we don’t know about in the
central office. A topic area we don’t currently study is mobility or how to efficiently move
people from one place to another.

MPO/COG

• Specific areas such as safety, pedestrian‐safety, bike safety; cross‐walks, and transit
coordination in connection with road and street safety – among other things. The list of PARA
eligible projects is pretty comprehensive.
•Allowing the COGs to use the PARA study to do a region wide study. They are not required to
do transportation studies like the MPOs, nor do they have planning funds to do a study. A
region‐wide study on specific regional needs would be fantastic.
• Airports. I was told that we should focus on interconnectivity with airport and not actual
airport planning.
• I like to see a little bit more rail. AZ is not a heavy rail state. We offer that, but we have limited
rail network.

ADOT Planning

• MAP‐21 requires us to do a freight plan. Direct our locals to start thinking about. We rarely
turn PARA applications down based on the topic. We usually turn down PARA apps because
their scope isn’t well developed.
• I’ve been emphasizing safety more than usual in local jurisdictions. Focus in on a specific area
or concerns get the local jurisdictions more focus.

Local
Jurisdictions

Technical
Consultants

It’s been powerful. Where we run into a problem is ADOT PARA being such as oversight
program. We’re just one contact. Having that technical assistance, we needed a little bit more
mentoring and translate that into a document that could be sent to the supervisors (with nice
graphic piece). How are able to go through the process of assessing existing needs, brainstorm
alternatives, and come up with engineering solution?
• Land use and transportation are so tied together. In some cases, it might be more beneficial
for the studies to venture little bit into land use planning. This study can be a platform for
recognizing the alternatives (i.e., a roadway alignment might be pivoting off the land use). I do
like how ADOT has broadened the range of topics within the past 2 to 3 years. Broaden to
corridor studies, it’s been a beneficial expansion in scope.
• ADOT restrictions of directing PARA towards rural areas. There are Issues with state highways
that serve as main streets in the Tucson the region that are beneficial for ADOT or local
jurisdictions. It would be beneficial for somewhere like Oro Valley (which is not eligible because
they’re in PAG), if they can do a multimodal specific plan. This could also be done with a non‐
MPD study that perhaps isn’t focused on rural planning.

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Topic: Technical/Planning
Question: a) Are PARA studies addressing all the transportation planning topics of interest for your community?
If not, what other topic areas would you suggest?

ADOT MPD
Management

Are communities asking for the right kind of topics? I believe they are. We were traditionally
getting corridor /small area type of request. That was fine, but that’s not necessarily everything
that the communities wanted. It’s grown to a multimodal study, transit, pedestrian or bike
heavy study. My impression is we’re doing the right thing. When general plans are due, some
communities don’t have money to complete them, we’ve helped out with their transportation
elements. When local communities see the values they’re getting, they will look into other
topics.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Respondents did not answer this question.

Tribal

I think the PARA was good; it addressed everything.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

108

Topic: Technical/Planning
Question: c) The PARA program is intended to address local needs. To what extent should state highways be
addressed by PARA studies?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

I do, state highways are main streets. It should be included. They’re arteries for our local rural
communities. It should be in context, I don’t want to do corridor studies under the PARA
program, but they should be analyzed as a part of a transportation needs study.

MPO/COG

The District Engineers should ALWAYS be involved. Their roads run into and out of each local
road.
• They are often main streets for communities…locals will have issues on the state routes
(especially in the public involvement portion). You can’t do area wide studies without looking at
the state route. It’s a functional system no matters who owns it.

ADOT Planning

• We’re in the business of moving traffic. We recognize our highways as significant routes
through the areas. We don’t necessarily support putting driveways and stop lights on those
freeways. Cities might want businesses, additional access. It’s difficult to create a plan that will
be the city’s, but it’s hard, because it contradicts what ADOT is trying to achieve internally. We
need to be very clear with them (maybe with a disclaimer?) if their design policy doesn’t meet
out criteria. State routes are ADOT’s responsibility. Whatever recommendations come out of
there will have to comply with ADOT’s requirement.
• Route transfer study to see if the route meets the transfer criteria. We would rather get rid of
those routes. Transfer them back to the locals. When there’s a state route involved have that in
the dialogue.

Local
Jurisdictions

•Yes, state highways should be addressed. They are often the rural traffic main corridor is, if it
doesn’t include these roadways, then the study is not effective. •How do you manage the issues
of identifying needed improvements on the state facilities? Or that needs are different to state
policies?
•We’re working with the ADOT district. Payson had an RSA on our state highway intersections.
•When you’re aligning study, local entities should make sure that comments from PARA/SATS
studies are incorporated the 5‐year RTP program. For one of my PARA studies, 68% of the traffic
are moving between state and county roads.

Technical
Consultants

State highways are key from corridor and behavioral land use, specific plans for one two miles
stretch of the roadways; if PARA can come up with some design guidelines, and key policies,
that could be useful. If you’d get applications like that and they’re ranked with other issues,
chances are these roadway specific plans would rise to the top.

ADOT MPD
Management

In Arizona, you can’t avoid it. State highways are often the main street. PARA studies support
the state transportation system and the community as well. The communities should have a
voice on how the facility works, as the local arterials often run into US highways.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Respondents did not answer this question.

109

Topic: Technical/Planning
Question: c) The PARA program is intended to address local needs. To what extent should state highways be
addressed by PARA studies?

Tribal

To the extent that the community feels it’s necessary. We have state highways going through
our reservations. ADOT obviously do their own studies, I don’t think we need to duplicate effort
so much. Don’t need to spend that much money that we get on the PARA grant on something
that ADOT already studied. However, we can also request that if that’s a concern. For instance,
we have a lot of safety/high crash segment located next to the state highways in our area. We
now have information on area and could show to the state that it’s an area of concern.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

110

Topic: Technical/Planning
Question: d) Currently, PARA applications ask local jurisdictions to identify needs that a planning study could
address. Would it be helpful for needs assessment to be an eligible topic for a PARA study?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Most of our studies are small and the communities have a pretty good idea of what they need.
The most successful studies are the ones where needs are identified internally. This is different
question – needs assessment to study ‐ we don’t have much money to do that. Communities
should aware of topic areas they’re interested in. If not, they’re not really ready to do a PARA.
We kind of do that in the scope development for a PARA project when we customize the study
to topics they’re interested in.

MPO/COG

If they don’t know their needs assessment, they definitely need a needs assessment. Absolutely,
it would be really good for some of these small communities, have someone bring it up.
Sometimes they don’t have the resources to think about these needs.

ADOT Planning

That’s one thing we’re trying to implement in the next PARA round. Thor Anderson developed a
draft feasibility study. Basically we can develop the purpose and needs up front, and identify a
corridor.

Local
Jurisdictions

Maybe this could be a separate mini needs assessment grant ($3‐$4 k) to bring in a consultant
to let us know possible topic areas.

Technical
Consultants

Most of the PARA studies are pretty broad and not focused to begin with. Would that be a
separate study? I think if you did, it might be a $10,000 on call assignment. I wouldn’t think it
would be a full PARA per se. It would help them know what to apply for.

ADOT MPD
Management

It probably would. I’d be cautious…I don’t want to be dictating what the local communities’
needs are. For instance, RSA is a needs analysis of safety improvements. Maybe PARA program
can have a check list that they can consider. It shouldn’t be a state DOT or consultant coming in
with a check list. Local choices are personal. We can help them conduct a system health check.
What can make the system healthy?

ADOT Public
Involvement

Respondents did not answer this question.

Tribal

I think that’d be useful. We didn’t have a long range transportation plan, so it was clear to me
that we needed that. Now that it’s in place for a few more years, if needs assessment is part of
a PARA, I can see where it could be useful.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

111

Topic: Project Administration
Question: a) How satisfied are you with project management provided by ADOT?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

They do a good job.
•There could be more interest in working with the COGs on each PARA award. Justin does a
great job in managing the relationship between ADOT, local gov’t and consultants. When I do go
to the TAC meeting, depending on the consultant, it might be the consultant leading the
direction, instead of what the locals want. Sometimes, it’s out of Justin’s hand, and the local
jurisdictions or consultants might not want to send the COGs participation.

MPO/COG

•Quality of the studies is less than desired. Quite often, no funding identified, use ADOT general
funding. Lacking in what’s your next steps. PARA studies should include a timeline and
accountability for local areas. ADOT should say what your progress needs to be. If the PARA
study says a recommendation is going to cost more money and the local can afford it, local
jurisdictions should identify next steps. If not the locals just need to write a report that they
can’t do it. It shows that they’ve looked at it.

ADOT Planning

We’re going to skip this one.

Local
Jurisdictions

• Average.
• Karen had a really good working relationship with Mark Hoffman.
• We appreciate the administrative assistance.

Technical
Consultants

I’m satisfied. I don’t think any of the management issues are ADOT’s doing. The challenging part
is keeping local participants engaged.

ADOT MPD
Management

I’m very proud of the program and the project managers (their professionalism). You see their
passion when they know they’re making a difference in the local communities. We’ve also
made a lot of changes to the program. Internal changes to make the program as more effective.
I beat my people up about getting our transportation planning money out there, get as many
projects out and running, stretch our bounds. We can always do better.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I’ve had great experience, they’re committed.

Tribal

It’s great! We had Misty Dayzie, she’s on top of it, doesn’t let things fall between the cracks.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

112

Topic: Project Administration
Question: b) i) Do you think that the current policy of no local match should be altered? If so, do you have a
suggestion? Why?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

No opinion. It is fine that as already is. If there is local match, I wouldn’t make it too big. A
couple of jurisdictions keep applying through the PARA program and would do it regardless of
PARA match requirement. We should make it a point that the same jurisdictions don’t win every
single time. They’ll be studying the same issues to death… We should Incentivize these
communities to close their project, and spread the resource to other topics or communities. For
instance, consider excluding a jurisdiction if it has an ongoing project.

MPO/COG

• Probably won’t have the same level of participation.
• Possible: Right now it is an ADOT project (or consultant project). Often the community doesn’t
really feel it is their study. If the LG provides a match, perhaps they will have the opportunity to
participate in it as a local study, rather than an ADOT study. Could be weighed in‐kind in some
way.
• Most rural agencies may not have the match funds in this economy. Especially if nothing
comes of the study. Having a study for the sake of a study has been the norm.
• Idea and concept are good. The logistics of it might be messy. Local match has to do a JPA and
that process takes 6 months. We haven’t found a way to make it doable to get it on schedule.

ADOT Planning

• SATS studies used to have to be JPA. It was almost impossible to get JPAs with tribes. It’s big
hindrance for tribes to apply. Adding this is something that’s outside of our control. We should
be focusing our schedule within 12 months. We need the locals to have some skin in the game.
• People just show up…it feels like it’s my meeting…a lot of times the local just wants to melt
into the background. We should figure out how to put them more in a project management
role.

Local
Jurisdictions

Technical
Consultants

No required match, local jurisdictions probably won’t participate.
•I do not think it should be altered. It’s important to the local jurisdictions. Local communities
often don’t have many resources, and too many other priorities.
• The only case I can see it being altered is involving tangible products such as software
(pavement management software or GIS software). Generally speaking id say no. Local match
introduces complexity with JPA, that could slow down the process.
•There are other ways to get their skin in the game such as requiring a council resolution or
signature of the planning director as part of the application process, or etc.

ADOT MPD
Management

I’m continuously looking at ways to improve the program and the processes. Funding is an issue
I’ve given a lot of thoughts to. I’m weary about requiring match. You get into a situation of
have’s or haves not. Communities who do not have means, might not be able to provide the
match. We might not be able to get to those in needs or get the most applicants.

113

Topic: Project Administration
Question: b) i) Do you think that the current policy of no local match should be altered? If so, do you have a
suggestion? Why?
ADOT Public
Involvement

I don’t see necessary the need to match, the program is focused on providing funding for cities
that otherwise they won’t be able to do. Asking them to participate is contradictory to the
program. If they have money, that could influence the selection process.

Tribal

I think it’s always nice. If commitment were an issue, matching might weed out the folks who
might otherwise drop out. If we are required to provide a match, we do have minimal funds
from the BIA and we could chip in some. Hopefully, it’s like a lower, would they do something
like a non‐federal share like 5.7% for AZ. Hopefully, it’d be small enough that these rural
communities can afford it.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

114

Topic: Project Administration
Question: b) ii) If a local jurisdiction could have more say in PARA programs administration (i.e., consultant
selection, project funding), but would also be required to have higher matching requirement, would that be
appropriate?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

We are getting a lot of feedback from local jurisdictions. For example, if communities don’t like
a consultant, we don’t choose this consultant. They have a say in it. I don’t have a problem.

MPO/COG

Respondents did not answer this question.
• They have all the say they want. When I manage a tribal Para study, I defer a lot of the major
decisions to the tribal person. If I’m sensing that it’s not going to be done in a timeline manner,
then I do a little bit of probing. If they’re passive and we allow them to take lead, they might
never get done. Some SATS stagnate for years.

ADOT Planning

• When it comes to selecting Tribal studies (individual releases/rap) tribes are more allowed in
the selection process. For non‐tribal studies, we’ll release them in groups (for example
circulation studies), so we don’t allow local jurisdictions to sit in in the consultant panel. We
allow them to fill out scoring criteria and they voice their opinions. They’re not allowed to
attend the meeting.

Local
Jurisdictions

Local involvement shouldn’t have to be matched with local funds. It’s technically costing money
for the county for me to participate in the PARA process. If it’s matching fund in kind, we might
be able to go through the MPO.

Technical
Consultants

I find it odd that locals don’t have as much say might be why they’re not as engaged. If they’re
actually in the proposal review and ADOT can help them see they’re a partner in this process,
maybe ADOT will get better results.

ADOT MPD
Management

See answer to previous question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

See answer to previous question.

Tribal

Well we didn’t have the issue. We were part of the consultant selection team, so I don’t have a
problem with that.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

115

Topic: Project Administration
Question: b) ii) 1) If so, what do you think is the appropriate level of matching?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

I would limit higher match ratio and have it depend on size of jurisdictions. If population under
10k, no match ratio, since these jurisdictions don’t have much staff or resources. Additional
thresholds could be: 10k‐40k, 50k (transit threshold small urban/rural), 50k‐200k (these are the
communities that keep coming back). 20% is probably a good number (since that is also the
amount for federal matching funds).

MPO/COG

• I would prefer there be no match, but 5.7% is good. This is the same amount for all our
road/street funding levels. Smaller communities are more financially constrained. I’d prefer not
to see any match at all.
•I’ve heard from the NACOG region that they’d like do a regional study that tie all their previous
PARA studies. 20 some odd jurisdictions. It’d be more than $250k. We’ve never made it clear
whether they could put local money on top of the $250k. We could create a way to supplement
our fund.
•Whenever we raise the limit, the locals just go for the largest amount without consideration
for their scope and budget.

ADOT Planning

• We need to have some kind of outline on the studies that can be done with certain amount of
money. Depending on size of communities, I think their should be some kind of guideline. this is
what you’d get out of for with this particular type of money. (Direct them to the website for
reference). PM often ask how much to ask for? We don’t advertise our budget to the
consultant.
•They need to know how much of the public involvement portion come out of the total. Be
aware that x % will go to public involvement.

Local
Jurisdictions

See answer to last question.

Technical
Consultants

See answer to last question.

ADOT MPD
Management

See answer to last question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I would rather be they’re more hands on and take on more ownership. From a funding stand
point, if they have money behind it, that might influence that more.

Tribal

See answer to last question.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

116

Topic: Project Administration
Question: b) iii) Currently, there’s a $250k limit to PARA project funding. Do you think there should
be a stated limit? If so, what is a reasonable limit to PARA project funding?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

That’s a big project budget. It’s great.

MPO/COG

• Yes, there should be a limit to each study, and the amount should remain the
same. Once the application is completed, and the scope is finalized, then the
amount can be determined. Some studies will be much less than $250K.
• If a needed study within the state is identified, and all agree, award it more
than $250K.

ADOT Planning

See answer to last question.

Local Jurisdictions

The $250 k limit seems reasonable. It keeps funding available for a wider range
of studies. The amount would probably be right for regional transportation plans.
Probably too high if the focus is to small focuses study. I’m surprised they raised
it!

Technical
Consultants

With the number of applicants, It seems to be a good number, the funding of the
program is stable and consistent. They’re dealing out a pretty good number of
projects, last cycle PARA had 22 applicants. If you increase it by too much, they
might be interpreted as favoritism for certain jurisdictions. Who’s to say one
town’s issues are more important than another town’s?

ADOT MPD
Management

I’m comfortable with the 250k$, someone could come in with a $1 million
regional issue. Something of that magnitude should be a regional issue solved at
the MPO level. I thought the limit should go down. Scope can expand to reach
that $250k and max out at $250k. For awhile, it seems all the project applications
did. At one point, we probably want to sit down and talk to people about what’s
the appropriate funding amount.

ADOT Public
Involvement

It’s not one size fits all some jurisdictions might have more detailed work that
requires more than a set limit.

Tribal

I thought that was appropriate, the amount provided for everything we needed
in the PARA study.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

117

Topic: Project Administration
Question: b) iv) If the cost of a PARA study is greater than the $250k, should local match be considered to fill in
the gap?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Yes, if they want a bigger budget, they should pay on top of it. There’s one community that I
know of that keeps on adding things to the work scope. In this case PARA did have local match
for the rest above the awarded amount. I’d call it “excess” funds.

MPO/COG

No more than the 5.7%, unless the community can actually afford it. Although, we should
determine if there is really a need for that.

ADOT Planning

See answer to last question.

Local
Jurisdictions

Agree with the previous answer, I wouldn’t change anything.

Technical
Consultants

Case by case basis. I know one case where that did happen. There were additional scope not in
the original application, and the locals did fill in the gap.

ADOT MPD
Management

That’s border lining on a MPO issue, maybe they should kick in…

ADOT Public
Involvement

Yes, I think if we’re determined 250k is the limit. Now id the locals want to delve in further
local match should be contributed.

Tribal

Yes, definitely, if the community wants to do more than that.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

118

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) i) Should other ADOT staff be involved in the application selection? If so, who are they?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Yes, we should have input of the district engineer that might be affected.

MPO/COG

• District engineer should be involved. It depends on the study. If a transit study is considered,
an ADOT transit rep probably should be there. The same for other very specific studies.
• I would like to see a COG/MPOs representative on the panel. We could rotate.

ADOT Planning

Transit planners should be involved if transit is part of the study. Maybe someone from
predesign. Thor will sit in this year. Environmental person should sit in.

Local
Jurisdictions

District staff or someone who’s familiar with the area.

Technical
Consultants

District engineers (for state highways). Maybe one seat that rotates internally within ADOT, on a
rational basis. Someone from MPD goes into the state engineering group evaluation panel and
so on.

ADOT MPD
Management

• I’m ok with it. If I were to change anything, it would be to include the operations/district
engineer folks. They’re the face to the local communities. I would consider district engineering
staff or their designees.
• Not sure about Local representatives? The reason it hasn’t been done in the past…is to keep it
untainted. Someone who is eligible to sit on the panel, they might be biased.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I think so, Public involvement should. There might be some political sensitiveness around things
and we can help that a bit. We know the politics behind jurisdictions’ needs for studying a
project and provide some insight into it.

Tribal

It depends on what they’re applying for, for example Safety, they might want the local
maintenance district or some ADOT safety folks. For us, it’d be the Phoenix maintenance
district. We were doing a transportation planning, so the planners were fine. It depends on what
they’re applying for. It’s probably up to the ADOT project manager, but it should be based on
what the community’s applying for.

ADOT Division
Staff

It depends on what they’re applying for, for example Safety, they might want the local
maintenance district or some ADOT safety folks. For us, it’d be the Phoenix maintenance
district. We were doing a transportation planning, so the planners were fine. It depends on what
they’re applying for. It’s probably up to the ADOT project manager, but it should be based on
what the community’s applying for.

119

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) ii) Is the current application selection process easy to understand? If not, how could it be clarified?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Not applicable. No opinion.

MPO/COG

The project selection IS NOT transparent. I have no idea how ADOT chooses the projects, or
why. With some of our ADOT project, it involves some MPO/COG planner. Maybe COG planner
can be on a review planner, and we can alternate from one year to the next. COG and MPOs
can give a local jurisdiction regional perspectives.

ADOT Planning

•I think it’s getting easier…it’s certainly not a cut and dry process.
•It would be helpful to have a group discussion of scoring to see what exactly is meant by that.
So people get a good sense of project scoring.

Local
Jurisdictions

•There could be example of studies, or topic/project examples. LTAP could offer some
examples.
•ADOT have some sort of PARA webinar. Perhaps there needs to be a more detailed timeline
for the PARA process.

Technical
Consultants

Not applicable.

ADOT MPD
Management

I’m not the right person to answer the question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I just don’t know a lot about the application process….

Tribal

It was pretty easy.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

120

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) iii) The existing criteria for PARA applications are:
●Overall Project Considerations: 0‐20 points; ●Demonstration of Need for Study: 0‐25 points;
●Incorporation of Planning Elements: 0‐15 points; ●Demonstration of Community Support: 0‐15 points;
●Benefits the State, Region, and/or Community: 0‐25 points.
In your opinion, are these criteria appropriate? Would you rank/weigh these criteria differently? Would you add
or remove evaluation criteria?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Currently it feels like what gets a lot of weight is if the project manager thinks it’s a fun study to
do. There should be weight for smaller communities, since larger communities should have
more funding.

MPO/COG

The criteria is good, but there is nothing about the quality of the grant. One of our tribes
submitted a grant. One of our other grants, written perfectly .This is important, as many are
awarded based upon need, yet provided a very incomplete or badly written grant. This tells
those who write a sloppy grant that they will get funded anyway. A very bad policy. There
should be submittal guidelines.

ADOT Planning

Local
Jurisdictions

•Planning element is 15 points. When I read through the application sometimes, they don’t
even mention it is 0. Maybe we increase that to 25 points. If they have letter of support from
communities, stakeholders might see this as a benefit (5th criteria).
•Possible way of framing planning element: How does this plan meet…instead of giving them
this is what the element is? Check list of element. With one sentence line…does this or does this
not address the element?
•Maybe the benefits to state, region, and/or community can be weighted individually with less
emphasis on the state aspect of it (To the state 0‐5 points).
•Demonstration of community support (not sure how important it is). It seems inherent in
planning work that garnering tons of local support might be premature. For instance, we can
have local support and then if your PARA doesn’t go through, the community might be left with
expectations. Maybe reduce demonstration of community support.
• Possible new criteria: Relevant linkage to RTP, comp plan or general plan.
• Demonstration for need and apply could be 10‐ 15 at most. hah

Technical
Consultants

•Demonstration of community support should be a little bit higher. When you have more
solidarity in community support, chamber of commerce, main street, the points and weight
should be more. This should probably be rephrased as demonstration of sponsoring
town/agency for supporting/undertaking the effort.
•Overall project considerations: that seems a bit murky and it’s worth 20 point?

ADOT MPD
Management

I’m not the right person to answer the question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I think they’re weighted appropriately. There could be more emphasis on working towards
business case perspective. That might require more weight. Also community support, do they
have input from their communities, is this what their communities want?

121

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) iii) The existing criteria for PARA applications are:
●Overall Project Considerations: 0‐20 points; ●Demonstration of Need for Study: 0‐25 points;
●Incorporation of Planning Elements: 0‐15 points; ●Demonstration of Community Support: 0‐15 points;
●Benefits the State, Region, and/or Community: 0‐25 points.
In your opinion, are these criteria appropriate? Would you rank/weigh these criteria differently? Would you add
or remove evaluation criteria?
Tribal

I think the criteria are fine.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

122

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) iv) Do you think past implementation status should factor into the PARA application review
process?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Yes

MPO/COG

• Subjective, if they identify needs, but they don’t have the resource to implement them. Do
you punish them? That should be weighted.
• YES. Many PARAs or SATS simply sat on the shelf, with no action to implement any part of the
study. These studies need to be followed through.

ADOT Planning

I think it’s very helpful. I learn a lot about the cities’ dedication to utilizing the plan. Another
thing that can be used to justify existence of this program to the FHWA, if we can show to them
this is an effective program.

Local
Jurisdictions

Implementation is more of an indicator for funding availability and typically there’s not much
money to implement recommendations. Since recommendation implementation takes on a
more incremental process/planning, PARA should look to see if studies are reiterating the same
conclusions or delving into specific areas and providing more implementation
recommendations.

Technical
Consultants

It depends on what the last study focused on what they’ve done it. If it’s the same
transportation planning topic that was done a few years ago, then yes you need to look at their
implementation status. Otherwise, if it’s a general plan update that should take place every 10
years, then no.

ADOT MPD
Management

This would be a good internal ADOT measurement/information, and gather quality of the
product that we’re providing. However, it but shouldn’t be the factor. For a small community,
Somerton, the only opportunity is to go through their MPO. They might not necessarily have the
opportunity to fund those recommendations. This might have unintended consequences.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I would agree with that. If there’s no advancement, why should we focus on the communities
that aren’t moving the dial? It’s also difficult for jurisdictions to find the funding for
implementation.

Tribal

No, because people change, and communities change. So maybe they’ve had something done
before, but they just didn’t get to that point yet. Elected officials, council, and priorities change.
Might also be changes in external things and staff. They might not be at the level to implement
the recommendations. There are circumstances where that’s hard to do, maybe the desire’s still
there. I don’t think so.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

123

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) v) Should PARA applications be focused on a different transportation planning theme each year; for
example, setting aside a percentage for sustainability or safety, etc.?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

No themes for each year. That’s a waste. It’s become arbitrary and not about needs. Then it
becomes what ADOT wants to plan.

MPO/COG

•Maybe: But it might be years before a particular planning theme gets around to what is
needed in a particular local government.
•I think it’s a good idea. Transportation enhancements did that. I think it’d be worth looking
into.

ADOT Planning

Respondents did not answer this question.

Local
Jurisdictions

No, then you reduce the flexibility in applying the money to different issues. Also, how can
local jurisdictions plan for the theme of the year? We often have needs or issues lined up that
we want to drill down to our ideas. There’s just too much uncertainty.

Technical
Consultants

No, the issues don’t come up that way. Themes are developed organically by the communities.
Instead, there should be a clearer definition into eligible problem types. For example,
sustainability and safety could broaden the net of eligibility.

ADOT MPD
Management

No it’s hard to match theme with community needs. We don’t want to dictate to the
communities what to focus on. The benefit of the program is that it morphs into their needs.

ADOT Public
Involvement

It wouldn’t be a bad idea. It could provide more opportunities for projects to be accepted for
PARA program.

Tribal

No. That should be up to the community needs. Every local jurisdiction is different and it
should be what’s useful. It should be geared towards locals.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

124

Topic: Project Administration
Question: c) vi) In your opinion, what would attract new applicants to apply for the PARA program?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

For smaller communities, it’s hard for them to get going on it. There’s a need at the COG level
to mentor communities in this. If the communities knew it’s not the same people always
applying. We get a lot of applicants, so if we limit it to new applicants. A lot of outreach of COG,
GOVs delivery system (ADOT mass email system – listservs ), and a flyer that goes to all city
manager. Highlight the fact that we want communities that haven’t applied in the last year. We
could ask our graphics, marketing, and communications people to help us with the outreach.
Transit does workshop for example. Perhaps, there could PARA application workshop that walk
new applicants through the process?

MPO/COG

The COG/MPOs need to know their region and what the needs are. The only way local
governments will apply is if the COG/MPOs help them determine what type of study they need,
and what to do with it after they get the study. Transportation planners talk about them with
the local communities, start my conversation with them in December when the applications are
due in June. COG Planners would spend more time talking about PARA studies, if COG were
involved.

ADOT Planning

Local
Jurisdictions
Technical
Consultants

•Giving presentations on the program and the application process will be, and what activities
will be eligible. I think we’re doing on a good job already. A lot of local jurisdictions know about
them. We could have a PARA summit.
•Now it’s became we’ve had more applications than funding. We need more planners. Our
program is extremely popular, we can’t do all the studies. It remains competitive…the local and
tribal have that no match, they have to do their best to demonstrate their needs.
Just knowing what the opportunities the program can provide. Program managers can go to
different jurisdictions and COGs, small groups and discussions,
•Broaden the eligibility to some fringe areas that aren’t currently eligible: (i.e., Catalina, ore
valley) where the state highway system runs through.
•Broaden the project type and expand the realm of topics. Transportation issues that focus on
interaction between regional and local areas (although, might be more of a Tucson issue).

ADOT MPD
Management

See answer to previous question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

More flexibility… I’m not sure if I have an answer.

Tribal

Explaining different types of projects that fall into the PARA program. My first priority is done,
long range plan is done…so knowing what the PARA grants can be used for, so it might flow back
to your needs assessment question…. These are the things that PARA can do for you.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

125

Topic: Consultant Selection
Question: a) (For local jurisdictions) Have the consultants selected by ADOT been effective in understanding
your community’s needs and in developing project recommendations?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Respondents did not answer this question.

MPO/COG

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Planning

Respondents did not answer this question.

Local
Jurisdictions

•One good experience and bad experience. Urban outreach is very different from rural
outreach and we need to give directions to the consultant on interaction and attires with the
locals. For Yuma County, they did a good job.
•The only problem is identifying the scope. We weren’t satisfied with the results. We didn’t
have the consultant on board and there was a bit of scope creep regarding the direction of the
project, that was a challenge for the consultant and funding.

Technical
Consultants

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT MPD
Management

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Respondents did not answer this question.

Tribal

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

126

Topic: Consultant Selection
Question: b) (For local jurisdictions) Do you have access to the consultants during the period of the PARA study?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Respondents did not answer this question.

MPO/COG

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT
Planning

Respondents did not answer this question.

Local
Jurisdictions

Yes, it is Important to have access. Another relevant question is whether the consultants feel like
they’re working for the state versus working for the local jurisdictions?

Technical
Consultants

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT MPD
Management

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Respondents did not answer this question.

Tribal

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT
Division Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

127

Topic: Recommendations Implementation
Question: a) What are some difficulties to implementing recommendations?
Responding
Group

ADOT Transit

Responses
It depends on how recommendations are packaged. Some of it is their experience in doing it. In
Wickenburg, we had maps that had recommendations of what to do and outline of these
recommendations. They took this information and put them on all grants applications. There
were local determinedness and champion. The community told us which projects they wanted
and we could package them accordingly.
Funding is always an issue. In Wickenburg, they were 100% focused on their economic
development side of it, we have focused on chamber of commerce. In this case, business and
transportation needs coincided and the community wants these changes to happen. Community
cohesiveness is not something that ADOT gets to influence to strongly. As we do outreach to
business, it is important to get their buy in.
• Funding
• Not determining the clear needs of the area (well I can do that in the HSIP money).
• Changing of elected officials or managers in the communities (their priorities and
determination change)

MPO/COG

• Change in staff. Some hold a need higher than others. COG needs to pick up the phone to
continue the conversation.
• Studies should provide a clear outline of the need, then determine reasonable funding
avenues (if not then why are you studying it?), along with implementation timelines. Need to
identify the next steps.

ADOT Planning

I think it’s local resources. We vet the project timeline with them, here’s your 5 yr., 10 yr, and
your 20 yrs. We try to identify the funding sources that would be available to them. . I think it’s
all about money. Sometime, council change out, and they don’t champion some of the
recommendations.

Local
Jurisdictions

Funding, community support, right of way to implement recommendations. Also, our in‐house
staffing capacity (for example, interns).

Technical
Consultants

•Constrained local funding.
•Staffing unfamiliarity with pursuing grant applications.
•Possible PARA topic – support for grants implementation/application. Support for Next Steps
for applicants who have just completed the PARA.

ADOT MPD
Management

Sufficient resources or staff. Abilities to procure the right resource. Sometimes the
recommendations require the technical expertise to implement it.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Funding, public acceptance, in some cases, we’ve e studied something and the cities clearly
don’t want it. Yuma project comes to mind. Proposed future corridor that’s been identified and
highly opposed in the Yuma area. The feedback has been we don’t want it, why are you looking
at it?

Tribal

Elected officials and staffing and stuff like that.

128

Topic: Recommendations Implementation
Question: a) What are some difficulties to implementing recommendations?
ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

129

Topic: Recommendations Implementation
Question: b) Would it be useful for ADOT to track the status of local jurisdictions’ recommendation
implementation? If so, how could the information be useful?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Yes, it would be useful. ADOT has happily gone along and done all these planning. It would be
helpful to send out a survey, check in on their progress on implementation. Ask the locals why
has this not be implemented? It would be good for PARA planners to know that this is not an
option, quit using that approach “gives us feedback.” For instance, we could send out a
notification such as “At end of the PARA process, we have recommended xxx, we would like to
follow up for the next five –ten years. Did you implement these recommendations? if not, how
did you modify it? Each year, we would send the notification out.

MPO/COG

Yes, ADOT needs to follow it and the locals need to show accountability.

ADOT Planning

There will be value, but we’d have to hire more staff. It could serve as a performance measure
and be an opportunity for the jurisdictions to share information about how one’s been done to
implement.
•Not really sure what the value is. Would this be tracking the repetition of recommendations?

Local
Jurisdictions

•Although implementation status could be used to track trends of certain implementation or
see where needs might be in a community (for instance if we need additional staffing, like a
mapper).
•It could also be used to justify the PARA program, go to the state and Washington with the
proven benefits.

Technical
Consultants

Sounds like an administrative nightmare, might be too much like a “big brother.” So many
variables that influence local decisions why something’s implemented over something else.
From a local perspective, there are so many factors that it perhaps neutralizes the point of
keeping track of projects.

ADOT MPD
Management

Maybe the Cambridge team should recommend a recommendation implementation steps,
process, and schedule.

ADOT Public
Involvement

I think it would demonstrate the purpose of the studies. Yes, I think ADOT should track that.

Tribal

I don’t see where that would be useful. Maybe they can do follow ups, hey is everything ok? Are
there any barriers? I don’t think they should keep track. That seems a little bit like “big
brothers.”

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

130

Topic: Public Involvement
Question: a) How does the public outreach process contribute to the ADOT PARA studies?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Makes a big difference. They give us a better idea of specific needs of the community and how
to meet those needs. The outreach events I’ve attended had 30 or 40 people, and they gave us
very specific feedback/ideas.

MPO/COG

Extremely weak. Consultants put on a great show for 3 people.
• I’ve been trying to get the TAC to think of innovative ways to use survey monkey and ways to
move forward other than traditional meetings. Online stuff is often better depending on the
audience. What do you guys want? What’s your demographics (how can we reach out to them
better).

ADOT Planning

Local
Jurisdictions

• Most successful meetings have been with our corridor study. We send adjacent property
owners notifications about road constructions. I’d rather have a turnout. Other than mailer or
flyer on utility bills weren’t particularly effective and we got three people in the meeting. Direct
mailing is expensive, and requires freeing your consultant up on other matters, so they have
money for that mailing. Approach to advertising for the meeting is critical.
•If it’s a very technical case, In kind‐assistance from local government should be required.
Otherwise it would fail in my county (Cochise). I’ve had better success when the consultant
themselves were doing the outreach. It seems the ADOT in‐house outreach was inefficient and
there were gaps. •Public outreach could gauge public support, and gather different ideas.
•Most of the consultants are utterly confused about where ADOT is headed with public
involvements.

Technical
Consultants

•PARA project manager called me up and didn’t know what’s going on and all the public
outreach money has been spent on one particular consultant who just prints stuff. It might be
isolated to these one or two studies that got into the mix of this transition process.
• I’m helping ADOT going through a transition. They’re still trying to figure out too. Short end of
the process.

ADOT MPD
Management

Public involvement is one of those issues that is evolving as well. If we’re really doing public
involvement to just check off FHWA’s requirement, we’ve miss the boat. You’re not getting the
true feel. We need to have more targeted outreach on the end‐users of the system, and future
end users. We need to be reaching out and touching the right people, and not just setting up a
meeting.

ADOT Public
Involvement

The public acceptance part of it either supports your project or gives you a basis of
understanding of whether you have a good project.

131

Topic: Public Involvement
Question: a) How does the public outreach process contribute to the ADOT PARA studies?

Tribal

It was huge. It was very useful. We were trying to do what the community needs and solve
problems in the community. It’s vital to get their input. We spent a lot of time on public
outreach. We did a lot of that internally, because we didn’t want to spend too much of the
grant money on that. Misty Dayzie was always there, supporting, on ADOT’s . We picked and
choose when to use the consultants, since we didn’t want to spend all the grants money. We
used a lot of internal money to do a lot of it. We had to go to meetings that already have good
attendance. They have breakfast meetings for the elders. It’s vital.

ADOT Division
Staff

We’ve had a hard time getting the public interested. The public is more concerned about what’s
happening right now, and they’re not really looking out that far. Generally when you have a
public meeting, a bunch of retirees show up and they’re not going to be there by the time
projects are finished. Younger people are apathetic. I found also that an area of interest to
developers, property owners want to be developers…they find these studies interesting, want
to see something that favors them. You sift through and realize what they’re after. They want to
have governments underwrite improvements that benefit them so you have to weight that out.
Some developments are phased. If those elements are incorporated into the PARA reports,
source of these info should be included in the PARA. It should be noted so that the public isn’t
subsidizing the developers.

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Topic: Public Involvement
Question: b) Which elements of the process could be improved?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Outreach is only successful if we make questions interesting enough that people want to
participate. When we ask about long term development (i.e., 40 yrs from now), it’s hard to
make it reachable to the public. We also need to make outreach “Mind Meld” online, water
bills. We should also ask a community how they reach out to people. There is no one size fits all.

MPO/COG

Use the LG/ COG/MPOs to help schedule the public outreach.

ADOT Planning

Getting people engaged. It might even be through notifications.

Local
Jurisdictions

Technical
Consultants

•Feedback to the public about how their concerns were addressed. Projects should be brought
before my board of supervisors.
•This might on a case by case basis. In one case, the supervisors were not happy to waste
money on a consultants coming into their meeting to update them on the project status.
•Limitations to our public outreach creativity. In a recent project, we participated in a roving
workshop that coincided with other local events, other than your standard open house. Park the
bus at the grocery store. Purely electronic improvements – metric quest tool survey monkey.
•I find it challenging that PI budget is based on straight 10 percent of technical fees. Set the
budget based on the number of rounds of public involvement based on just the flat 10 percent.
•Also now, ADOT Communications is taking some portion of the PI budget, although that means
they’re doing more in‐house, this is causing some confusion.

ADOT MPD
Management

See answer to previous question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

In my opinion, they used to be a kind of check a box kind of exercise, give all the studies a public
involvement consultant and send them off. For me, it’s like a study, you need to understand
your audience, understand how to communicate with them and engage them.

Tribal

At the beginning, at the data collection phase, and at the end, we had recommendations. We
had a lot of people comment on that. In the beginning, why are you here? In the end, why
didn’t you involve us sooner? People want to comment on something, and then later on, they
say why didn’t you involve us? It’s kind of funny. Especially, when the council says it. I don’t
know if there’s a solution for that.

ADOT Division
Staff

Corridor studies, PARA, DCR…Pick some sort of growth rate between population, infill growth,
traffic analysis. More than once, we’ve been caught off guard. Our assumptions have been
resting on past patterns, and if a big developer or growth comes in, LOS could drop faster than
we expected. If economy goes up, then. Everyone knows that intuitively, but I don’t think we do
a good job presenting that a range might occur.
Public gets bombarded with meetings, state, county, corridors, decry… they don’t understand
how they work together. We can probably do a better job of explaining the relationship and
how FED mandates play int. I’ve heard from several folks, that we’ve had too many meetings
and they don’t understand how there are different elements to our work.

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Topic: Public Involvement
Question: c) In your opinion, is outreach input appropriately incorporated into PARA studies? If not, what could
help improve this?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

My consultant project manager is good at listening and adjusting it. We really tried to go over
unique things we’ve learned at the outreach.

MPO/COG

I feel the public outreach is there to fulfill a requirement. What do YOU want out of the public
outreach? Most of the time only two or three people show up. The only people that think about
them are the business members. Reaching people that are unreachable is a waste of energy.
However, there’s a major disconnect, when you actually build the recommendations, they come
out of the woodwork.
•Mine has been, everything has been captured in one document.

ADOT Planning

• Create a Comment/resolution matrix is a summary of all changes.
•Public involvement consultant, didn’t get the newspaper ads. That’s all tie back to how much
funding they can get through the public involvement process. It’s part of the federal process.

Local
Jurisdictions

It could be incorporated through the consultant you’re working with. In a rural context, it’s
good to have working copies, informal documents, diagrams or maps that people can draw on
and be interactive. It is also important to provide feedback to the public on how their comments
were incorporated. If not, why not?

Technical
Consultants

Yes, the firms try to a good job, more inputs usually try incorporate them. We tailor the
outreach to individual needs.

ADOT MPD
Management

Go to the users where the users are at. Recently, we’ve been setting out a booth and talking to
people. Go to the community and speak to the end users of a facility to get their answers. It’s
expensive to go out there, but this is better than just speaking to the public works.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Is the public perception acceptance even being considered or are we just simply going through
the process? We have to turn that question to the local jurisdictions, are you even going to turn
to the public? Folks have the opportunity to give feedback. Are they doing it? Are the feedback
being considered? Do the jurisdictions even care what the public input is? For example, in the
Yuma case are they still going the do it even if the public doesn’t support the project?

134

Topic: Public Involvement
Question: b) Which elements of the process could be improved?

Tribal

ADOT Division
Staff

I think it was…it was because I made sure. Sometimes you listen to people’s input and you know
where you’re headed, whether that gets incorporated or not it’s since, you’re just following
template. We try really hard to do things or not do things based on what the communities said.
We had a public relations subconsultant. They were awesome, they took great notes. We’re an
Indian reservation, and a lot of people try to cut through our community, so they didn’t have to
deal with out the outside traffic. We try to implement the message from the community that we
didn’t want cut‐through traffic. We did a multimodal transportation plan that included
pedestrians and transit. We do a transit demand service. People thought that the demand
service was broken, and we incorporated the comments. The tribe also didn’t want trails
connect to the outside. When you have your TAC from Scottsdale and ADOT says you should
include all that…but that’s not what the residents wanted. I really try to incorporate what the
residents wanted.
Many of the times, we’ve interfaced with the public. They tend to aggregate for or against
(polarized for an item) focused as opposed to the big picture. Certain groups have their interest
in…”we don’t want people in, or please build on my farm, so I can retire.” It’s unfair to expect
non‐transportation professional, they sometime don’t grasp the bigger picture without
assistance. Bottom line is that comments that we’ve received, you have to take them with a
grain of salt. During the NEPA process….you have to consider that a lot of opinions aren’t
reflected in the comments.
Also, a lot of times, community members supply a comment, but they don’t get a feedback.
Every comment deserves a response. If we can’t incorporate them, we should let them know
and should give them a reason.

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Topic: Public Involvement
Question: d) Which types of public outreach events are effective? Which types of public outreach events are not
effective?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Depends on the community. Public hearing is useful meeting to talk to people. If a community
did a good job reaching out to the different stakeholders, there are motivations to be involved.
But we can’t just have a public meeting, we’ve also sent out online surveys sent out through.
We had a cool PARA project, from the perspective of community participation. The community
did a good job exciting. The Community laid a lot of groundwork before they came to us (they
dealt with BLM prior).

MPO/COG

I would suggest you combine it with another community meeting, other than a council meeting?
Small rural communities would be interested to engage unless they’re directly impacted by the
subject. There’s no one size fits all. Have key community planners and stakeholders identify the
most appropriate outreach method. Getting the information out there and seeing if we get any
comments back. We can involve the local cities and chamber of commerce in this, if we get
enough comments then put on a full‐fledged planning meeting.

ADOT Planning

Develop the public involvement plan based on activities happening in their community.
Traditional open house one isn’t particularly effective.

Local
Jurisdictions

•Surveys didn’t work out. Sometime during the public meetings public outreach consultants talk
too much and don’t listen enough. Maybe not enough interaction with the public and offer
them an opportunity to speak. Long presentations, with q and a, then it just becomes the
consultant talking to the public.
•Control the space that you’re in. For instance, break up the formal presentation style and
make participants move around.
•In one successful event, we got rid of the chairs, had a scaled intersection, with a model
vehicle with oversize operating with cars doing turns.

Technical
Consultants

Function of the nature of the study and the size of jurisdictions. When it comes to tribe, you
need to be more receptive to traditions (i.e., Having meals, or door hangers) and be culturally
appropriate.

ADOT MPD
Management

Not applicable to my case.

ADOT Public
Involvement

It’s not one size fits all. You have to understand your public’s needs, audience, the study and
look for opportunities for them to engage. Going to them and not having them come to you and
really assess who your audience is. Basic public meeting isn’t always the answer.

Tribal

The established ones are effective – monthly elders meeting, earth day events vendor tables.
The ones not so effective were the ones we scheduled just for the transportation plan. We only
got a handful of people, the ones we’ve scheduled exclusively for our transportation planning
meeting. We try to go to established ones, for example, piggy backing off council meetings.

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Topic: Public Involvement
Question: d) Which types of public outreach events are effective? Which types of public outreach events are not
effective?

ADOT Division
Staff

The ones that have a clear defined purpose will get a more attendance, than the ones that seem
nebulous, not so much. Specific issue gets those that are affected by the issue. If it’s just a
meeting to talk about transportation, then people might get more empathetic. Evening at the
library meetings might net a certain kind of participants. We should be prepared to take
comments via Facebook, twitter or the internet. Keep a public period comment time open after
a meeting lets people think about the issue and get back to you.

137

Topic: Public Involvement
Question: e) How have public outreach consultants facilitated the public involvement process for local
jurisdictions?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

They set up meetings, send out notifications, they do graphics. All that kind of detailed stuff. We
kind of struggle with them in terms of what is – 2 different firms. The process is not as much
seamless because public involvement goes through a partnership, as opposed to prime
contracts. You could use an internal one or approved ADOT one.

MPO/COG

• Not very well. With that said, and in their defense, they put on a good show, but very few
come.
•There is not enough advertisement or articles about what is happening.

ADOT Planning

•My first PARA study was with one of the public involvement consultant who really facilitated
discussions at the meeting. She really got engaged with the technical consultant, she had a
planning background and could draw on that.
• In some of my studies, there might be only one public involvement consultant at the public
meetings. If you have only one person it’s hard to make sure everything’s captured and trying
to keep the meeting going at the same time.

Local
Jurisdictions

Public meetings and mainlining. Online surveys with stakeholders. Websites.

Technical
Consultants

In the past, they assisted ADOT with securing rental space and provides for the insurance. ADOT
was contractually limited in their ability to do that. Also, they help ADOT secure newspaper ads.
Generally provide presentation, presentation boards, and feedback to the primary consultants.
Helping get the worlds out to the community. They do a summary report of the process.

ADOT MPD
Management

Not applicable to my case.

ADOT Public
Involvement

It’s my understanding that they would take the lead. For example, in Flagstaff, they wanted
more bells and whistles and introduced the ASU decision theater concept. Sometime local
jurisdiction might want specific tools. They have different surveys and online approaches, and
require us to seek different tools. It was primarily our consultant, but they also had a sub who
specialized in stuff.

Tribal

They were great. COCA helped us. She did a great job. They were good facilitators and kept
people on task. Took great notes. They didn’t get so much involved. We directed where we
wanted to go, and I found out which meetings they should attend. For Indian community,
sometimes they don’t want to talk to outside people so much. For Indian community, they want
someone from the community helping them. We had a local staff member take that role. .
Consultant could hire on or find a local representative. We had a staff member that played the
role for public outreach…

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Topic: Public Involvement
Question: e) How have public outreach consultants facilitated the public involvement process for local
jurisdictions?

ADOT Division
Staff

Speaking for the project that I was on, they were professional and cordial. I think they were
excellent. This is also depends on the setting. In the big city context, people are relatively
anonymous to the public, professional facilitation is more important. Smaller communities
where ADOT is a big fish in a small fish bowl. Neighbors all know each other and they’re
somewhat of a distrust of people who show up in a suit from out of town. Most of our
consultants realize that, so they know how you dress and how you interact with them. Be
Context sensitive. Be prepared to go one way to another. People appreciate having their voices
heard and being acknowledged, and that their opinions are taken seriously. Same goes with the
technical staff, they’re no different.

139

Topic: Conclusion
Question: Before we conclude the interview, do you have any questions or final thoughts?
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

One other thing that would be useful, think of complete street. Who is involved in this after
we’re finished? District engineer? Local jurisdictions? How can we involve them in the front
end? So that ultimately it can be implemented. How are people moving and how can we take
on a multimodal approach?

MPO/COG

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Planning

Respondents did not answer this question.

Local
Jurisdictions

Respondents did not answer this question.

Technical
Consultants

Locals do appreciate the program. The ADOT program managers are all very engaged. They’ve
done a very good job. Justin, Charka, and Mark have been good to work with.

ADOT MPD
Management

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

Respondents did not answer this question.

Tribal

We use our transportation planning. We wouldn’t have been able to complete a study like this
with the planning money from the BIA.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

140

Topic: Additional Comments
Responding
Group

Responses

ADOT Transit

Respondents did not answer this question.

MPO/COG

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Planning

Respondents did not answer this question.

Local
Jurisdictions

Respondents did not answer this question.

Technical
Consultants

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT MPD
Management

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Public
Involvement

What drove the decision to bring PI in‐house? We have ample staff, public affairs, media team;
we have the staff and need to utilize and grow our staff. We go into PARA wanting to
understand local municipalities and their expectations for PI. If they want consultant expertise
that we don’t have, we can bring it in.

Tribal

Respondents did not answer this question.

ADOT Division
Staff

Respondents did not answer this question.

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APPENDIX H: PARA PROGRAM NEEDS ASSESSMENT
FOR CORRIDORS OUTLINE
Project Background
1. Overview of need
2. General corridor or study area location
3. Technical Advisory Committee
Planning Goals
1. General mode(s) identified in planning documents
2. Relevant federal and state legislation (if applicable)
3. Relevant statewide or regional transportation plans
4. Local and regional planned and programmed improvements
5. Planning horizon (design year)
6. Environmental considerations
a. Wildlife connectivity needs (high wildlife accidents, etc.)
b. Air quality nonattainment area (reduce emissions via congestion relief)
7. Freight movement
a. Designated freight corridor
b. High volume of local truck traffic
c. Distribution facilities located near corridor
8. Economic development
a. Designated freight corridor
b. Corridor vicinity is expected to have high growth centers
c. Corridor connects large and important economic activity centers
d. Development and potential development along the corridor
Project Need
1. Regional growth
a. Population data
b. Employment data
c. Land use and development patterns (regional plans)
2. Congestion
a. Existing traffic volumes and level of service
b. Future no‐build traffic volumes and projected level of service
3. Safety
a. Crash incidents and causes
b. Infrastructure sufficiency ratings
c. Pedestrian, bike, rail, and transit conflict points
d. Intersection and uncontrolled access conflict points
4. Existing facility and operational deficiencies

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a. Conflict points (intersections, uncontrolled access, need for turn lanes, etc.)
b. Site distance
c. Curvature
d. Grade
e. Shoulders, clear, and recovery zones
f. Pedestrian and bike facilities
g. Lighting, signing, signals, and striping
h. ADA compliant
i. Median sufficiency
j. Pavement, drainage, and infrastructure condition
5. Summary of project need
6. Projected timeline for project need (may extrapolated beyond the design year)
Public Involvement/Agency Scoping
1. Agency scoping
2. Mechanism for getting public input
3. Summary of public and agency input
Project Purpose
1. Based on goals, needs, public, and agency input provide a clear statement of the primary
objective that the proposed action is intended to achieve
2. Identify the secondary objective(s) the proposed action is intended to achieve

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APPENDIX I: ONLINE SURVEY RESULTS BY SURVEY GROUP
These results are available as a separate PDF document upon request from the ADOT Research Center.

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