The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (The Ride) has set out with a bold, shared vision for connecting Washtenaw communities through public transportation. The Moving You Forward Transit Master Plan for Washtenaw County identifies the transit challenges and needs of County residents over the next 30 years, and provides options and scenarios to address them. As part of the planning effort, given the need to reach a wide and diverse group, Carlisle/Wortman, a Michigan-based consulting firm, realized that traditional community outreach had to be complemented with unique community engagement techniques.
One such technique is the Community Remarks™ tool. The Community Remarks™ tool is a customized web mapped-based program built on Google Map software. It provides an alternative method to attract and engage a larger audience by allowing participation from the comfort of home or office.
“The Community Comments tool has been a great way for AATA to gather community feedback quickly and systematically. Because all of our services have a geographic component, the ability to PLOT comments has been extremely valuable – comments come to us ‘pre-sorted’ by location. It is also nice for those making the comments, because they can see what others have said about the areas they care about.”
Michael Benham,
Special Assistant for Strategic Planning
Citizens want to be more engaged. They want to highlight assets, issues, and concerns and show you what works and what doesn’t in their community. This interactive mapping tool makes that possible.
Features of Community Remarks include:
How can Community Remarks assist your community? For more information contact Crystal Wilson 773-547-7347.
