Jia Huang | May 24, 2024 | 5 minute read

As the weather warms, staff are actively engaging with the public on transportation matters. These in-person community events serve as a platform for us to introduce the MPO and our work, understand people’s transportation needs and priorities, and gather insights to shape our studies, program activities, the TIP, and the LRTP. In previous years, we have successfully engaged with the public at Open Streets events, farmers’ markets, street fairs, and cultural events, and we look forward to continuing this trend.

This year, we’ve participated in a Youth Climate event, a Bike Month kickoff event, an Earth Day river cleanup, and climate and transportation fairs and festivals. Most of these events are hosted by our municipal or advocacy partners, and depending on the size of the event, we often engage more than 100 people with interactive tabling activities, games, comment cards, informational materials, and more. One of our most popular activities is our magnetic StreetMix activity board, where people can design a street using elements like bike and bus lanes, sidewalks, green infrastructure, and more. We have found that this is a great conversation starter; folks are often intrigued by the Streetmix board and will come up to the table to share ideas and questions.

Engagement events are a great way for us to interact with members of the public in informal, community-focused settings to collect feedback and share information about the MPO’s work. The comments we receive are often related to specific transportation system improvements, but many people we engage are also happy to hear more about our agency’s role in the regional transportation ecosystem; we often start these conversations by discussing the types of projects we fund through the TIP, or the vision and goals we set out in our LRTP. Even though the work of an MPO isn’t usually the first thing people want to talk about when asked about their transportation priorities, these conversations provide valuable insights that we use to improve or support studies and program development.

For example, we recently attended Boston’s Open Streets Dorchester event—where a section of Dorchester Avenue was closed to car traffic all day, and people walking, biking, and rolling were able to fully use the street and engage with organizations and businesses tabling and enjoy live entertainment and food—to ask members of the public about their transportation funding priorities using a sticker voting activity. The results of this activity will be analyzed and incorporated into the draft FFYs 2025-29 TIP, and will also help inform future TIP development and engagement.

If you are interested in attending or participating in events, or if you know of an event that the MPO should table at, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Communications & Engagement team or check out the events tracker.