C-TRAN - Mill Plain BRT

Target Audience: The target audience for C-TRAN's Mill Plain BRT campaign was primarily residents and business along the project corridor, but also the general public in Clark County.

Strategy Objective:C-TRAN used a variety of methods to connect with the Mill Plain corridor and Clark County in general. We mailed printed flyers to more than 10,000 residents and property owners along the corridor. We conducted in-person, door-to-door outreach at more than 400 businesses. We sent direct email/text alerts. We posted information to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, including paid content. We launched a project website at www.catchthevine.com to serve as a reference with project background, information on BRT, frequently asked questions, a project schedule and more. We hosted two physical open house meetings in the community, plus an online open house inviting feedback on the project alignment and station locations.

Situation Challenge: In January 2017, C-TRAN launched The Vine, the first bus rapid transit system in the Portland-Vancouver region. In 2018, we began planning for our second BRT line ' a second branch of The Vine, for now known as the Mill Plain BRT Project. Kicking off a project of this scale means a tremendous amount of public outreach. In this case, it also meant introducing the concept of BRT to a new part of the community. Vancouver's Mill Plain corridor is a unique area with its own identity and its own needs and challenges. It's home to a much larger business community. It intersects with a major interstate freeway. The initial outreach push on Mill Plain wasn't as simple as reproducing what was done for The Vine several years earlier. The new project required a new strategy for a new area.

Results Impact: C-TRAN's early outreach efforts received remarkably positive feedback from stakeholders who appreciated being brought into the loop so thoroughly from the start. They also generated dozens of public comments that will help the project's Locally Preferred Alternative and, ultimately, the final outcome. The Mill Plain BRT Project has enjoyed strong positive momentum and very little vocal opposition in its early stages ' something that can't be said of every major transit project. C-TRAN believes that's in large part because of the amount of public outreach that happened from the outset. People were engaged from the beginning, which will make for a smoother process through project development, design and eventually construction.

Why Submit: The Mill Plain BRT Project is one of the largest in C-TRAN's history. The level of engagement and support for any major project can set a tone that goes a long way in determining its success. With a public affairs staff of just four full-time employees, C-TRAN made face-to-face contact with hundreds of businesses and other people along the corridor, reached thousands more through printed and digital materials and set the Mill Plain BRT Project on a positive trajectory in its crucial first phase.