Public Involvement Program for the Feasibility and Environmental Studies of a High Speed Rail System in California
Since 1994, Consensus Inc. has developed and implemented statewide public involvement programs – including strategic communications and media relations programs – for the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), which envisions an 800-mile high-speed train line that will run throughout the state from San Diego to the Bay Area and Sacramento.
First, the CHSRA needed to develop studies that determined the feasibility of a statewide high-speed rail network similar to those in Europe and Japan.
Next, with the development of the Environmental Impact Statement and Report (EIS/R), CHRSA needed to involve the public to elicit feedback and support for the project.
Public Involvement Program for the Feasibility and Environmental Studies of a High Speed Rail System in California
Consensus Inc. managed a statewide public involvement program for CHSRA to study high speed rail in California. The program included the development of two feasibility studies, one study analyzed the feasibility of constructing the system through the Tehachapi Mountains between Los Angeles and Bakersfield and the second study looked at developing the system statewide. Consensus Inc. worked in close coordination with multiple technical consultants and hundreds of elected officials, jurisdictions, and public agencies throughout the state. Twenty-seven public workshops in 13 geographic areas were conducted. Hundreds of meetings were held with metropolitan planning organizations, regional transportation planning agencies, counties, cities, and special interest groups.
A database of stakeholders was compiled, interviews were held with elected officials at the local and state levels, as well as with key opinion leaders and business and community organizations that had an interest in the project, resulting in more than 300 groups and elected officials receiving briefings on the project. The briefings served to support our effort to build a strong coalition of advocates - ultimately resulting in California voters approving a $9.95 billion bond investment to help fund construction of Phase I of the California High-Speed Rail system. By targeting community-centric events, Consensus Inc. has engaged more than 8,000 stakeholders in conversations about the project and as a result has signed more than 18,000 individuals to the project’s mailing list and collected over 100 video testimonials about the project.
The successful media relations strategy crafted by Consensus Inc. has resulted in an abundance of stories in print, television, radio, and online mediums – including a front-page graphic and subsequent Page 3 feature story by the Orange County Register. The California High-Speed Rail system has been a popular topic in the blogosphere, which Consensus monitors weekly, along with such social mediums as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.
