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Comment Cruiser Hits the Road
Wilkinson Ferrari & Co. Launches a New
Concept for Public Involvement
The public involvement
process is most meaningful when the public is engaged and
participates in the process. Getting participation is
usually accomplished with public meetings or open houses.
One of the challenges associated
with this approach is that attendance at these meetings is
unpredictable and attendance numbers can be disappointing.
WF&Co.’s public involvement group decided a unique approach
was needed to collect public comments for a project with the
Bureau of Land Management in southeastern Utah. We wanted to
develop an approach to public involvement that was different
from the norm and would encourage participation from
individuals who might not usually attend a public meeting.
We wanted to make it convenient for people to participate in
the public involvement process. So why not go to them and
meet them in the areas where they work, play and live?
Thus, the Comment Cruiser was born. Working with a graphic
designer and a production company, we resized the project
graphics, had a vinyl wrap created and completely covered
the vehicle—which we named the Comment Cruiser. On October
10, the Comment Cruiser was launched and we hit the road for
southeastern Utah, seeking comments over a two-week period.
The Comment Cruiser scheduled stops in campgrounds,
trailheads, visitor information centers, grocery stores,
retail stores and river takeouts. While we were taking
comments, we also provided information about open houses
that were scheduled later in the week. We also discussed
additional ways to participate in the comment process,
through the web site or on mail-in comment sheets. The web
site address was enlarged on the back of the Comment
Cruiser, further reinforcing the brand.
The results? More than 200 comments were gathered from
locals and out-of-state travelers, offering a cross section
of people who were in the region during
a two-week period. Several comments were received about the
novel approach and how positively it reflected on the BLM’s
image. In the end, the public involvement process provided a
variety of approaches to comment gathering which yielded a
better representation of comments and better result for the
project. –Mimi Charles & Joni Dykstra
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