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COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Chapter 2
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
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2.1 Community Outreach Plan Overview 2.2 Contingency Plans Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic 2.3 Target Audience 2.4 Community Advisory Committee (CAC) 2.5 Citywide Community Engagement 2.6 Community Outreach Plan Strategies and Materials 2.7 Project Survey 2.8 Community Engagement Events
2.1 COMMUNITY OUTREACH PLAN OVERVIEW
Throughout the planning process the City was committed to collaborating with the community, stakeholders, and City staff. The City engaged the community through a series of online workshops, surveys, online maps, and other meetings to gather feedback for the project.
The project team’s top priority throughout the planning process was the safety and welfare of the community they represent and work with. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic triggered necessary safety measures regarding public gatherings of any size. State and local regulations prohibited large social gatherings which required the project team to conduct all community workshops and stakeholder meetings online via Zoom.
2.3 TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience for the FLMTSP is anyone that lives, works, or plays within city limits, as well as commuters who use the Metrolink Covina Station. Throughout the planning process, it was important to gather feedback from people of all ages and demographic backgrounds, therefore requiring a diverse set of outreach strategies. Additional emphasis was placed on underserved communities that disproportionately lack easy and comfortable access to transportation, public transit, and residents that live adjacent to Citrus Avenue. Key messages and outreach strategies were developed to gather feedback, paying particular attention to the Hispanic/Latino community, since they account for 58.7 percent of the population according to the 2018 US Census. The team also used the City’s database of previous resident and stakeholder involvement to maximize outreach.
2.4 COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)
The project team coordinated efforts with the City to form a Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC consisted of organizations that are community, transportation, and commerce related. The project team made initial contact and asked CAC members for help in promoting the workshops by distributing notices to their members via their websites and social media forums.
2.4.1 CAC MEMBERS
» City of Covina Community Development Department » City of Covina Public Works Department » City of Covina Housing Department » City of Covina City Manager’s Office » Covina-Valley Unified School District » Covina Valley Council Parent Teacher Association (PTA) » Covina Chamber of Commerce » Covina Downtown Merchants Association » Covina Police Department » Metrolink » Foothill Transit » Caltrans District 7 » Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) » San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments » Traffic and Parking Advisory Commission » Emanate Health
2.4.2 CAC MEETINGS
The scope of work included six coordination and update meetings to discuss progress, schedule, and outstanding items. Additionally, a total of two CAC meetings took place to further discuss progress, gather input, and coordinate outreach efforts. A summary of the two CAC meetings are discussed on the next page.
CAC Meeting 1
The first CAC meeting was conducted virtually via Zoom on September 2, 2020. The meeting covered the project’s focus on ATP improvement along Citrus Avenue to connect to the Metrolink station. Preliminary engineering designs were also presented and online outreach methods such as the website, survey, and comment map were shared with participants. One of the CAC members made a comment concerning the high traffic volumes in the morning at Cypress Elementary School and said the issue of safety should be addressed.
CAC Meeting 2
The second and last CAC meeting was conducted virtually via Zoom on November 19, 2020. The meeting reviewed community survey results as well as high-level planning recommendations. Recommendations were based off the feedback collected from the surveys, story map, stakeholder discussions, and field work conducted by the project team. There were several comments regarding concerns over street trees obstructing sidewalks and buses, traffic near Foothill Transit Station, and wayfinding signage. These comments were recorded and addressed.
2.5 CITYWIDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The FLMTSP’s scope of work included citywide community engagement via two virtual community workshops and two in-person surveys at the Covina Metrolink Station and the Downtown Dine-out event. The following tools and strategies were used to replace the in-person community workshops: » Created SurveyMonkey surveys that included questions based on the discussion topics planned for each community workshop. » Distributed the survey two weeks prior to the scheduled online workshop via appropriate online communication channels. » Online workshops and its accompanying presentations and discussions took place via Zoom. » People were continuously directed to the FLMT-
SP’s Esri Story Map for project updates, announcements, surveys, and downloadable exhibits.
Social media posts
The following tasks were completed during the development of the FLMTSP: » Coordinate with City on compiling list of stakeholders. » Conduct City staff meetings. » Prepare online flyers and other community outreach announcements. » Create one online survey. » Create one online GIS-based map survey. » Conduct one in-person survey at the Covina
Metrolink Station. » Conduct one in-person survey at the Downtown
Covina Dine-out Event. » Conduct two online community workshops. » Compile public participation comments into a summary report. A variety of outreach materials were designed to maximize community engagement. Because of Covina’s diverse population, all outreach materials were designed in both English and Spanish. Materials created include:
» Flyers, post cards, social media posts, and press releases. » Online maps and surveys. » Interactive outreach exhibits. » Other as-needed workshop exhibits and presentations.
Materials and announcements were approved by the City at all times and were posted to appropriate city and stakeholder communication outlets, such as social media pages, city website and newsletters.
2.6.1 PROJECT BRANDING
Project branding was created for all outreach materials and presentations. The branding was based on the City’s official Brand Guidelines, including approved fonts, colors, and use of the City’s official logo.
COVINA FIRST/LAST MILE TRANSIT STATION PLANNING We Need Your Input! The City of Covina First/Last Mile Transit Station Planning (FLMTSP) will focus on active transportation improvements along Citrus Avenue to help connect the existing Metrolink Covina Station and Foothill Transit’s Covina Transit Center with nearby destinations.
VIA
Please Join Us to Learn More About the FLMTSP SCAN CODE TO ATTEND Save the Date! WORKSHOP #2: BUSINESSES & DOWNTOWN COVINA
October 20, 2020 10:30 am – 11:30 am OR VISIT MEETING ID: 95650681020 ZOOM.US/J/95650681020 For more information, visit our story map at: https://arcg.is/1buyyT0 To access presentation, please visit: https://zoom.us/j/95650681020 PLAN DE PRIMERA Y ÚLTIMA MILLA PARA LA ESTACIÓN DE TRÁNSITO DE COVINA ¡Necesitamos su participación! VIA El plan de primera y última milla para la estación de tránsito de la ciudad de Covina (FLMTSP, por sus siglas en inglés) se enfocará en mejoras de transporte activo a lo largo de la Avenida Citrus para ayudar a conectar la estación existente de Metrolink de Covina y el Centro de Tránsito de Covina de Foothill Transit con destinos cercanos. ¡Aparte la fecha! TALLER COMUNITARIO #3
Acompáñenos para conocer más sobre el FLMTSP To access presentation, please visit: https://zoom.us/j/91436297510 27 de octubre de 2020 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Para más información, visite nuestro sitio web: https://arcg.is/1buyyT0
ESCANEE PARA INGRESAR
O VISITE ZOOM.US/J/91436297510 ID DE LA REUNIÓN: 91436297510
The City of Covina First/Last Mile Transit Station Planning (FLMTSP) will focus on active transportation improvements along Citrus Avenue to help connect the existing Metrolink Covina Station and Foothill Transit’s Covina Transit Center with nearby destinations. COVINA FIRST/LAST MILE TRANSIT STATION PLANNING We Need Your Input! THE FLMTSP WILL FOCUS ON
Walking Biking Wayfinding Signage Other
Tell Us What You Think! We invite you to learn more about the FLMTSP and share your feedback using the project’s story map. Just go to the link below or scan the QR code! ¡Díganos lo que piensa! Lo invitamos a conocer más sobre el plan y a compartir sus comentarios en el sitio web del proyecto. ¡Sólo vaya al enlace a continuación o escanee el código QR!
https://arcg.is/1buyyT0
Flyers and postcard
2.7 PROJECT SURVEY
The FLMTSP consisted of two surveys that provided the team both general and detailed understanding of central Covina and along Citrus Avenue pedestrian and bicycle opportunities and constraints.
2.7.1 ONLINE SURVEY
The online survey included questions that provided general feedback on Citrus Avenue’s needs. The online survey utilized SurveyMonkey with quick and concise questions to solicit input. Paper versions of the survey were not distributed at workshops and pop-up events as planned to mitigate risk due to COVID-19 concerns. However, the link to the online survey was shared during each workshop to all participants. Questions were geared towards how people felt walking and biking from and to the Covina Metrolink Station and along Citrus Avenue, as well as what kinds of general improvements they would like to see added.
The six figures on the following two pages depict results from the survey. There were a total of 28 online surveys completed. According to the results of the online survey, over 85 percent of the participants prefer to see high-visibility crosswalks along Citrus Avenue. Sixty-three percent prefer to see enhanced landscaping and enhanced sidewalk elements along Citrus Avenue. Sixty-three percent of respondents answered that street trees and a vegetation buffer to motor vehicles and to provide shade would encourage them to walk more along Citrus Avenue. In addition, 91 percent of respondents answered that bike lanes on the street would encourage them to bike more along or across Citrus Avenue.
Online survey
FIGURE 2-1: Online Survey Results
2.7.2 ONLINE MAP SURVEY
An interactive online map survey was also made available to the public and stakeholders through the FLMTSP’s website and announced throughout all the workshops. This online map allowed users to navigate to the areas around the Covina Metrolink Station or along Citrus Avenue where they wanted to provide feedback on and identify mobility challenges and desired mobility options. This type of input provided the team a geo-referenced source of information that was used for general understanding and analyses which allowed residents to provide comments in case they were not able to participate in one of the online workshops. There were a number of comments made on the online map survey. The comments included concerns regarding lack of shade and traffic calming elements such as street trees and median landscaping. Other comments included concerns about pedestrian and bicycling safety, such as unwalkable streets and bike lanes not being delineated.
Online map survey
2.8 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS
A total of four community engagement events took place during the planning process, including: » One in-person survey at the Covina Metrolink
Station » One in-person survey at the Downtown Dine-Out » Two online workshops These options were presented to the Community Advisory Committee for their direction on preferred format, location, and dates.
2.8.1 IN-PERSON SURVEYS
A total of two in-person surveys were conducted as part of the community engagement process. One survey took place at the Covina Metrolink Station on September 2, 2020 from 8:30AM to 10:30AM, while the other one took place on the same day from 5PM to 7PM and was conducted at the Downtown Dineout event. These pop-up surveys had supporting maps and design boards highlighting the critical elements of the plan. These pop-ups allowed survey respondents to discuss various issues and understand the opportunities and constraints for the various design treatments. While attendance for both in-person surveys were low due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few people who attended the Downtown Covina Dine-out expressed excitement for the project and were looking forward to the proposed recommendations.
In-person survey at the Covina Metrolink Station
In-person survey at the Dowtown Dine-Out Event
2.8.2 ONLINE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
Community workshops are valuable in order to gather community input or to help focus subsequent engage¬ment efforts on specific locations. The project team scheduled two online community workshops via Zoom to support the FLMTSP. The purpose of the community workshops was to educate residents and stakeholders on the project’s goals and objectives, as well as to gather input on existing issues, priorities, and goals. The two workshops included participation from the following groups: 1. Downtown Merchants 2. The Chamber of Commerce, the public-at-large, and residents and businesses who reside/work adjacent to the Citrus Avenue study area The project team prepared and provided all workshop-related materials and exhibits, including signage and wayfinding details, concept landscape and hardscape designs, location of Citrus Avenue improvements, online maps for comments, and first and last mile treatments. A summary of each workshop is detailed below.
Workshop 1
The first workshop was conducted virtually via Zoom on October 20, 2020 and included Downtown Covina business owners and merchants. The presentation covered the project’s focus on ATP improvement along Citrus Avenue to connect to the Metrolink station. Preliminary engineering designs were also presented and online outreach methods such as the website, survey, and comment map were shared with participants. Attendees made comments regarding the lack of lighting and sidewalk infrastructure in Downtown Covina. In addition, there were comments concerning speeding cars in the downtown area, creating an unsafe and noisy environment.
Workshop 2
The second workshop was conducted virtually via Zoom on October 27, 2020 and included members from the Chamber of Commerce, the publicat-large, and residents and businesses who reside and work adjacent to the Citrus Avenue project. The presentation covered the project’s focus on ATP improvement along Citrus Avenue to connect to the Metrolink station. Preliminary engineering designs were also presented and online outreach methods such as the website, survey, and comment map were shared with participants. An attendee made a comment regarding the recommended bulbouts and asked where they would be installed and if they would likely impact existing bus stop locations.
