Typical project parameters called for a two-hour public meeting, with a presentation from the Arizona Department of Transportation and a method to collect public comment. But right from the beginning, State Transportation Agency's South Mountain Freeway project was anything but typical.

With hundreds of public comments received to date, community activists coming out of the proverbial woodwork, and a daily barrage of newspaper articles -- typical treatments, quite simply, wouldn't work. In fact, members of the project study team were heard to quietly remark, “This could get ugly.”

That's when GCI stepped up to the challenge and turned the public participation process on its side. “Since the study area was so large, we selected three diverse locations in the Phoenix-area so that travel distance would not be an issue for the public,” said GCI President, Theresa Gunn.

Over three consecutive days, one meeting was held at each location. Each day, the doors opened at noon and closed at 8 p.m. And each day, members of the public arrived early and stayed late. As many people attended from noon to 4 p.m. as in the evening, calling into question the assumption that meetings should only be held in the evenings. But the real innovation was the meeting format. “I hate to call it a meeting,” said Gunn. “It was more of an event.”

At each location, the event offered an all-day open house with technical experts posted throughout the meeting room and large aerial maps where they could determine how close the freeway alternatives were to their homes. There were two areas for small groups to gather to listen to an overview presentation with question and answer time with key staff. The presentations were held concurrently or as needed throughout the day. Plus, there was an information library with copies of previous and current reports, and even a kid's table with books and crayons.

Opportunities for comment included an on-site court reporter, comment forms available via computer (on-site, and on the project website to be accessed from home), and written comment forms which could be returned to staff, or mailed or faxed back. Participants also shared comments by posting them on the “sticky wall.”

The result? More than 2,200 people attended -- State Transportation Agency's largest public involvement response in its history. And a new standard in State Transportation Agency public involvement.

“The format allowed us to be responsive to the needs of individuals, yet serve large numbers of people,” said Gunn. “People who just wanted to find out if their house was in the right-of-way were able to get the information they needed and be out the door in just a few minutes. Others who wanted as much information as possible had opportunities to meet with staff individually and during small group presentations.