Public Participation Plan

A guide for getting involved in the Bay Area’s regional planning process.

Staff stand near display boards and answer questions from a crowd of attendees at a public workshop.
Update

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC's) Public Participation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, adopted by the Commission in June 2023, seeks to provide Bay Area residents from across the nine counties with the information necessary to participate in and influence the regional policy development and decision-making processes.

The latest iteration of the plan outlines the Commission’s mission and vision for public engagement and participation, along with the processes for communicating with the public about our programs, plans, projects and decisions.

Appendix C of the 2023 Public Participation Plan outlines the planning and decision milestones for the next update to the region’s long-range transportation and land use blueprint, known as Plan Bay Area 2050+.

To request a copy of the 2023 MTC Public Participation Plan please call MTC at (415) 778-6757.

Guiding Principles: MTC’s Vision for Engagement

MTC’s guiding principles for engagement are rooted in our mission to advance equity in the Bay Area:

  • Effective engagement has a clear purpose. Defining the purpose for engaging the public, understanding the context and identifying the audience of those affected is imperative to ensure meaningful engagement from the standpoint of the agency and the participants.
  • Effective engagement requires two-way education and relationship building. Acknowledging the expertise that exists within a given community and boosting engagement with activities that increase mutual education fosters more productive conversations. Ongoing, mutual education improves outcomes and requires cultivating relationships with partners and communities to build trust and achieve consensus.
  • Effective engagement is not one-size-fits-all. Efforts must be tailored to each unique project and audience to enhance community engagement while making every effort to increase participation opportunities for those most impacted by past and current decisions.
  • Clear communication is essential in effective engagement. Public engagement must be conducted through clear and compelling communications that are appropriate for the intended audience. Leveraging inclusive storytelling builds shared understanding.
  • Effective engagement demands accountability. Informing the public of opportunities to participate in the process and clearly demonstrating how community voices have influenced planning and policy decisions builds confidence in the public process.
  • Engagement requires openness and transparency. An open and transparent public participation process empowers low-income communities and communities of color to participate in decision-making that affects them (adopted as an environmental justice principle by the Commission in 2006).

請求幫助! | ¡Solicita Ayuda! | Request Assistance!

你需要我們翻譯其中一份文件的內容嗎? 你需要以大字體或盲文印刷的書面資料嗎? 您是否需要手語翻譯或會說您的語言的翻譯才能參與？

我們可以提供幫助! 請致電415.778. 6757聯絡我們。我們需要提前3天通知才能提供合理的輔助服務。對於TDD或聽障人士，請致電711，加州中繼服務，或1-800-735-2929(TTY)，1-800-735-2922(語音)，並要求轉接到415-778-6700.

¿Necesita que alguno de nuestros documentos sea traducido? ¿Necesita nuestras comunicaciones escritas en letra grande o en Braille? ¿Necesita un intérprete del lenguaje de señas o un intérprete que hable su idioma para poder participar?

¡Nosotros podemos ayudar! Comuníquese al 415.778.6757. Necesitamos aviso con tres días de anticipación para proporcionar asistencia razonable. Para personas con discapacidad auditiva o TDD, llame al 711, California Relay Service, o al 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) o al 1-800-735-2922 (voz) y pida que lo comuniquen al 415-778-6700.

Do you need one of our documents translated? Do you need written materials in large type or in Braille? Do you need a sign language interpreter or an interpreter who speaks your language in order to participate?

We can help! Please call us at 415.778.6757. We require three days’ notice in order to provide reasonable accommodation. For TDD or hearing impaired, call 711, California Relay Service, or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) or 1-800-735-2922 (voice) and ask to be relayed to 415-778-6700.

State and federal law requires MTC to adopt a participation plan to provide members of the public with opportunities to be involved in the transportation planning process. MTC’s 2018 Public Participation Plan (PPP) was adopted in June 2018 and informs interested residents on how to engage in the range of MTC’s decisions relating to planning and funding allocations.

The 2023 Public Participation Plan was developed over nine months and was informed by extensive public input. Here are some of the community’s ideas that were incorporated into the plan:

  • Prioritize online engagement and quick opportunities to provide input (e.g., surveys, questionnaires).
  • When conducting in-person engagement, go to where the people are and offer incentives to increase participation.
  • Increase education and raise the public’s awareness about who MTC is and its work, especially regarding Plan Bay Area.
  • Broadly promote and advertise upcoming events and engagement opportunities.
  • Increase accountability and build trust by reporting back on how the public’s feedback influenced the decision-making process.

Read the 2018 MTC Public Participation Plan

The adopted Public Participation Plan describes MTC’s responsibilities, goals and strategies for engaging the public in its planning work and funding allocations.

Lee el 2018 Plan de Participación Pública

El Plan para la Participación del Público describe las responsabilidades, metas y estrategias de la MTC para foment.

閲讀大都會交通委員會（MTC）《2018年公衆參與計劃》

採用的公共參與計劃描述了MTC讓公眾參與其規劃工作和資金分配的責任、目標和策略。