Public engagement on a transportation project used to mean a meeting in a school gym and a stack of comment cards. Today most agencies also collect input online, and the most useful online comments are tied to a place: this intersection floods, that crosswalk needs a signal, this bike lane ends too abruptly. A community input map lets residents put their feedback exactly where it applies, and it gives project staff feedback they can sort, review, and act on.
We built and support a community input platform used by multiple transportation agencies. This article covers what we have learned about what these tools need to do well.
Start with the project, not the map
People comment better when they understand what is being proposed. A good engagement page introduces the project in plain language, shows the project area, explains what kind of feedback is useful, and says what happens to comments after they are submitted. The map is the second step, not the first.
Give comments a category
Free-form comments are hard to analyze at scale. Letting participants choose a category, such as safety, walking, biking, transit, or parking, and showing each category with its own map marker makes the map readable at a glance and makes the results much easier to summarize. Categories should be configurable per project, because a corridor study and a park-and-ride project ask different questions.
Plan for moderation from day one
Any public comment system will eventually receive off-topic posts, personal attacks, or personal information that should not be published. Agencies need to decide how submissions become public:
- Pre-moderation: comments appear only after staff approve them. Safest, but slower and more staff time.
- Post-moderation: comments appear immediately and staff remove problems. Faster engagement, more risk.
- Private collection: comments go to staff only and nothing is shown publicly.
The right choice depends on the project and the agency’s policies, so the tool should let each project choose. Publish a short comment policy so participants know the rules.
Make busy maps readable
A successful project can collect hundreds of comments, and hundreds of overlapping markers are unreadable. Marker clustering groups nearby comments at low zoom levels and separates them as people zoom in. Setting the map’s starting zoom, geographic focus, and visual style for each project keeps the experience centered on the study area instead of the whole region.
Bring in the data you already have
Agencies usually have existing project information in a GIS: corridor alignments, project limits, or proposed improvements. Importing that data, from ArcGIS or from standard data files, puts the proposal on the map so participants comment on the actual plan rather than guessing where it is.
Help people find it and share it
Engagement depends on reach. Social sharing lets participants pass a project along to neighbors, and a clean project URL works well on flyers, mailers, and signs at the project site. Every share should land on the project introduction, not a bare map.
Make it accessible
A map that only works with a mouse leaves people out, and public agencies have legal obligations under the ADA (see our article on ADA Title II website accessibility). Plan for keyboard-operable controls, form fields with real labels, sufficient color contrast on markers, and a way to read and submit comments without using the map, such as a list view and an address or description field. Always offer a non-digital option, such as a phone number or mailing address, for people who cannot participate online.
Collect only what you need
Ask for the minimum personal information required, usually none for a public comment, and an optional email for updates. Keep contact details out of anything published, and decide in advance how long comments and contact information will be retained.
Turn comments into a report
The point of engagement is to inform the project. Staff need to export comments by category and location, see where they cluster, and include a summary in staff reports and board presentations. Design the export before launch, not after the comment period closes.
How we help
SiteHatchery builds mapping, public participation, and data tools for public agencies, and has supported transportation agency software for more than a decade. See GIS & Mapping and our past performance, or tell us about your engagement project.