Outreach and Engagement 101
We are committed to providing all Seattle community members a wide range of opportunities for both accessing information and providing feedback about all transportation projects. Our goals are to increase meaningful and authentic civic participation and to build better projects by asking communities to shape our work throughout the process.
We created this website in response to community members and colleagues asking us about community engagement and what it looks like. It explores the life cycle of our capital (i.e. large) projects, focusing specifically on the importance of community outreach and engagement. Our hope is to enhance understanding of the community engagement process, highlight opportunities for collaboration with the community, and improve the tools and techniques we use.
This page outlines what outreach and engagement looks like for our capital projects headed towards construction. Here, you'll find:
Where Projects Come From
Before projects begin, there is a long process of planning which includes modal-plans, community input, and more. We plan for the long-term, and individual projects are often part of a larger picture of Seattle’s future. In this context, our projects happen because they are on-the-ground, physical investments we make that will get us that city of the future we want to inhabit. A big part of this process is the Seattle Comprehensive Plan, a 20-year vision and roadmap for Seattle’s future that prioritizes quality of life, environmental protection, and economic development.
All of this planning is about people and our Seattle community making a plan so we can realize a future city that meets our needs. A critical part of this future planning is the individual projects we carry out here at SDOT — view individual project plans.
Our team's work focuses primarily on the stages after an individual project begins: planning, design, and construction.
Below is a diagram of this process.
Outreach Tools and Techniques
We use a variety of different tools to keep you and your community informed about projects in your neighborhood. Here are some of the ways we work to keep you up-to-date with everything that's going on! You can see examples of how some of the tools are used during individual projects on project websites.
Stakeholder meetings
Community presentations and conversations
Project inboxes and phone lines
Physical and electronic mailings
Booths at community events
Project webpages
Open houses and drop-in sessions
Door-to-door
Construction notices and flyering
Yard and road signs
Social media and blog posts
Surveys
Ways to Engage With Us
We know communication is a two-way street, so we want to hear from you! Below you will find examples of some ways you can stay up to date, give input, or get in contact with us.
We include contact information for individual projects on their webpages and mailers we send out. If you’re curious about a specific project, we recommend you go to our list of current projects and look for contact information.
Review Master Plans
Engage on social media
Vote in local elections
Vote on project alternatives- Attend open houses
- Take surveys
- Email project inboxes
Call project phone lines
Neighborhood Street Fund
Neighborhood Matching Fund
Find It, Fix It App
Your Voice, Your Choice
Attend community meetings
Join community groups
Join service organizations- Sign up for email lists
Three Project Stages
Planning
During the planning stage, we're figuring out what projects will look like. For example, if we know based on previous planning that an area needs to be bike a connection, we’ll start focusing on what side of the street should it be on, what nearby destinations can connect to, and how we can improve the space for pedestrians and drivers as well.
We are focusing on how we can help make neighborhoods safer and more accessible. During this stage, we fit together community input, engineering constraints, Master Plans, environmental regulations, budgets, and more to get a sense of what is both preferable and feasible. Survey collection and meetings with stakeholders—like businesses or community leaders—can help guide us during this stage.
Some questions we're asking...
- What needs to be improved? What needs do you have?
- What is feasible with our available funding?
- What is working and not working?
- How do you get around your neighborhood?
- What kind of work would make sense in your neighborhood?
Outreach tools in this stage include
- Stakeholder meetings
Focus groups- Open houses
- Community presentations
- Surveys
Engagement opportunities in this stage include
Review Master Plans- Engage with social media
- Attend community meetings
- Attend open houses
- Take surveys
Design
At this stage, we move from concepts to something more concrete. For example, in our planning stage, we learned from your feedback on what side of the street the bike lane should be on and what sidewalk improvements are needed. In the design stage, we will figure out how signals need to change and how the design will affect underground utilities.
Typically, we split the design process into Early and Final Design, and often further into 4 sub-stages: 10%, 30%, 60%, and 90% design. At each sub-stage, we've solidified different aspects of what the project will look like, so we look for different types of input from the community at each point. Also at each substage, reviewers from various departments (such as Seattle Public Utilities, Urban Forestry, ADA, King County Metro, etc.)
Early Design
10%: We collaborate with stakeholders and our engineers to draft potential designs and introduce proposals for input. At this point, we may take feedback to create a few project alternatives and ask the community which one they like best.
30%: We take back community feedback and voting results and move forward with selected proposals. Large specifications, like sidewalk widths and channelization, are typically determined at this point.
Late Design
60%: We know generally what the project will look like but are still making small changes. At 60%, we finalize details like landscape amenities using input from the community, engineers, and consultants.
90%: At this point, we are preparing for the construction stage. This includes drafting mailers, thinking about the construction schedule, coordinating with the construction teams, and more.
Some questions we're asking...
- How does the design work for different travelers with different needs?
- How can we make our design accessible and sustainable for future users?
- Are there potential artistic or visual touches that are important to neighbors?
- What design details work best in this area?
Outreach tools in this stage include
- Stakeholder meetings
- Project websites
- Open houses
- Project inboxes
- Project phone lines
Engagement opportunities in this stage include
- Vote on project alternatives
- Engage with social media
- Call our project phone line
- Attend open houses
- Email the project inbox
Construction
The project is happening! We've worked with neighbors to select the full design plan of the project, including where to build, considerations for transit and pedestrians, landscape amenities, and more. Our outreach team now attends the construction meetings to serve as liaisons between neighbors and the construction team. We continue reaching out to update you on construction schedules, and to see how we can best accommodate residents and businesses, all while balancing the needs of the construction team to complete the work as efficiently as possible. To ensure projects last for years into the future, our crews often come back to do routine maintenance as needed.
Some questions we're asking...
- How will people be impacted by construction?
- Is there anything we can do to accommodate the needs of community members and business owners during construction such as adjust the timing or create custom signage?
- How can we minimize construction impacts?
- How can we make sure the project lasts into the future?
Outreach tools in this stage include
- Construction notices
- Project websites
Road signs- Project inboxes
Project phone lines
Engagement opportunities in this stage include
- Use the Find It, Fix It App
- Engage with social media
- Call our project phone line
- Attend open houses
- Email project inboxes
Equity
Equity informs everything we do, including outreach and engagement. We are committed to making our work more equitable, and we consider race, income, accessibility, and other intersectionalities. In the last decade, we've implemented new measures to ensure more people have a say in our outreach and engagement process.
What we're doing right now
- Applying our Race and Social Justice Initiative Racial Equity Toolkit in outreach efforts
- Creating a Public Involvement Plan (PIP) for every project to consider existing racial and social inequities in a project area and potential unintended consequences
- Conducting outreach with translated materials or interpreters if 5% or more of a community speaks another language (or if requested)
- Meeting with minority-owned businesses wherever projects occur Partnering with the Department of Neighborhoods and the Office of Economic Development to provide additional resources to communities including working with Department of Neighborhoods’ Community Liaisons
- Working with community organizations
- Holding community conversations such as with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) community as part of our outreach and engagement process
- Acknowledging that there is still a lot of work to be done