We’re pleased to provide you this issue of InTransition featuring articles on cinnovative ways to engage the public. At the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority public participation is integal to our trnasportation planning work. When we're developing a vision for our region's future 25 years from now, we need to know where people expect to live and how they plan to get around, among other things.
We're proud to share our award-winning public engagement work with you in this issue, as well as best practices from around the country. While accolades are nice, the true reward is reaching more of our residents and involving them in the important work we and other public agencies do.
We challenged ourselves to think outside the box, moving away from traditional public meetings, which are often poorly attended, to targeted outreach that encourages people of all ages, incomes and backgrounds to be involved in our projects and programs. I urge you to do the same, by following the examples highlighted in this issue. We've also developed a comprehensive database of outreach strategies and techniques, which is available at njtpa.org/engage. I hope you find it informative and worthwhile.