CDR Associates Transportation Experience

Transportation

CDR Associates has an experienced team of facilitators, mediators, and conveners with years of experience in addressing and resolving transportation. We have an extensive background working in the world of environmental process and regulations (including NEPA, the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and environmental justice), and understand the dynamics of interagency relationships and decision making. Our team includes:

Louise Smart
Jonathan Bartsch
Bernard Mayer
Mary Margaret Golten
Julie McKay

CDR's transportation-related services encompass:

Facilitation of transportation, resource, and regulatory agency information-sharing, review, and deliberation meetings on transportation projects during the development of the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement)

Facilitation of interagency workshops on partnering and how to improve coordination and working relationships among agencies

Process design and facilitation of negotiated rule-making or policy development using input of stakeholders

Design and facilitation of public involvement meetings which are interactive and constructive

Facilitation of interagency task forces to address environmental issues on a programmatic basis

Consultation on the development of conflict resolution processes as part of environmental streamlining and/or MOUs between agencies

Design of conference workshops to make them interactive and engaging

Transportation Experience

CDOT/RTD US 36 Environmental Impact Statement (2003-Present). Jonathan Bartsch serves as the Project Manager for the US 36 EIS from Denver to Longmont, Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Regional Transit District (RTD) are examining solutions to the transportation needs in the corridor and employing a proactive public involvement approach. The public involvement process involves facilitating a policy and technical committee as well as other approaches to inform and involve the public.

Regional Transportation District, Metro Denver, CO. Louise Smart served as co-lead on public involvement for two light rail corridors to extend service to Denver southwest suburbs to increase capacity into downtown Denver from existing and planned light rail routes. Ms. Smart developed the public involvement plan for this project, developed a communication network with neighborhood and business leaders and groups, designed and facilitated public workshops, and facilitated meetings of the Policy Advisory Committees for these two projects. The project involved location of light rail alignment for one corridor and comparison of light rail and bus rapid transit and selection of a preferred transit alignment for the other corridor.

Colorado Department of Transportation, Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on the I-70 Corridor. Jonathan Bartsch and Louise Smart are serving as facilitators, mediators, and communication coaches on a broad environmental analysis of a 140-mile corridor east of Denver, designed to select a package of transportation alternatives to address congestion on I-70 on a long-term basis. The PEIS process will lead to decisions on specific projects to carry forward into a project-specific environmental evaluation (EIS or EA). Bartsch and Smart have participated as co-facilitators of interagency meetings (CDOT, FHWA, USEPA, USFWS, USFS, USACE, FTA, and FRA) to address transportation and environmental issues in the corridor, as mediators to help strengthen working relationships between CDOT and FHWA, and as process coaches to help CDOT communicate effectively in its public involvement process with diverse stakeholders.

Southern Orange County Transportation Infrastructure Improvement Program (SOCTIIP) (January 2001 to present). Louise Smart serves as facilitator on an environmental review process to study and evaluate a range of selected alternatives in southern Orange County. She facilitates meetings of, and provide process advice, to members of the "Southern Orange County Infrastructure Improvement Program (SOCTIIP) Collaborative," which includes representatives of TCA, Caltrans, FHWA, USACE, USEPA, USFWS, and the Marine Corps. The tasks of the Collaborative are to review and comment on the technical consultants' scopes of work, to review technical reports, to develop consensus on evaluation criteria for comparing alternatives, and to develop consensus on the preferred alternative.

Evergreen Transportation (1999). Jonathan Bartsch facilitated a consensus-building process aimed at selecting a preferred alternative for improving the intersection of County Road 73 and State Highway 74 in Evergreen, Colorado. CDR Associates helped to facilitate a stakeholder group to identify a preferred alternative that best met the needs of a range of participants. This stakeholder group recommended an alternative to the primary consultant who in turn made a recommendation to Jefferson County.

City of Boulder, Transportation Finance Committee/GO Boulder (1996-1998). Under the auspices of the City of Boulder's office for alternative transportation (GO Boulder), Bernard Mayer facilitated the work of a committee to devise a funding plan for Boulder's unique local bus system. The committee was comprised of representatives of businesses and residents from various parts of Boulder as well as the sizable university community. Dr. Mayer facilitated both the committee meetings and public meetings to obtain broader input as a recommendation took shape. The committee reached a consensus recommendation, which took into account the concerns voiced at the public meetings. The recommendation was quickly adopted by a near-unanimous vote of the City Council. The committee continued through a second phase to find ways to close funding gaps in the city's Transportation Master Plan.

City of Boulder, Department of Transportation (1993-1994). Bernard Mayer facilitated deliberations of a city/neighborhood task force regarding the widening of an arterial through a residential neighborhood.

FHWA, Virginia Department of Transportation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. EPA, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1998 and 2000). Louise Smart conducted a partnering workshop (1998) to develop a Virginia-based process for early coordination among the transportation, resource, and regulatory agencies to deal with highway projects that involve Section 404 permits. A follow-up workshop in March 2000 provided opportunities to refine their process and integrate key concepts of environmental streamlining. In October 2000, Ms. Smart assisted FHWA, VDOT, and the Corps of Engineers in the design of a dispute resolution process to complement Virginia's multi-agency coordination approach.

South Carolina Department of Transportation (2001). Louise Smart and Jonathan Bartsch facilitated a partnering workshop among SCDOT, FHWA, USACE, USFWS, USEPA, NMFS, the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the SC Department of Archives and History. The result of this workshop was a series of agreements and action items to include the resource and regulatory agencies in early stages of project development, to bring the resource and regulatory agencies into the planning process with MPO's and Councils of Government, and to institute an inter-agency policy committee to deliberate on issues with multi-project implications.

The Federal Highways Administration Multi-Agency Project (1992-1998). Louise Smart and J. Michael Harty designed and implemented a series of courses (36 courses delivered throughout the United States) on "Practical Conflict Management Skills to Resolve Highway-Wetlands Issues," which was conducted nationwide for FHWA, State transportation departments, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and other state resource agencies. The purpose of these courses was to provide federal and state agencies with a common set of skills that they could apply on highways projects with wetlands impacts and to build a more productive working relationship among the agencies. FHWA sponsored these courses as part of their effort to develop cooperation among the FHWA, the state departments of transportation, and the resource and regulatory agencies in implementing NEPA and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Interagency agreements were reached to merge the NEPA and 404 process on highway projects so that preferred alternatives which emerged from the NEPA process would satisfy permitting requirements for the Corps.

As part of this project, Ms. Smart and Mr. Harty facilitated numerous discussions related to the application of environmental laws to highway development (in particular, applications to Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Impact Assessments where wetlands are involved) and improvements in implementation of environmental processes among regulatory and commenting agencies and the project proponent agency.

Note: The FHWA Office of Program Quality Coordination prepared an evaluation of the project to promote inter-agency coordination, in 1996. This evaluation is documented in an FHWA publication, "Interagency Coordination with Federal Agencies during the FHWA Project Planning and NEPA Processes," Publication No. FHWA-PR-96-05, HPR-1/1-97(2M)E.) This publication says, "Interpersonal skills were identified by nearly all of the persons interviewed by the team as critical to meeting stakeholder goals. An overwhelmingly positive response was heard for the National Highway Institute Training Course, 'Practical Conflict Management Skills to Resolve Highway/Wetlands Issues.' That course brought State DOT, Federal and State Agency and the FHWA personnel together to use collaboration and interest based negotiation skills to resolve wetland issues. Having all the Agencies together in the training provided the additional benefit of developing personal relationships and a shared understanding of approaches to resolving conflicts."

FHWA Environmental Leadership Seminar (1995-present). Because of her experience gained by interaction with field staff, FHWA has included Louise Smart as a co-instructor of their Environmental Leadership Seminar. As a Co-Instructor with Eugene Cleckley (Director of FHWA Southern Resource Center, formerly of FHWA Headquarters Environmental Operations), Louise Smart has conducted a portion of a 2-to-3-day program for FHWA senior staff (Division Administrators, and Assistant and Deputy Administrators), around the country. The goal of this program has been to heighten awareness of and commitment to FHWA's environmental mission. Ms. Smart's segment of the workshop is on "Shared Decision Making," which includes negotiation skills and the impact of values on inter-agency relationships. Ms. Smart bases her presentations on her experience working with the transportation, resource, and regulatory agencies in the above-described "wetlands" course, where she held numerous discussions across agencies about their needs and inter-agency challenges and opportunities. This course is now offered and provided upon request to state departments of transportation for their senior staff and consultants and has been presented in North Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Utah, Maine, Colorado, and Tennessee.

FHWA Public Involvement in NEPA and Transportation Decision Making (1998-present). Louise Smart, and Jonathan Bartsch, developed and is delivering to state Departments of Transportation training programs in public involvement. This highly interactive course demonstrates public involvement techniques while providing instruction in key concepts related to an inclusive and proactive public involvement approach.

U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (2000). Louise Smart served on a consultant committee for FHWA, led by the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, to develop a dispute resolution system as part of the national environmental streamlining effort to enhance transportation decision making among federal transportation, resource, and regulatory agencies.

Environmental Streamlining Workshop (2000). Louise Smart served as plenary session facilitator for a national workshop on environmental streamlining strategies.

FHWA/State Departments of Transportation Peer Exchange Meeting (2001). Louise Smart facilitated a meeting in which several state DOT's discussed how to create a stronger linkage between the NEPA decision-making process and the planning stage. After the states exchanged information about what processes, procedures, and strategies they are using to address the challenges of strengthening environmental considerations in planning in order to develop durable decisions.

Denver International Airport (2001). Julie McKay and Jonathan Bartsch designed and are currently conducting a series of one-day training courses on conflict resolution and problem-solving skills for employees, supervisors, and managers from different divisions within DIA. The interactive course includes segments on the causes of conflict, negotiation skills, personal conflict styles, raising conflict productively, and communication skills. It is part of a series of courses on effective leadership and management.

References:

Bob Wheeler, FHWA Headquarters, 202-366-2024
Gene Cleckley, FHWA Southern Resource Center, 404-562-3571
Mila Plosky, National Highway Institute, 703-235-0527
Wayne Hall, South Carolina Department of Transportation, 803-737-1872
Nova Blazej, US EPA Region 9, 415-744-2090
Macie Cleary-Milan, Transportation Corridor Agencies, 949-754-3483