Innovative Public Engagement Approaches and Techniques for Transportation Projects

All TES workshop attendees will earn 1.5 PDH credits

About the Workshop

Have you ever wondered how you could more effectively engage the public and stakeholders in transportation projects? Well here is your opportunity to see, hear, and touch the latest approaches and tools being used by transportation professionals.

This TES Series workshop will include a panel format with representatives from the public and private sector, as well as an interactive break-out session for you to see and use some of the different tools and share your own successes in engaging the public on transportation related projects. You will see many of the available tools and hear about the specific examples used on various transportation projects, including:

• Storyboarding the Process to the Public
• Maintaining Transparency
• Alternative Development Tools that you can see, hear, and touch
• Staging Venues for Optimal Performance
• Virtual Open Houses
• Websites and On-Line Survey Tools
• Interactive 3-D Models
• Visualization Tools

The panel includes Rosemary Curtin (RBCI, Inc.), Christy Foltz-Ahlrichs (Ada County Highway District), and Andy Daleiden (Kittelson & Associates, Inc.). This group will engage you in an interactive presentation where you can both participate and also share your own successes in engaging the public on transportation related projects.

About the Speakers

Christy Foltz-Ahlrichs, Senior Communications Specialist
Ada County Highway District

Christy has been with the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) for nearly twelve years, specializing in public involvement. She coordinates the public involvement efforts for ACHD projects, which can range from transportation studies to road widening and sidewalk building projects. Her responsibilities include writing and designing outreach materials that are informative, understandable, and encourage public participation in ACHD projects. She has led the implementation of ACHD’s shift to earlier public involvement focusing on the concept and design phases of projects to better engage the public. Originally from Oregon, Christy has called Boise home for fifteen years.

Rosemary B. Curtin
RBCI, Inc.

Rosemary B. Curtin has worked with communities and leaders in Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Utah for the past 20 years. She is the owner of RBCI, a Boise-based firm that designs strategies and processes to successfully engage communities in public decision-making processes. Her recent work includes managing a multi-year public information campaign for highway construction in the Treasure Valley. For the past several years she has also worked with several major Northwest utilities and helped develop regional community advisory processes to garner public support for a proposed electrical transmission projects. Most recently, Rosemary has worked intensively with the community of Nampa and city officials to design and implement an innovative public involvement process to meet new regulatory requirements for the City’s wastewater and stormwater management programs. Rosemary has a master’s degree in political science from Northwestern University, and bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics from the University of Utah.


Andy Daleiden, PE, Senior Engineer
Kittelson & Associates, Inc.

Andy is a senior engineer with over 12 years of experience. He has been involved in, and managed, many transportation planning, traffic engineering, and concept design projects throughout the U.S. From these projects, Andy has been able to communicate and listen to elected officials, stakeholders, and the public about the project, as well as work with them early on in the process to identify innovative transportation solutions that meet the community needs. Some example projects include the State Street Transit & Traffic Operational Plan (TTOP), a 15-mile long transit corridor study completed in Ada County, ID, and the Russell Street EIS Traffic Analysis, a 4-mile long corridor study in Missoula, MT that is currently moving into the design phase. Andy is currently managing the Kuna Downtown Corridor Plan for the Ada County Highway District and the City of Kuna, where the team is bringing unique tools and ideas to actively engage the public in identifying transportation solutions for the community.


Registration & networking begins at 11:00am and the TES workshop will start promptly at 11:30 a.m. and run to 1:30 pm.

Lunch will be served and there is no cost to attend this session. The workshop is equal to 1.5 professional development hours (PDH).

If you have any questions regarding your registration, please contact Jackie Olsommer (jolsommer@kittelson.com) at (208) 338-2683.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Event Materials