Public involvement for transportation projects is our core service. We understand FTA, FHWA, DOT, FRA and NEPA, Tier 1, Tier 2, DEIS, FEIS requirements. With services provided in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan project examples follow:

I69 Section 5 / I69 Tier II Section 6

The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead and was responsible for managing public outreach including conducting public meetings, developing fact sheets, legislative briefs, addressing public questions, serving as liaison with the technical team regarding property acquisition, historical impacts, environmental concerns and facilitating on-site informational events throughout the project corridor.

NICTD Westlake Corridor Study

The McCormick Group served as Public and Agency Coordination Lead for the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Study) and as Co- Public Involvement Lead for the FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Study). This study evaluated and moved forward through the NEPA process the potential expansion of the South Shore Rail Line for federal funding consideration. The McCormick Group managed on site public meetings, documentation of public outreach, website management and message development.

Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority Strategic & Operations Plan

The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead with responsibility for planning outreach activities, managing on-site and ongoing receipt of public feedback, media relations and internal communication with the client and consultant project team. Execution of public outreach services was provided as input to the Operations Plan. This input assisted in defining current levels of bus service and projected service area needs to assist the Regional Development Authority in assessing input to potential transit investments. The McCormick Group conducted public meetings, open houses, executed stakeholder surveys and provided report input summary data. The resulting Operations Plan was adopted by the authorizing board.

I-465 Accelerate 465 Reconstruction

The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead for this study, which was the largest reconstruction project in INDOT history. This segment was one of the first built and the last to be rehabilitated. It involved upgrading interchange ramp and mainline capabilities, improving deteriorating mainline, ramp pavement and bridges and upgrade of geometric conditions to current standards. The McCormick Group was responsible for all components of public involvement for a four year period. Over 54 community meetings were executed, with documented attendance of 1,673 and participation by 75 neighborhood groups, an information fair designed by The McCormick Group reached over 1,000 attendees with 1.1 million non-paid media exposures received. Over 2,200 public inquiries were responded to and a full time project office was managed. Community integration included preparing legislative briefs, submitting third party articles, managing an 800 response line, developing website information updates, conducting public outreach for noise mitigation, including direct mail to affected residents, tabulating results and developing summary data. Additionally, services provided included planning and participating on-site in Context Sensitive Solution workshops, Community Advisory and Emergency Responder Community Groups.

Title VI for IndyGo

The Federal Transit Administration Circular 4702.1B requires transit providers to develop policies for evaluating the impacts of proposed service changes on minority and low-income populations protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The McCormick Group served as meeting facilitator to explain these policies (disparate impact, major service change and disproportionate burden policy) to the public and to solicit their input to current services offered by the IndyGo team.

Urban Corridor Alternative Analysis Study for South Bend Public Transportation Corporation

The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead for this study which was designed to determine the optimal alternative to maximize transportation investments for the downtown, urban corridor. This included technically evaluating five possible transportation routes coupled with economic investments and public transit patterns. The goal of the evaluation was to improve mobility, increase ridership, and enhance transit connections to and from South Bend’s central business district using high quality, frequent and reliable transit service. Consistent with FTA guidelines this study included early and ongoing participation by a wide range of stakeholders. The public meetings were held, planned and managed on-site by The McCormick Group. Three rounds of community advisory meetings were held also facilitated by The McCormick Group. Outreach to the public, documentation of meeting minutes and attendees, facilitation of special stakeholder discussions and developing communication messages were primary responsibilities of The McCormick Group.

TRANSPO selected a preferred alternative from the recommendations provided which resulted in a 10% budget reduction. Since implementation, ridership has increased annually.

Historic Bridges

INDOT in coordination with FHWA, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Indiana SHPO initiated a statewide historic inventory study for which The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead. The study resulted in a list of bridges eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and a process to manage historic bridges in Indiana. The McCormick Group was responsible for statewide public outreach to 400 historic preservationists, private organizations, commissioners and state agencies in 92 Indiana counties. Duties included stakeholder database management, electronic and hard copy information dissemination, meeting notifications, public meeting logistical planning and quarterly website maintenance.

Michigan City Alternative Analysis Realignment Study for the City of Michigan City & the Northern Commuter Transportation District

The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead. In this capacity, public education and outreach were planned and executed. The objective was to inform the public and receive public feedback regarding the alternatives under consideration. The existing South Shore Line has for more than a century provided services in Michigan City along a 2 mile segment of single track that is embedded in the middle of 10th and 11th streets. This street running adversely impacts train operations, affecting safety, capacity and maintenance costs. Public involvement required stakeholder identification, meeting announcements, web development, public meeting planning, public response exchange, on-site meeting execution and coordination of information exchange between the public and the management oversight group. This study was conducted in adherence to Resolution 4435 passed by the City of Michigan City in support of the Realignment Study. In the first public meeting, based on pre-meeting outreach, Matti McCormick received an ovation from the attendees.

Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac Passenger High-Speed Rail Investment Study

The McCormick Group served as Public Outreach Lead for the State of Indiana in this tri-state study with Michigan and Illinois. In this capacity, The McCormick Group was responsible for stakeholder identification, public outreach, meeting planning, on-site coordination, preparing meeting minutes, facilitating outreach event opportunities, web based third party social media messaging and coordination between local leaders within Lake and Porter counties and the project’s management team. Public input in this study was designed to educate and receive public feedback regarding the alternatives being considered in this Tier 1 EIS and subsequent Service Development Plan.

Porter Indiana Gateway to the Dunes Alternative Transportation Study

The McCormick Group served as Public Involvement Lead. As a component of the Sub-Area Plan, this study was designed to address reducing traffic to, from, and within the Dunes project area and to define transportation options that will improve the public’s accessibility, expand usage and facilitate enhanced connectivity between current and potential destinations and activity centers. The McCormick Group was responsible for conducting transportation agency and Northwest Indiana town leadership meetings and for compiling data from these interviews into a final report, with recommendations, to assist in project planning.

Findings presented addressed recommended transportation linkages between rail and auto, environmental and biking, including the South Shore train service to the Dunes Park Station.

Illiana Expressway Feasibility Study

The McCormick Group was responsible for Public Outreach services. This study as directed by Senate Bill 105 evaluated the feasibility of constructing a highway corridor in Northwest Indiana to relieve congestion, facilitate improved traffic flow and promote economic growth. This study principally addressed project purpose and need and environmental features for the proposed three alignment corridors, within the study area, from I-65 in Indiana to I-57 in Illinois. The McCormick Group was responsible for obtaining agency input from 21 agencies at the federal, state, county and regional levels in Indiana and Illinois. Key stakeholder groups and market influencers were also identified and included in the data feedback. The McCormick Group was responsible for identifying key issues from safety to freight congestion, while managing communication including preparing presentations and summary documents to the client team.

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