Okay, apologies, that headline is a little misleading. The U.S. Department of Transportation didn’t specifically have the North Texas Council of Governments and its highway-fetishizing transportation director in mind when it released its “Transportation Toolkit” earlier this week. Still, it is difficult not to see the report, which City Lab calls “a plain-language citizen’s guide to the government’s process for major infrastructure undertakings, and how to get involved” as just that. In short, the document is designed to familiarize citizens with how transportation decisions are made in order to help individuals have a greater impact in planning their communities’ futures. Via City Lab:
Along with approachable graphics and flowcharts, the kit goes over the basic timelines that road, rail, bridge, and aviation projects usually follow, crucial concepts, entities, and laws that inform those processes, and the best strategies to make citizen voices heard. Think of this as everything you wanted to know about transportation planning, but were afraid to ask.
Or think of it as the latest textbook in a self-taught class called “Defense Against the Dark Arts of Michael Morris.” Either way, enjoy a Thursday afternoon transit wonk rabbit hole. Here’s a video introduction to the toolkit:
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