At Horrocks, our work is focused on one common goal: providing essential resources to communities. Our Public Engagement team plays a special role in accomplishing this by acting as a liaison between community members and engineers, contractors, and government agencies.
Horrocks' Public Engagement team (formerly Public Involvement) works with clients to find out what questions, concerns, and feedback the community has in regard to proposed or current projects. By involving community members in the decision-making process, project teams can incorporate input into the project design and delivery for greater long-term success.
“Public Engagement means humanizing engineering projects," shared Katie Kourianos, Horrocks' Public Engagement Manager, "By acting as an advocate for both our clients and the public and bringing people together, we can bridge the gaps that can often occur between the two. Proactively reaching out to those affected by a project and gathering their feedback helps to build trust and ensure decisions are being made with our communities’ best interests in mind. After all that, the result is a much more informed, sustainable solution.”
Horrocks' Public Engagement Experience
At Horrocks we understand that every Public Engagement project is unique, just as each community has their own unique culture and needs. Because of this, we tailor our approach for communities and their preferences through a combination of in-person and online outreach. Learn more about some of our recent work.
Conducting Community Member Walk Audits in Idaho
As part of our US-95 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study, Horrocks helped the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) identify the community values and vision for the study area. Our team hosted 47 in-depth interviews with community members, which helped us learn about the local culture, history, and economy — including their deep respect for the land, wildlife, and beauty of the Palouse region.
During these interviews, we heard that walking and biking are essential to Moscow, a college-centric town of 25,000 people, and that safety is top of mind for many in the downtown area. To learn more about the needs and movements of people who walk and bike in downtown Moscow, we helped our active transportation group host a “walk audit.” We navigated the downtown core with members of the community, including students, commerce representatives, and advocates for people with disabilities to hear first-hand stories from those who travel the roadways on foot or wheels. This activity helped us gather early input, and we will continue to incorporate findings about community priorities and values throughout the PEL process.
Horrocks’ Ice Cream Truck Visits Community-Based Non-Profits and Groups in Utah
While it’s not uncommon to spot the Horrocks' ice cream truck at public meetings and events, our Public Engagement team has recently utilized it in a new way for the TechLink Trax Study. The TechLink Trax Study is being conducted to evaluate different ways to improve the Trax system in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Horrocks has partnered with community-based organizations and non-profits representing local underserved groups by taking the ice cream truck to events that they’re holding to hand out free ice cream and other incentives like gift cards and transit passes. In exchange, our teams get the chance to talk with these groups about what they need from a transit system. This interaction allows our teams to gather feedback from members of the community who may not be able to attend conventional public meetings and events. By reaching community members where they are, we ensure project development is equitable and includes the perspectives of as many community members as possible.
Real-Time Text Alerts for I-25 Updates in New Mexico
In New Mexico, Horrocks was brought on to a 3-year project for the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) improving I-25 from Comanche Road to Montgomery Boulevard in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a part of our Public Engagement effort to keep community members updated on project progress, our teams created a website with project information including options to sign up for email updates and text alerts. While emails are used solely to inform in advance of road closures or new traffic patterns, text alerts are being used to give real-time updates to commuters and residents. This is to help drivers plan their travels and account for things like a crash or a delay. Five months into construction, and nearly 4,000 individuals have signed up to receive text alerts.
Reaching Rural Nevada Through Virtual Meetings
A common Public Engagement practice that Horrocks employs is virtual meetings. While the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise in virtual meetings, we have found this tool is also helpful for reaching rural communities.
Our Public Engagement teams have utilized virtual meetings to meet with stakeholders and community members impacted by bridge projects happening in both Battle Mountain and Elko/Carlin, Nevada. In addition to increased attendance versus in-person meetings, the virtual meetings provided numerous ways for attendees to share information, comments, and questions about project elements, including participating in live surveys.
Learn more about Horrocks’ Public Engagement services and see other project examples at https://www.horrocks.net/publicengagement.
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