We are looking for volunteers to act as scribes at one (or more) of our upcoming forums on the public acceptability of congestion pricing. I’m hoping some of you will be willing to help us out with this very interesting public opinion research project.
The forums, titled “Should We Use Congestion Pricing to Help Solve Our Traffic Woes?,” are examining whether and how the attitudes of the general public toward congestion pricing will change after citizens learn about and discuss current problems and potential solutions. The forums are part of a TPB study that has been funded by the Federal Highway Administration and is being conducted in partnership with the Brookings Institution. We have engaged the non-profit AmericaSpeaks to conduct the forums. I’m attaching a memo on the study to give you some background.
The invitation-only forums are essentially “mega focus groups” comprising about 60-70 people. The sessions last approximately four hours, beginning at 10:00 a.m., and are held on Saturdays throughout the region. At the forums, participants are divided into 8-10 round-table discussions with 7-9 people each. Discussions are led by a facilitator, provided through AmericaSpeaks. Scribes (hopefully some of you) record the discussions on laptops and periodically forward the groups’ comments to a “theme team” that synthesizes the input from the different discussions.
We need 8-10 scribes for each of the following events:
· Saturday, November 5 – Rockville, MD
· Saturday, November 19 – Chantilly, VA
· Saturday, December 3 – Springfield, VA
· Saturday, January 21 – Washington, DC
We will train you (a quick briefing) and provide lunch. If you can do only one, that’s great; more than one, that’s great too!
If you want to participate or you have questions, please let me know. Or you can contact Gareth James or Ben Hampton of the DTP staff.
These forums offer a unique opportunity to learn about the evolution of congestion pricing as a potential policy solution, and to observe an innovative public opinion research technique. I hope you’ll be able to assist us with this fascinating project!
Please Contact for more information:
John Swanson, AICP
Principal Transportation Planner
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
jswanson@mwcog.org
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