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INTRODUCTION

OUTREACH

DRAFT

TO ACCESS THE CURRENT 2045 HATS RTP, CLICK HERE.

Outreach for the HATS 2050 RTP was a multi-faceted approach designed to gather input from the public, regional stakeholders, and municipalities. This was done through a variety of in-person and online strategies during various stages of development of the plan, consistent with the HATS Public Participation Plan. Once a draft was completed, the required public comment period was held consistent with federal requirements. A summary of these efforts and resources related to the results is available below.

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It is important to note that RTP outreach is a part of the overall outreach efforts undertaken by HATS. Transportation plans like the HATS Regional Active Transportation Plan and Safety Action Plan, or development of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), incorporate significant outreach efforts, engaging the public, municipal officials, and our region’s stakeholders to provide input and insight into the issues of and possible solutions for our region’s transportation system. HATS staff also regularly engages our region’s underserved communities through regular outreach to Plain Sect communities or organizations like Tri-County Community Action. As the results and recommendations of these plans and programs are incorporated, this RTP serves as a culmination of all HATS outreach.

STEERING COMMITTEE

 

The development of the HATS 2050 RTP was guided by the RTP Implementation Work Group, which served as the de facto Steering Committee. Across the 18-month plan development period, RTP Work Group meetings (which were also open to all HATS Technical or Coordinating Committee members) held meetings which focused on project kickoff, visioning and goal formation, project pipeline scoring, and draft plan review. Meetings were attended by over 28 individuals, representing the following HATS members and organizations :

 

  • Cumberland County

  • Dauphin County

  • Perry County

  • City of Harrisburg

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  • Susquehanna Regional Transit Authority

  • PennDOT Central Office

  • PennDOT District 8-0

 

  • Federal Highway Administration

  • PA House of Representatives

  • PA State Senate

  • Multiple Municipalities

PUBLIC INPUT

 

Throughout the summer and fall of 2024, HATS staff conducted a comprehensive outreach effort that included distribution of an online public survey (available in English and Spanish) and attendance at more than 10 community events and festivals throughout the region. The input gained through this process directly impacted the Project Pipeline scoring system, identified additional Project Pipeline Transportation Needs, and produced issues discussed in the RTP Focus Area chapters.

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In total, 412 responses were received from residents and visitors of the HATS region. Each respondent was asked to evaluate the relative importance of the 10 Focus Areas that make up the Project Pipeline Focus Areas. The ranked results of those responses for the online survey and community events, respectively, are shown in Table 1. Information related to demographics (online survey) and zip code (online survey and event attendance) was also collected. A map illustrating the distribution of responses by zip code is shown in Figure 1.

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A summary of the public survey results is available here.

MUNICIPAL INPUT

 

Input from the region’s 103 municipalities was incorporated primarily through the Project Pipeline process. Letters and emails were sent to each municipality explaining the process, listing any of their currently programmed projects and Transportation Needs remaining from the 2045 RTP, while soliciting new Transportation Need submissions. The input received was combined with Transportation Needs submitted by the public and a total of 31 review 

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Table 1 - Public Outreach Results

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Figure 1 - Outreach Participants by Zip Code

meetings were held. At these meetings, Transportation Need summaries were developed to document the scope of the need, desired improvements to be considered in a potential project, amount of planning or design work already done, and a cost estimate. Once the RTP is finalized, the summaries will be returned to the municipalities with additional information on how the need was evaluated on the Project Pipeline and any potential environmental impacts.

STAKEHOLDER INPUT

 

Our region’s stakeholders, including special interest advocates and public agency representatives, contributed to the development of the RTP primarily through a series of focus group meetings held for RTP Focus Areas, including Mobility & Accessibility, Freight, and Active Transportation, among others. At these meetings, HATS staff facilitated an interactive discussion about the existing conditions, identified issues, and proposed actions for the relevant Focus Area. HATS staff also presented information regarding potential environmental impacts and mitigation at a PennDOT Agency Coordination Meeting (ACM), which was attended by 50+ representatives of public agencies. Overall, the HATS outreach efforts resulted in the engagement of and input from over 100 regional stakeholders.

OFFICIAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

 

The required public comment period for the HATS 2050 RTP will be held from July 1, 2025 to August 15, 2025. During this period, hard copies of the RTP will be available for review at the following locations:

 

TCRPC Office

320 Market Street, Suite 301E

Harrisburg, PA 17101

 

Cumberland County Planning Commission

310 Allen Road, Suite 101
Carlisle, PA 17013

 

Perry County Planning Commission

20 W. McClure St.

New Bloomfield, PA 17068

 

In person public meetings will be held at the following dates, times, and locations:

 

TBD

 

Virtual public meetings will be held at the following dates and times:

 

TBD

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Details on how to participate will be posted here when available. Recordings of the public information sessions will be posted here for those that cannot attend.

 

The online format used for the RTP has enabled HATS to supplement the direct outreach measures summarized above through the website and other online approaches to significantly increase awareness to the public and transportation stakeholders. A summary of the online outreach activities conducted through the public comment period is provided below. Online access to the RTP continued throughout the planning period.

 

Website Analytics (July 1, 2025 – August 15, 2025):

  • Visitors: TO BE UPDATED

  • Sessions: TO BE UPDATED

  • Page Views: TO BE UPDATED

  • Average sessions per user: TO BE UPDATED

  • Other PA cities represented: TO BE UPDATED

  • Other U.S. cities represented: TO BE UPDATED

  • Foreign visitors: TO BE UPDATED

 

A summary of the comments received, along with HATS' response to the comments, will be available upon completion of the Public Comment Period.

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