• Building Connections in a Rural Community - Maysville, NC

    During the environmental phase of a roadway project in the small community of Maysville, North Carolina, the outreach team worked with the IGA Grocery Store to get information about the project out to the community and gather names for the project database. This was the only grocery store within 20 miles of Maysville, and therefore served many area residents. The team provided the checkout clerks a stack of newsletters to distribute. The Store Manager put a map of the study area on his office so that patrons could walk over and see the project alternatives. He also worked with the outreach team to position them inside the store, so that patrons had to walk by the table while they were shopping.

 Lessons Learned using Primary Technique:

  • Information Materials

Strengths

The approach was inexpensive and required little lead time, since the materials were already developed for use in other outreach activities. There was a captive audience, which significantly helped to expand reach at a low cost and time investment.

Drawbacks

 There was not a long time period to interact – people were in a hurry and wanted to get to their shopping, they did not want to stop and chat. There was enough time to distribute materials and to get contact information if they were not already on the mailing list.

Insights

It made a big difference that the team was allowed to set up inside the store. At first, they were outside the store and more people had a tendency to skip the table. It also helped to have someone in the community who was willing to assist – in this case, the Store Manager really helped to pave the way.

 Project Attributes

Project Primary Purpose
  
Accessibility Improvement, Mobility/System Efficiency, Regional Connection Improvement, Safety Improvement
Target Communities
  
Rural
Target Populations
  
Low-Income Populations, Seniors, Students/Youth
  
Project Design
  
Local Roadway or Interchange

 Primary Technique

  • Information Materials

 Other Techniques used

  • 39;#Grocery Bags;#35;#Fliers

 Contact Info

  
Anne Morris
  
North Carolina Department of Transportation
  
http://ncdot.gov
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