OUR CLIENT:

City of Bend

 

OUR WORK:

Newport Avenue Corridor Improvements project replaces the aging and failing stormwater system along Newport Avenue and Nashville Avenue to the Deschutes River. When the project is complete, roads will be repaved and new sidewalks, curb ramps, lighting, landscape, and signage will be installed. Barney & Worth coordinates communications with the public/private sector design-build project team.

When COVID-19 temporarily ended in-person events in March 2020, the City of Bend chose to continue work on their Newport Avenue Corridor Improvements project. Rather than postponing or canceling their open houses, the City turned to B&W to move them online.

B&W online open house included:

• A unique website landing page easily accessible via desktop, mobile or tablet devices
• A centralized online information hub for project information, FAQs, and maps
• Interactive surveying, comments and questions features to capture community feedback
• A mix of traditional and online publicity tools to promote the new online format

Thanks to the online open house, Bend community members could learn about the design concepts for the Newport corridor improvements and share feedback from the safety and comfort of their own homes.

Community engagement was impressive:

• 400 unique visitors/participants over 17 days—significantly exceeding the goal of 40-50 participants
• More than 30 questions and comments on the proposed design concepts
• An average stay of 4 minutes 55 seconds—approximately twice the time visitors spend on similar project sites
• Plus, people can return to the website for ongoing project updates after the open house

The community feedback is helping inform design decisions and keep momentum going on this important road improvement project. Project engineers with the city are excited to have the opportunity to keep the conversation going online and are thrilled to avoid construction delays.

Learn more about our online community engagement services