When the city of Vancouver considered the prospect of installing bike lanes along Columbia Street, they launched an extensive face-to-face outreach campaign that lasted nearly two years.
Staff hosted Q&A sessions with neighborhood groups. They hosted information tables at the Vancouver Farmers Market, passed out flyers, convened at coffeehouses and held an open house. They visited with business owners stationed along the proposed route. They distributed, in total, around 4,000 postcards and door hangers explaining what the bike lanes would mean for cyclist safety and parking capacity.
However, for all those efforts, the outreach campaign’s success was limited. By the time the city council voted to move forward with the Westside Bike Mobility Project in February (later derailed by COVID-19), it was in the face of intense complaints from city residents who claimed they hadn’t known about the proposal until the very end of the process. Staff were lambasted for conducting only surface-level outreach – as one frustrated city councilor put it, a “checking-a-box” approach. According to Corinne Weiss, Vancouver’s interim communications director, it’s a tale as old as time.
“I have worked in other jurisdictions, and this whole scenario is very common,” Weiss said.
Communicating effectively with residents about public projects that could impact their homes and lives is, even during normal times, a difficult endeavor.
And these are not normal times. COVID-19 has removed most tools that would usually help city staff communicate with residents.
“Currently, due to COVID-19, our biggest challenge is that we are unable to conduct in-person engagement,” Weiss said. “Online-only engagement presents challenges in reaching those community members who prefer in-person interaction, don’t have online access, or have language or other accessibility barriers.”
Further complicating the issue is a staffing change: Vancouver’s communications director, Carol Bua, left the city in August. The search to replace Bua is ongoing.
Seeds of opportunity
Over the last six months, people have shifted more and more of their lives online, from clocking in at work to ordering grocery delivery.
Municipal business is no exception. Whereas citizens once had options about how they wanted to attend Vancouver City Council, board and commission meetings – virtually or in-person – they’re now only able to watch a livestream of the meeting online or on Clark/Vancouver Television. Speaking or participating requires pre-registration.
But there are seeds of opportunity to meet people where they are as life moves largely online.
For example, last month, the city sent out a request for public feedback on how to prioritize its limited resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using an online simulation tool, the community was invited to balance the city’s budget in the face of a deficit heading into 2021. Visitors to the online tool indicated where they think the city should cut or reinvest general fund spending.
Residents could also complete a series of short surveys and post to an “ideas board” on Be Heard Vancouver, the city’s general outreach page that launched last year.
Weiss said around 1,000 people have used the budget tool since it launched. About 1,100 took the budget survey on the Be Heard site.
That webpage, Weiss said, has “become our primary engagement tool during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It’s seen about 3,000 visitors in the last 30 days, she added, and currently allows residents to give feedback on 11 different ongoing issues.
They can chime in on specific developments, such as the Waterfront Gateway Project and safety upgrades along East McLoughlin Boulevard, as well as on broader topics such as racial justice and policing within the city.
In addition to Be Heard Vancouver, the city’s online engagement tools include its main website, its social media accounts, emailed communications, broadcasts on CVTV.org and the MyVancouver app.
“Given the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and not being able to engage with residents in person, these online tools have been very helpful in sharing information and collecting feedback,” Weiss said.
