The calendar length of a corridor plan is a strong indicator of the complexity of the plan and in turn, the communication need. Although there are exceptions, usually plans of less than one year are in less populated areas or have lower road miles requiring less outreach than plans of 2-3 years which typically include more densely populated areas or a higher number of road miles. Access management components and the inclusion of an environmental process can also drive a schedule up and demand greater public outreach.

Transportation decisions are based primarily on technical analysis and other environmental and public considerations, which must include political weight and opinion. Gaining and maintaining political credibility with elected officials at all levels of government has long been a goal of the transportation department. To ensure political capital is not expended unnecessarily, project teams must take into account the potential political impacts associated with a transportation project.

Consider the political entities involved in your corridor. Is there a mayor, county commissioner or state representative particularly interested in its future? Conversely, sometimes the potential for change on a state highway concerns local elected officials, requiring targeted outreach to help the plan go smoothly.

Political interest also is not limited to elected officials. Some cities have highly influential appointed city managers or the potential recommendations resulting from a plan may be strongly supported or opposed by an Idaho Transportation Board member.

Closely related to political considerations is the level of interest and coordination necessary with affected agencies and special interest groups. A corridor plan along a district route within the limits of one city, for example, will require far less agency coordination than would a state route running through multiple cities and spanning several counties. Care should also be taken to consider Native American tribes, non- and quasi-governmental agencies (such as school districts), environmental and other special interest groups, utility companies, and neighborhood and other citizen/community groups. Close coordination with existing groups will provide a strong foundation upon which other outreach activities can be built, be it coordination with one neighborhood and one city or multiple agencies and municipalities.

Over time, transportation department personnel come to know and recognize geographic areas or special groups of people who have a history of particular reactions to transportation projects. This historical perspective is vital to consider in planning for public involvement and outreach. Reviewing project histories and conversing with past project managers or team members is useful in finding out those areas or groups who have strong opinions about the department in general or about specific transportation issues.

Considering the sheer number of directly affected stakeholders and the potential impacts to them is a sound measure for outreach need. Impacted properties include not only existing residents and businesses in the planning area, but undeveloped properties whose future use may be directly impacted by any future changes in the corridor.

Care should be taken, however, not to assume too much based solely on the number of affected properties. While a larger number provides a good case for a larger effort, often intense impacts directly to a small number of stakeholders can be just as demanding in terms of public outreach and involvement.

Incidents on the highway, particularly involving injuries or death, typically garner tremendous media attention and subsequently heightened safety concerns by the public. Considering the crash data of your corridor and how much coverage it produced in newspapers, radio, television and the web can be a good indicator of the public's overall interest regarding any potential improvement to the corridor.

ITD has categorized each route on the state system in the Route Typologies and Classification table. Route typology considers mobility and length, factors that when high typically have a greater public impact requiring more outreach. For a map view of the state system with highways color coded by their typology, see the Idaho Corridor Analysis and Planning System Map.

Idaho's history, unique landscapes and natural resources attract visitors from throughout the state and the world. The state highway system is the key link to accessing, visiting and viewing these features. Roadways used for these purposes are typically more heavily used and therefore have greater public interest when there is the potential for change. Additionally, transportation impacts near environmentally sensitive areas have the potential for greater interest in natural resource protection from the public and environmental/activist organizations.

Visit the following resources to assist in determining what designations apply to your corridor:

• Adjacent to a Wild & Scenic River: The National Wild & Scenic Rivers website provides a list of all waterways in Idaho designated Wild & Scenic Rivers.
• Byway Designation: Idaho's Scenic Byways website provides a listing of all scenic, all-American and historic byways in the state.
• Adjacent to/runs through State or National Park(s): The Idaho State Parks and Recreation website provides a list and map of all state parks. Craters of the Moon National Monument on U.S. 20 is the only park operated by the National Park Service in Idaho that borders a highway. Yellowstone National Park is partially in Idaho but not adjacent to any highways. However, US 20, 26 and state highways 31 and 33 could be considered impacted by Yellowstone travelers.

Whether you are developing an original plan or refreshing an existing plan, the addition of an access management component typically results in increased interaction with individual property owners and municipalities that may be impacted by a change in access control. Adding 0.5 to POP scores with an access management component helps compensate for the potential increase in needed communication.

Level of service (LOS) is a measure used to analyze highways by categorizing traffic flow with corresponding safe driving conditions. Roadways with LOS of A-D all have some degree of free flowing traffic. In roadways with LOS E (unstable flow) or F (force or breakdown flow) however, flow becomes irregular with speeds either varying or forced by the vehicles in front. On these roadways, public interest is typically heightened due to user frustration and the public/media attention the corridor draws. Although some corridors will have multiple segments with varying LOS depending on the time of day, if there is any segment that peaks at E or F, the public likely perceives the entire roadway in that condition because that is when and where they are using it. Visit the ITD LOS Guide to determine LOS in your corridor.