I have results to share after completing the outreach that I showed in this previous post. I worked with a graphic designer at Clackamas Community College (CCC) to design the below sidewalk decal, which had an embedded SMS survey. I used grant funding to pay for ten decals and the SMS survey. SimpleTexting was used to manage the SMS survey.

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A post shared by Ray Atkinson (@rayplans)

While I was disappointed to only have 17 people participate in my SMS survey, I gathered helpful insights into which proposed shuttle routes and stops would work best for people who live and travel through Milwaukie. I may try to do a similar survey in Oregon City and the Clackamas Industrial Area. Clackamas County will be starting free shuttle services in these areas in July. Sidewalk decals with an embedded SMS survey may help understand whether the currently planned routes and stops are working well for people.

I used CCC’s Interim Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework and the below section of the BlackSpace Manifesto to guide my shuttle outreach process. One element of the framework and BlackSpace Manifesto that I have been struggling with is to focus on quality of engagement over quantity. I received more quantity of feedback through an online survey than the SMS survey. However, I received better quality of engagement through the SMS survey than the online survey. I also engaged better with people most impacted by the proposed shuttle service through the SMS survey than the online survey. How much quality engagement is needed in order to feel comfortable with the quantity of engagement?

Future Blog Post

I will be doing a car-free vacation in the Columbia River Gorge during the last week of June and early July. While I have planned my vacation to be as close to transit stops and bike infrastructure, I am already nervous about the challenges of trying to do a car-free vacation in an area that does not have frequent transit service and fully connected bike infrastructure. As this video shows, Friends of the Columbia Gorge has an exciting Gorge Towns to Trails vision for how to make car-free vacationing easier in the Columbia River Gorge. I plan to share in a future post how this vision is already coming together in some parts of the Columbia River Gorge.