Guide for Resources and Opportunities
for Transportation Advocacy (GRO-Trans):
Advocacy Opportunities in Maine
(October 2002)
There are a number of organizations and agencies engaged in transportation planning or providing accessible transportation services in the state of Maine. Some of these have boards/advisory committees to which citizen advocates can apply for membership; most hold public meetings and provide regular opportunities for the public and to advocate for their interests and express their opinions on specific projects and long-range transportation goals. The chart below lists the most prominent of these organizations, summarizes the advocacy opportunities available with them, and provides contact information (in general, where names are included they are transportation contacts).
A number of towns in Maine have also launched projects, undertaken studies, and formed committees to for transportation planning. Contact your town manager or city planner for information about opportunities for local participation. There are also some smaller providers that operate by county or regionally; contact information for these (as well as some of those listed above) is available at the Maine Department of Transportation web site (http://www.state.me.us/mdot/opt/transit/counties.htm).
Organization |
Purpose/Profile |
Boards |
Open to Membership Applicants? |
Dedicated Citizen Seats? |
Other Ways to Be Involved |
Regional Transportation Advisory Committees RTAC 1 |
Represents regional transportation interests, concerns and goals to the Maine Department of Transportation. |
N/A
|
Yes, individuals can apply using an online application. (For an application, click here.) Members are selected by the MDOT Commissioner. |
Yes, each RTAC has seats reserved for various stakeholders, one of which is the general public.
|
The RTACs welcome public participation in defining the regions’ goals. They hold public events to solicit community input for their Regional Advisory Reports, which summarize the regions’ needs and goals for MDOT. By contacting your RTAC, you can have your name added to a mailing list that will notify you of advocacy opportunities.
|
Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments |
AVCOG is the regional planning agency for Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties, including economic development and transportation. |
No Board of Directors; a Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee (rural planning, as elsewhere in the state, is primarily a task of the area’s RTAC). |
Yes, applications from the public are welcome and seats are filled as vacated. Applicants must be residents of Lewiston or Auburn. |
No
|
Meetings are open to the public. The best way to find out about the next one planned is to call. |
| Aroostook Regional Transportation System |
ARTS provides demand-response scheduled service in Aroostook County, the Danforth area in Washington County, and the Patten area in Penobscot County. Non-profit. |
Board of Directors; no standing committees |
Yes, ARTS welcomes inquiries about active participation from community members. |
No
|
Meetings are open to the public. The best way to find out about the next one planned is to call. |
| Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System (BACTS)
|
BACTS is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for transportation planning in the Greater Bangor urbanized area (Bangor, Brewer, Veazie, portions of Hampden, Orono, Old Town). |
1) Standing executive, policy, and technical committees 2) Public advisory committees for specific, limited-time studies of
transportation initiatives |
1) No, members are drawn from municipal officials of member cities and towns. 2) Yes, citizens can apply for these seats. Selection is based on an individual’s connection to the proposed initiative. |
1) No 2) Yes, exclusive |
BACTS has a public participation policy that requires it to solicit citizen input on individual projects and its two-year plans. All meetings are public and publicized. Individuals can add their names to a mailing list for notification of all such opportunities by calling BACTS. |
Community Concepts |
Provides transportation and other services to people with low-incomes |
Board of Directors |
Yes, applicants are accepted based on timely representation needs of the BOD. |
Yes, seats are reserved for low-income citizens. |
|
FAME Adaptive Equipment Loan Fund |
Provides loans for adaptive equipment purchases |
Board of Directors |
Yes |
5 seats are reserved for people with disabilities. |
|
Greater Portland Council of Governments |
GPCOG’s work in transportation planning includes a broad spectrum of issues, from corridor and transit planning to carpooling, alternative fuels, and bicycle/pedestrian facility design. |
||||
Kennebec Valley Transit |
Kennebec Valley Transit is the transportation office of Kennebec Valley Community Action Program. |
There is a Board of Directors for KVCAP, but no advisory committees. |
Yes, seats are filled through elections as they become available. |
Yes, a third of the seats are reserved for people who use the services. |
Kennebec Valley Transit does not hold regular public meetings, but does offer periodic presentations for local groups connected to ridership, as well as ad hoc meetings. They welcome citizen input at any time. |
| Kittery Area Comprehensive Transportation Study (KACTS) |
KACTS is the MPO for Kittery, Eliot, South Berwick, Berwick, and Lebanon urbanized area. |
1) Standing executive committee 2) Public advisory committees for specific, limited-time studies of transportation initiatives |
1) No, members are drawn from municipal officials of member cities and towns. 2) Yes, citizens can apply for these seats. Selection is based on an individual’s connection to the proposed initiative. |
1) No 2) Yes, exclusive |
KACTS has a public participation policy that requires it to solicit citizen input on individual projects and its 2-year plans. All meetings are public and publicized. Individuals can contact KACTS to add their names to a mailing list for notification of all such opportunities, as well as press releases of KACTS activities and committees forming. |
| Penquis Community Action Program |
A private non-profit organization serving primarily low-income residents of Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties |
A Board of Directors, but no advisory committees |
Yes, seats are filled through elections as they become available. |
Yes, a third of the seats are reserved for people who use the services. |
Periodically the transportation director solicits rider feedback through surveys and holds focus groups that are advertised to the public. |
| Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System (PACTS) |
Responsible for Portland area transportation planning |
Standing planning and technical committees |
Yes, PACTS welcomes expressions of interest in committee membership. Appointment with discretion as seats are vacated. |
Yes, 5 seats reserved for citizen advocates. |
|
| Regional Transportation Program |
A United Way agency providing low-cost transportation for social service clients, the elderly, the economically disadvantaged, and people with disabilities in Cumberland County |
A Board of Directors and an ADAPT advisory committee |
Yes, applications for membership on the advisory committee are welcome, as are recommendations. The BOD is appointed; one seat is filled by a member of the ADAPT advisory committee. |
Yes, all seats on the advisory committee (8 or 9) are reserved for people with disabilities or their advocates. |
RTP welcomes comments and suggestions about its services (by phone or through the web site). Occasionally RTP has held day-long conferences for obtaining feedback from the public. The web site is the best source for quick, up-to-date information. |
| Waldo County Committee for Social Action |
Non-profit, non-governmental program serving primarily low-income residents of Waldo County |
A Board of Directors, but no advisory committees |
Yes, you can contact the main office for information on vacancies and application requirements. |
Yes, one-third of the governing board is composed of democratically selected representatives of low-income residents in the area. |