By
Mark Briggs
New Media Director
The Herald,
Everett, WA
Feb. 3, 2004
Five
weeks into the launch of Phase II of the interactive “Fix Your
Commute” project, 1,100 people have submitted plans to ease gridlock
in the Puget Sound region.
And the project has been awarded a Digital Edge award for “Most
Innovative Use of Digital Media” from the Newspaper Association
of America.
Still, one of the emerging stories may well be: People may like to play,
but, please, don’t make them pay.
In Phase II, players cannot submit a transportation plan unless they
find new revenue to cover the costs of the improvements in road construction
or other transportation projects they’d like to see.
So far, we’ve received about 50 emails complaining about that
requirement.
By
comparison, 2,700 people participated in the first phase of the project,
where their goal was to prioritize road improvements. These users narrowed
a list of more than 60 traffic “hot spots” to the top 20.
One of the stories we’re now developing is the significant drop-off
in usage between the two simulations and how it illustrates the public’s
appetite for anything that comes with a bill.
Along with options to spend money to improve the top hot spots, users
can also elect to spend on five non-road options, which include such
things as building a regional rail system. But the costs add up quickly.
The two-step “Fix Your Commute” initiative launched in the
summer of 2003 and was designed to figure out what voters would do to
solve the region’s transportation mess if they were put in control.
It was triggered by the resounding defeat of a November 2002 referendum
seeking voter approval to hike taxes and fees for a package of transportation
fixes.
The cornerstone of the project is two different simulations that have
allowed people, first, to prioritize their wish lists and then to work
out a payment plan.
The goal was to find an innovative way to engage the public in this
story. We invested in highly interactive tools because the issues were
too important to our readers. Instead of just reading stories or clicking
simple forms on the Web to voice their opinions, participants become
part of the story by weighing costs and revenues using a compelling
graphical interface. In the process, they learn about a complex issue.
Since the Puget Sound region (King, Snohomish and Pierce counties) shares
many transportation challenges, it was impractical to think one county’s
problems could be fixed without also addressing its neighbor’s
problems. So we sought partners in the other areas to help grow the
project to a regional level. We brought in The News Tribune from Pierce
County and KIRO-TV, a CBS affiliate in Seattle, to share development
costs and help promote the project.
We felt so strongly that our problems needed a regional approach we
built a “Regional Rating” into the program that tells participants
if they are doing enough to help the whole area instead of just their
home county.
Now, regional transportation authorities are developing another transportation
spending referendum expected to go on the ballot in November 2004.
We hope these public officials will use the data in our news reports
to form the next ballot measure that voters will consider.
Coming up in February, we will focus on the funding solutions most likely
to pass if put on the ballot and which areas, solutions and projects
garnered the most public support.
“Fix Your Commute’s” technology is unique, the partnership
is unique and goal is unique. “Even Phase I of the ‘Fix
Your Commute’ application looks more advanced and comprehensive
than almost anything else I’ve seen on a news site,” wrote
Robin
Sloan in an August Poynter.org article.
If we succeed, we will help shape transportation funding for the future
of our region by giving a collective voice to all the individuals attracted
to our project because we chose to invest in a compelling interface
that used the best technology available.
