Dallas-Fort Worth High-Speed Transportation Connections Study Ongoing

May 2020 through May 2023

The Dallas-Fort Worth High-Speed Transportation Connections Study is a groundbreaking 3.5-year study investigating potential high-speed technologies and alignments for the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth corridor. Partner agencies in the study are the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), and Trinity Metro, among others. Included in the study has been the consideration of more than 40 alignments and the analysis of conventional rail, high-speed rail, magnetic levitation, and hyperloop technologies. High-speed service between Dallas and Fort Worth would potentially connect to other high-performance systems planned in Texas.

After concluding Phase 1 (the feasibility study) and now beginning Phase 2 (NEPA documentation and environmental approval process), Pavlik is involved as community and stakeholder engagement lead. They created and are implementing a successful, inclusive engagement plan balancing diverse viewpoints and overcoming barriers to participation. Community engagement successes and highlights from Phase 1 include:

• Organized and facilitated 130 community meetings between May 2020 and June 2021.
• Increased public meeting attendance and engagement nearly tenfold.
• Conducted continuous community engagement that has educated and energized stakeholders. Examples include frequent newsletters (monthly), emails, and social media engagement.
• Leveraged technology such as an online public involvement management platform to seamlessly manage a high level of engagement activities. The project contact list has grown to more than 7,700 stakeholders.
• Implemented virtual public meetings effectively as demonstrated by increases in comments and questions.
• Applied successfully and cohesively an exciting project brand that distinguished the project from other government planning activities.

RECOGNITIONS

• 2023 Platinum Hermes Creative Award for monthly newsletter, “High-Speed Update”
• 2023 Gold Hermes Creative Award for social media campaign promoting project open houses, “The Need for Speed”