EDIT: Re: Melanie’s comment below.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get more confusing....
Contrary to what I’ve been hearing and reading in the news, the city did invest some time into educating the public and providing forums for them to voice their concerns, which makes this story that much more intruiging given the amount of confusion and hostility some Winnipeggers are expressing towards the city.
I’m not entirely sure what could have been done better (other than airing an instructional online video or commercial and putting additional signage for pedestians & cyclists), but it’s clear that at least one of their objectives - educating citizens on how to use traffic circles - didn’t fall through.
What communication do you think would’ve been essential to this issue?
If you live in River Heights, what did you think of the city’s approach and what else could have been done?
Its not the circles themselves that bother me, but the fact that I think its obvious some communications people somewhere really let Winnipeggers down.
From day one there has been widespread confusion about traffic circles: what drivers do, where pedestrians cross, how service dogs navigate, and why the particular intersection of Grosvenor & Waverley needs one.
In all this chaos, one thing remains clear - much of the uncertainty and anger could have been avoided entirely had somebody involved simply taken the time to inform everyone - to communicate - well before the big day arrived.
Traffic circles have been around for decades, in various forms, and in numerous places around the world.
In other words, there’s no shortage of research, instructions, and examples of how these things work which could have been distributed to people in the nearby community of Grosvenor & Waverley, and Winnipeggers at large.
How about those 60 Minute Driver how-to commercials? Pamphlets or FAQ sheets delivered door-to-door? Town hall meetings or Q&A sessions? Proper public consultation and communication could have saved the issue from becoming the controversy it is today.
On the other hand, just because the city missed the communication mark, doesn’t mean driver’s can’t educate themselves.
For the record, directions on how to navigate traffic circles are in MPI’s driver’s handbook, pg 52, available online. Or just Google "how to navigate traffic circles" for a plethora of sites with step-by-step instructions - just make sure you're not driving at the time!
Interesting that you would blog about this: Michelle Bailey, from the City of Winnipeg communications department, was yesterday's Thursday seminar speaker for the first-year students; she did a high-level case study of the communications surrounding this project.
ReplyDeleteWould it surprise you to hear that the City actually did targeted letters, flyer drops, and 19 different open houses in affected neighbourhoods, as well as set up information booths in major shopping malls serving those neighbourhoods on weekends? They also used their own website, an information kit, and media relations among other things...
It all led to a good discussion about what works and what works less well, and what might be worth trying out the next time around.
I suggested they hire a couple of CreComm students to produce a video on how to navigate traffic circles for YouTube - what do you think?
@Melanie
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does surprise me!
That's definitely not the impression all this media coverage is giving - I'm seeing and hearing Winnipeggers as the uninformed victim all over.
Granted that I haven’t seen what the city’s strategy was like in terms of key messages, etc., so maybe they did miss something really crucial - but from what you’ve mentioned I’m impressed with the effort they did make (info booths in malls = great idea) and amazed that the issue has blown up like it has after all that preparation.
I’d have to see a clear list of what tools they used, the information they provided, and how they responded to initial feedback, but at first guess yes, YouTube or an online video of some kind would have been a key element in my strategy..... Are they hiring?!
p.s. I’ve updated my post re: your comments :)
I thought it might!
ReplyDeleteWe discussed this in PR1 after Michelle's presentation, and had a good conversation around how in PR, perception really is reality when it comes to things like this. No matter what strides we might take to communicate with our audiences, if we don't succeed in getting through to them, it all comes out in the wash. "I don't remember hearing anything from the City" = "the City didn't try to communicate with me".
That's why it's so important to get to know our audiences, and target our messages and our tools and tactics as well as possible to them. It's our job to get our audiences to pay attention - even if we're talking about cycling routes in the dead of winter, when they want to hear from us about snow removal. Putting information out there is good, but if you can't get the people who should pay attention to pay attention, you're not going to achieve your objectives.
It's a great case study - and don't worry, we'll be discussing it in the Major as well! :o)
I think it's no coincidence that this is issue getting more traction because a civic election is weeks away. I drove down Wilton Avenue last week and found the traffic circle mind-numbingly easy to navigate.
ReplyDelete1. Brake gently on approach.
2. Turn your steering wheel.
3. Continue straight upon exiting.
Your photo of the Calgary circle would intimidate most people on the first time encountering it, myself included. What has been installed in River Heights is akin to a teddy bear compared to Godzilla.
One legitimate concern I see is that drivers who may be pulling a camper trailer, or similar attachment, will need to take extra care passing through these intersections. In my mind though, if a person is pulling these types of things, he or she should have the appropriate skill in the first place.
I live on one of the many blocks in River Heights that is in between Kingsway and Grosvenor so I've been right in the middle of this. I've also started my power point about this for my PR in the News presentation on Oct.25, hopefully no one beats me to it, haha.
ReplyDeleteI JUST saw this roundabout the other day, and we wondered what we were supposed to even do.. slow down, stop, whatever. Good job Heather
ReplyDelete