Interview Story - Took Initiative

As the State's Permit Engineer, we were in the process of developing goals and objectives for the fiscal year. I saw a trend in that a few districts were requesting to implement Parklets on the State Highway System to support local community development agencies. Parklets are an extension of the sidewalk into nearby parking spaces to support local businesses by providing additional tables for dining and social purposes. Caltrans (the California Department of Transportation) needed to provide guidance and did not have a formal policy or any procedures in place.

I saw an opportunity to develop a new Parklet's Policy to support one of the goals in Caltrans' Strategic Management Plan.

I discussed my plan to develop a new policy with my supervisor. I also met with representatives from Design, Right-of-Way, Maintenance, Engineering Services, Environmental Analyses, and Legal to discuss the need for the new policy and to get buy-in and support.

I had my team conduct research to determine where Parklets were implemented in California and other states. My team found a Parklet Plan that was prepared by a consultant in Tehama County. I took this plan, identified its key components, and then asked Design, Environmental Analysis, Engineering Services, and Maintenance to draft sections of the policy (roles and responsibilities, technical requirements). I conducted bi-weekly meetings so the team could review and comment on the draft policy together to expedite the review process.

Once the draft policy was complete. I circulated it to the districts, HQ programs, and key stakeholders to get their input. And sent it to Legal for review. I incorporated the comments and concerns that were received and put them in a matrix so that anyone could see the response to his/her question/comment/concern.

One of the challenges I had was resolving conflicting comments from team members. My team felt frustrated with various things, and the project was about to stall. I resolved the conflicts by getting the team to agree to "experiment" with the policy for six months, committing to revise it afterward if the policy was not working as intended.

The new Parklet's Policy was ultimately successfully implemented. The policy was applauded and recognized by sustainability activists in northern California. Lastly, the positive input was received from local agencies throughout the State for Caltrans' leadership in the area.