Newsletters and Mailings
Newsletters and mailings are used to provide project status updates and information. They will be mailed to those people on the project mailing list and
distributed to the Core Neighborhoods at critical points during the project. Business 40 newsletters and mailings are English and Spanish publications. Contact us to join the Business 40 mailing list to receive the mailings. You may also read the newsletter online.
Advertising
Advertisements for Public Meetings have been and will continue to
be placed in weekly newspapers, Winston-Salem Journal, the Winston-Salem
Chronicle, Qué Pasa, and other relevant local publications to announce meetings and
other important study information.
Website The project Website is being used to disseminate information and provide a schedule of events. The site includes English and Spanish options and includes features such as an on-line feedback form. The Website is updated on a regular basis with the intent of providing real-time project information.
Stakeholder Meetings Stakeholder meetings have been held on an as-needed basis and typically include property or business owners, business or homeowners associations, special interest groups, religious organizations, neighborhood associations, police/fire personnel, and others as appropriate. These are typically a presentation at the group’s regularly scheduled meeting, but can be specially-arranged meetings. Contact us if you are interested in having a Business 40 representative at your next meeting.
A summary of Stakeholders meetings is presented
here.
Corridor-Wide Meetings Corridor-wide meetings will continue to be conducted at major project milestones or for specific topics and provide opportunities for the community to interact with the project team and discuss project issues and recommendations.
Two sets of Corridor-wide Meetings
have been held. The first was in 2008 and the second in 2010.
Working Groups
The working groups will cover topics such as community impacts,
interchanges, alternate routes, bike/pedestrian/open space, economic
development and trucking/motor carriers. Each group will discuss issues
and approaches to various project concerns and will be open to anyone.
The purpose of developing and conducting
Working Groups is the following:
To obtain citizens’ input on issues concerning their neighborhoods and
communities in an organized and manageable manner, and encourages
regular participation in the project.
To provide NCDOT specific “community-based” ideas and suggestions that
may be incorporated into the development process of the project.
To promote citizen ownership and investment in the project and the
process through the sharing of information, communication and
involvement.
Stakeholders Stakeholder meetings have been held on an as-needed basis and typically include property or business owners, business or homeowners associations, special interest groups, religious organizations, neighborhood associations, police/fire personnel, and others as appropriate. These are typically a presentation at the group’s regularly scheduled meeting, but can be specially-arranged meetings. Contact us if you are interested in having a Business 40 representative at your next meeting.
Overview
The objective of the community outreach program was to solicit input through an open, dynamic process that included as many of the residents, businesses, property owners, agencies, stakeholders, and community groups within the study area as possible. The process
was structured to involve people early and often, and to share
information as it became available.
Outreach Techniques
A variety of techniques have been used to ensure meaningful involvement from the community. The outreach process was designed to be personal and extensive. It began at a one-on-one level and expanded to bring together the many interests in the corridor. A variety of opportunities have been made available for the community to get involved and stay informed about the project. These include:
Hiring residents from the neighborhoods to help share project information.
Conducting and requiring extensive training for anyone interacting with the public.
Using flyers to notify residences and businesses of meetings.
Conducting door-to-door outreach as a first contact in many neighborhoods.
Attending neighborhood association meetings and business meetings.
Conducting neighborhood meetings.
Involving the media in a proactive manner.
Core Neighborhoods
The Core Neighborhoods were those that directly or indirectly touched the Business 40 or had primary arteries that could be designated as an alternate route. The Core Neighborhoods were contacted through an unprecedented door-to-door outreach process.
Surrounding Neighborhoods
The Surrounding Neighborhoods were communities that border the Core
Neighborhoods and may experience indirect impacts from the
improvements to Business 40. The Project Team has held neighborhood meetings in these communities to provide opportunities for the residents, businesses and stakeholders to provide input.
Neighborhood Meetings
The Project Team has held over a dozen meetings with residents and stakeholders throughout the core and surrounding neighborhoods. Meeting summaries
have been posted on the Website along with relevant presentations. Check the Meetings page for a list of upcoming neighborhood meeting dates and times, and to view the minutes, presentations, and handouts from past meetings.
Neighborhood Business Outreach
Neighborhood businesses
were composed of small mom-and-pop establishments, franchise owners located in the core and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as larger commercial establishments outside of the downtown Winston-Salem area. Impacts to and concerns of neighborhood businesses with regard to the Business 40 project differed from those of the downtown businesses.
Outreach to neighborhood businesses was an extension of the door-to-door surveying of the core neighborhoods, with the neighborhood businesses being approached individually and being surveyed about their opinions and concerns about the Business 40 project. The participants
were added to the project contact list and their input recorded in the project database.
Downtown Business Outreach
As part of the Business 40 outreach efforts, businesses in downtown Winston-Salem were contacted to hear what they had to say about the project. To assist with these efforts, a survey questionnaire was developed for both business owners/CEOs and employees. The surveys basically obtained origin-destination information so that NCDOT could begin to identify possible detour routes. Another major point of these surveys
was to determine whether complete or partial closure of Business 40
was preferred during the construction phase.
To reach a maximum number of owners/CEOs and employees several business mailing lists were used to contact local businesses.
Contact was made with over 200 downtown businesses. This outreach effort continued into May 2008
and culminated with a downtown corridor-wide meeting in June 2008. As businesses were contacted, it became apparent that most were very concerned about the project and wanted to talk. Thus, a variety of methods were developed to talk to as many businesses and to obtain as many business surveys as possible. The team's Outreach Specialists visited places of business and conducted the owner/CEO and employee surveys. Coordinated events that included some or all of the following were also held at these locations:
Prepared large exhibit maps to show project study area and to present the project.
Held lobby fairs within building entrances/lobbies to survey employees/tenants within building.
Held breakfasts, luncheons, and/or pizza socials during staff meetings.
Provided refreshments, cookies and/or popcorn provided during early morning, afternoon and night shift work schedules.
Created and distributed flyers and provided posters that announced the event prior to scheduled event.
Combined business/employee surveys with joint presentations, as applicable.
Posted the Business 40 intranet links to individual business Website for employees to complete surveys online.
Final results of the Downtown Business Outreach
surveys indicates an overwhelming support of the two year closure
option. Downtown business's will remain engaged in the
Business 40 Improvement Project through involvement with the Working
Groups.
Commuter Outreach
Commuters are residents who live outside of the core or surrounding neighborhoods, but regularly use Business 40. A significant percentage of the traffic using Business 40 does begin outside of the core and surrounding communities of the project area. The concerns of and potential impacts to commuters may be different than those of the core and surrounding communities and are important to the project. As a result, specialized outreach methods
were developed to reach this population. These methods included mall/store outreach events and interchange ramp surveys.
Mall/Store Outreach Events At Hanes Mall and the big-box stores along Hanes Mall Boulevard, between November 2007 and March 2008 customers were asked about their interest in the Business 40 project and the impacts that the project could have on them. Surveys were completed by interested customers and the results
were incorporated into the project database.
Interchange Ramp Surveys Surveying was undertaken for commuters at each of the six interchanges located within the limits of the project. Surveying
was completed during both a.m. and p.m. peak commuter hours.
Drivers at each intersection were given a short three question
survey to complete and mail in. Over 2,950 surveys were
distributed with more than 25 % of them being returned. The responses for
each survey were incorporated into the project database. The
responses from the survey indicated a strong support for the two
year closure option. Click here to read a press release regarding the interchange ramp surveys.
Government/Institution Outreach
Schools, hospitals, police, fire,
transit and other government and institutional organizations were
contacted as part of the government/institution outreach process. The team's Outreach Specialists visited these facilities/institutions and conducted interviews and surveys of department heads and employees.
The project team coordinated events that included some or all of the following at these
government/institutional locations:
Used large exhibit maps to show project study area and to present the project.
Held lobby fairs within building entrances/lobbies to survey employees/tenants within building.
Held breakfasts, luncheons, and/or pizza socials during staff or department meetings.
Provided refreshments, cookies and/or popcorn provided during early morning, afternoon and night shift work schedules.
Created and distributed flyers and provided posters that announced the event prior to scheduled event.
Combined business/employee surveys with joint presentations, as applicable.
Posted the Business 40 intranet links to business Websites for employees to complete surveys online.
Joined Parent/Teacher meetings to present project overview and conduct applicable surveys.
Held school contests to obtain completed surveys and awarded the school with a donation.
Combined business/employee surveys with joint presentations, as applicable.
Our Goal The goal of conducting business and government/institutional outreach was to be as creative as possible in capturing the voice of the employee regarding the project without disturbing the day-to-day business production/activity. Each and every voice makes a difference and the project was committed to capturing as many voices as the businesses allowed. For example, a business owner/CEO may be impacted much differently than an employee, whose main concern was generally their day-to-day commute. However, an owner/CEO may look at the project by how it affects the company’s bottom line, day-to-day operations and suppliers/shippers, among others.
Thank You! Many thanks to all who supported these outreach efforts and continue to do so, including the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Partnership, City of Winston-Salem and all of those who welcomed us into their business, organization or agency.
Stakeholder meetings have been held on an as-needed basis and typically include property or business owners, business or homeowners associations, special interest groups, religious organizations, neighborhood associations, police/fire personnel, and others as appropriate. These are typically a presentation at the group’s regularly scheduled meeting, but can be specially-arranged meetings. 
Core Neighborhoods 
Neighborhood businesses
were composed of small mom-and-pop establishments, franchise owners located in the core and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as larger commercial establishments outside of the downtown Winston-Salem area. Impacts to and concerns of neighborhood businesses with regard to the Business 40 project differed from those of the downtown businesses. 
As part of the Business 40 outreach efforts, businesses in downtown Winston-Salem were contacted to hear what they had to say about the project. To assist with these efforts, a survey questionnaire was developed for both business owners/CEOs and employees. The surveys basically obtained origin-destination information so that NCDOT could begin to identify possible detour routes. Another major point of these surveys
was to determine whether complete or partial closure of Business 40
was preferred during the construction phase.
