Meg led working group stakeholder outreach for the Blue Line and Orange Line light rail projects during the early NEPA phase. She worked with the larger public outreach team to manage some of the corridor’s most active stakeholders. She collaborated with technical team members to develop presentations that sought to communicate technical information in a public-ready format.

Additionally, she helped the engineering team make decisions on mitigation factors that would help meet the needs of community requests. While at Nelson\Nygaard, Meg led stakeholder outreach for early-stage planning on the Orange Line light rail corridor as well as led a team of Nelson\Nygaard practitioners in crafting the locally preferred alternative (LPA) system plan that went to the public for a successful $7.1 billion referendum. 

CapMetro's ETOD Study (in partnership with the City of Austin and the Austin Transit Partnership) aims to implement future transportation investments that preserve existing communities and enhance their access to economic opportunity. The study recommends community-centered policies and strategies for stations planned under Project Connect, a voter-approved transit expansion plan that includes a zero-emissions fleet, new rail system and an expanded bus system with more routes. 

HR&A Associates and Nelson\Nygaard teamed with Movitas to establish a community outreach framework that increased participation within priority populations. Movitas supported the team by establishing an overall outreach strategy at the project start and building a focus group channel for deeper community conversations.  Meg's collaboration with project managers proved central to the success of the outreach approach. Together, CMTA and the consultant outreach team ensured that conversations with disadvantaged groups were tailored to geographic and access realities. 

The goal of the Red Line Trail Study - a partnership between City of Austin Public Works Department and Capital Metro - is to identify a feasible and safe off-street alignment for Red Line Trail with recommendations for near-, mid-, and long-term implementation. The study should result in a context-sensitive corridor plan based on Federal Railroad Administration and Rails with Trails best practices such as: identifying an off-street alignment for Red Line Trail, following the Capital Metro Red Line MetroRail route, and providing connections to stations.

Meg is supporting Toole Design Group and AECOM by designing and facilitating focus groups. In collaboration with CMTA staff, Meg created a prompt for conversations with CMTA divisions before seeking participation from the general public. Meg led the first round of focus groups which helped daylight information gaps not previously understood by the technical team. The exercise delivered input on specific policy and technical parameters such as R.O.W. setbacks in various contexts, drainage best practices, and coordination with other city agencies.