CABs: The Voice of the Community

A key component of HRT’s construction outreach plan for The Tide is the formation of citizen boards to serve as the voice of the community during light rail construction. These citizen boards are known as Community Advisory Boards (CABs) and are composed of residents and business representatives from the community adjacent to the light rail route. The Tide project staff will form three CABs for the 7.4 mile light rail project.

The role of each CAB member during light rail construction is to serve as a voice of the community between The Tide project staff and the residential and business stakeholders they represent. While construction activity is ongoing in their area, the CAB member is required to participate in regular construction review meetings, organized by public outreach staff, which will also include the project’s managing construction engineer, the project engineer, and the construction contractor. In addition to attending regular meetings and participating in a contractor evaluation process, each CAB member is asked to: 

      • Report CAB meeting information to the group of         stakeholders they represent in the community
        (if applicable);

      • Help identify issues related to the contractor’s interaction         with the community and offer input on solutions

      • Serve as the voice of the community between The Tide         project staff and the community.

In the upcoming weeks, The Tide public outreach coordinators will work with city staff, community and business leaders to develop a nomination list for potential CAB members.