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Solution Provides Structured Citizen Engagement and Complete Project Management

August 14, 2006 - Neighborhood America, providing the leading solution for online engagement and interaction via all forms of public comment, announced today that it has expanded its services relationship with the State of Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT). The services expansion will provide project organizers with Neighborhood America's Communications Manager application and Public Comment Service. The addition of these management tools will allow for more effective, structured citizen engagement while simplifying internal logistics and communications between project team members.

"We're seeing many government agencies reevaluate the critical role the right technology solution can play in these critical initiatives to maximize inclusion of their citizens," said Kim Patrick Kobza, president and CEO of Neighborhood America. "Our solution makes it possible for Massachusetts to actively engage and act upon the public's ideas and concerns, while simultaneously ensuring that the project team assigned to each initiative remains continuously connected. We're pleased to expand our services relationship on these vital initiatives for Massachusetts."

Neighborhood America's Public Comment offering provides a platform for engaging and interacting with citizens during the planning and evaluation stages of potential transportation projects, while its Communication Manager allows team members to access essential files, edit documents, view photos, assign tasks, email other team members, and remain connected regardless of their location. The combined solutions are currently being utilized on several Massachusetts transportation studies, and EOT's Office of Transportation Planning will continue to incorporate these solutions as standard technology on future projects throughout the state.

Current Massachusetts initiatives that employ Neighborhood America's solutions include:

• The I-93/I-95 Interchange Transportation Study is evaluating ways to improve traffic flow and safety at a major highway junction in north suburban Boston. This overburdened interchange is the busiest in the state, processing over 375,000 vehicles each day. A key goal in making improvements is to minimize impacts on surrounding communities. For more details, visit www.9395info.com
• The Hyannis Access Study seeks to improve overall transportation mobility for residents, businesses, and visitors in the commercial and recreational center of Cape Cod. Increased development and tourism have led to steadily worsening traffic congestion.
For more information, visit www.hyannis-access.com
• The I-495 Corridor Study is examining ways to manage the chronic congestion that has developed in one of the fastest growing areas in Massachusetts. Traffic volumes in many northern sections of I-495 have tripled in the last two decades, as numerous technology firms have built facilities along this circumferential highway. For more information, visit www.495studyinfo.com

Neighborhood America's Web-based Public Comment solution provides a platform for Massachusetts residents to make suggestions, provide ideas and remain informed about logistics and plans related to EOT planning initiatives. "Many of our transportation facilities that we seek to improve affect hundreds of thousands of commuters every day, so finding the most inclusive forum to hear the concerns and evaluate the suggestions of the public is critical to our overall success," said Bob Frey, Massachusetts EOT manager of statewide planning. "Public Comment has helped us receive much more input on projects than with just the traditional public hearing format."

A full range of potential alternatives, including highway and non-highway options, will be considered and analyzed as each study progresses. Recommended plans for future transportation improvements (short-term and long-term), based on alternative analyses and community input, will be reviewed with the public and organized in final reports, which will include resident suggestions from each initiative compiled through the Public Comment service (check the above web sites for study schedules).

Neighborhood America's Communications Manager brings project team members a central repository for all critical information. It allows users to share emails, project documents, images and videos online. It also serves as a historical document of record, acting as institutional memory, for reference with respect to best practices and provides a successful template for future initiatives. "Communications Manager is a great tool for keeping project team members interconnected," Frey said. "It is an excellent complement to existing in-house correspondence, or can easily become an entirely stand-alone system for complete project management."

Other Massachusetts transportation studies and projects are scheduled to go online with Neighborhood America in the upcoming months. To learn more about Massachusetts Transportation initiatives and the Executive Office of Transportation, visit www.eot.state.ma.us

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