Encampments of Unhoused Individuals in Transportation Rights-of-Way: Laws and State DOT Practices (2022)

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NCHRP LRD 87 27 APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE is appendix contains the survey questionnaire and related materials. e survey was sent to state DOT personnel through membership of the AASHTO Committee on Right of Way, Utilities, and Outdoor Advertising and the AASHTO Committee on Maintenance. Email to Potential Participants From: NCHRP Sta To: Survey participants (members of AASHTO Committee on Right of Way, Utilities, and Outdoor Advertising and members of AASHTO Committee on Maintenance) Subject: Survey of Practices and Policies Related to the Removal and Prevention of Unsheltered Encampments in the Right-of-Way As part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Topic 25-04, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is conducting research to document the best practices of state departments of transportation (DOTs) regarding the laws governing homeless encampments in transportation rights-of-way. is includes the practices and policies related to the illegal/unauthorized use of the right- of-way and the removal and prevention of unsheltered encampments in the right-of-way. Part of the research involves conducting a survey of DOTs to determine these best practices. e magnitude of unauthorized access to the right-of-way varies signicantly from state to state. Some state DOTs have observed no or little unauthorized access to the right-of-way, while other state DOTs and metropolitan areas have managed the issue for years and have developed proactive policies and procedures. e survey will identify states that consider unauthorized access to the right-of-way an issue and will allow the legal review of statutory laws, regulations, and case laws to focus on states that will likely have developed corresponding rules. e survey aims to identify states that have implemented innovative practices or other noteworthy policies warranting in-depth review, and to identify appropriate contacts for follow-up interviews. Your participation in the survey is critical to understand the current state of the practice with regard to the removal and prevention of unsheltered encampments in the right-of-way. e results of the survey will be published by the Transportation Research Board and will be used to shape and inform future policy with regard to this issue nationwide. Completing the survey is voluntary. If at any point during the survey you wish to discontinue, simply close your browser. No data will be submitted to the research team until you press the “Submit” button at the end of the survey. e nal report will only present aggregated results. To ensure condentiality, all records will be kept private, and no respondent identiers will be included in the report. Information about you and related to this study will be kept condential to the extent permitted or required by law. People who have access to your information include the principal investigator and research study personnel. Representatives of regulatory agencies such as the Oce of Human Research Protections (OHRP) and entities such as the Texas A&M University Human Subjects Protection Program may access your records to make sure the study is being run correctly and that information is collected properly. For questions about your rights as a research participant or if you have questions, complaints, or concerns about the research, you may contact the Texas A&M University Human Subjects Protection Program oce at (979) 458-4067 or irb@tamu.edu. To proceed with the survey, please follow these instructions: • To view and print the entire questionnaire, click on the following link and print using “control p”: NCHRP 20-06 25-04. • To save your partial answers and complete the questionnaire later, click on the “Save and Continue Later” link in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. A link to the incomplete questionnaire will be emailed to you from Qualtrics. To return to the questionnaire later, open the email from Qualtrics and click on the link. We suggest using the “Save and Continue Later” feature if there will be more than 15 minutes of inactivity while the survey is opened as some rewalls may terminate due to inactivity. • To pass a partially completed questionnaire to a colleague, click on the “Save and Continue Later” link in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. A link to the incomplete questionnaire will be emailed to you from Qualtrics. Open the email from Qual- trics and forward it to a colleague. • To view and print your answers before submitting the survey, click forward to the page following question 8. Print using “control p.” • To submit the survey, click on “Submit” on the last page. e deadline to complete the survey is [date]. If you are not the appropriate person at your DOT to complete this questionnaire, please forward it to the correct person. If you decide you do not want to participate, there will be no penalty to you, and you will not lose any benets you normally would have.

28 NCHRP LRD 87 Your input is critical to the research. Thank you in advance for participating. Please contact Edgar Kraus at any time if you have any ques- tions or need any additional information. Sincerely, [Email signature] Reminder Email to Unresponsive Participants Reminder—please participate in the survey. Your participation in the survey is critical to understand the current state of the practice with regard to practices and policies related to the removal and prevention of unsheltered encampments in the right-of-way. Follow this link to the survey: Take the Survey [survey link] Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser: [survey link] Results of the survey will be published by the Transportation Research Board and will be used to shape and inform future policy with regard to unsheltered encampments in the right-of-way nationwide. Completing the survey is voluntary. If at any point during the survey you wish to discontinue, simply close your browser. The final report will only present aggregated results. To ensure confidentiality, all records will be kept private, and no respondent names will be included in the report. Personal information about you related to this study will be kept confidential to the extent permitted or required by law. People who have access to your information include the principal investigator and research study personnel. The deadline to complete the survey is [date]. If you are not the appropriate person at your agency to complete this questionnaire, please forward it to the correct person. Thank you in advance for participating in this critical survey. Please contact Edgar Kraus (e kraus@tti.tamu.edu) at any time if you have any questions or need any additional information. Follow the link to opt out of future emails: Click here to unsubscribe [unsubscribe link] Survey Form NCHRP Topic 25-04 Survey Questionnaire February 2021 Survey of Practices and Policies Related to the Removal and Prevention of Unsheltered Encampments in the Right-of-Way. As part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Topic 25-04, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is conducting research to document the best practices of state departments of transportation (DOTs) regarding the laws governing homeless encampments in transportation rights-of-way. This includes the practices and policies related to the illegal/unauthorized use of the right- of-way and the removal and prevention of unsheltered encampments in the right-of-way. Part of the research involves conducting a survey of DOTs to determine these best practices. The magnitude of unauthorized access to the right-of-way varies significantly from state to state. Some state DOTs have observed no or little unauthorized access to the right-of-way, while other state DOTs and metropolitan areas have managed the issue for years and have developed proactive policies and procedures. The survey will identify states that consider unauthorized access to the right-of-way an issue and will allow the legal review of statutory laws, regulations, and case laws to focus on states that will likely have developed corresponding rules. The survey aims to identify states that have implemented innovative practices or other noteworthy policies warranting in-depth review and identify appropriate contacts for follow-up interviews.

NCHRP LRD 87 29 Completing the survey is voluntary. If at any point during the survey you wish to discontinue, simply close your browser. No data will be submitted to the research team until you press the “Submit” button at the end of the survey. e nal report will only present aggregated results. To ensure condentiality, all records will be kept private, and no respondent identiers will be included in the report. Information about you and related to this study will be kept condential to the extent permitted or required by law. People who have access to your information include the principal investigator and research study personnel. Representatives of regulatory agencies such as the Oce of Human Research Protections (OHRP) and entities such as the Texas A&M University Human Subjects Protection Program may access your records to make sure the study is being run correctly and that information is collected properly. e deadline to complete the survey is [date]. If you are not the appropriate person at your DOT to complete this questionnaire, please forward it to the correct person. If you decide you do not want to participate, there will be no penalty to you, and you will not lose any benets you normally would have. Your input is critical to the research. ank you in advance for participating. Please contact Edgar Kraus (e-kraus@tti.tamu.edu) at any time if you have any questions or need any additional information. 1. For demographic purposes, please provide the following: Name: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Title: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Agency: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Division, oce, or bureau: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Mailing address: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone number: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Email address: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where is your oce located? Select the option most closely matching your main job responsibilities. ☐ Agency headquarters ☐ Agency district or regional branch 3. Economic, social, and other factors have caused a continuous increase in homeless populations throughout the United States. It is not unusual for homeless individuals to establish refuge and shelter in encampments that encroach within, around, under, or upon transportation right-of-way, including but not limited to highway/freeway interchanges, overpasses, bridges, and tunnels. Have you experienced such unauthorized access to the right-of-way in your state? O Yes O No [If no, proceed with question 13.] 4. What are typical issues when dealing with the management of unauthorized access to the right-of-way? Please describe: 5. Do you experience dierent issues with the management of unauthorized access to the right-of-way in rural, suburban, or inner-city areas? [If yes, please proceed with question 5.1.] [If no, proceed with question 6.] 5.1. Please describe how issues with the management of unauthorized access to the right-of-way dier in rural, suburban, or inner- city areas. 6. What regulations, policies, practices, or procedure do you follow to manage unauthorized access to the right-of-way? Please describe and/or provide documentation (i.e., name or web address):

30 NCHRP LRD 87 7. Do you have dierent practices and procedures when managing unauthorized access to the right-of-way in rural, suburban, and inner-city areas? [If yes, please proceed with question 7.1.] [If no, proceed with question 8.] 7.1. Please describe the dierences in practices and procedures when managing unauthorized access to the right-of-way in rural, suburban, and inner-city areas. 8. How does the right-of-way property type (e.g., easement or fee ownership) aect your policies, practices, and procedures managing unauthorized access to the right-of-way? Please describe: 9. What practices or procedures do you follow for preventing unauthorized access to the right-of-way (e.g., through planning, design, and maintenance activities)? Please describe and/or provide documentation (i.e., name or web address): 10. What practices or procedures do you follow for the removal of unauthorized users of the right-of-way (e.g., coordination with law enforcement agencies and social services)? Please describe and/or provide documentation (i.e., name or web address): 11. Have you experienced issues with the removal of unauthorized users of the right-of-way involving matters such as adverse possession, squatter’s rights, and/or the Uniform Relocation Act? [If yes, please proceed with question 11.1.] [If no, proceed with question 12.] 11.1. Please describe issues you experienced with the removal of unauthorized users of the right-of-way. 12. Are your laws, practices, policies and/or procedures governing illegal/unauthorized use of transportation right-of-way statewide or regionally specic? Please describe and/or provide documentation (i.e., name or web address): 13. Do you use public right-of-way for homeless shelters or to provide similar social services? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 13.1.] [If no, proceed with question 13.2.] 13.1. Please describe how you use public right-of-way for homeless shelters or to provide similar social services. 13.2. Do you have plans to change the way you use public right-of-way for homeless shelters or similar social services in the future? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 13.2.1.] [If no, proceed with question 13.3.] 13.2.1 Please describe your plans to change the way you use public right-of-way for homeless shelters or similar social ser- vices in the future.

NCHRP LRD 87 31 13.3 Do you have plans to use public right-of-way for homeless shelters or to provide similar social services in the future? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 13.3.1.] [If no, proceed with question 14.] 13.3.1 Please describe your plans to change the way you use public right-of-way for homeless shelters or similar social ser- vices in the future. 14. Has your agency received requests for access to the public right-of-way for homeless shelters from outside of your agency in your state? O Yes O No [If yes, proceed with question 14.1.] [If no, proceed with question 15.] 14.1 How do you manage requests for access to the public right-of-way for homeless shelters? Please describe: 15. Please provide any further information—the name (and if possible, web address) of the document(s), state statute(s), or other that describes your agency’s procedure(s), policy(ies), or process(es) for public access to the right-of-way for homeless shelters and/or il- legal/unauthorized use of the right-of-way and the removal and prevention of unsheltered encampments in the right-of-way: ☐ State statute web address: __________________________________________ ☐ State rule/policy/procedure web address: __________________________________________ ☐ State right-of-way access manual web address: __________________________________________ ☐ Other (please describe:)_____________________ web address: __________________________________________ 16. Is there a need to update or modify your state laws, regulations, or policies to improve management of unauthorized access to public right-of-way? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 16.1.] [If no, proceed with question 17.] 16.1. Please describe what update or modication to your state laws, regulations, or policies would be useful to improve the manage- ment of unauthorized access to public right-of-way. 17. Is there a need to update or modify federal laws and regulations to improve management of unauthorized access to public right-of-way? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 17.1.] [If no, proceed with question 18.]

32 NCHRP LRD 87 17.1. Please describe what update or modication to federal laws or regulations would be useful to improve the management of unauthorized access to public right-of-way. 18. How do you coordinate with local or municipal agency ordinances and/or management practices related to unsheltered populations in the right-of-way? Please describe: 19. Can you provide a local agency contact information for follow-up? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 19.1.] [If no, proceed with question 20.] 19.1. Please provide local agency contact information: Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Agency: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Division, oce, or bureau: _____________________________________________________________________________ Mailing address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Phone number: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Email address: _______________________________________________________________________________________ 20. Has the 2021 change in political administration at the national level changed your agency’s practices and procedures when dealing with unsheltered population in the right-of-way, or had any other eect on these practices and procedures? O Yes O No [If yes, please proceed with question 20.1.] [If no, proceed with question 21.] 20.1. Please describe how the 2021 change in political administration at the national level changed your agency’s practices and pro- cedures when dealing with unsheltered population in the right-of-way. 21. e synthesis will include case examples to illustrate dierent state DOT regulations, practices, procedures, and policies about man- aging unauthorized access to public right-of-way in more detail. We will conduct follow-up telephone interviews to discuss aspects of statutes, policies, practices, and procedures for inclusion in the synthesis report. Would your agency be interested in participating in a case example? O Yes O No 22. Is there anyone else at your agency we should contact for additional information regarding best practices for managing unauthorized access to the public right-of-way? O Yes O No [If yes, proceed with 22.1.] [If no, proceed with question 23.]

NCHRP LRD 87 33 22.1 Please provide contact information: Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Division, oce, or bureau: _____________________________________________________________________________ Phone number: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Email address: _______________________________________________________________________________________ 23. Please provide any further comments not requested in the survey that you would like us to know. 24. If you would like to share any additional document, please drop it in the box below (if you have more than one le, please upload them as one .zip le; only one le can be uploaded). [Submit survey button] Submission Acknowledgement Your responses have been submitted. On behalf of the Transportation Research Board and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, thank you for your participation! If you indicated further interest, we will follow up with you shortly.