Solano Mobility Study

P 18 p Solano Transportation Authority Ch2: Methodology Community Focus Groups Community focus groups were held to gather more in-depth information from small groups of older adults or people with disabilities in each community. At the beginning of the project the goal was to hold 1-2 community focus groups in each community following the city’s Mobility Summit. These would allow more in-depth discussion with older adults and people with disabilities. Hour long community focus groups were held at a location where these populations naturally gathered: senior centers, senior housing, community centers, and veterans’ halls. Table 3: Community Focus Groups City Community Focus Group Benicia Casa de Vilarrasa, Rancho Benicia Dixon Dixon Family Services, Heritage Commons Fairfield Casa Nova Mobile Home Park, Travis AFB Call Center Rio Vista Rio Vista Senior Center, Rio Vista American Legion Suisun City Suisun City Senior Center, Kroc Community Center Vacaville Vacaville McBride Senior Center. Autumn Leaves Apartments Vallejo Legacy at Sonoma, Valle Vista Apartments Discussions were focused on two primary questions: What are your mobility challenges and What are your ideas for solutions. Leads for potential locations of the community focus groups were requested at the Mobility Summits. Local knowledge was another avenue to identify and secure locations. Understandably, given the relatively small size of the locations visited, attendance ranged from four to a couple dozen. Council Calls The Mayor of each city spoke at their respective Mobility Summit. City leadership perspectives were valued on this subject. City Councilmembers were not only invited to attend the Mobility Summits but were also contacted by project staff prior to the Summits. One-on-one phone interviews were offered to gather their insight on the mobility challenges and solutions in their community. City leaders were also asked to identify individuals or organizations in their city to be included in the study. Surveys Much community input was collected through events and conversations which created rich, qualitative data. To reach a broader population, a User Survey was used. To collect information from organizations about existing transportation services, a Provider Survey was created.