How do you provide consistent messages that increase awareness of the simple things people can do to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, when you serve metropolitan, rural and small urban areas that have populations with diverse travel behaviors?

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has taken a regional approach to addressing their transportation and air quality challenges. KYTC, which became an It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partner in 2003, adopted It All Adds Up as their core public education program. To meet the needs and interests of different areas of the state, they tailored the radio and television ads they used. “The It All Adds Up radio and television ads were customized to focus on area-specific ‘Simple Steps to Improving Air Quality,’” said KYTC Transportation Engineer Jesse Mayes.

For example, ads airing in the metropolitan areas of Northern Kentucky, Louisville, and Lexington focused on taking mass transit; while ads in more rural areas focused on ride sharing, carpooling and vehicle maintenance. In ads sponsoring radio traffic reports, KYTC focused on the refueling messages.

The ads were supplemented with KYTC press releases, appearances on talk-radio shows, and use of the It All Adds Up exhibit at various state fairs and events. KYTC also set up an air quality “hot line” for those seeking more information.

Mayes says one of the strongest measures of It All Adds Up's success in Kentucky is the fact that three of their Metropolitan Planning Organizations – Bowling Green, Owensborough, and Ashland – have started offshoots of the program. “I think It All Adds Up has been a very good thing, because it has inspired MPOs to start their own public outreach campaigns, which are grassroots,” said Mayes. From the beginning, KYTC had hoped that regions across the state would draw from the broader, statewide initiative to create their own, more localized air quality outreach programs.

To complement their It All Adds Up program, KYTC has added a valuable feature to their Web site. The new feature, which was developed with the University of Louisville, allows citizens to check ozone forecasts for their area. “This is our first shot at doing something at the state level specifically for our seven main ozone areas, which include rural areas,” Mayes said. “Although it's not part of It All Adds Up, we're doing it in conjunction with the initiative, because the more people learn about air quality, the more they're interested in it,” he continued.

When they first joined It All Adds Up , KYTC worked with FHWA and EPA to develop a survey to measure changes in public awareness and attitudes resulting from their It All Adds Up campaign. Mayes said the survey indicated a small increase in residents' awareness of ways to improve air quality, and it showed that individuals with a higher level of awareness were more likely to take actions to improve air quality.

Mayes noted that changing awareness and attitudes requires a long-term effort. While Kentucky residents' awareness and attitudes changed only slightly in 18 months, it is encouraging that they changed in the ways the It All Adds Up messages advocate. KYTC has shared a hard copy of the survey results with the Federal Partners and believes they will be valuable to other states with small urban and rural ozone nonattainment or maintenance areas.

The It All Adds Up program in Kentucky continues to grow as KYTC officials prepare to launch the third year of the program during the June through July ozone season.

For more information on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet visit http://transportation.ky.gov/

Jesse Mayes is one of more than 80 It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partners nationwide who are using the messages and materials provided by the initiative. For information on the other It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partners, visit the It All Adds Up Web site.

If you have incorporated It All Adds Up materials into your outreach program, please share your story with us.

To become an It All Adds Up Community Partner, visit the How to Join section of the Web site.