Transportation has been identified as one of the issues of greatest citizen concern in surveys of communities across the country, yet there is a broad divergence in opinion concerning the causes of, and solutions for, transportation problems. On the whole, issues are addressed on a project-by- project basis rather than in a holistic community context. The issues are complex and cannot be understood through typical sound-bite information. More in-depth citizen education on transportation issues, including understanding of decision-making processes, is needed to facilitate a dialogue with communities, thereby leading to more consensus-based decision making. Citizens often adopt the view that “everything has already been decided,” because they don’t know who decides what and when. This education is challenging, and is often not performed or is done inadequately. This education process is complicated by the increasing cultural diversity within communities. The lack of cultural sensitivity by transportation professionals leads to a feeling of community disempowerment and a “disconnect” between community values and transportation decisions. Because of demographic changes, we need better information on how to interact with these populations and other underrepresented groups in transportation decision making.