10/3/2008
Idaho Scenic Byways Web site wins national award
BOISE - Idaho's 27 scenic byways tell a story of the varied history, terrain and beauty of the intermountain northwest in Idaho. The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and its Scenic Byways program needed an equally impressive way to promote the byways.
Their solution was to develop a graphically enhanced Web site located at www.idahobyways.gov. The site gained national attention recently by capturing first place at the National Transportation Public Affairs Workshop (NTPAW) in Nashville, Tenn.
The Idaho Scenic Byways site was recognized as the best Web site produced with a consultant in the annual skills contest. Drake Cooper, a Boise marketing firm, was the consultant that assisted with the project.
The site, activated on June 25, 2007, lists byways by three distinct regions, includes information about lengths, locations and best times of the year to travel them as well as linking to other area attractions and contact information.
In its first year, the site became one of the most frequently visited links on the ITD Web site, just behind Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Idaho's 511 Traveler Services site. The Scenic Byways site has garnered attention in Idaho, winning an Idaho Press Club first place award last spring.
The NTPAW skills contest is conducted annually by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Subcommittee on Public Affairs to recognize the work of member states' public relations staffs and to facilitate an exchange of ideas. The contest is considered the premier competition in the transportation industry, and the awards have become a standard of public relations excellence among state departments of transportation.