Transcript Slide 1

Public Lands begin at Claridge Nursery (Green Dots)
1st Wayne County
Courthouse
Q: WHY WAS THE LITTLE RIVER ROUTE OVERLOOKED?
A: SOME JOCO STAKEHOLDERS WERE EXCLUDED FROM
THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND PLANNING PROCESS
4.1 Trail System Overview “The MST for Johnston County will consist of a
mainline running primarily along the east bank of the Neuse River. Various
town trails are included in this plan that connect the MST to the Town of
Clayton, the Town of Smithfield, and possibly to the Town of Selma
(depending on the Town of Selma's interest in connecting to the system).”
On January 9, 2006 the Selma Town Council approved a Resolution of
Support for the MST route through Selma, Pine Level and down Little River.
This resolution and two similar resolutions from Pine Level and Goldsboro
were all e-mailed, and also sent regular mail to Darrel McBane, State Trails
Coordinator at NC Parks & Recreation, and Chuck Flink at Greenways Inc..
On February 4 Darrel McBane from NC Parks & Recreation attended the
FMST Annual Conference in Greensboro where the Little River MST Route
plan, and the three resolutions of support, were presented to him. These
resolutions were received by State officials and consultants well in advance
of the first MST public involvement meetings held in February, yet Selma and
Pine Level were excluded from all the Greenways Inc. stakeholder meetings.
HOW IMPORTANT IS PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT?
FHWA Guidance - Bicycle and Pedestrian Provisions of FHWA Legislation
• Public involvement is essential in the development of transportation plans
and programs including the bicycle and pedestrian components. Public
involvement should include, to the extent possible, input from individuals
who will be affected by the transportation plan and programs. This
involvement must meet the requirements for statewide planning spelled
out in the regulations in 23 CFR Section 450.212, and those for MPO
planning spelled out in 23 CFR Section 450.316(b). Any subsequent policy
statements and guidance provided by the FHWA and FTA also needs to be
considered.
• The regulations require that State departments of transportation and
MPOs have public involvement processes which are followed in preparing
transportation plans and programs. Bicycle and pedestrian groups should
be aware of the opportunity to participate in the development of these
public involvement processes and to comment on them before they are
adopted. This is in addition to the opportunity to participate according to
the public involvement processes in the development of transportation
plans and programs. Public involvement will occur at key decision points
as described in the public involvement procedures for the planning
process.
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At a minimum, public involvement must be "proactive and provide complete
information, timely public notice, full public access to key decisions, and
opportunities for early and continuing involvement" (23 CFR § 450.212 (a)), and
must provide for:
Early and continuing public involvement throughout the transportation planning
and programming process
Timely information about transportation issues and processes to citizens
Reasonable public access to technical and policy information used in the
development of TIPs/STIPs
Adequate public notice of public involvement activities and time for public review
and comment at key decision points, including but not limited to action on the
plan and TIP/STIP
A process for demonstrating explicit consideration and response to public input
during the planning and program development process
A process for seeking out and considering the needs of those traditionally
underserved by existing transportation systems, such as low income and
minority households which may face challenges accessing employment and
other amenities
Periodic review of the effectiveness of the public involvement process to ensure
that the process provides full and open access to all and revisions to the process
as necessary.
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WERE ANY CITIZENS CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATED BY THIS EXCLUSION?
As a recipient of federal funding, State agencies, and consultants they
hire, are subject to the following legislation agency-wide. This is not
exclusive to highway projects.
TIP's are normally exempt from NEPA, except in unusual cases where
there are "excessive environmental impacts". (The Neuse River route
has 10 more stream crossings overall than the Little River route, and
also has more initial and cumulative wetland impacts east of I-95.)
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 2000(d)
The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 amended Title VI so that
recipients of Federal aid must comply with the non-discriminatory
requirements in all their activities, not just the programs and activities
that directly receive Federal support. That is, government agencies
that receive any federal funds must avoid discriminatory impacts not
only when setting policy for federally funded programs, but also for
programs that are entirely state or locally funded.
Title VI and Environmental Justice (EJ) stakeholders are individuals
and protected populations, including: (a) minorities based on race,
religion, or national origin; (b) low income residents; (c) elderly
residents; and (d) disabled residents (in this case populations who are
represented by the Town Councils of Selma and Pine Level).
THE SOLUTION
A TRAIL FOR TWO CITIES