• Outreach Program Eliminates Section 4(f) Concern

    For a project in Greenville, NC, we proposed connecting Stantonsburg Road in west Greenville (near the hospital and highway) to Tenth Street in east Greenville (near Uptown and East Carolina University). The project was funded by the City, ECU, the hospital, and NCDOT. We were sensitive to the nature of the community, as well as the difference in needs between the community and the funding partners. Most of the alternatives included widening Farmville Boulevard, a four-lane undivided road through a cohesive, minority neighborhood. The project team considered widening left, right, and symmetrically through the neighborhood, attempting to minimize the number of relocations. The public outreach plan included a citizen advisory committee, key leader interviews, and a series of small group meetings with the neighbors and adjacent businesses. Through these interactions, the project team worked through the potential alternatives and the specific needs and desires of the community. As a result of the input from the community, the City of Greenville decided to contribute additional relocation funds to provide a new area for the residents to relocate to as a unit if they chose to do so. At the end of the project, the residents signed a petition requesting that the City and NCDOT choose the alternative that relocated the most number of residents, so that they could remain a cohesive neighborhood in the new location. This petition provided the support necessary for FHWA to determine that this project would not have an adverse and disproportionate impact on the minority community.

 Lessons Learned using Primary Technique:

  • Small Groups

Strengths

The potential impacts of this project were known to be a concern before the project began. Our proactive approach allowed us to communicate with the appropriate members of the community from the beginning, and resulted in a positive outcome. ​

Drawbacks

If the City had not provided additional relocation funds and a location for the residents to relocate to, it would have been more difficult to resolve the Section 4(f) issue. ​

Insights

The success of the outreach program stemmed in large part because it was proactive and multifaceted. We applied a range of techniques simultaneously (charrette, 3D visualizations, small groups, etc.), and kept communication open with the community.​

 Project Attributes

Project Primary Purpose
  
Mobility/System Efficiency
Target Communities
  
Established Neighborhood, Urban
Target Populations
  
Low-Income Populations, Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Seniors
  
Project Planning
  
Highway or Interchange

 Primary Technique

  • Small Groups

 Other Techniques used

  • 4;#3D Visualization;#16;#Charrettes;#19;#Civic (Stakeholder/Citizen) Advisory Committees;#49;#Key Person Interviews

 Contact Info

  
Teresa Gresham
  
Kimley-Horn
  
http://kimley-horn.com
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