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.
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