February 8, 2012

To the Supporters of WaysSouth:

Our sincere thanks to you the supporters of WaysSouth for your generous donations of personal energy and dollars over the past year. The work of WaysSouth has been able to continue because of your continued interest and involvement. The Stop I-3 Project has long been the issue to generate passion and action from many of you. As we begin 2012 we anticipate the end of this ill conceived idea of an interstate between Savannah and Knoxville that would surely destroy sections of our Southern Appalachians. Although some loose ends have yet to be tied up, including submittal of the final DOT report to Congress, we are prepared to declare success with the Stop I-3 Project! We could not have done it without you!

WaysSouth is now in a time of transition. As the Stop I-3 effort winds down our major projects have become Corridor K in North Carolina and Tennessee. WaysSouth will be very active in Corridor K public participation and engineering study issues in 2012. At the same time we are committed to monitor and provide citizen leadership on other transportation issues on Federal, State, and Local levels that impact our Southern Appalachian Region. To focus our efforts, the Board of WaysSouth has prepared and is committed to following our Strategic Plan. Our Strategic Plan is provided to you with this letter so that our supporters will clearly understanding the mission, objectives and priorities of WaysSouth as we move forward.

We will continue to need the support of our volunteers and our contributors in order to work toward the goals described in the Strategic Plan. Volunteers are especially needed who have experience or expertise in highway engineering, grant writing and grass roots organizing in the Carolinas and Tennessee. We also need volunteers to help monitor local and state transportation initiatives and to help communicate with legislators and regulators. If you can provide even a small amount of volunteer time and energy, please contact Terry Miller at trmcha@comcast.net

In these tight financial times we continue to operate frugally and are committed to working efficiently and effectively with the monies donated to WaysSouth. We hope you will consider making a donation to help us capitalize on the successes of 2011 and kick our plans into high gear for 2012. To make a contribution please go to www.wayssouth.org and donate on Pay Pal or you may send your check directly to WaysSouth,1074 Arbor Drive, Lakemont, GA 30552.

Thank you once again and best wishes for the New Year.

Sincerely,

Terry Miller, Chair

Sunset over Ocoee Lake aerial west view. Photo by Ron Lowery

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has named Chilhowee Mountain, TN, in the path of Corridor K,  one of the top ten endangered places for 2012.

“Chilhowee Mountain and the rugged peaks and hollows in its viewshed are in the path of Corridor K, a chain of highways linking Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina,” says the SELC website. “Despite the fact that completion of the interstate system made the project obsolete, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is studying multiple options for finishing the leg of Corridor K running through the Ocoee Region. Among them are proposals for routing a new four-lane, divided highway across the shoulder of Chilhowee Mountain and through largely unspoiled reaches of the Cherokee National Forest.”

Read the full write-up on the SELC website here.

WaysSouth has taken the regional lead on advocating for better, more affordable solutions for Corridor K. We see that improvements to address the handful of bottlenecks and, where needed, additional passing lanes through Ocoee Gorge would allow both recreational and through traffic to move safely. Further, such a solution would be more cost-effective than spending billions on a new and highly intrusive road. WaysSouth is leading citizen participation in the planning process to ensure that options involving improvement of the existing road – common-sense fixes like straightening curves, widening shoulders, and adding passing lanes where appropriate – are properly considered.

• To read more about WaysSouth’s leadership on Corridor K issues, please visit this link.

• For more information about WaysSouth and its involvement in Corridor K, please contact Terry Miller at 423-842-8383 or trmcha@comcast.net.

SELC uses the power of the law to protect hundreds of special places throughout its six-state region of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Top Ten list targets areas of exceptional scenic, ecological, or cultural value that are facing immediate, potentially irreversible threats—and the important actions needed in 2012 to protect our environmental heritage for future generations.

Here are a few highlights—

Won’t you mark your calendar for this event..and take a look at the attached flyer.

LIVE MUSIC – GREAT FOOD – GUEST SPEAKERS – DOOR PRIZES…..October 8, 2011 from 12:00n-4:00pm!

We look forward to seeing you.

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WaysSouth Committee
Marie Dunkle
1-770-335-0967
mdunkle@mindspring.com

]]> http://www.wayssouth.org/2011/09/come-celebrate-our-successes-in-stopping-i-3/feed/ 0 http://www.wayssouth.org/2011/08/us-76-sr-515-upgrade/ http://www.wayssouth.org/2011/08/us-76-sr-515-upgrade/#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:40:45 +0000 WaysSouth http://www.wayssouth.org/?p=652 WaysSouth Voices Newsletter • Summer 2011

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WaysSouth is closely following plans to widen and possibly re-route parts of the U.S. 76/SR 515 highway between Blairsville and Young Harris, GA.  GA Department of Transportation (DOT) initially presented a grand design that would widen the highway, complete with a 32 foot median and turning lanes.  Four route alternatives would take the highway either straight thru the town of Young Harris or via one of three by-pass routes.

Several of the alternatives being discussed would require considerable dislocation and uprooting along the Right of Way. DOT is now considering alternatives to the alignment presented in Open House meetings attended by the public last spring. When they are finalized, DOT will present them to the public in another set of Open House meetings.  WaysSouth will put out the word to supporters when the next meeting dates are announced.

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The 2011 Georgia Legislature, facing a large deficit in potential transportation funding, has chosen to use the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to help get needed additional funding for local transportation projects, roads, bridges and rail.  The complicated procedure is described below.

The SPLOST procedure divides the state into 12 planning groups (regions), which have two members (County commissioner, City mayor, etc.) from each county. The counties were directed to prepare a list of suggested transportation projects by 30 March of this year. Currently, these lists are being reviewed by a subset of the planning team members and senior GDOT personnel with the objective of prioritizing the projects for each planning region.

The lists will be presented to the voters of each planning region along with a request that voters approve the adoption of a 1% additional sales tax to last for 10 years with the possibility of renewal by another vote of the electorate. The vote will be taken in the presidential primary in 2012. If the majority of voters in a region approve the tax it will be levied on all the counties in the region. Twenty five percent of the revenues collected in a given county will be returned to it but the larger share will go to the region as prioritized. Regions that reject the tax will face a penalty of increasing the proposed 10% sharing cost for transportation projects in the counties within the region to 30%. Regions failing to approve the tax will have to wait 24 months before bringing it to the voters again.

The future for the SPLOST idea is not clear. There are questions about the fairness of the prioritization process, the dominance of larger counties over smaller ones, and, of course affordability and the impact of added taxes. WaysSouth encourages our readers to examine carefully the proposals for your respective region.

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Since SAFETEA-LU, the 2005 transportation authorization bill, expired in 2009, there has been no comprehensive program to meet our transportation infrastructure needs. The House leadership recently unveiled an outline for its six-year “Transportation Reauthorization Bill” (available at http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/Media/file/112th/Highways/Reauthorization_document.pdf). The outline is short on detail, and no bill text has been released, but a few things can be determined.

The House bill cuts transportation funding by approximately 34% from FY09 levels.  It would likely maintain the historic 80%/20% highway/non-highway ratio of funding, but all programs would suffer significantly.  It is unclear how or whether the bill will effectively address the growing backlog of highway and bridge repair needs.

The bill will consolidate and eliminate nearly 70 of the existing 100 transportation programs. Among the programs slated for elimination—and loss of all dedicated funding—are all programs related to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and high-speed rail. These projects may be eligible for funding if a state chooses.

The bill will include performance measures designed to hold states accountable for their decisions, but it is not clear what factors they will incorporate.  There are concerns that highway programs may be held to lower standards of performance than other Federal programs and it is unclear whether innovation and competition will be fostered. Most highway funds will be distributed via formula to states.

Several provisions to “accelerate project delivery” are indicated in the outline, but these are primarily attacks on the environmental review process. This shortsighted approach is likely to create more problems than it solves.

In the name of deficit reduction and tax-cutting, the House bill as currently proposed will slash investment in the transportation infrastructure that is necessary for economic vitality. WaysSouth is concerned that where it does allow investment, reauthorization will be skewed toward the outdated notion that bigger highways are always the best answer to society’s problems.

(Note: The Senate will be considering a two-year funding bill, but we do not yet have any details about it.)

As the reauthorization process proceeds, WaysSouth will continue to monitor and provide information and action alerts, particularly as they relate to the Southern Appalachians and Corridor K.

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2010-2011 has been a year of action and progress for WaysSouth. There have been numerous initiatives and meetings on behalf of our Corridor K and Stop I-3 projects with elected officials, citizens groups and supporting organizations.  WaysSouth has grown in resources, expertise and credibility.  Here we share with our supporters key activities by the staff and Board over the past fiscal year.

• Selected to the I-3 Study Expert Working Group (EWG) and participated in 4 meetings of the EWG.
• Six public presentations about I-3 and Corridor K projects.
• Introduction of the new and improved WaysSouth Website.
• Prepared briefing papers on Corridor-K for public hearings.
• Sponsored first annual WaysSouth Fundraiser/Band Party in Tiger GA
• Published eleven Action Alerts and two newsletters to inform and activate WaysSouth supporters. Action Alert topics included:
  º  I-3 alternatives, webinar announcements and public comment alerts
  º  Tennessee DOT public meeting announcements and C-K calls for comments
  º  North Carolina DOT public hearing announcements Corridor K Federal funding
  º  Asheville NC area Long Range Transportation Plan Appalachian Regional Commission funding
• Prepared/submitted comments on key transportation issues to Federal, State and local governments. These included comments to:
  º  Federal government agencies about improvement of existing roads
  º  Federal Highway Admin. on the draft I-3 Study
  º  Georgia DOT on proposed U.S. 76/SR 515 widening in Union and Towns Counties GA
  º  Corridor K public hearing
  º  North Carolina on Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan
  º  Tennessee on Tennessee section of Corridor K
  º  North Carolina DOT on Asheville NC area Long Range Transportation Plan
  º  North Carolina DOT on Robbinsville NC
  º  President Obama on Federal transportation bill and initiatives

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WaysSouth is deeply grateful to the following financial contributors that have supported the organization in the first half of 2011.

Lucy E. Bartlett

Bill Blumreich

Holly Demuth

Marie K. Dunkle

Virginia Duquet and David Nash

Randy and Judith Fisher

GA Council Trout Unlimited

Nina Gregg

Keely and Jamie Groft

David Hinderliter

Tom Hoffman

Clyde Holler

Robin D. Jones

Betty King

Charley Kraus

Melanie Mayes

David Milikin

Sara Nolan

George L. Otis

Rabun Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Stephanie Ramsey

Ben Saylor

Virginia S. Sosby

Towns County Homeowners Assoc.

Pamela L. Weiman

Stancil O. Wise

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The “Strategic Plan” of WaysSouth focuses on goals that support our Mission:  To preserve and protect the unique heritage and environment of the Southern Appalachians by promoting sustainable transportation practices.

Each goal listed below supports our priority projects (Stop Interstate 3, Corridor K, U.S. Highway 441, Rail Task Force) and positions WaysSouth for the future.

• Develop a Model of a modern, efficient and context supportive ground transportation system for the Southern Appalachians which is capable of meeting the needs of business, industry and the Southern Appalachian communities in the changing economic environment while preserving the natural environment and respecting the heritage of the area.
• Advocate for government policies, planning and projects consistent with this model.
• Create and maintain working relationships with relevant federal, state, regional, local and tribal officials.
• Develop and maintain a working understanding of existing plans, laws, regulations and other requirements documents of all pertinent federal, regional, state, tribal and local planning agencies.
• Develop a strong and dependable funding base to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision
• Build on the capacity of our Supporting Organization and volunteer base to help educate and involve others.