Stop I-3 Coalition Newsletter
September, 2007
From the Chair
Study Far From Stopped
Hello
Everybody,
Thanks to all of you who have written to your representative
and senators asking for their support in taking I-3 off the
books once and for all. If you haven’t voiced your
concern yet, please do so now. Contact information and
talking points at http://www.stopi-3.org/action.html. Our
congressmen still need a lot of education and encouragement.
We
are thrilled to have Representative Paul Broun in office. Unlike
his predecessor, who sponsored the I-3 legislation, Broun is
firmly against this unneeded interstate. Please continue to
urge Rep. Broun to make the most of his remaining term and
remove the earmark he inherited.
After a month of trying, I
also finally got my five minutes with Senator Johnny Isakson
of Georgia. He said that the study of I-3 was necessary so
that all could have their say – good
reason to flood his office with letters to the contrary. He
seemed surprised when I told him that the Savannah River Parkway
from Savannah to Augusta was nearing completion and the Georgia
Road Improvement Project called for the four-laning of Georgia
17 from near Augusta to Toccoa. He said, “Well, then
they won’t need another four-lane road will they?” Again
he assured me those counties that don’t want an interstate
will not get one. Yet how many interstates are only built
half-way, or in bits where the people in one county supposedly
want it and not in the next where they have been more vocal
in their opposition?
The Coalition is still attempting
to talk with Senator Saxby Chambliss. His staff has assured
us that he is on the same page as Senator Isakson.
We continue
to work to raise awareness along the corridor south of I-85. If
you have contacts in between Lavonia, Athens, Augusta and Savannah,
please forward them this email. We
would like to connect with more people in that region. Their
senators and representative especially need to hear from them.
I
encourage each of you to try to actually talk with your congressmen. Getting
to talk with them personally is not easy, but it greatly enhances
the written communications they are receiving. At
least through conversations the staff members begin to know
who we are and what is at stake. If you have a connection
with one of these congressmen and would be willing to speak
with them on the I-3 issue, I or our executive director would
be glad to accompany you.
We need to keep making our points
that the interstate is unneeded, unwanted, and economically
and environmentally disastrous. Meanwhile,
if the study moves forward, members of the Stop I-3 Coalition
will continue to ready us to show the world that this interstate
is a horrible idea. We continue to raise awareness along the
route from Savannah to Knoxville, working to obtain more county
resolutions like the ones posted on our website.
You
may reach me at info@stopi-3.org. I welcome news
from you at any time.
— Lucy Bartlett,
Chair, Stop I-3 Coalition
Come
on down to the Conservation Fair this Saturday
All members and supports of the Stop I-3 Coalition
are invited to attend the Conservation Fair in Clayton,
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., this Saturday, September 15, hosted
by our partner supporting organization, the Chattooga
Conservancy.
The Stop I-3 Coalition will have a table
with petitions for new supporters to sign, materials
to show your support for stopping the road (bumper
stickers, yard signs), and volunteers ready to answer
your questions.
Details at
www.chattoogariver.org,
include appearances by raptor rehabilitator Monteen McCord,
storyteller Barbara Freeman as well as food, drink and
music. The fair is being held in Clayton, Georgia,
at the corner of Pinnacle Drive and Warwoman Road.
Save the date - October 27,
2007
We are having a party for all the Stop
I-3 supporters under the oak trees behind the Tiger
Mountain Vineyards on Saturday, October 27th! We will have a picnic
around noon, music, and a catch-up-on –what-is-happening
and getting-to-know-each-other good time. If you would
like to help plan this fun gathering, please let us
know at info@stopi-3.org.
Tiger Mountain Vineyards are two miles south of Clayton,
GA on Old 441. The tasting room will be open for
those who would like to sample the wine. More details
and a map will soon be in your e-mail box.
Sharing
your time and talents
with the Stop I-3 Coalition
The Coalition has ongoing, short-term, and one-time
needs that our volunteers ably step up and fill, enabling
the organization to be even more effective in its work. We
would like to know about your interests and talents
so we may contact you as the need for them arises. Positions
include monitoring news sources for transportation
related articles, coordinating events, and networking
with elected and government officials. Go to http://www.stopi-3.org/volunteer.html to review the
complete list of options and to let us know what you
are interested in.
The Stop I-3 Coalition appreciates your support, whether
that has been signing a petition, responding to an action
alert, writing a letter to your newspaper editor, or
giving money. You have helped make a difference
in stopping this road. Thank you for considering
giving more.
Conservation Impacts of Corridor
K
The plans for Corridor K, generally aimed
at linking Chattanooga with Asheville, were conceived and
put into play over 40 years ago. Although there has been
environmental analysis as sections have come up, there was
never an environmental analysis, environmental planning,
or any real environmental consideration of the entire route.
Because of this lack of planning and forethought, the sections
that have not been constructed are planned through the most
difficult terrain and some of the most sensitive habitat
and scenic areas of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
These
sections, if constructed, would cause profound environmental
and scenic destruction and would cost billions in taxpayer
money to build. These uncompleted sections have been put
on hold for precisely these reasons. Their environmental
and economic costs are just too high. Recently there have
been efforts to revive these projects. This effort is ill
advised and ignores the environmental impacts and the high
cost of these projects when existing roads need maintenance.
If
this road were to be punched through, one of the hardest
sections of I-3 to construct would already be mostly completed. If
you want to be involved with this particular project of the
Stop I-3 Coalition, let us know on the volunteer
interests form here. For more details about Corridor
K, go to http://www.stopi-3.org/research/corridor_k.html
Website chocked full of information
The
Stop I-3 Coalition website is a great resource for I-3 related
information. New postings since our last newsletter
went out:
- News
articles
Come Together Now to Stop a Potential Disaster column
by Stop I-3 supporter Sheri Kling, The Northeast Georgian, - Transportation Crisis op-ed, Winston-Salem Journal
- Interstate Impasse: Where I-3 Met the Mountains, North
Georgia Mountains Magazine
- Representative Paul Broun’s stance, Tight Lines,
newsletter of Trout Unlimited, Rabun Co. Chapter
- Proposed I-3 isn’t forgotten: Funding for study
remains in place, Gainesville Times
- Northern Arc Rides Again, AJC
- Rail Returning to Importance, AJC
- Young
Tennessean Shares Reasons to Oppose I-3, video presentation
- Action Alert to
pull the study
- Wheelspin:
The virtues of avoiding interstates, New York Times,
for your pleasure reading
- Elvis
sighted opposing I-3 (just in case you thought we
were all work and no play)
New Northern Arc Proposed
The Georgia
Department of Transportation has revived plans for a new “Northern
Arc,” an interstate-style beltway north of Atlanta. The
previous plan fell of its own political weight as Georgia
Gov. Sonny Perdue first took office.
Now, Perdue’s highway
department is reviving the arc idea, but proposing to locate
it further north (and closer to the Appalachians,) roughly
on a line from Interstate 75 at Calhoun to Cumming, Georgia,
and from there somehow over to Interstate 85.
The
coalition will be monitoring Northern Arc developments closely.
Burma Shave matters
The Stop I-3 Coalition reminds you that we have some great
Burma Shave Sign sets available for your yard or pasture
fence and yard signs (16" x 24") with our name
and web address to place in your yard to show your support
of stopping I-3. For more information or to order your signs
call Sandy Lyndon at 706.754.0046 or email her at sandy@bbinc.org
Send
the money!
Stop I-3 Coalition is a lean, low-budget enterprise – always
has been -- whose success has largely depended on the hard
work of willing volunteers who pitched in to further the cause.
Meeting
our goals, both short- and long-term, also means that we are
going to have to raise a bit more cold, hard cash. That’s
a fact.
So please dig deep enough to send money, today, right
now.
- On the web, at http://www.stopi-3.org/donate.html
- Or, mail
checks or money orders (made out to SAFC/Stop I-3 Coalition,)
46
Haywood Street, Suite 323, Asheville, North Carolina 28801-2838.
