Public Lands begin at Claridge Nursery (Green Dots)

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Abandoned Railroad

Waynesborough

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Neuse MST Route--

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.

• 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.

• 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