The Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), will be preparing in the future an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on high capacity transit improvements in the Southeast Corridor, between Nashville in Davidson County and Murfreesboro in Rutherford County. The MPO hereby gives notice of three public scoping meetings to be held for the purpose of informing the public of what types of transit improvements will likely be studied and to request public comments on what types of transit should be considered and how the study should evaluate the transit options.

The Public Scoping meetings will be held as follows:

on Monday, July 12, 2004, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at Smyrna Town Centre, 100 Sam Ridley Parkway, Smyrna, Tennessee 37167;

on Tuesday, July 13, 2004, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Rutherford County Courthouse, Courthouse Square, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130;

and

on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m at the Nashville Downtown Library, 615 Church Street, Conference Room 1, Nashville, Tennessee 37219.

For the evening meetings in Smyrna and Murfreesboro, presentations will occur at 4:15, 5:15 and 6:15 p.m, followed by Question-and-Answer Sessions. The afternoon meeting being held in Nashville will have presentations at 11:15 and repeated at 12:15, followed by a Question-and-Answer Sessions after each presentation.

Interested individuals, organizations and federal, state and local agencies are encouraged to participate and to comment on the types of alternatives to be considered; the different technologies to be evaluated; possible locations for the roadway or tracks, including station locations, and what other types of things should be considered such as the environmental, social, or economic impacts.

Background - The two primary north-south thoroughfares within the Southeast Corridor are Murfreesboro Road, also known as US 41/70S, and Interstate 24 (I-24). This corridor experiences significant levels of traffic congestion within the 30-mile segment of I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro, handling between 91,000 and 133,000 average daily annual trips. Murfreesboro Road has between 20,600 and 37,400 average annual daily trips. Few options exist in the corridor to provide alternatives to driving in heavily congested conditions. Improvements are needed to address traffic volumes that increase annually and the corresponding traffic congestion that is projected to occur.

Process - In accordance with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the scoping process will be used to determine the alternatives and impacts to be evaluated. Comments on the appropriateness of the alternatives and impact-related issues are encouraged. Specific suggestions on additional alternatives to be examined and issues to be addressed are welcomed and will be considered in establishing the final scope of the EIS.

Alternatives - The scoping meetings, other community meetings and written comments will be a major source of the types of transit alternatives to be considered during the alternatives analysis phase and subsequent EIS. Transportation alternatives proposed for consideration in the Southeast Corridor include the following:
1. No Action Alternative: An alternative will be developed that is based on projects included in the local transportation improvement plan (TIP) and financially-constrained long-range transportation plan, with no change to transportation services or facilities in the area beyond already committed projects.
2. Transportation System Management Alternative: A low-cost alternative will be developed to include minor improvements to intersections, traffic signals, demand management and system management programs, bus services and facilities and other modifications to the transportation system that can be made without major investments in infrastructure or equipment.
3. Build Alternatives: Three alternatives will be developed that combine various types of major investments to meet the travel needs of the corridor. These "build" alternatives most likely will include the development of busway or bus rapid transit, light rail transit, and/or commuter rail technology along various existing rights-of-way in the corridor.

Based on public and agency input received during scoping, variations of the above alternatives and other transportation-related improvement options, both transit and non-transit, will be considered for the Southeast Corridor.

Comments - Written comments on the alternatives, scope of analysis and the impacts to be considered should be submitted by August 14, 2004 in order to be included in the Scoping Process Report.

Comments should be addressed to Jim McAteer, Transit Planner, Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, 730 2nd Ave South, Nashville, TN 37201, Phone 615-862-7204, Fax 615-862-7209, e-mail mcateer@nashvillempo.org.

A Scoping Information Package has been prepared to provide details on the background of this project, the project development schedule, the alternatives currently under consideration, and the process by which agencies and the public can provide input into the early decisions regarding alternatives and issues to be addressed in the EIS. Copies are available upon request from the website of the MPO (www.nashvillempo.org) or by contacting Jim McAteer (See above contact information).

The locations of the scoping meetings are accessible to persons with disabilities. Any individual with a disability who requires special assistance to participate in the scoping meetings should contact Mr. McAteer at the address, e-mail address or phone number shown above.