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ReThink280 Newsletter - June 2010
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In this issue:
-- Figg Is Back at Work
-- Contact Shelby County Commissioners
-- Read Our Op-Ed Piece: Can ALDOT Listen on 280?
-- Sign the ReThink280 Petition
Greetings!
Welcome to the ReThink280 Newsletter! Look for this newsletter in your mailbox periodically to keep up with the latest news on Highway 280. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone interested in this important issue.
Figg Is Back at Work
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ALDOT has reactivated its contract with Figg Engineers to add express lanes and an elevated toll road to U.S. 280, despite significant citizen opposition and the fact that Birmingham, Homewood, Mountain Brook, and Vestavia Hills have all asked for a better solution. Each of these cities passed a resolution expressing concerns with ALDOT's plan and asking for greater regional collaboration in finding the right solution. The Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills resolutions also ask ALDOT to explore fixing the I-459/280 interchange before considering the rest of the corridor.
The battle is by no means over, and we need to keep the pressure on now more than ever. Send your letters and emails opposing the elevated/toll road to: Brian Davis, Division Engineer (davisb@dot.state.al.us), ALDOT Third Division, 1020 Bankhead Highway, Birmingham, AL 35202; Joe McInness, Director (mcinnesj@dot.state.al.us), ALDOT, 1409 Coliseum Blvd., Montgomery, AL 36110; and Linda Figg, Figg Engineers (LFigg@Figgbridge.com), 424 North Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Demand a more sustainable and fiscally responsible solution that does not promote sprawl or harm the commercial or residential interests that are along the corridor.
Read the Birmingham News article...
Contact Shelby County Commissioners
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Shelby County Commissioners will be voting soon on whether to support ALDOT's elevated/toll road proposal or not, possibly as soon as Monday, June 14, 2010. It is time for Shelby County residents and business owners to make their opinions known. We can do better than an elevated highway!
Shelby County Commissioners: Corley Ellis (205) 669-1863; Tommy Edwards (205) 427-4289; Jon Parker (205) 668-3632, jandparker3@aol.com; Daniel M. Acker (205) 663-7334; Joel Bearden (205) 296-2967; Larry Dillard (205) 988-0658; Lindsey Allison (205) 991-6367; Rick Shepherd (205) 982-8717, rick@shepherdteam.net; Robbie Hayes (205) 678-7100.
Find the article on our website...
Read Our Op-Ed Piece: Can ALDOT Listen on 280?
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Hasn't our region grown too big to build large road projects with no community planning? We think so, and so do Birmingham's Metropolitan Planning Organization and Regional Planning Commission. In Marc Beaumont and Temple Tutwiler's op-ed piece, ReThink280 challenges ALDOT to work with area cities, stakeholders, and the MPO/RPC for a sensible, sustainable solution for U.S. 280.
Read the Birmingham News op-ed article...
Sign the ReThink280 Petition
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The ReThink280 website has a petition posted for you to sign and make comments. By signing this petition, you are registering your opposition to ALDOT's U.S. 280 Expansion Project, which calls for a 10-mile, 10-lane, $800 million elevated and ground-level toll road. Your submission, along with all those who sign this petition, will be sent to both government and community leaders to raise awareness of the widespread opposition to the proposed expanded roadway.
Sign the petition...
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