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Voice your opinion.

It will make a difference.

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As official public input opportunities are announced for projects that WaysSouth is working on, we will keep you informed on this page and through action alerts, and we will help you with ideas for comments and presentations. If you’re not already on our e-news list, sign up here.

Current active public input opportunities on WaysSouth projects:

Tell Congress to Cut Highway Funding, Not Economic Development!

Even if WaysSouth’s projects don’t have specific actions needed, there is always something you can do to help improve transportation decisions in the Southern Appalachians. The most important is to let decision-makers know your opinions.

People you may want to contact include

  • Elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels
  • State and federal transportation department officials
  • Local and regional transportation planning agency staff
  • Local business groups

You may contact them by mail, e-mail, phone, or in person. Things you may want to talk about include

  • Your opinion on highway projects like I-3 and Corridor K;
  • The need for comprehensive planning that takes into account all modes of transportation, not just single-passenger automobiles and long-haul freight trucks, and that recognizes that transportation and land use are integrally connected;
  • The need to fix our backlog of deferred maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure before undertaking construction of new highways that will only add to that backlog;
  • The economic costs and lack of economic benefits from new highway construction;
  • The environmental destruction caused by new highways, especially in fragile, unique areas like the Southern Appalachians;
  • The changing nature of our economy, including steadily increasing fuel prices, that is reducing the role highways will play in the future;
  • The need for legislation that doesn’t unfairly subsidize roadbuilding at the expense of other transportation modes;
  • The need to understand the reality that building new roads to reduce congestion doesn’t work;
  • And a whole host of others!

If you want to contact decision-makers but need more ideas on what to say or how to say it, please feel free to contact us.

And please let us know when you contact decision-makers so we can keep track of how our efforts are making a difference!