
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 2, 1994                   TAG: 9412020069
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABINGDON                                 LENGTH: Medium

PLANES, TRAINS, AUTOMOBILES SHARE PATH

Dozens of people showed up at the first of nine regional meeting to hear about the state's multi-modal transportation plan and offer their ideas on it.

What does multi-modal transportation include? ``Planes, trains and automobiles,'' said Brenda Waters, information officer with the Bristol District of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The next meeting will be Monday in Roanoke, followed by others at Weyers Cave, Centreville, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Norfolk, Richmond and Charlottesville. Representatives of the Virginia Port Authority and the departments of Transportation, Aviation, and Rail and Public Transportation will attend.

When Congress enacted the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act two years ago this month, it required states to develop long-range transportation plans. The Abingdon meeting and those to follow are the first step in that process.

Those attending the two-hour session at the Virginia Highlands Airport could make oral comments in a separate room, but most were encouraged to ask representatives of the four agencies at different tables about how the various kinds of transportation tie together.

Visitors got a comment sheet asking how multi-modal transportation planning can be improved, what policies might be included, and any other comments to be considered during the planning. They could write their remarks on the sheets and drop them in a comment box during the meeting, or send them to the state transportation planning engineer in Richmond within two weeks.

A 10-minute videotape played repeatedly in another area of the airport, giving an overview of the meeting's goals.

Virginia is a coastal state with a major international port. It is also a primary corridor for freight and passengers and has a transportation network that includes the outskirts of the nation's capital and military bases. The plan will try to identify strategies to make all these various forms of transportation seamless throughout the state.

So what were the agencies hearing about? Bill Jeffrey, a Department of Transportation representative from Richmond, said near the start of the meeting that three people already had given him their views on where the proposed four-lane U.S. 58 should be routed through Southwest Virginia.

John Sauers, vice president of the Mount Rogers Community Club, said most residents of his area favored a southern route that would not go through the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area or cross the Appalachian Trail. ``Economic development is keeping it clean and green,'' he said.

Officials said this is the first attempt to design a statewide transportation process. They expect it to be changed and modified many times, even after a plan is complete.

by CNB