The courtroom in the Chancery Building Wednesday afternoon, was filled with maps of Oxford along with curious residents who were interested in the Toby Tubby Parkway Study.
The project discusses building a new road “to provide a safer, more efficient and cost-effective transportation facility that would relieve both existing and future traffic congestion on the local highway network in and around the City of Oxford, serve as a northwest Oxford traffic loop and promote economic development in the area.”
Although the purpose of the meeting was to gather residents’ input on their preference of the proposed plans, there will be an environmental assessment conducted to “identify and analyze potential environmental impacts associated with construction of this proposed facility.”
The assessment would be completed before the plans would go into effect, according to pamphlets distributed.
Neel-Schafer, Inc., a consulting engineering firm representing Lafayette County and the City of Oxford, developed six different plans for the Toby Tubby Parkway Study. Out of the six, three were eliminated and one of the three left, called “Alternative A,” was to do nothing.
The firm said in the pamphlet that the option to do nothing did remain, but “traffic congestion and related negative impacts would continue to grow.”
“Alternative B” began at the intersection of the West Oxford Loop and Jackson Avenue, where it proceeded north along the current West Oxford Loop until it crosses Anderson Road. From there it would continue in a northeasterly direction until it intersected MS Hwy 314 from which point it connected to College Hill Rd., eventually tracing CR 166 and CR 1032 until Hwy 7.
The final “alternative” left, D, was slightly different from B. The beginning instead was the intersection of Thacker Loop and Hwy 6, continuing northward until it reached MS Hwy 314, where it afterward followed the pattern of “Alternative B.”
Alternatives C, F, and E were all eliminated by the consulting firm due to environmental impact and their effectiveness in routing traffic overflow.
Robert Walker, the project manager, said the firm would use input from the residents of the Oxford and Lafayette County areas to determine the final plan.
“We will go to the neighborhoods and sites and ask the residents what they want and what they need,” Walker said. “We have to have these community meetings. Some people don’t like coming to these things, so we have to go out to them and ask them.”
Walker said they should have an official conclusion in the next six to eight months.
During the “open house” style meeting, visitors pursued the satellite photos detailing the route of each proposed plan with some residents concerned with the proximity of some routes to their homes.
Dinorah and Christopher Sapp are particularly concerned about “Alternative B.”
“One of the proposed areas is going through my backyard. I’m very concerned for the noise of the building and the environment,” Dinorah Sapp said. “If they do that, I don’t know how much it will impact. It sounds childish, but that’s why we live there.”
“I think it is a good idea to have the road going around the city to cut down on traffic, especially on College Hill Road, but I am not quite happy that the road would end up going right behind my back fence,” Christopher Sapp said.
“We will be talking to our neighbors and putting in our opinion. We are really glad we had the chance to have a public meeting where you can find out what is going on. They did a good job – it is good to have this kind of openness in government and not have the decision made behind closed doors and find out afterwards.”
Wednesday’s meeting was only one of the many meetings planned over the next couple of months, according to representatives present.
Any Oxford or Lafayette County residents with questions or concerns can contact Robert Walker, Project Manager for Neel-Schaffer, Inc., at 601-984-3071 or at robert.walker@neel-schaffer.com.
Be the first to comment on this article!