6.3

6.3 Enhanced Outreach
The North Shore Road Public Involvement Program utilized aggressive media strategies to reach low-incame
populations, minoriry communities, and individuals that may have special needs:
■ Public meetings were held in five different locations, providing individuals with multiple opporiunities to
participate.
■ Court reporters, or transcribers, were available at the workshops to record public comments.
■ Interpreters far the hearing impaired were available at the worksbops.
■ Public workshop locations complied with regulations stated under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
■ Social advertisements were provided in local and minoriry communiry newspapers, such as The Cherokee
One Feather which is published weekly by the Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
■ Project newsletters were distributed via mail and electronic correspondence.
■ Project website conforms to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Electronic and Information Technology
Accessibility Standards.
■ Eleven document viewing locations are available in North Carolina and Tennessee for individuals unable
to access the Internet.
Demographic characteristics for the area are presented in Socioeconomic and Community Features, Section
3.2.1 and information concerning minority populations and low-income communities is included in
Environmental Justice and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 4.2.6.
6.4 Public Participation Opportunities
6.4.1 Project Timeframe
Public participation opportunities are integral in providing the public an opportunity to actively participate in
the decision-making process. The scheduling and timing of public opporiunities are critical in any project to
ensure that the information is presented in a timely manner prior to key decision points. The public
involvement program for the North Share Road Project was designed to integrate comments throughout the
project. This flexible and open approach has provided the public mare opportunity to evaluate project
decisions and provide input.
6.4.2 Public Meetings
The public involvement program has been a continuous and flexible process, administered to collect as much
input as possible throughout the duration of the EIS process. Public feedback has served as the guideline for
all public involvement meetings.
The public involvement program for the North Shore Road Project included five series of ineetings, including
one series of public scoping meetings, three series of public workshops, and one series of public hearings, at
major milestones in the planning process. Each series included five meeting locations (Bryson City, Graham
County, Asheville, Knoxville, and Gatlinburg), which provided a variety of opportunities far interested
Public Involvement — 6-5
North Shore Road Final Environmental Impact Statement