Pat Dye, Ray Scott to speak at public forum to oppose widening historical district

EUFAULA, AL (WTVM) - The Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce will host a public forum on Tuesday, Nov. 18 to address the proposed project to four-lane North Eufaula Avenue.

The forum is in response to the Alabama Department of Transportation's public information meeting scheduled the same date at the Eufaula Community Center.

The ALDOT event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Central, will be a "formal presentation" which is open to the public. While it is unclear if ALDOT will address questions from the audience, the Chamber event will allow for questions and answers from all participants.

Highlighting the Chamber public forum will be remarks delivered by legendary Auburn University football coach Pat Dye, as well as comments by Ray Scott who founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society in 1967. Both Dye and Scott are conservationists who support efforts to preserve N. Eufaula Avenue.

Community leaders will facilitate discussions on the proposed ALDOT project to four-lane N. Eufaula Avenue, including the project's potential impacts on the city's heritage and cultural tourism industry, property values, and safety concerns.

Community leaders will help facilitate discussions on a variety of topics relating to the proposed ALDOT project to four-lane North Eufaula Avenue.

These topics include: the negative impact on heritage and cultural tourism; the loss of jobs as a direct result of this proposed work; the decline in property values not only on North Eufaula Avenue but throughout the City of Eufaula; the almost total loss of the trees in the parkway; safety issues associated with necessary turning movements and the increased speed of vehicles on this street; and the lack of any conclusive evidence that periodic traffic congestion on North Eufaula Avenue will be alleviated, to any significant degree, by ALDOT's four-lane proposal.

The Chamber and the City of Eufaula have passed resolutions

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More than 30 other state and national organizations have also voiced their opposition including the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Alabama Scenic Byways Commission, Alabama Forestry Commission, Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Services.

In addition, more than 5,000 individuals from across the country have signed digital and paper petitions against the four-lane widening.

Additional information about this event can be made available by contacting the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce at 334-687-6664, or Doug Purcell, coordinator of the Save North Eufaula Avenue coalition, at 334-687-9787 or 334-695-5568.

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