Special to The Journal

Local road improvements and safety issues will highlight the discussion in a series of rural transportation stakeholder meetings that will be held by the South Central Alabama Development Commission (SCADC) in six counties between August 27 and September 4.

Local citizens will have the opportunity to air their concerns and suggestions regarding rural transportation in the meetings, which are being held as a part of the South Central Alabama Rural Transportation Consultation Process.

SCADC will be holding a meeting in each of the six counties served by the agency, which are Bullock, Butler, Crenshaw, Lowndes, Macon, and Pike Counties.

The stakeholder meeting for Crenshaw County is Tuesday, August 28,

at 10 a.m. at the Crenshaw County Courthouse in the small courtroom,

located at 29 South Glenwood Avenue in Luverne.

Those in attendance

will be asked to review suggestions that were made at a similar round of meetings in the spring of 2007 and to provide additional suggestions and comments.

Other topics of discussion at the meetings will include proposed recommendations for rural transportation improvements to be submitted to the Alabama Department of Transportation; local and regional commuting patterns; regional transportation networks; and state, regional and county vehicular accident information.

All interested persons are invited to attend the meetings and participate in the discussion.

The purpose of the South Central Alabama Rural Transportation Consultation Process, which is being conducted under a contract with the Alabama Department of Transportation, is to create a rural transportation stakeholder organization with the purpose of establishing a continuous and on-going rural transportation planning process

that will aid in the identification of transportation needs and issues of nonmetropolitan areas of the South Central Alabama Region.

All South Central Alabama Rural Transportation Consultation Process meetings are open to the public.

For additional information, you can contact Lucas Blankenship, with SCADC, at 334-244-6903.