News-Record.com

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Gullanar Campbell

The Counterpoint, “Whatever happened to Painter Boulevard?” (April 10), intrigued me. I attended meetings throughout the ’90s concerning the Greensboro outer loop.

I clearly remember how Jefferson Pilot and Guilford College hired the engineering firm Kimberly Horn to get the route selection changed.

I listened to the public comments and heard representatives from the N.C. Department of Transportation, the audience and the News & Record refer to this proposed road as Painter Boulevard.

Unfortunately, we grew complacent over the next several years. At the date of public knowledge, the highway design was not finalized.

The majority of us were led to believe that the beltway was for local traffic and would consist primarily of automobiles. The public hearings on proposed noise-abatement measures were not well publicized.

The NCDOT traffic-noise-abatement policy states, “The opinions of first-row property owners will be requested so that a final determination on abatement measures may be made.”

NCDOT never contacted front-row property owners in our neighborhood or sought out their opinions, and our property abuts the highway right of way.

Over the years, the nature of the project changed. The name Painter Boulevard was evidently dropped.

The local beltway evolved from a road designed for local traffic into an eight-lane behemoth that now serves as a connector for Interstates 40, 73, 74 and 85.

No noise-abatement measures were ever implemented, and now we live in an unrelenting noise hell.

The writer lives in Greensboro.