Knoxville Parkway - Proposed State Route 475
Glossary
ACCESS CONTROL: Specifies locations where vehicles can enter or leave a roadway. When there is no access control, intersecting roads or driveways may connect to the mainline at any point. Typically local roads have no access control. With partial control of access there is a minimum spacing of access locations. With full control of access, connections are only allowed at major crossroads. Full or partial control of access help reduce traffic conflicts.
ARTERIAL: Functional classification of highways that serve major traffic movements or major traffic corridors. While they may provide access to abutting land, their primary function is to serve traffic moving through the area.
CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION (CE): is prepared for projects that fit specific regulatory requirements to be in a category of projects previously determined to cause minimal social, economic or environmental impact.
COLLECTOR: Functional classification of roadways that link local roads to arterial highways.
CONTROLLED ACCESS: See Access Control.
CORRIDOR: Area within which traffic, transit, land use, topography, environment, and other characteristics are evaluated for transportation purposes. Also, it is the general width in which alternative alignments can be located.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA): is prepared for larger scale projects that do not meet the requirements for CE or those for which the significance of the environmental impact is not clearly established. Should environmental analysis and interagency review during the EA process find a project to have no significant impacts on the quality of the environment, a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is issued. If it is found that the project will have significant impacts, an EIS must be prepared.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS): is prepared for projects that will cause a significant adverse effect on the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW: A beginning or summary assessment of environmental features in a study area, usually performed during systems planning or preliminary environmental activities. From this preliminary information, the environmental impacts of the study alternatives will be determined. This overview may sometimes be referred to as Environmental Screening.
FEDERAL AID PROJECT: An activity, study, survey, project, or other work related to transportation authorized in advance by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or other federal agency, and which is paid for either partially or fully by public funds.
FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (FONSI): A FONSI is the formal finding that the project will not have significant impact based on the environmental assessment.
FUNCTIONAL ROADWAY CLASSIFICATION: The organization of roadways into a hierarchy based on the character of service provided. Typical classifications include arterial, collector, and local roadways.
IMPACTS: Positive or negative effects upon the natural or human environment resulting from transportation projects.
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS): A quality measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream generally in terms of speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, and comfort and convenience. Levels range from LOS A, the best, where a driver is unimpeded by other vehicles, to LOS F where flow is unstable and vehicle delay is high.
LIMITED-ACCESS HIGHWAY: A highway that has access to it restricted to designated points such as interchanges. See Access Control.
LOCAL: Functional classification of roads that mainly provide access to the properties that adjoin them.
METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (MPO): A planning group designated for each urban area with a population of 50,000 or more. Members include both private citizens and local government officials. An MPO addresses Federal aid planning mandates by producing local area transportation plans or transportation improvement programs on an annual or biannual basis, or by employing other strategies that make existing systems more efficient. Knoxville's MPO is called the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization or TPO.
MITIGATION MEASURES: Specific design commitments made during the environmental evaluation and study process that serve to moderate or lessen impacts deriving from the proposed action. These measures may include planning and development commitments, environmental measures, right-of-way improvements, and agreements with resource or other agencies to effect construction or post construction action.
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA): The United States Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to establish a national policy to protect the environment. The act is codified in Title 42 of the United States Code, Sections 4321 through 4347 (abbreviated as 42 USC 4321-4347). On January 1, 1970, NEPA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
PRIME FARMLAND: Land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, fiber, forage oil, seed, and other agricultural crops with minimum inputs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor and without intolerable soil erosion, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. It does not include land that is already committed to urban development or storage.
Governor Bill Haslam
