By Bill Dries - The Daily News -

For several weeks, the same groups of planners and concerned citizens have been bumping into each other at different sets of public hearings.

They have attended – and contributed to – hearings on the Madison Avenue and North Parkway bike lanes as well as the Broad Street pedestrian and bicycle connector to Overton Park.

Decisions on all of those projects are a precursor to a broader plan taking in not only Shelby County, but four miles into Fayette County and about half of Desoto County including Hernando.

That is the turf of the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization, known in government circles as the MPO.

MPO’s latest effort called “Director 2040” is a long-range transportation plan that includes bicycle and pedestrian paths as well as railroad lines, air routes, boat and barge travel, and traditional roads for motor traffic.

“It’s a true multimodal plan,” said Kenneth Monroe of Kimley-Horn & Associates, who is project team leader. “This is a new plan, not just an update. … It’s a federal requirement that we update our plan once every four years because of our air quality situation.”

If there is no study and new plan every four years, there isn’t any federal funding for transportation projects – and federal money fuels such projects.

One of the familiar elements of the plan is the Lamar Avenue freight corridor – the city’s dominant pathway for cargo movement, which is a major part of the Memphis economy. It is also one of the most congested roadways in the region.

Monroe said the MPO long-range plan is likely to include some elements of a recent study of the corridor that Cambridge Systematics Inc. Atlanta performed for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The study, completed in June and done in association with the University of Memphis and Kimley-Horn, addresses the part from Interstate 240 to the Mississippi state line.

The study conclusions and options include adding lanes to Lamar between Getwell Road and the state line to make it six lanes the entire distance. There is also an eight-lane option as well as designating Lamar an interstate with interchanges in place of intersections with traffic lights. Those interchanges could be at Shelby Drive, Winchester Road and Holmes Road.

The last plan was completed in March 2008. The plan now taking shape is due by March 2012 with the MPO now seeking public input through a series of public hearings.

The next will be Thursday, July 21, at the Ed Rice Community Center in Frayser starting at 5:30 p.m.

There is also what is now a common feature of such efforts – an online survey. The survey at www.Direction2040.com is a set of questions about transportation deficiencies in the Memphis area including the two neighboring counties as well as a place to offer suggestions. And some of the questions ask about travel habits.

In the four years since the last plan, the Shelby Farms Greenline has opened and the city of Memphis has hired a bicycle pedestrian coordinator. And there are plans being mapped out for additional bicycle and pedestrian paths and trails that span the county and would even cross the Mississippi River.

“A lot of things have happened in terms of awareness,” Monroe said. “I think there will be more of a focus on that element – on that mode with this plan. The bicycle element is somewhat new. … It’s something that’s being paid more attention to even in maintenance projects like resurfacing. … I think it is more of a collaborative effort now than it has been in the past.”