Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Transportation
Maps
1.1
SECTION 1.1
Overview
1.2
combined population of more than 100,000. It is the home of the
University of Southern Mississippi, William Carey University, and
Camp Shelby.
This study area, located in the Pine Belt region of the state, is
situated to the south between the capital city of Jackson and the Gulf
Coast. The area enjoys a close proximity to New Orleans, the Gulf
Coast, Mobile, and Jackson. Within the Pine Belt region, the study
area focuses on Forrest County including the cities of Hattiesburg
and Petal; along with Lamar County including the cities of Purvis,
Sumrall, Lumberton and annexed areas of the City of Hattiesburg.
The master plan study area, for the purposes of this report, will be
referred to as the Greater Hattiesburg Area. The two counties
comprise approximately 966
square miles with 547 people
per square mile. The City of
Hattiesburg corporate limits
contain 49.7 square miles
and approximately 909
persons per square mile.
Hattiesburg has been
located primarily in Forrest
County until recent
commercial annexations into
Lamar County occurring
along U. S. Highway 98 from
Interstate 59 to Old U.S.
Highway 11.
1.3
The Master Planning Process
The information gleaned from listening sessions, interviews, and
workshops held as part of this planning process indicates a clear
appreciation for sustainable growth management and utilization
of best management practices as they apply to land use,
transportation, and economic development. Recommendations
made in this report are based on a thorough and analytical
process that included review of jurisdictional planning
documents, economic indicators, regional and national trends, as
well as interviews and workshops with the ADP membership.
The ADP understands that making special places requires
people, public officials, and private businesses to work together.
They understand that a new kind of thinking will be required to
respond to the needs of a changing region. They understand that
with leadership, collaboration, and patience, Metropolitan
Hattiesburg can be a dynamic and engaging community.
Hattiesburg has a number of strengths to build upon. The region
has a wealth of visionaries and pragmatists, bold entrepreneurs
and wise scientists. The input that many of these individuals
provided to this study is reflected in the pages that follow.
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the following for their insights which helped invaluably in informing this
study.
Hattiesburg
Petal
Forrest County
West Hattiesburg
Purvis
Sumrall
Lumberton
Lamar County
1.5
Hattiesburg
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
49.7 sq. miles
School Districts:
Hattiesburg Public
Forrest County
DEMOGRAPHICS
Race Categories:
White 22,365 49.9%
African American 21,200 47.3%
Native American 68 0.2%
Asian 547 1.2%
Other 240 0.5%
Two or More Races 359 0.8%
Hispanic/Latino (any race) 630 1.4%
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 6,290 31.9%
HOUSING Service 3,925 19.9%
Sales and Office 5,565 28.2%
Total Housing Units: 19,258 Farming, Fishing and Forestry 71 0.4%
Occupied Housing Units 17,295 89.8% Construction, Extracting
Owner Occupied 7,707 44.6% and Maintenance 1,228 6.2%
Renter Occupied 9,588 55.4% Production, Transportation
Vacant 1,963 10.2% and Material Moving 2,622 13.3%
Petal
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
9.7 sq. miles
School District:
Petal Public
DEMOGRAPHICS
Race Categories:
White 7,119 93.9%
African American 336 4.4%
Native American 22 0.3%
Asian 6 0.1%
Other 40 0.5%
Two or More Races 56 0.7%
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 957 28.5%
HOUSING Service 560 16.7%
Sales and Office 965 28.8%
Total Housing Units: 3,208 Farming, Fishing and Forestry 3 0.1%
Occupied Housing Units 2,979 92.9% Construction, Extracting
Owner Occupied 2,053 68.9% and Maintenance 456 13.6%
Renter Occupied 926 31.1% Production, Transportation
Vacant 229 7.1% and Material Moving 412 12.3%
Forrest County
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
466 sq. miles
School District:
Forrest County, Hattiesburg
Public, Petal Public and
Brooklyn
DEMOGRAPHICS
Race Categories:
White 46,717 64.3%
African American 24,360 33.6%
Native American 140 0.2%
Asian 536 0.7%
Other 305 0.4%
Two or More Races 546 0.8%
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 9,578 30.1%
HOUSING Service 5,670 17.8%
Sales and Office 8,883 27.9%
Total Housing Units: 31,703 Farming, Fishing and Forestry 167 0.5%
Occupied Housing Units 28,806 90.9% Construction, Extracting
Owner Occupied 16,329 56.7% and Maintenance 2,978 9.3%
Renter Occupied 12,477 43.3% Production, Transportation
Vacant 2,897 9.1% and Material Moving 4,576 14.4%
West Hattiesburg -
Oak Grove
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
2.2 sq. miles
School District:
Lamar County
DEMOGRAPHICS
Race Categories:
White 4,721 74.9%
African American 1,394 22.1%
Native American 4 0.1%
Asian 103 1.6%
Other 18 0.3%
Two or More Races 65 1.0%
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 1,301 39.9%
HOUSING Service 576 17.7%
Sales and Office 903 27.7%
Total Housing Units: 2,633 Farming, Fishing and Forestry 0 0.0%
Occupied Housing Units 2,464 93.6% Construction, Extracting
Owner Occupied 1.595 64.7% and Maintenance 197 6.0%
Renter Occupied 869 35.3% Production, Transportation
Vacant 169 6.4% and Material Moving 281 8.6%
Purvis
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
3.9 sq. miles
School District:
Lamar County
HOUSING DEMOGRAPHICS
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 209 23.4%
Service 150 16.8%
Sales and Office 262 29.3%
Farming, Fishing and Forestry 2 0.2%
Construction, Extracting
and Maintenance 118 13.2%
Production, Transportation
and Material Moving 154 17.2%
Sumrall
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
2.2 sq. miles
School District:
Lamar County
HOUSING DEMOGRAPHICS
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 125 29.8%
Service 54 12.9%
Sales and Office 110 26.3%
Farming, Fishing and Forestry 0 0.0%
Construction, Extracting
and Maintenance 46 11.0%
Production, Transportation
and Material Moving 84 20.0%
Lumberton
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
7.3 sq. miles
School District:
Lumberton
HOUSING DEMOGRAPHICS
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 144 17.8%
Service 136 16.8%
Sales and Office 187 23.1%
Farming, Fishing and Forestry 5 0.6%
Construction, Extracting
and Maintenance 104 12.8%
Production, Transportation
and Material Moving 235 29.0%
Lamar County
QUICK FACTS
Land Area:
500 sq. miles
School District:
Lamar County and Lumberton
DEMOGRAPHICS
Race Categories:
White 33,342 85.3%
African American 5,040 12.9%
Native American 65 0.2%
Asian 254 0.7%
Other 120 0.3%
Two or More Races 249 0.6%
WORK FORCE
Occupation:
Management and Professional 6,004 32.9%
HOUSING Service 2,491 13.7%
Sales and Office 5,214 28.6%
Total Housing Units: 15,433 Farming, Fishing and Forestry 161 0.9%
Occupied Housing Units 14,396 93.3% Construction, Extracting
Owner Occupied 10,909 75.8% and Maintenance 1,982 10.9%
Renter Occupied 3,487 24.2% Production, Transportation
Vacant 1,037 6.7% and Material Moving 2,395 13.1%
SECTION 1.3
Transportation
Overview
Documentation of Need
Western Parkway
Hurricane Evacuation
Implementation Strategies
Action Items
1.15
SECTION 1.3
Transportation
A. Overview
1.16
community development. Now more than ever before the people
of this community recognize how mobility is essential to a better
future in the place that we live, work, play and learn.
B. Documentation of Need
These planning projects over the past two decades have been
completed with local communities working together. Also, there
has been full cooperation with the Mississippi Department of
Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
C. Western Parkway
The Western Parkway is a project that has been recognized for its
potential of having a greater impact than any other project recently
planned for the Hattiesburg, Forrest, Lamar urbanized area. The
project will have a positive impact on the quality of life for the
citizens in the region by providing safe and efficient transportation
along a corridor that will be designed with context sensitivity.
D. Hurricane Evacuation
The experience has been that during these events severe traffic
congestion occurs on the transportation system in the Hattiesburg
urbanized area. Transportation improvements are needed to in-
crease capacity and to safely and efficiently provide for evacuation.
E. Implementation Strategies
The leaders of the area stand united in their support for this project
as one that benefits the entire community. Additionally they recog-
nize that this project benefits the State and the Region from eco-
nomic development, safety and disaster mitigation viewpoints.
Hattiesburg, Forrest and Lamar have carefully planned with the
Mississippi Department of Transportation and all agree that this
project is worthy of a strategy that will result in full funding and im-
plementation.
The Western Parkway is included in the Needs Plans for the Met-
ropolitan Transportation Plan. However, funding limitations for
the project will result in 30 years or more to get this project com-
pleted. The Area Development Partnership along with Hatties-
burg, Forrest, Lamar believes that an accelerated project sched-
ule saving more than 10 years of time on completion is in the
best interest of the region. If fact, delaying this project will cer-
tainly increase traffic congestion resulting in an unacceptable
level of service while accelerating the project schedule will ad-
dress traffic congestion while saving lives and reducing future
losses through improved traffic operations and safety.
The Western Beltway will have additional benefits in that the cor-
ridor will provide an enhancement to hurricane evacuation ef-
forts; positively impact economic development; and provide for
quality of life improvements for the citizens of the region.
F. Action Items
Maps
1.25