[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61579-61580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30212]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Central Light Rail
Transit Line Between North Seattle (Northgate) and SeaTac, WA
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Central Puget
Sound Regional Transit Authority (RTA) intend to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The RTA will also ensure that the EIS
satisfies the requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy
Act (SEPA). The FTA will be the NEPA lead agency. The RTA will be the
SEPA lead agency. Corridor alternatives were evaluated in a SEPA plan-
level EIS (1993) and in a Major Investment Study (1997).
The EIS will evaluate the Central Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project
and alignment alternatives in the 23-mile long corridor between North
Seattle (Northgate) and SeaTac, Washington. The proposed Central LRT
Project is intended to provide light rail transit service between key
activity centers along the corridor, including the region's three
largest employment centers, many major institutions, dense residential
neighborhoods, and regional destinations, such as Sea-Tac International
Airport.
The study area also includes several sites for a proposed LRT
vehicle storage and maintenance facility. In addition, the EIS will
evaluate the no-build alternative and any new, reasonable alternatives
within the corridor generated through the scoping process.
Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested
persons, organizations, and federal, state, regional, and local
agencies. Six public scoping meetings will be held, as well as one
inter-agency scoping meeting. See DATES below for details.
DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives
and impacts to be considered should be sent to the RTA by January 5,
1998. See ADDRESSES below. Oral comments should be made at one of the
six public scoping meetings scheduled below. Scoping Meetings: Public
scoping meetings will be held on the following days and locations:
Tuesday, December 9, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Kane Hall,
Walker Ames Room, University of Washington Campus, Seattle, WA
Wednesday, December 10, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Union
Station, 401 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
Thursday, December 11, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Rainier
Community Center, 4600 36th Avenue South, Seattle, WA
Saturday, December 13, 1997, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Seattle
Central Community College, 1701 Broadway, Room 1110, Seattle, WA
Saturday, December 13, 1997, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Foster
High School Commons, 4242 S. 144th Street, Tukwila, WA
Wednesday, December 17, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Tyee High
School Auditorium, 4424 South 188th Street, SeaTac, WA
A scoping meeting for governmental agencies will be held on Monday,
December 8, 1997, between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the RTA, 1100 2nd
Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101-3423. All the locations for the
scoping meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. People
with special needs should contact the RTA at the address below or by
calling (206) 684-6776. A TDD number is also available: (206) 684-1394.
Scoping meetings will be held in an ``open-house'' format. Project
representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the
entire meeting. Informational displays and written materials will also
be available throughout the entire meeting. In addition to written
comments, which may be made at the meeting or as described below, a
stenographer will be available at the meeting to record oral comments.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to:
Perry Weinberg, Environmental Compliance Manager, Regional Transit
Authority, 1100 Second Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101-3423; fax
number: (206) 689-3525.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. F. William Fort, Transportation
Program Specialist, Federal Transit Administration, Region X, 915
Second Avenue, Room 3142, Seattle, WA 98174; phone number: (206) 220-
4461.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
The FTA and the RTA invite interested individuals, organizations,
and federal, state, regional and local agencies to participate in
defining the alternatives within the corridor to be evaluated in the
EIS and identifying any significant, social, economic, or environmental
issues related to the alternatives. An Environmental Scoping
Information Report describing the project, the proposed alternatives,
the impact areas to be evaluated, the public involvement program and
the preliminary project schedule has been prepared. You may request a
copy of the report by contacting the person identified above in the
section FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Scoping comments may be made
orally at the public scoping meetings or in writing. See DATES above
for locations and times, and see the ADDRESSES section above for
written comments. During scoping, comments should focus on identifying
specific social, economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated
[[Page 61580]]
and suggesting alternatives that are more cost-effective or have fewer
environmental impacts while achieving similar transit objectives.
Scoping materials will be available at the meeting or in advance of
the meeting by contacting the RTA at (206) 684-6776. If you wish to be
placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the
project proceeds, please contact the following at the RTA: Ron Endlich,
LRT North Corridor Manager (206) 684-1634 or Jonathan Jackson, LRT
South Corridor Manager (206) 684-6773.
II. Description of Study Area and Project Need
The Central LRT Project study area is a north-south corridor,
approximately 23 miles long between the Northgate area in north Seattle
and SeaTac, Washington. The Central LRT Project will include a
partially grade-separated, double-track light rail line on new right-
of-way. Conventional LRT low-floor vehicles are expected to be used.
Service is expected to operate every 6 minutes in peak periods and
every 8 minutes in off-peak times, 18 to 20 hours a day, seven days a
week.
A total of 21 LRT stations are proposed to serve the major transit
markets of Northgate, the University District, Capitol Hill, First
Hill, downtown Seattle, Southeast Seattle, and the cities of Tukwila
and SeaTac. Light rail service will operate through downtown Seattle in
the existing transit tunnel. Bus transfer facilities will be provided
at each LRT station. Transfers to planned commuter rail service will
take place at several selected stations.
III. Alternatives
The alternatives proposed for evaluation include a variety of
alignment alternatives for different segments of the corridor. In
addition, various track profiles will be evaluated throughout the study
area. Profiles include tunnel, surface and aerial sections.
Beginning from the south, in the SeaTac segment two route alignment
alternatives will be evaluated. One route follows International Blvd.
(State Route 99) from S. 200th Street, north past Sea-Tac Airport to
the intersection with SR-518. The other alignment starts from the same
location at the south end of the City and follows 28th Street, using
Sea-Tac Airport property traveling north to connect with the SR-99
route.
In the Tukwila segment, two alternative alignments will be
evaluated. One alignment would use Pacific Highway South (State Route
99) between the SeaTac city limits and Boeing Access Road. The second
alignment would travel east from State Route 99 along State Route 518
and continue east past Southcenter Mall. The line would proceed north
along Interurban Avenue to I-5 at Boeing Access Road.
In the southeast Seattle (Rainier Valley) segment, two alignment
alternatives will be considered. One follows Martin Luther King, Jr.
Way from Henderson Street north to McClellan Street. The other follows
Rainier Avenue South between the same locations. Various combinations
of these alignments may also be considered.
Between South McClellan Street and the Downtown Seattle Transit
Tunnel, two general alignments will be evaluated. One alignment would
run north along Rainier Avenue past I-90, before heading west to
connect with the existing International District tunnel station. The
second alignment would explore the feasibility of tunneling under
Beacon Hill, beginning just west of the intersection of Rainier Avenue
and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. The route would connect with the
existing E-3 busway at South Lander Street and would travel north to
the International District tunnel station.
From the north end of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel to the
University District, two alignments will be evaluated. One alignment is
a tunnel beginning under I-5 east of the existing Convention Place
tunnel station. The tunnel would loop south to serve First Hill, then
continue north under Broadway Avenue and 10th Avenue East. The tunnel
would continue under Portage Bay and 15th Avenue Northeast in the
University District. Another alignment would run north from the
Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel at the Westlake Station underground
through the Denny Regrade and the Seattle Center areas. The route would
continue northeast through south Lake Union and the Eastlake/Fairview
area, adjacent to I-5. The route would leave the tunnel north of SR-520
and would cross the Ship Canal on a new high-level bridge parallel to
the existing I-5 bridge. The route would continue east along Campus
Parkway and reenter a tunnel under the University District.
In the University District to Northgate segment, several
alternative alignments will be considered for the segment between
Ravenna Boulevard and N.E. 75th Street. These alternatives include
alignments along 8th Avenue N.E., Roosevelt Way, and 12th Avenue N.E.
The proposed Central LRT Project also includes construction of an
LRT vehicle storage and maintenance facility. Alternative locations for
the facility will be evaluated in the City of Tukwila, near Boeing
Access Road and East Marginal Way South, and in Southeast Seattle,
between Boeing Access Road and Henderson Street.
The No-Build alternative, which involves no change to
transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond those
currently programmed, will also be evaluated in the EIS.
IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts for Analysis
The FTA and RTA plan to evaluate in the EIS all significant,
social, economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives.
Environmental and social impacts proposed for analysis include land use
and neighborhood impacts, traffic and parking impacts near stations,
traffic circulation, visual impacts, health and safety impacts, impacts
on cultural and archaeological resources, impacts on wetland and
parkland areas, and noise and vibration impacts. The impacts on natural
areas, rare and endangered species, and earth, air and water quality,
will also be covered. The impacts will be evaluated both for the
construction period and for the long-term period of operations.
Reasonable measures to mitigate adverse impacts will be identified.
V. FTA Procedures
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Preliminary
Engineering (PE) for the Central Light Rail Transit Project will be
conducted simultaneously. The locally preferred light rail transit mode
and its general alignment were selected previously on the basis of the
evaluation in the Major Investment Study (1997). The EIS/PE process
will assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of
alternative specific alignments, station locations and designs, and
maintenance facility locations and designs to minimize and mitigate
adverse impacts. A draft EIS will be published and made available for
public and agency review and comment, and public hearings will be held.
On the basis of the draft EIS and the comments received, the RTA will
refine the project design and complete preliminary engineering and the
final EIS.
Issued: November 12, 1997.
Helen M. Knoll,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-30212 Filed 11-17-97; 8:45 am]
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