[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27782-27784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13438]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Urban Rail Project
Between the Fullerton Transportation Center and Irvine Transportation
Center, Orange County, CA
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), as lead agency, and
the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) intend to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on a proposal by OCTA to
further study the proposed implementation of an urban rail system
within a corridor 45 kilometers (28 miles) long and 9.7 kilometers (6
miles) wide between the Cities of Fullerton and Irvine, known as the
Orange County Urban Rail (Urban Rail) Project. In addition to NEPA, the
proposed project is subject to compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), therefore, a joint Environmental
Impact Report (EIR)/EIS will be prepared.
The EIR/EIS will evaluate the following alternatives: 1) The Local
Preferred Strategy (LPS) Alignment Alternative. This alternative would
follow the alignment identified in the Priority Corridor Major
Investment Study, June 1997, on an elevated guideway. 2) A Lower Cost
Alternative (LCA). This alternative would connect the Fullerton and
Irvine Transportation Centers and would serve many of the activity
centers in the Corridor along a route which minimizes the distance and
number of freeway crossings. The system would be primarily at grade on
local streets. 3) A No Build Alternative, which involves no change to
transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond already
committed projects. Potential new feasible alternatives generated
through the scoping process will also be considered.
Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested
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persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies; and one
public scoping meeting
DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives
and impacts to be considered should be submitted by June 22, 1998.
Written comments should be sent to Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South
Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863. Written comments may
also be made at the public scoping meeting scheduled below. Scoping
Meeting: The public scoping meeting will take place on: Thursday, June
4, 1998 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Fullerton Senior Center. See
ADDRESS below.
People with special needs should contact Cindy Krebs at OCTA at the
address below or by calling (714) 560-5740. A TDD number is also
available: (714) 636-4327. The building is accessible to people with
disabilities.
The meeting will be held in an ``open-house'' format, and
representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the
time periods given. Informational displays and written material will
also be available throughout the time periods given.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA,
550 South Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863. Written
comments may also be made at the public scoping meting as scheduled
below. The Scoping Meeting will take place at the following location:
Thursday, June 4, 1998 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Fullerton Senior
Center, 340 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main
Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714)
560-5794.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
FTA and OCTA invite interested individuals, organizations, and
Federal, State, and local agencies to participate in defining the
alternatives to be evaluated in the EIR/EIS and identifying any
significant social, economic, or environmental issues related to the
alternatives. An information packet describing the purpose of the
project, the location, the proposed alternatives, and the impact areas
to be evaluated is being mailed to affected Federal, State, and local
agencies. Others may request the scoping materials by contacting Ms.
Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA
92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714) 560-5794. Scoping comments may be
made in writing at the public scoping meeting. See the Scoping Meeting
section above for the location and time. During scoping, comments
should focus on identifying specific social, economic, or environmental
impacts to be evaluated and suggesting alternatives that are less
costly or less environmentally damaging while meeting the identified
mobility needs. Scoping is not the appropriate time to indicate a
preference for a particular alternative. Comments on preferences should
be communicated after the Draft EIR/EIS has been completed. If you wish
to be placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the
project develops, contact: Ms. Cindy Krebs, OCTA, 550 South Main
Street, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863, (714) 560-5740, or fax (714)
560-5794.
II. Description of Study Area and Project Need
The study area extends from the City of Fullerton in a general
southward direction through the Cities of Anaheim, Orange, Garden
Grove, Santa Ana, and Costa Mesa and then eastward to the City of
Irvine, California. The area is approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles)
long and 9.7 kilometers (6 miles) wide.
The study corridor contains key activity, employment, and
transportation facilities in Orange County such as: Fullerton College,
Downtown Fullerton, Fullerton Transportation Center, Orangefair Mall,
Downtown Anaheim, Disneyland, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim
Stadium (Edison Field), Anaheim Amtrak Station, the Arrowhead Pond, the
City Mills, the St. Joseph Children's Hospital, the Main Place Mall,
Santa Ana Transportation Center, Downtown Santa Ana, the Federal,
County and City Civic Center area, South Coast Plaza/Metro, Orange
Coast College, John Wayne Airport, UCI, the Irvine Spectrum and
Entertainment Center, and the Irvine Transportation Center.
This EIR/EIS is the logical next step in transportation planning
and project development following OCTA's completion of a Major
Investment Study (MIS) of the mobility needs in the study area. This
MIS employed a far-reaching public involvement program, continuous
coordination with affected and interested agencies, and a detailed
evaluation of a wide range of alternatives to meet the identified
mobility needs. As the MIS process was mode-neutral in nature, the
public identified a comprehensive set of bus, road, and urban rail
alternatives. Detailed analysis at a conceptual engineering level was
completed for a set of alternatives to identify project cost,
ridership, cost-effectiveness measurements, and environmental benefits
and impacts. The results led to the development of a Locally Preferred
Strategy (LPS) that includes: (1) optimization of the present system
through expanded bus service and increased Metrolink commuter rail
service seats and (2) continued study of a light rail system between
the Fullerton and Irvine Transportation Centers. This EIS focuses on
the light rail alternative.
An effective multi-modal transportation network within the project
study area is necessary to meet the future mobility needs of businesses
and residents in Orange County. By the year 2020, despite current and
planned transportation system improvements, the magnitude and nature of
the County's population and employment growth trends are projected to
result in continuing transportation challenges in the corridor area as
evidenced by: increasing travel--approximately 1.8 million more daily
trips; growing transit-reliant population--doubling of senior
population; continuing freeway congestion--73 percent of the freeway
system will operate at 30 m.p.h. or less during morning and evening
peak periods; increasing arterial congestion--major intersections with
delay will grow from four percent to 27 percent; and limited travel
options--congested freeway and street system, and financially
constrained bus and Metrolink service.
III. Alternatives
The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) LPS Alignment
Alternative. This alternative would follow the alignment identified in
the Priority Corridor Major Investment Study (June, 1997), which
provided for an elevated guideway from end to end within the arterial
corridors. The elevated guideway would typically be supported on
columns within the median. (2) A Lower Cost Alternative (LCA). This
alternative would connect the Fullerton and Irvine Transportation
Centers and would serve many of the activity centers in the Corridor
along a route which minimizes the distance and number of freeway
crossings. The system would be primarily at grade on local streets. (3)
A No Build Alternative, which involves no change to transportation
services or facilities in the corridor beyond already committed
projects. Potential new feasible alternatives generated through the
scoping process will also be considered.
IV. Probable Effects
FTA and OCTA will evaluate, in the EIR/EIS, all significant social,
economic,
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and environmental impacts of the alternatives. The previous MIS study
evaluated these impacts at a corridor level of detail for the LPS
Alternative alignment. These issues will be evaluated at a project
level of detail in the Draft EIR/EIS. Among the primary transit issues
to be evaluated are the expected increase in transit ridership, the
expected increase in mobility for the corridor's transit dependent, the
support of the region's air quality goals, the capital outlays needed
to construct the project, the cost of operating and maintaining the
facilities created by the project, and the financial impacts on the
funding agencies. Potentially affected environmental and social
resources proposed for analysis include land use and neighborhood
impacts, residential and business displacements and relocations,
traffic and parking impacts near stations, traffic circulation, visual
impacts, impacts on cultural and archaeological resources, and noise
and vibration impacts. Impacts on air and water quality, groundwater,
hazardous waste sites, and water resources will also be covered. The
impacts will be evaluated both for the construction period and for the
long-term period of operation. Measures to mitigate significant adverse
impacts will be considered.
V. FTA Procedures
The EIR/EIS and the conceptual engineering for the Urban Rail
project will be prepared simultaneously. The EIR/EIS/conceptual
engineering process will assess the social, economic, and environmental
impacts of the proposed alternatives while refining their design to
minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts. After its publication, the
Draft EIR/EIS will be available for public and agency review and
comment, and a public hearing will be held. On the basis on the Draft
EIR/EIS and comments received, OCTA will select a preferred alternative
to carry forward into the Final EIR/EIS and complete engineering.
Following this action by OCTA, OCTA will request FTA authorization to
proceed with the Final EIS/EIR and complete engineering.
Issued: May 15, 1998.
Leslie Rogers,
Regional Administrator Federal Transit Administration Region IX.
[FR Doc. 98-13438 Filed 5-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-U
