[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47341-47343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24025]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Resort Corridor
Fixed Guideway Project Between Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV and
McCarran International Airport, Clark County, NV
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 Federal lead
agency, and the Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County
(RTC), as local lead agency, intend to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) on a proposal by RTC to further study the proposed
implementation of a fixed guideway (urban rail) system within a
corridor, known as the Resort Corridor, 9 miles long and 4 miles wide
between Cashman Field in the City of Las Vegas and McCarran
International Airport in Clark County.
The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives adopted as part of
the fixed guideway element of the Transportation Master Plan for the
Resort Corridor as defined in the Resort Corridor Major Investment
Study (MIS), Final Evaluation Report, dated October 9, 1997; (1) The
Fixed Guideway Element Initial Operating Segment (IOS). This
alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway system 5.2 miles long,
10 fixed guideway stations, a supporting bus transit system element,
and is also known as Phase 1 of the Report Corridor Transportation
Master Plan. (2) The Fixed Guideway Element Core System. This
alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway system 15.6 miles long,
27 fixed guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system
element. (3) The Fixed Guideway Element Core System with an extension
along Harmon Avenue to McCarran International Airport. This alternative
includes an elevated fixed guideway system 18.4 miles long, 31 fixed
guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system element. (4) The
Fixed Guideway Core System with an extension along Tropicana Avenue to
McCarran
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International Airport. This alternative includes an elevated fixed
guideway system 18.0 miles long, 28 fixed guideway stations, and a
supporting bus transit system element. (5) A No Build alternative,
which involves no change to transportation services or facilities in
the Resort Corridor beyond already committed projects. Potential new
feasible alternatives or revisions to the above alternatives generated
through the scoping process will also be considered.
Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested
persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies; and two
public scoping meetings.
DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of the
alternatives and impacts to be considered should be submitted by
October 16, 1998. Written comments should be sent to Mr. Lee Gibson,
Planning Manager, RTC, 301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV
89101. Written comments may also be made at the public scoping meetings
scheduled below: The public scoping meetings will take place on: (1)
Tuesday, September 22, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Cashman
Field and (2) Tuesday, September 29, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
at Clark County Flamingo Library. See ADDRESSES below.
People with special needs should contact Lee Gibson at RTC at the
address below or by calling (702) 455-4481. The buildings in which the
scoping meetings will be conducted are accessible to people with
disabilities.
The meetings will be held in an ``open-house'' format, and
representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the
time periods given. Information displays and written material will also
be available throughout the time periods given.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning
Manager, RTC, 301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV 89101.
Written comments may also be made at the public scoping meetings
scheduled below. The Scoping Meetings will take place at the following
locations: (1) Tuesday, September 22, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
at Cashman Field, 850 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV 89101
and (2) Tuesday, September 29, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the
Clark County Flamingo Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV
89119.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning Manager, RTC, 301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300,
Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 455-4481, or fax (702) 455-2937.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
FTA and RTC invite interested individuals, organizations, and
Federal, State, and local agencies to participate in defining the fixed
guideway and supported bus system alternatives to be evaluated in the
EIS and identifying any significant social, economic, or environmental
issues related to the alternatives. An information packet describing
the results of the Resort Corridor major Investment Study, the
Transportation Master Plan for the Resort Corridor, the purpose of the
project, the project location, the proposed alternatives, and the
impact areas to be evaluated is being mailed to affected Federal,
State, and local agencies. Other interested parties may request the
scoping materials by contacting Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning Manager, RTC,
301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 455-4481, or
fax (702) 455-2937. Scoping comments may be made in writing at the
public scoping meetings. See the Scoping Meeting section above for the
locations and times. 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 the preferences should be
communicated after the Draft EIS has been completed. If you wish to be
placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the
project develops, contact: Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning Manager, RTC, 301
E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 455-4481, or fax
(702) 455-2937.
II. Description of Study Area and Project Need
The study area, called the Resort Corridor, is bounded on the north
by Washington Avenue, on the east by Maryland Parkway and Eastern
Avenue, on the south by Windmill Lane, and on the west by Valley View
Boulevard. The Resort Corridor is approximately 9 miles long and 4
miles wide and represents approximately 10 percent of the urbanized Las
Vegas Valley land area. The Resort Corridor encompasses the
geographical center and the economic focal point of the Las Vegas
metropolitan area with 50 percent of the region's employment.
The study corridor contains the key activity, employment, and
transportation facilities in the Las Vegas area such as: the Grant
Sawyer State Office Building, Cashman Field and Convention Center,
downtown Las Vegas, Downtown Transit Center, Clark County and City of
Las Vegas government office complexes, Federal office buildings,
Fremont Street Experience, major hospital complexes, 90,000 plus hotel
rooms (The Strip), three major regional shopping centers, Las Vegas
Convention Center, University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), Thomas and
Mack Center, South Resort Corridor Transit Center, and McCarran
International Airport.
This EIS is the logical next step in transportation planning and
project development following RTC'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 community stakeholders, and a
detailed evaluation of a wide range of alternatives to meet the
mobility needs identified in the MIS. The following findings of need in
the Resort Corridor over the 20-year planning period were identified
and guided the development and evaluation of the alternatives for the
MIS:
Between 1995 and 2020 the number of jobs in the Resort
Corridor will increase from 238,000 (50 percent of the region's jobs)
to 492,000 (44 percent of the region's jobs).
Between 1995 and 2020 the region's population will
increase from 950,000 to almost 2 million (over 100 percent increase).
Between 1995 and 2020 the full implementation of the
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) will increase roadway capacity by
only 27 percent. During this same period, demand for vehicle travel
will increase approximately 54 percent.
Should the community attempt to provide for mobility in
its traditional manner of building streets, highways, and freeways to
accommodate the travel demand, the equivalent of 20 east-west and 18
north-south arterial lanes of roadways will have to be built in the
Resort Corridor. Such arterial lanes would be added to the roadway
projects already programmed in the RTP.
The RTP will consume all existing roadway rights-of-way
and will complete the roadway infrastructure improvement program for
the Resort Corridor. If new roadway construction, or widening of
existing travel ways, is to occur beyond those identified in the
[[Page 47343]]
RTP, additional right-of-way will have to be acquired.
Regional vehicle travel, especially residential trips to
and from work in the Resort Corridor, contribute significantly to the
travel demands placed on the Resort Corridor's roadways.
Regional utilization of public bus transit (Citizens Area
Transit or CAT) increased 175 percent between 1993 and 1997. Attempting
to solve the roadway congestion conditions in the Resort Corridor
solely by expanding the ridership on CAT will be virtually impossible
unless substantial infrastructure improvements are also implemented to
increase the ability of buses to operate on the roadways.
Meeting the mobility demands within the Resort Corridor
will require the establishment of a multi-modal, fully integrated set
of transportation solutions.
Travel volumes, land use densities, and employment
concentration will warrant the consideration of establishing a higher
order of public transit that operates in a separate right-of-way.
Programs directed at reducing the amount of travel in
private vehicles and encouraging the use of public transit within the
Resort Corridor and between the Resort Corridor and the remainder of
the community are needed.
The MIS process developed a number of alternatives to address the
above statement of needs. Detailed analysis at a conceptual engineering
level was completed for a set of multi-modal alternatives to identify
cost, ridership, cost-effectiveness measures, and environmental
benefits and impacts. The results led to the development and adoption
of a Transportation Master Plan for the Resort Corridor that includes
four components: a fixed guideway element, an enhanced bus program, a
transportation demand management element, and a street and highway
element along with the adoption of a Phase 1 fixed guideway element and
supporting bus system component. This EIS focuses on the fixed guideway
element and the supporting bus system component.
III. Alternatives
The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives adopted as part of
the fixed guideway element of the Transportation Master Plan for the
Resort Corridor as defined in the Resort Corridor Major Investment
Study (MIS), Final Evaluation Report, dated October 9, 1997: (1) The
Fixed Guideway Element Initial Operating Segment (IOS). This
alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway system 5.2 miles long,
10 fixed guideway stations, a supporting bus transit system element,
and is also known as Phase 1 of the Resort Corridor Transportation
Master Plan. (2) The Fixed Guideway Element Core System. This
alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway System 15.6 miles long,
27 fixed guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system
element. (3) The Fixed Guideway Element Core system with an extension
along Harmon Avenue to McCarran International Airport. This alternative
includes an elevated fixed guideway system 18.4 miles long, 31 fixed
guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system element. (4) The
Fixed Guideway Core System with an extension along Tropicana Avenue to
McCarran International Airport. This alternative includes an elevated
fixed guideway system 18.0 miles long, 28 fixed guideway stations, and
a supporting bus transit system element. (5) A No Build alternative,
which involves no change to transportation services or facilities in
the Resort Corridor beyond already committed projects. In addition,
special consideration will be given to evaluating three alternative
technology groups for the elevated fixed guideway system. These
technologies include light rail transit (LRT), automated guideway
transit (AGT), and large monorail transit systems. Potential new
feasible alternatives or revisions to the above alternatives generated
through the scoping process will also be considered.
IV. Probable Effects
FTA and RTC will evaluate, in the EIS, all significant social,
economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives. The previous
MIS study evaluated these impacts at level of detail sufficient to
adopt the components of the Transportation Master Plan and to identify
the alternatives and issues to be addressed in the EIS. Among the
primary transit issues to be evaluated in the EIS are the expected
increase in transit ridership including visitor trips and residents
trips, the expected increase in mobility for the transit dependent
population, the support of the region's air quality goals, the economic
benefits, satisfying the overall transportation needs of the Resort
Corridor, the capital outlays needed to construct the project, the cost
of operating and maintaining the facilities created by the project, the
impacts of any private urban transit-grade fixed guideway projects, and
the financial impacts on the funding agencies. Potentially affected
environmental and social resources proposed for further analyses and
re-evaluation in the EIS include, land use and neighborhood impacts,
residential and business displacements and relocations, traffic and
parking impacts near stations and along the alignments, visual impacts,
noise and vibration impacts, major utility relocation impacts, and
impacts on cultural and archaeological resources. Impacts on air
quality, water quality, and hazardous waste sites 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 EIS alternatives with conceptual engineering detail and the
Preliminary Engineering level of detail for the Phase 1, Initial
Operating Segment (IOS) alternative will be prepared simultaneously.
The EIS/conceptual engineering process will assess the social,
economic, and environmental impacted of the proposed alternatives while
refining their design to minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts.
After its publication, the Draft EIS will be available for public
review and comment, and public hearings will be held. On the basis of
the Draft EIS and comments received, RTC will select a refined Fixed
Guideway Element and a refined fixed guideway IOS project definition.
RTC will then select the refined IOS project alternative that will be
carried into the Final EIS and will complete the preliminary
engineering. Following this action by RTC, RTC will request FTA
authorization to proceed with the Final EIS and to complete the
preliminary engineering activities.
Issued on: September 2, 1998.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-24025 Filed 9-3-98; 8:45 am]
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