[Federal Register: October 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 189)]
[Notices]
[Page 55854-55856]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01oc07-111]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Early Scoping Notice for an Alternatives Analysis of Proposed
Transit Improvements in the Westside Extension Transit Corridor of Los
Angeles, CA
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Early Scoping Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issue this early
scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public that they intend
to explore, in the context of the Council on Environmental Quality's
early scoping process, alternative means of improving transit capacity
and service in the Westside Extension Transit Corridor of Los Angeles,
California. The early scoping process is part of a planning
Alternatives Analysis (AA) required by 49 United States Code (U.S.C.)
5309, that will lead to the selection of a Locally Preferred
Alternative by the LACMTA Board and Southern California Association of
Governments (SCAG). Early scoping meetings have been planned and are
announced below.
The Westside Extension Transit Corridor is east-west oriented and
includes portions of five jurisdictions: the cities of Los Angeles,
West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, as well as portions of
unincorporated County of Los Angeles. The study area generally extends
north to the base of the Santa Monica Mountains along Hollywood, Sunset
and San Vicente Boulevards, east to the Metro Rail stations at
Hollywood/Highland and Wilshire/Western, south to Pico Boulevard, and
west to the Pacific Ocean. The Alternatives Analysis will study transit
extensions from the terminus of the Metro Rail Purple Line at the
Wilshire/Western station or the Metro Rail Red Line at the Hollywood/
Highland station to downtown Santa Monica.
After planning the Alternatives Analysis and selection of a Locally
Preferred Alternative (LPA), the LPA will then be the subject of the
appropriate environmental review under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). If the selected LPA would have significant impacts,
an environmental impact statement (EIS), combined with a California
environmental impact report (EIR) would be initiated with a Notice of
Intent in the Federal Register and final public scoping of the EIS/EIR.
In particular, the purpose and need for the project, the range of
alternatives to be considered in the EIS/EIR, the environmental and
community impacts to be evaluated, and the methodologies to be used,
would be subject to public and interagency review and comment, in
accordance with 23 U.S.C. 139.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the planning Alternatives
Analysis, including the alternatives to be considered and the impacts
to be assessed, should be sent to LACMTA at the address below by
November 1, 2007. See ADDRESSES below for the address to which written
public comments may be sent. Early scoping meetings to accept public
comments on the scope of the Alternatives Analysis will be held on the
following dates:
Thursday, October 11, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pan
Pacific Recreation Center, 7600 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
90036.
Thursday, October 16, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wilshire
United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
[[Page 55855]]
Wednesday, October 17, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Beverly
Hills Public Library Auditorium, 444 North Rexford Drive, Beverly
Hills, CA 90210.
Thursday, October 18, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Santa
Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401.
The draft purpose and need for the project and the initial set of
alternatives proposed for study will be presented at these meetings.
The buildings and facilities used for the scoping meetings are
accessible to persons with disabilities. Any individual who requires
special assistance, such as a sign language interpreter, to participate
in a scoping meeting should contact Ms. Jody Litvak, LACMTA at 213-922-
1240 or Litvakj@metro.net.
Scoping materials will be available at the meetings and are also
available on the LACMTA Web site at http://www.metro.net/westside. Hard
copies of the scoping materials are available from Ms. Jody Litvak,
LACMTA at 213-922-1240 or Litvakj@metro.net.
An interagency scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, October
10, 2007, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sheriff's Station Briefing
Room, 720 N. San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Representative
of Native American tribal governments and of all Federal, State, and
local agencies that may have an interest in any aspect of the project
will be invited by phone letter, or e-mail.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. David Mieger, AICP,
Project Manager and Deputy Executive Officer, Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles,
CA 90012, phone 213-922-3040, e-mail miegerd@metro.net. The locations
of the early scoping meetings are given above under DATES.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ray Tellis, Team Leader, Los
Angeles Metropolitan Office, Federal Transit Administration, 888 South
Figueroa Street, Suite 1850, Los Angeles, CA 90017, phone 213-202-3950,
e-mail ray.tellis@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Early Scoping
The FTA and LACMTA invite all interested individuals and
organizations, public agencies, and Native American tribes to comment
on the scope of analyses, including the purpose and need for transit
improvements in the corridor, the alternatives to be studied, and the
impacts to be evaluated in the planning Alternatives Analysis. Comments
at this time should focus on the purpose and need for transit
improvements in the corridor; alternatives that may be less costly or
have less environmental impacts while achieving similar transportation
objectives; and the identification of any significant social, economic,
or environmental issues relating to the alternatives.
Purpose and Need for Action: The project purpose is to improve
public transit service and mobility in the Westside Extension Corridor.
The project would provide the cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood,
Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica with improved fixed-guideway east-west
transit service between the existing terminus of the Metro Red Line and
Metro Purple Lines near Western Avenue in the City Los Angeles and
Ocean Avenue in the City of Santa Monica. Possible western extensions
from the Metro Purple Line would generally follow Wilshire Boulevard
(from the Metro Purple Line Wilshire/Western Station). Possible
extensions from the Metro Red Line would generally follow Santa Monica
Boulevard (from the Metro Red Line Hollywood/Highland Station). The
overall goal of the proposed project is to improve mobility in the
Westside Extension Corridor by extending the benefits of the existing
Metro Red/Metro Purple Line rail and bus investments beyond the current
terminus. Mobility problems and potential improvements for this
corridor have been well documented in many studies, including numerous
Metro Red Line planning studies, Southern California Association of
Governments (SCAG) planning studies, the Mid-City/Westside Transit
Corridor Re-Evaluation/Major Investment Study (2000), the Metro Rapid
Demonstration Project (2000), the Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor
Draft EIS/EIR (2001), the American Public Transportation Association
Review of Wilshire Corridor Tunneling (2005), and in the Southern
California Association of Governments Regional Transportation Plan
(2004). These studies can be reviewed at the Dorothy Peyton Gray
Transportation Library located on the 15th Floor or Metro Headquarters,
One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Additional considerations
supporting the project's need include:
The concentration of activity centers and destinations in
the Westside Extension Corridor;
Increasing traffic congestion on the highway network
throughout the Westside Extension Corridor, which has led to public and
political support for a high-capacity transit alternative to the
automobile;
The ``Centers Concept'' Land Use Policy of the City of Los
Angeles which is transit-based;
The existing concentration of transit supportive land uses
in the Westside Extension Corridor.
The high population and employment densities in the
Westside Extension Corridor.
Local redevelopment plans that are highly supportive of,
and dependent on, high capacity transit services in the Westside
Extension Corridor.
The existing high ridership levels on bus lines in the
Westside Extension Corridor.
Significant transit dependent population in the Westside
Extension Corridor.
Forecasts of significant future population and employment
growth in the Westside Extension Corridor.
Existing and future travel demand patterns that
demonstrate a strong and growing demand for high-capacity transit in
the Westside Extension Corridor.
Emerging travel patterns associated with a job-rich study
area that has led to significant westbound congestion during the
morning rush hours and corresponding eastbound congestion during the
evening rush hours.
Local policy directed toward travel demand management and
transit solutions rather than the expansion of the street and highway
network.
Alternatives
The Westside Extension Transit Corridor Study proposes to extend
transit from the terminus of the Metro Purple Line at the Wilshire/
Western station or the Metro Red Line at the Hollywood/Highland station
to downtown Santa Monica. Two primary alignments have been considered
historically:
Wilshire Boulevard Alignment from Wilshire/Western station
via Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard and west on Santa
Monica Boulevard to Century City, then transitioning back to Wilshire
Boulevard and proceeding along Wilshire Boulevard near Westwood
Boulevard along Wilshire Boulevard to downtown Santa Monica
(approximately 13 miles).
Santa Monica Boulevard Alignment starting from the
Hollywood/Highland Metro Red Line proceeding west on Hollywood
Boulevard and transitioning to Santa Monica Boulevard to Century City,
then transitioning to Wilshire Boulevard near Westwood Boulevard and
proceeding along Wilshire Boulevard to downtown Santa Monica
(approximately 12.5 miles).
[[Page 55856]]
Heavy Rail Transit, the transit mode that is currently used in the
Metro Red Line and Metro Purple Line subway system, is being
considered. It normally follows an underground configuration although
ground-surface and aerial configurations may also be considered in some
locations. Other transit modes, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and
other forms of rail transit, may also be considered. Possible station
sites along the Wilshire Boulevard Alignment are Wilshire/Crenshaw,
Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, Wilshire/La Cienega, Wilshire/
Beverly Dr., Century City, Santa Monica/Westwood, Wilshire/Westwood
Village/I-405, Wilshire/Bundy, Wilshire/26th St., Wilshire/16th St.,
and Wilshire/4th St. (12 stations). Possible station sites along the
Santa Monica Boulevard Alignment are Sunset/Fairfax or Santa Monica/
Fairfax, Santa Monica/La Cienega or Santa Monica/San Vicente, Santa
Monica/Beverly, Santa Monica/Rodeo, Century City, Santa Monica/
Westwood, Wilshire/Westwood Village/I-405, Wilshire/Bundy, Wilshire/
26th St., Wilshire/16th St., and Wilshire/4th St. (11 stations).
Future No-Build Alternative--The study will consider the
transportation and environmental effects if no new major transit
investments beyond those that have already been planned are implemented
in this corridor. This alternative will include the highway and transit
projects in the current Metro Long Range Transportation Plan and the
2030 Southern California Association of Governments Regional
Transportation Plan. For purposes of the Alternatives Analysis, the
major fixed guideway investments under study for the Exposition Transit
Corridor Phase 2 and Crenshaw Transit Corridor projects would not be
included in the Future No-Build Alternative. The completion of the
Metro Rapid Bus Program would be included as well as possible
additional feeder bus networks to serve the region's major activity
centers.
Transportation System Management Alternative (TSM)--The study will
consider the effects of modest improvements in the highway and transit
systems beyond those in the Future No-Build Alternative. The TSM
Alternative would evaluate low-cost enhancements to the Future No-Build
Alternative and would emphasize transportation system upgrades, such as
intersection improvements, minor road widening, traffic engineering
actions, bus route restructuring, shortened bus headways, expanded use
of articulated buses, reserved bus lanes, expanded park-and-ride
facilities, express and limited-stop service, signalization
improvements, and timed-transfer operations.
In addition to the alternatives described above, other alternatives
identified through the early scoping process will be considered for
potential inclusion in the Alternatives Analysis. Alternative modes,
vertical or horizontal alignments, or station locations may emerge from
the early scoping process.
FTA Procedures
Early scoping is an optional element of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) process that is particularly useful in situations
where, as here, a proposed action (the locally preferred alternative)
has not been identified and alternative modes and major alignment
variations are under consideration in a broadly-defined corridor. While
NEPA scoping normally follows issuance of a notice of intent, which
describes the proposed action, it ``may be initiated earlier, as long
as there is appropriate public notice and enough information available
on the proposal so that the public and relevant agencies can
participate effectively.'' See the Council on Environmental Quality's
``Forty Most Asked Questions Concerning CEQ's National Environmental
Policy Act Regulations,'' 46 FR 18026, 18030 (1981). In this case, the
available information is more than adequate to permit the public and
relevant agencies to participate effectively in early scoping and the
planning Alternatives Analysis.
LACMTA may seek New Starts funding for the proposed project under
49 U.S.C. 5309 and will, therefore, be subject to New Starts regulation
(49 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 611). The New Starts
regulation requires a planning Alternatives Analysis that leads to the
selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative by LACMTA and the
inclusion of the locally preferred alternative in the long-range
transportation plan adopted by the Southern California Association of
Governments. The planning Alternatives Analysis will examine
alignments, technologies, station locations, costs, funding, ridership,
economic development, land use, engineering feasibility, and
environmental factors in the corridor. The New Starts regulation also
requires the submission of certain project-justification information in
support of a request to initiate preliminary engineering, and this
information is normally developed during the Alternatives Analysis. At
the conclusion of the Alternatives Analysis, a locally preferred
alternative--the ``proposed action''--will be determined, as well as
the appropriate NEPA process--an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement--to be undertaken for the proposed
action. If preparation of an environmental impact statement is
warranted, a notice of intent will be published in the Federal Register
and the scoping of the EIS/EIR will be completed by soliciting and
considering comments on the purpose and need for the proposed action,
the range of alternatives to be considered in the EIS/EIR, and the
potentially significant environmental and community impacts to be
evaluated in the EIS/EIR. In conjunction with this final scoping of the
EIS/EIR and consistent with provisions of 23 U.S.C. 139, invitations
will be extended to other Federal and non-Federal agencies that may
have an interest in this matter to be participating agencies. A plan
for coordinating public and agency participation in the environmental
review process and for commenting on the issues under consideration at
various milestones of the process will be prepared and posted on the on
the LACMTA Web site at http://www.metro.net/westside.
Issued on September 26, 2007.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-19363 Filed 9-28-07; 8:45 am]
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