[Federal Register: December 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 245)]
[Notices]
[Page 72813-72815]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21de07-139]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact Statement for Rapid
Transit in Utah County, UT
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Alternatives Analysis/
Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Utah Transit
Authority (UTA), and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG)
intend to prepare an Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact
Statement (AA/EIS) for potential high-capacity fixed-guideway transit
improvements and roadway infrastructure improvements in Utah County,
Utah. The project's purposes are to serve transit markets along the
corridor including two universities (Brigham Young University and Utah
Valley State College), existing and planned student housing, retail
malls, several employment centers, historic downtown Provo, and two
major regional intermodal centers; provide circulation and distribution
for future transit projects including commuter rail; and to accommodate
future travel demand while maintaining efficient traffic flow. The
project termini are the planned Orem intermodal center near Utah Valley
State College (UVSC) on the north and a location near the Provo Towne
Center Mall and East Bay Business Complex (Novell Campus) on the south.
The general location of the corridor is on or near University Parkway
and University Avenue in Utah County and length of the project is
approximately 9 miles. The timeframe for the environmental review
process is from January 2008 to January 2010.
The AA/EIS will be prepared in accordance with section 102(2)c of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and pursuant to
the Council on the Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts
1500-1508), FTA/FHWA joint regulations (23 CFR 771) as well as
provisions of the Safe,
[[Page 72814]]
Accountable, Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of this notice is to alert interested
parties regarding the intent to prepare the AA/EIS, to provide
information on the nature of the proposed project and possible
alternatives, to invite public participation in the NEPA process
(including providing comments on the scope of the AA/EIS), and to
announce that a public scoping meeting will be conducted.
The AA/EIS will examine and evaluate a number of transit
alternatives in the corridor. Any additional alternatives generated by
the scoping process as well as the proposed station locations for the
Build alternatives will also be considered. The alternatives will be
compared to a No-Action Alternative for evaluation purposes.
Scoping for the AA/EIS will be accomplished through a public
meeting; e-mail and hard copy correspondence with interested
individuals and organizations, Federal, State, and local agencies, and
Native American Tribes; and through a meeting with cooperating and
participating public agencies. Interested parties may comment by: (1)
E-mailing provo-oremrapidtransit@hwlochner.com; (2) visiting the
project Web site at http://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info; (3) mailing
written comments to the address below, or (4) attending the public
scoping meeting, described below under Meeting Dates. A scoping
information packet will be posted on the project Web site at http://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info
and hard copies of the packet will be
distributed on request.
Meeting Dates
Public Scoping Meeting: A public scoping meeting will be held
Thursday, January 24, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Provo City
Library (550 N University Ave, Provo).
The project's purpose and need, and the initial set of alternatives
proposed for study will be presented at this meeting. Comments may be
given verbally or in writing at the scoping meeting. Every reasonable
effort will be made to meet special needs. The meeting location will be
accessible to persons with disabilities. Individuals who require
special accommodations, such as sign language interpreter, to
participate in the meeting should contact Ms. Sherry L. Repscher, ADA
Compliance Officer, Utah Transit Authority, 3600 South 700 West, Salt
Lake City, UT 84119-0810 or by telephone at (801) 262-5626 or TDD at
(801) 287-4657.
Agency Scoping Meeting: An agency scoping meeting will be held on
Wednesday, January 23, 2008, from 9:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Provo
City Library (Bullock Room 309), 550 North University Ave, Provo, Utah.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide an overview of the project, to
allow agencies to determine their level of interest in the project, and
to allow agencies to help identify the proposed project's level of
impact on environmental, social, and economic resources. The scoping
meeting will include a bus tour of the project study area. The bus tour
will depart at 9:30 a.m. from the Provo City Library parking lot.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the following address by
February 28, 2008: Laynee Jones, HW Lochner, 310 East 4500 South,
Murray, Utah 84107 or provo-oremrapidtransit@hwlochner.com. The
location of the public scoping meeting is given above under Meeting
Dates.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Knighton, Deputy Regional
Administrator, Region VIII, Federal Transit Administration, 12300 West
Dakota Avenue, Suite 310, Denver, CO 80228. Telephone: 720-963-3327.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
The FTA, UTA, and MAG invite all interested individuals and
organizations, public agencies, and Native American Tribes to comment
on the scope of the AA/EIS including the project's purpose and need,
alternatives, impacts to be evaluated, and evaluation methods to be
used. Comments should focus on refining the purpose and need statement,
developing alternatives to meet the purpose and need, and on
identifying specific social, economic, or environmental impacts to be
evaluated. The scoping period will end February 28, 2008. A scoping
information packet will be posted on the project Web site at http://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info
and hard copies of the packet will be
distributed on request.
II. Description of Project Study Area and Its Purpose and Need
Known as the Provo-Orem Rapid Transit AA/EIS, this project consists
of increasing transit opportunities and maintaining efficient traffic
flow in an area that contains two universities, retail malls,
employment centers, a historic downtown, and two major regional
intermodal centers. The proposed project originated from the Inter-
Regional Corridor Alternatives Analysis (IRCAA) completed in 2002 and
the Provo/Orem Rapid Transit Corridor Feasibility Study (Feasibility
Study) completed in 2005. The Feasibility Study selected Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) as the solution for the increasing transportation demand
in Utah County. The BRT project is included in the Mountainland
Association of Government's fiscally constrained Long Range
Transportation Plan.
Preliminary statement of purpose of and need for the proposed
project: The purpose of the project is to serve transit markets along
the corridor; provide circulation and distribution for future transit
projects including commuter rail; and to accommodate future travel
demand while maintaining efficient traffic flow. The needs identified
in the previous studies include: enhancing community character,
accommodating the ultimate cross-section of the road, meeting traffic
demand on the travel lanes, encouraging economic development, and
providing a system that is safe, easy, and convenient to use. The
public and participating and cooperating agencies are invited to
consider and comment on this preliminary statement of the purpose and
need for the proposed project.
Projected Ridership. According to preliminary estimates in the
Feasibility Study, the project is anticipated to serve 17,000 boardings
per day. Brigham Young University is located near the center of the
study area and has an enrollment of over 35,000. Most of its students
live within 3.5 miles of campus and the feasibility study indicates
that 67 percent of students walk to campus. The project area has a
strong local ridership base; an on-board survey of UTA bus routes
serving Utah County concluded that approximately 52 percent of riders
live in Provo and 19 percent live in Orem. Approximately 35 percent of
riders were students.
Local Land Use and Economic Development. Provo and Orem are the two
largest cities in Utah County. Based on a comparison of Census data
from 1990 to 2000, Provo was shown to be the fourth fastest-growing
metropolitan area for job creation and the tenth fastest-growing for
population. By 2030, Provo is expected to grow to a population of
almost 137,000 and Orem is expected to grow to a population of over
107,000. Although the entire study area is growing, population and
employment growth are dispersed in different densities along the
project corridor. Employment density is projected to increase in
particular along University Avenue.
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Environmental Process: In accordance with NEPA, SAFETEA-LU section
6002 and FTA's section 5309 New Starts requirements, the project's
environmental process has been divided into three general phases: (1)
Scoping; (2) Alternatives Analysis/ EIS, selection of the Locally
Preferred Alternative (LPA); selection of the Preferred Alternative and
(3) Final EIS.
III. Alternatives
The Feasibility Study conducted in 2005 recommended Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) along University Parkway and University Avenue with a
detour off University Avenue to serve Brigham Young University (BYU).
Because population and employment densities have changed in the study
area since 2005, the AA/EIS will evaluate a wide range of fixed
guideway alternatives including light rail and Bus Rapid Transit. Bus
Rapid Transit includes exclusive transit lanes (either center-running
or side-running) and queue jump lanes. The preliminary alternatives
will be narrowed to a locally preferred alternative based on updated
ridership forecasts. The locally preferred alternative and a No-Action
alternative will be evaluated in detail in the EIS resulting in the
selection of a Preferred Alternative.
IV. Probable Effects
NEPA requires FTA and UTA to evaluate the significant impacts of
the alternatives selected for study in the AA/EIS. Primary issues
identified thus far include additional right-of-way takes, business
impacts, potential impacts to historic properties, and traffic and
accessibility impacts. The impacts will be evaluated for both the
construction period and for the long-term period of operation. Measures
to mitigate adverse impacts will be developed.
V. FTA Procedures
The regulation implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public involvement in the NEPA
process. Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that the lead agencies
(FTA, UTA, and MAG) do the following: (1) Extend an invitation to other
Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native American tribes that may
have an interest in the proposed project to become ``participating
agencies;'' (2) provide an opportunity for involvement by participating
agencies and the public to help define the purpose and need for a
proposed project, as well as the range of alternatives for
consideration in the EIS; and (3) establish a plan for coordinating
public and agency participation in, and comment on, the environmental
review process. An invitation to become a participating or cooperating
agency, with scoping materials appended, will be extended to other
Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native American tribes that may
have an interest in the proposed project. It is possible that the lead
agencies will not be able to identify all Federal and non-Federal
agencies and Native American tribes that may have such an interest. Any
Federal or non-Federal agency or Native American tribe interested in
the proposed project that does not receive an invitation to become a
participating agency should notify Pat Rothacher, Utah Transit
Authority, at 3600 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84119 or
prothacher@rideuta.com.
UTA is seeking federal assistance from the FTA to fund the proposed
project under 49 United States Code 5309 and will, therefore, be
subject to regulations (49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 611)
related to New Starts projects.
The AA/EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA and its
implementing regulation issued by the Council on Environmental Quality
(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and with the FTA/Federal Highway
Administration regulations ``Environmental Impact and Related
Procedures'' (23 CFR part 771). In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a)
and 771.133, FTA will comply with all Federal environmental laws,
regulations, and executive orders applicable to the proposed project
during the environmental review process. These requirements include,
but are not limited to, the environmental and public hearing provisions
of Federal transit laws (49 U.S.C. 5301 (e), 5323 (b), and 5324); the
project-level air quality conformity regulation of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR Part 93); The section 404
(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR Part 230); the regulation implementing
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR Part
800); the regulation implementing section 7 of the Endangered Species
Act (50 CFR Part 402); section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation
Act (23 CFR 771.135); and Executive Orders 12898 on environmental
justice, 11988 on floodplain management, and 11990 on wetlands.
Issued on: December 14, 2007.
Charmaine Knighton,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. E7-24861 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
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